Thursday, April 5, 2018

Francis Cockrell, Marian Cockrell, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents: An Overview

"You Got to Have Luck"
by Jack Seabrook

Francis Cockrell wrote or co-wrote 18 episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents: nine in season one, six in season two, one in season three, and two in season four. Five of his scripts were directed by Hitchcock , including "Revenge," the series' premiere. His scripts tend to feature male protagonists and to be more serious and dark in theme than the shows written by his wife, with whom he co-wrote "Whodunit." Cockrell wrote the only multi-part episode in the ten years of the series (the three-part "I Killed the Count") and directed two episodes: "Whodunit" and "The Rose Garden," which featured a script by his wife. Francis Cockrell's nine scripts for the first season helped set the tone for the series.

"There Was an Old Woman"
Marian Cockrell wrote or co-wrote eleven episodes: four in season one, four in season two, two in season three, and one in season five. Her scripts were often lighter in tone than those of her husband, and many of her shows featured female protagonists, often seeming mentally unstable but just as often cleverer than they were thought to be. She wrote the first episode to be filmed ("Into Thin Air") and one of her episodes was directed by Hitchcock ("Wet Saturday"). Her often humorous touch and her work with female leads were important factors in setting the tone for many episodes of the series, episodes that were quite different than those written by her husband.

Between them, the Cockrells had a major influence on determining what kind of show Alfred Hitchcock Presents would be, and they wrote many episodes that are recalled as among the show's best.

EPISODE GUIDE-FRANCIS COCKRELL ON ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS

Episode title-“Revenge” [1.1]
Broadcast date-2 October 1955
Teleplay by-Francis Cockrell and A.I. Bezzerides
Based on-"Revenge" by Samuel Blas
First print appearance-Collier's 11 January 1947
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

Episode title-“Breakdown” [1.7]
Broadcast date-13 November 1955
Teleplay by-Francis Cockrell and Louis Pollock
Based on-"Breakdown" by Louis Pollock
First print appearance-Collier's 7 June 1947
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

"Breakdown"

Episode title-“The Case of Mr. Pelham” [1.10]
Broadcast date-4 December 1955
Teleplay by-Francis Cockrell
Based on-"The Case of Mr. Pelham" by Anthony Armstrong
First print appearance-Esquire November 1940
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

Episode title-“A Bullet for Baldwin” [1.14]
Broadcast date-1 January 1956
Teleplay by-Francis Cockrell and Eustace Cockrell
Based on-"Five Bullets for Baldwin" by Joseph Ruscoll
First print appearance-none; radio play first broadcast on Molle Mystery Theater, 16 April 1948
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

"A Bullet for Baldwin"

Episode title-“You Got to Have Luck” [1.16]
Broadcast date-15 January 1956
Teleplay by-Francis Cockrell and Eustace Cockrell
Based on-"You Got to Have Luck" by S.R. Ross
First print appearance-Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, October 1952
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

Episode title-“Back for Christmas” [1.23]
Broadcast date-4 March 1956
Teleplay by-Francis Cockrell
Based on-"Back for Christmas" by John Collier
First print appearance-The New Yorker, 7 October 1939
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

"Back for Christmas"

Episode title-“Whodunit” [1.26]
Broadcast date-25 March 1956
Teleplay by-Francis Cockrell and Marian Cockrell
Based on-"Heaven Can Wait" by C.B. Gilford
First print appearance-Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, August 1953
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

Episode title-“The Gentleman from America” [1.31]
Broadcast date-29 April 1956
Teleplay by-Francis Cockrell
Based on-"The Gentleman from America" by Michael Arlen
First print appearance-The Tatler, Christmas 1924
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

"The Gentleman from America"

Episode title-“Momentum” [1.39]
Broadcast date-24 June 1956
Teleplay by-Francis Cockrell
Based on-"Murder Always Gathers Momentum" by Cornell Woolrich
First print appearance-Detective Fiction Weekly, 14 December 1940
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

Episode title-“De Mortuis” [2.3]
Broadcast date-14 October 1956
Teleplay by-Francis Cockrell
Based on-"De Mortuis" by John Collier
First print appearance-The New Yorker, 18 July 1942
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

"De Mortuis"

Episode title-“I Killed the Count” (part one) [2.25]
Broadcast date-17 March 1957
Teleplay by-Francis Cockrell
Based on-I Killed the Count by Alec Coppel
First print appearance-stage play first performed 10 December 1937
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

Episode title-“I Killed the Count” (part two) [2.26]
Broadcast date-24 March 1957
Teleplay by-Francis Cockrell
Based on-I Killed the Count by Alec Coppel
First print appearance-stage play first performed 10 December 1937
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

