tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post5349712890165898501..comments2024-03-27T05:54:38.797-07:00Comments on <i>bare</i>•bones e-zine: The Hitchcock Project-James P. Cavanagh Part Two: The Creeper [1.38]John Scolerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14082147756474762000noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-79514473963936118022019-02-03T14:20:42.918-08:002019-02-03T14:20:42.918-08:00I've never been sure how much Hitchcock had to...I've never been sure how much Hitchcock had to do with the story selection and I know he did not have a lot to do with the production. Perhaps having Joan Harrison in charge (at least at first) made it more likely that stories about women would be dramatized.Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-23897786461359649412019-02-03T08:48:38.234-08:002019-02-03T08:48:38.234-08:00John Kenrick's third paragraph is interesting ...John Kenrick's third paragraph is interesting to me for one reason. I know that Hitchcock has been described as a sexist, but along with PSYCHO, a lot of episodes of the show are "women's stories," like the famous "Lamb to the Slaughter." I especially notice that when it comes to the hour show, with ones like "Where The Woodbine Twineth" and "Consider Her Ways."Granthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09603892208775996594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-25622658019073405222019-02-02T23:55:31.588-08:002019-02-02T23:55:31.588-08:00You're welcome, Jack, and I agree that the Hit...You're welcome, Jack, and I agree that the Hitchcock show, not just the first season, truly developed over time. I wish I could say "grew" but I don't see much of this; by which I mean it became a better series over the years. Not in my book. It reached a certain level of quality, of true excellence, then pulled back to something more routine. <br /><br />My guess is that Hitchcock, not a highly educated man, while he wanted to please the "highbrows", he also wanted to cater to a larger audience, and not not for financial reasons alone. Maybe, being Brit, he felt ambivalent regarding high quality material, by which I mean stories with a literary bent rather than a purely thriller or mystery one.<br /><br />Two that come to mind of the "better" sort: The Foghorn and The Glass Eye, which both feature women who got old who either never found true love or found it at a terrible price. That the show was eclectic is a point in its favor taking into consideration the tastes of the average TV viewer. For the top shelf of the of those kinds of episodes I find the ones featuring pudgy Robert Emhardt among the best.john kenrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00710666533854296630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-11718679710834982902019-02-02T04:59:26.837-08:002019-02-02T04:59:26.837-08:00Thanks, Peter.
John, as I work my way through the...Thanks, Peter.<br /><br />John, as I work my way through the series, not always chronologically, I start to have ideas about how it developed from year to year. I had been thinking that the first season was a bit of a mixed bag, with weaker episodes aired toward the end. While "The Creeper" does fit into the first season's reliance on stories that had been told many times before, it is a real highlight even though it came very near the finish of the initial group of 39 episodes. As always, thanks very much for reading and for leaving a thoughtful comment.Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-89681291441794383432019-02-02T00:31:57.924-08:002019-02-02T00:31:57.924-08:00Thanks, Jack, for your detailed analysis of this q...Thanks, Jack, for your detailed analysis of this quietly excellent episode. The first couple of times I watched it I found it competent and yet somewhat bland.<br /><br />Now, as Hitchcock Presents airs regularly on weeknights I'm on my fourth or fifty (at the very least) go-round with The Creeper, and it just gets better each time.<br /><br />The first two or three scenes give no hint of what's to come; and then the plot thickens. Harry Townes (superlative in this) has a drink or two with the frightened woman's husband, and there's some exposition.<br /><br />Then comes the final part of this short show, with Harry and the wife; and it starts to feel like Jack the Ripper time. One senses a red herring, but who else could the killer be? Several minor characters have been presented thus far, and it could be any one of them aside from the too reddish Percy Helton's smiling janitor.<br /><br />The ending is, not surprisingly, a shocker. It was easy to guess that there was going to be a twist, and in this case, a big surprise; and so there was. Considered purely as a story The Creeper doesn't jump off the screen, however the characters ans the actors who play them do.john kenrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00710666533854296630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-91274216776466546312019-02-01T15:50:08.616-08:002019-02-01T15:50:08.616-08:00Good research, Jack! I gotta fire this one up agai...Good research, Jack! I gotta fire this one up again sometime soon.<br />Peter Enfantinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04317575598411394944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-78988679057224366142019-02-01T14:41:20.642-08:002019-02-01T14:41:20.642-08:00They are both very good in this episode.They are both very good in this episode.Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-85934882499657460192019-02-01T08:17:20.247-08:002019-02-01T08:17:20.247-08:00Any dramatic story with both Reta Shaw and Percy H...Any dramatic story with both Reta Shaw and Percy Helton could almost make me feel like I'm watching a comedy instead.Granthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09603892208775996594noreply@blogger.com