tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post3066366622980579897..comments2024-03-27T05:54:38.797-07:00Comments on <i>bare</i>•bones e-zine: The Hitchcock Project-Bernard C. Schoenfeld Part Ten: Out There--Darkness [4.16]John Scolerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14082147756474762000noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-27969485973656534882020-06-16T14:25:58.737-07:002020-06-16T14:25:58.737-07:00Thanks, John! There were definitely moral shadings...Thanks, John! There were definitely moral shadings in both characters. No one can condone murder, but she certainly didn't do him any favors.Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-10329101113137024152020-06-15T18:42:13.937-07:002020-06-15T18:42:13.937-07:00I view Bette Davis' Miss Fox more sympathetica...I view Bette Davis' Miss Fox more sympathetically than most other viewers' comments here and elsewhere. She's a lonely woman worrying about her age, and ditsy enough to talk to her perfectly-named poodle Vanessa like it was her sister. Conversely, many seem to view the character of Eddie the doorman as the one we should root for, but why? Nothing Miss Fox did was so horrible as to justify his murder of her, not even remotely.<br /><br />It is true that her false identification of him as the thief put him behind bars for a year, but it's not like she was trying to railroad him (her perception was likely prejudiced by his refusal to go along with her advances toward him, but she talks herself into making him the suspect). After all, she is so desperate to get her ring back that she lets him know that he (or whomever the thief is) could get an $500--along with keeping the other $1500 stolen--just for returning the ring. <br /><br />And yes, she refused to loan him money and his girlfriend ends up dying, but there was no indication that the refusal was malicious (self-centered, perhaps, but that doesn't necessarily equal malicious, a trait that isn't exhibited), and neither did she have a moral obligation to loan him money. It's not like he couldn't have gone to other people--his family and friends, his girlfriend's family and friends--to secure the money. Miss Fox comes off as uncharitable, but she didn't kill Eddie's girlfriend, whatever he thought. This strikes me as a plot weakness, because the conclusion is meant to makes us sympathize with him and feel that Miss Fox got just retribution from him, a karmic payback. That doesn't resonate with me.<br /><br />Clearly, a year in jail has hardened Eddie, pushed him to the brink of borderline psychotic (and maybe over the brink), and he ends up the real villain in this, despite all attempts to put the focus on Miss Fox. Her greatest "crime" in the episode, aside from her narcissism, is getting to friendly with a deranged man.<br /><br />This was a very enjoyable performance from Miss Bette Davis. She was very believable even in this minor part--yet another example of her plus plus acting talent. John Sedehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05518885765834928992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-63821179247530194372018-12-23T23:46:47.056-08:002018-12-23T23:46:47.056-08:00My pleasure, the "other" John. That was ...My pleasure, the "other" John. That was a good, psychologically unsettling episode. The actor who played the kid solid it. That he was the most disturbing character in the story made it all the more frightening given that he was a child, as in yikes! <br /><br />It was particularly unnerving when I first watched it, as I was of a similar age as that boy; and while my father could be a nasty piece of work I fortunately didn't develop that kind of pathology. <br /><br />There were a fair number of "kid shocker" type stories, on television and the movies in the wake of the 1956 film The Bad Seed. There was one I saw recently on the Hitch half-hour, The Young One, with a "diabolical" Carol Lynley.john kenrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00710666533854296630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-30271228447402595822018-12-23T08:52:46.868-08:002018-12-23T08:52:46.868-08:00John Kennrick -- You're right! Found the episo...John Kennrick -- You're right! Found the episode on Daily Motion. Incidentally, it was a window screen that he sliced up, not a door screen. Thanks for taking the time in solving this decades-long mystery! John @ Monster Magazine WorldJohnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11926491868571442274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-73624001264347203422018-12-21T19:00:55.921-08:002018-12-21T19:00:55.921-08:00John (no last name guy): I remember an Alfred Hitc...John (no last name guy): I remember an Alfred Hitchcock hour long episode, To Catch A Butterfly (I think I got that right) that aired in early 1963. It played almost like a horror entry, as occasionally episodes in the longer show did. I can't recall all the details but he was a sick puppy, and that his father apparently abused him terribly when he was younger was offered as the reason. The actor who played him, Mickey Sholdar, was excellent, and he later turned up as a regular on The Farmer's Daughter TV series a little later on. Ed Asner played his nasty, two-faced father on the Hitchcock show.john kenrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00710666533854296630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-46545568472064409322018-12-21T18:54:09.823-08:002018-12-21T18:54:09.823-08:00Bette Davis did make her one Hitchcock episode cla...Bette Davis did make her one Hitchcock episode classy just by being in it...and I wish a Merry Christmas back at ya', Jack! <br /><br /><br />The other John (no last name) referenced what I remember as an hour long Hitchcock episode, and I may as well respond to him now while I'm here...john kenrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00710666533854296630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-57627810111555241582018-12-21T15:50:02.738-08:002018-12-21T15:50:02.738-08:00John Kenrick-I guess I like the episode more than ...John Kenrick-I guess I like the episode more than you do, though that ending bugs me. I'm often disappointed when the TV show removes the subtlety of the story on which it's based. I've always considered this episode special because of the participation of Bette Davis. Thanks for reading, as always, and Merry Christmas!<br /><br />John-That story is not ringing a bell with me. Maybe another reader recalls it?Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-2421265418869356552018-12-21T15:38:15.766-08:002018-12-21T15:38:15.766-08:00An aside question regarding the AHP series. I'...An aside question regarding the AHP series. I'm trying to track down an episode of a TV show around the time of AHP. The plot centered around a troubled boy who acted pretty maliciously and seemed to be a little unstable. In one scene, he cut through the screen of (I think) his Grandparent's house to unlatch the door with his pocket knife. I know that's not much to go on, but this seems to be the place that scrutinizes episodes of this show. Any ideas?Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11926491868571442274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-54455369982044106242018-12-21T01:24:11.765-08:002018-12-21T01:24:11.765-08:00Good job, Jack. I have no problem with what you wr...Good job, Jack. I have no problem with what you wrote, and I found the episode less than engaging; as it's plot driven it plays rather slowly, with little room for character development. <br /><br />Bette Davis was not sympathetic as the rich old woman; or at least I didn't think so. There was almost no big city hustle or bustle in this compact entry apparently filmed on a tight budget. <br /><br />Or maybe most of the money allotted to it went to Miss Davis. Its intriguing premise didn't seem well thought out, and my sense is that time has not been kind to it, either, as it feels of another time; and indeed it is. The very mid-20th century ambiance and attitude make it feel almost like a period piece. <br /><br />Women of the sort Miss Davis played have nearly vanished from the urban landscape, which is more dense now, with less sense of community even in affluent neighborhoods; and less familiarity between strangers who just happen to pass one another daily on the street, take the same train now and again, maybe even exchange newspapers once in a while.john kenrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00710666533854296630noreply@blogger.com