"I Killed the Count"

Episode title-“I Killed the Count” (part three) [2.27]
Broadcast date-31 March 1957
Teleplay by-Francis Cockrell
Based on-I Killed the Count by Alec Coppel
First print appearance-stage play first performed 10 December 1937
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

Episode title-“The Hands of Mr. Ottermole” [2.32]
Broadcast date-5 May 1957
Teleplay by-Francis Cockrell
Based on-"The Hands of Mr. Ottermole" by Thomas Burke
First print appearance-The Story-Teller February 1929
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

"The Hands of Mr. Ottermole"

Episode title-“The Dangerous People” [2.39]
Broadcast date-23 June 1957
Teleplay by-Francis Cockrell
Based on-"No Sanctuary" by Fredric Brown
First print appearance-Dime Mystery Magazine March 1945
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

Episode title-“The Impromptu Murder” [3.38]
Broadcast date-22 June 1958
Teleplay by-Francis Cockrell
Based on-"The Three-Foot Grave" by Roy Vickers
First print appearance-Pearson's Magazine November 1934
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

"The Impromptu Murder"

Episode title-“Relative Value” [4.21]
Broadcast date-1 March 1959
Teleplay by-Francis Cockrell
Based on-"Superfluous Murder" by Milward Kennedy
First print appearance-uncertain; 1928-1935?
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

Episode title-“Banquo's Chair” [4.29]
Broadcast date-3 May 1959
Teleplay by-Francis Cockrell
Based on-Banquo's Chair: A Play in One Act by Rupert Croft-Cooke
First print appearance-July 1930
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

"Banquo's Chair"

EPISODE GUIDE-MARIAN COCKRELL ON ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS

Episode title-“Into Thin Air” [1.5]
Broadcast date-30 October 1955
Teleplay by-Marian Cockrell
Based on-"The Vanishing Lady" by Alexander Woollcott
First print appearance-The New Yorker 6 and 13 July 1929
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

Episode title-“Santa Claus and the Tenth Avenue Kid” [1.12]
Broadcast date-18 December 1955
Teleplay by-Marian Cockrell
Based on-"Santa Claus and the Tenth Avenue Kid" by Margaret Cousins
First print appearance-Good Housekeeping December 1943
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

"Santa Claus and the Tenth Avenue Kid"

Episode title-“There Was an Old Woman” [1.25]
Broadcast date-18 March 1956
Teleplay by-Marian Cockrell
Based on-an unpublished story by Jerry Hackady and Harold Hackady
First print appearance-none
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

Episode title-“Whodunit” [1.26]
Broadcast date-25 March 1956
Teleplay by-Marian Cockrell and Francis Cockrell
Based on-"Heaven Can Wait" by C.B. Gilford
First print appearance-Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, August 1953
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

"Whodunit"

Episode title-“Wet Saturday” [2.1]
Broadcast date-30 September 1956
Teleplay by-Marian Cockrell
Based on-"Wet Saturday" by John Collier
First print appearance-The New Yorker, 16 July 1938
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

Episode title-“Conversation Over a Corpse” [2.8]
Broadcast date-18 November 1956
Teleplay by-Marian Cockrell and Norman Daniels
Based on-an unpublished story by Norman Daniels
First print appearance-none
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

"Conversation over a Corpse"

Episode title-“The Rose Garden” [2.12]
Broadcast date-16 December 1956
Teleplay by-Marian Cockrell
Based on-an unpublished story by Vincent Fotre
First print appearance-none
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

Episode title-“The West Warlock Time Capsule” [2.35]
Broadcast date-26 May 1957
Teleplay by-Marian Cockrell
Based on-an unpublished story by J.P Cahn
First print appearance-none
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

"The West Warlock Time Capsule"

Episode title-“Miss Paisley's Cat” [3.12]
Broadcast date-22 December 1957
Teleplay by-Marian Cockrell
Based on-"Miss Paisley's Cat" by Roy Vickers
First print appearance-Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine May 1953
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

Episode title-“Miss Bracegirdle Does Her Duty” [3.18]
Broadcast date-2 February 1958
Teleplay by-Marian Cockrell
Based on-"Miss Bracegirdle Does Her Duty" by Stacy Aumonier
First print appearance-The Strand Magazine September 1922
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

"Miss Bracegirdle Does Her Duty"

Episode title-“The Schartz-Metterklume Method” [5.35]
Broadcast date-12 June 1960
Teleplay by-Marian Cockrell
Based on-"The Schartz-Metterklume Method" by Saki
First print appearance-The Westminster Gazette, 14 October 1911
Notes
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-here

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