Bernard C. Schoenfeld's second teleplay for Alfred Hitchcock Presents was "Alibi Me," which was based on a story by Therd Jefre that had first been dramatized on the Suspense radio show on January 4, 1951.
As the radio play opens, a small-time crook named George ("Georgie") Lennox visits his competitor, Julius ("Julie") Moore, looking for a showdown. It seems Julie has taken over Georgie's punch board racket (punch boards were an early form of lottery) in the neighborhood candy stores and bars and Georgie is not happy about it. Julie tells Georgie that he sent him a present of the biggest lollipop he could find, since Georgie is the biggest sucker in town. The two men have hated each other since they were children and a police lieutenant named Larkin warned them long ago that if one of them is ever killed, the other will be the prime suspect. Julie has to report to Larkin for a parole check-in at 6 p.m. and dismisses Georgie, who loses his temper and bashes Julie over the head with a telephone receiver, killing him.
Lee Philips as Georgie |
Only 45 minutes are left till Julie will be missed and Larkin will go looking for him and discover his corpse. Georgie goes home and convinces Mrs. Ettinger, his landlady, to give him an alibi by threatening to expose her 15-year-old daughter's attempted theft of a fur jacket from a department store. At 6:15 p.m., Larkin comes knocking on Georgie's door and Mrs. Ettinger provides a detailed alibi. Larkin grudgingly accepts it and is about to leave when a messenger boy shows up with Julie's gift: an oversized lollipop. Georgie refuses to tip the young man, who complains that he climbed the stairs to Georgie's room twice that morning and three times that afternoon to deliver the gift but Georgie was never in. Larkin understands that Georgie's alibi is blown and the messenger boy puts icing on the cake by delivering Julie's final message: "To the biggest sucker in town."
Chick Chandler as Lucky |
Harvey Stephens as Larkin |
Alan Reed as Uncle Leo |
The 1952 TV version of "Alibi Me" is a moderately entertaining example of early television, where the script writer makes several changes to the story that he adapted from the radio but where the gist of the plot and the twist ending remain the same. Worth noting are that Rod Steiger appears very early in his career as Leo and that the show is directed by Robert Stevens, who would later excel as a director of many episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The writer of the teleplay, Max Ehrlich (1909-1983), started out as a newspaperman and later wrote for radio, TV, and film. He was also a novelist and he wrote an episode of Star Trek in the mid-1960s.
Harry Tyler as Timmy |
The biggest change Schoenfeld makes in telling the story is to eliminate Georgie's narration, which is such a big part of what makes the radio play a success. Without the narration to give us insight into Georgie's thoughts, the show becomes less a frantic race against time and more a series of sometimes unintentionally humorous failures on Georgie's part to establish an alibi. Leo the bartender becomes Uncle Leo and the bar becomes an Italian restaurant, with Uncle Leo speaking in a broad accent. When Leo refuses Georgie's request, the younger man rushes at the older man with a wine bottle but Leo quickly overpowers him, underscoring Georgie's general ineptitude. Joanie is renamed Goldie and she changes her mind about giving her old beau an alibi when she sees a photograph of a pretty girl fall out of his jacket pocket and realizes that his protestations of love are hollow.
Argentina Brunetti as Mrs. Salvatore |
Shirley Smith as Joanie |
The rest of the parts in "Alibi Me" are supporting roles:
- Chick Chandler (1905-1988) as Lucky; he started in vaudeville in the 1920s and had a long career in film and on TV from 1925 to 1971. This was his only appearance on the Hitchcock show.
- Harvey Stephens (1901-1986) as Larkin; he was a busy character actor on screen from 1931 to 1965; he was on the Hitchcock show twice and has an uncredited role in North By Northwest (1959).
- Alan Reed (1907-1977) as Uncle Leo; born Herbert Theodore Bergman, he started in vaudeville before embarking on an extensive career in radio, film, and television that lasted from 1930 until his death. He was an expert in voice characterization and had a part in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) but he will always be best known as the voice of Fred Flintstone. This was his only appearance on the Hitchcock show.
- Harry Tyler (1889-1961) as Timmy; he had hundreds of screen credits from 1929 to his death and was on Alfred Hitchcock Presents 11 times, including "Decoy," Schoenfeld's previous episode.
- Argentina Brunetti (1907-2005) as Mrs. Salvatore; she dubbed films into Italian for MGM starting in 1937 and during WWII she narrated Voice of America broadcasts in Italy. Her career in radio, film, and TV lasted from 1946 to 2002 and she played Mrs. Martini in It's A Wonderful Life (1946). This was the only time she was seen on the Hitchcock show.
- Shirley Smith (1929-2013) as Goldie; this is one of only two credits for her; the other is a 1960 film.
- Lee Errickson as the messenger boy; he was on screen from 1953 to 1962 and appeared in one other episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
Lee Errickson as the messenger boy |
"Alibi Me" was produced a fourth and final time in the 1950s, as a Suspense radio broadcast on April 20, 1958. The script from the original 1951 radio broadcast was used, but this time comedian Stan Freberg replaced Mickey Rooney as Georgie.
The 1951 radio show may be heard here. The 1952 TV version may be viewed here. Watch the 1956 TV version here and listen to the 1958 radio version here. The Hitchcock TV version is available on DVD here.
Sources:
"Alibi Me." Alfred Hitchcock Presents, season 2, episode 7, CBS, 11 Nov. 1956.
"Alibi Me." Suspense, CBS, 4 Jan. 1951.
"Alibi Me." Suspense, CBS, 22 Apr. 1952.
"Alibi Me." Suspense, CBS, 20 Apr. 1958.
"Catalog of Copyright Entries." Google Books, books.google.com/books?id=cE0hAQAAIAAJ.
Grams, Martin, and Patrik Wikstrom. The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion. OTR Pub., 2001.
IMDb, 16 Aug. 2018, www.imdb.com/.
"Radio Drama and Comedy Writers, 1928–1962." Google Books, books.google.com/books?id=PsE8DwAAQBAJ.
Wikipedia, 16 Aug. 2018, www.wikipedia.org/.
In two weeks: "Jonathan," starring Georgann Johnson and Corey Allen!
I can never think of its name, but I always remember Lee Phillips also being in one of the least dark Hitchcock episodes, playing a gigolo character. I think he tries to blackmail the women, but they outwit him instead of resorting to murder. Those non-violent ones always stand out for obvious reasons.
ReplyDeleteThat's "The Deadly," where he's the plumber. Thanks for reading!
ReplyDeleteWow, man! Thanks for all the research. Mickey Rooney was great in this!
ReplyDelete"Timmy, lying there in the hospital! Timmy!! Hurry, Georgie! Run! Hurry!!"
I listened to that radio show a year and a half ago, but I recall it was very well done. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
ReplyDelete