The Hitchcock Project-James Bridges Part Fifteen: Power of Attorney [10.24] and Wrapup

by Jack Seabrook

The last episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour with a teleplay by James Bridges was "Power of Attorney," which aired on NBC on Monday, April 5, 1965. It was based on a short story called "Letter of the Law," by Selwyn Jepson. The story is told in epistolary form and consists of a single letter written by Agatha Tomlin to a Mrs. Browne, reporting the events surrounding the death of a woman named Mary, who was Mrs. Browne's sister and for whom Agatha was a companion.

Mary's upstairs neighbor, Mr. Jarvis, had charmed her into letting him take over her business affairs. He promptly swindled her out of all of her money and stopped visiting her, causing her to sink into a depression. One day, Agatha came home to find that Mary had taken her own life with a gun. Thinking quickly, Agatha cleaned up the scene and went upstairs to beg Jarvis to come down to see Mary, explaining that she needed advice regarding a sudden and unexpected inheritance.

In Mary's apartment, Agatha accused Jarvis of financial mismanagement and glanced into an open drawer, where she had placed Mary's gun. Jarvis grabbed the gun and pocketed it to prevent Agatha from using it on him. He then entered Mary's room. Agatha locked the door and called the police to report a shooting. Jarvis was caught in the same room as Mary's dead body, with the murder weapon in his hand. As Jarvis was taken away, Agatha suggested to the police that they also look into his handling of Mary's finances.

The first publication of Jepson's story that I have been able to find is in a 1951 collection entitled Evening Standard Detective Book, 2nd Series. An online search of the London Evening Standard archives did not reveal any prior publication in that newspaper. The story was reprinted in the July 1952 issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and then again in the mid-year 1964 Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine Anthology, which is probably where the producers of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour came across it.

Geraldine Fitzgerald as Agatha

Selwyn Jepson (1899-1989) was a British author of mystery novels and short stories who served in both World Wars. His novel and short story credits begin in 1922 and, while he seems to have stopped writing short stories by 1950 or so, he continued to publish novels until 1971. He also wrote for radio, film, and television, and his fiction was adapted for each medium. His novel Man Running (1948) was adapted into the Hitchcock film Stage Fright (1950) and "Letter of the Law" was the only work of his that was adapted for the Hitchcock TV show.

James Bridges had his work cut out for him when he was assigned to transform this seven-page story into an hour-long television drama. He expanded the story mainly by adding detail and by creating an important subplot. The show opens with a scene that is new to the story, as Jarvis, using the name Wilfred James, breaks the news to a woman named Sarah Norton that she has lost everything in the stock market. He feigns distress and promises to be back for dinner but then disappears, leaving her heartbroken. She tells the police that she met him on a plane, and the scene then cuts to a plane in flight, where James, now calling himself James Jarvis, insinuates his way into the life of Mary Cawfield and her companion, Agatha Tomlin.

Fay Bainter as Mary

These opening scenes demonstrate that Jarvis is a crook who changes names and swindles women out of their savings. He is not above seducing them to further his aims and, in a change to the short story, he not only steals Mary's money but he also steals Agatha's heart. Following the women to their hotel, Jarvis cons his way into a room near theirs; when he is alone in his room, he opens his suitcase to reveal a large amount of cash, presumably the money he stole from Mrs. Norton. The Jarvis of the TV show is more violent than the one in the story, murdering Mary's elderly lawyer in his bed in order to clear his own path to becoming her financial adviser. The murder is not shown on screen; rather, we see the old man in bed at night and Jarvis approaching his house wearing black gloves.

Jarvis's two-tiered approach to gaining the trust of Mary and Agatha proceeds apace and Agatha responds by having her hair cut in a flattering style and by wearing fashionable sunglasses. When they met and she was merely the live-in companion to a much older woman, she wore her long hair in a severe bun and rarely smiled. Mary gently prods Agatha into dating Jarvis and soon signs over her power of attorney to the con man. When Jarvis and Agatha are alone, he grabs her and kisses her, prompting her to slap him. After a pause, he slaps her in return and warns her never to do that again; by her reaction, it appears that his assertion of masculinity has won her over.

Richard Johnson as Jarvis

Soon enough, Mary's savings are lost and she commits suicide in a well-staged sequence where she puts classical music on the record player, ignores the ringing phone, and closes shutters to block out the world. Jarvis is ready to fly to Mexico City but Agatha tempts him to come to Mary's hotel suite with the promise of money. Instead of her setting things up so that he grabs the gun from the open drawer, here she shows it to him and asks him to put it in his pocket and get rid of it. When she locks him in the room with the corpse, he grabs a chair and breaks a window to try to escape. He then tries to shoot out the lock and, as a police detective bursts into the room, the detective shoots and kills Jarvis, who falls dead next to Mary's lifeless form.

Much like the unnecessary detail of having Jarvis murder Mary's lawyer off screen, this final scene is an attempt to add some excitement to what is otherwise a straightforward melodrama, demonstrating the tendency of TV shows of this era to resort to gun play. The episode as a whole is well acted and competently directed, and the script by Bridges does an acceptable job of expanding a very short story to fill the time slot, but the experience is rather bland; the actors hit all of the necessary marks but the show never comes to life.

Mary Scott Hardwicke as Sarah Norton

Harvey Hart (1928-1989) directed "Power of Attorney," but shows little of the inventiveness that he showed in "Death Scene," one of the other four episodes of the series with him behind the camera.

Star billing goes to Richard Johnson (1927-2015) as Jarvis; born in England, he was a star on stage in, among other things, the Royal Shakespeare Company. His career on screen lasted from 1950 to 2015, and included The Haunting (1963) and two episodes of Doc Martin. "Power of Attorney" was his sole appearance on the Hitchcock show. He married Kim Novak three weeks before this episode aired, but they divorced a year later. He was also offered the role of James Bond in Dr. No but turned it down, and it went instead to Sean Connery.

Geraldine Fitzgerald (1913-2005) plays Agatha. She was born in Ireland and appeared on the stage in Dublin before moving to London, where she also appeared on stage before moving into film. Coming to the U.S., she starred on Broadway and film followed--she was in movies from 1934 to 1988, including the 1939 classics, Wuthering Heights and Dark Victory. She played numerous roles on TV from 1949 to 1991 and was in one other episode of the Hitchcock series, "A Woman's Help."

Josie Lloyd as Eileen

The unfortunate Mary Cawfield was played by Fay Bainter (1893-1968), who was born in California and who began acting as a child on stage in 1898. Her movie career began in 1934 and, in 1938, she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Jezebel. She appeared in the Danny Kaye classic, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), and began appearing on TV the following year, including an episode of Thriller. "Power of Attorney" was her only appearance on the Hitchcock show and her last credited role.

Jonathan Hole as the hotel desk clerk

In smaller parts:

*Josie Lloyd (1940- ) plays Eileen, Mary's grand-niece. Josie is the daughter of the show's executive producer, Norman Lloyd, and she had a brief career on TV from 1960 to 1967, including a role on The Twilight Zone and appearances in six episodes of the Hitchcock series, including roles in "Burglar Proof," "Coming Home," and "The Star Juror."

Anthony Jochim as Mary's lawyer

*Mary Scott Hardwicke (1921-2009) plays Sarah Norton, who is swindled by Jarvis in the first scene. She was in movies from the early 1940s to the early 1960s and on TV from the early 1950s. She was seen in eight episodes of the Hitchcock show, including "The Diplomatic Corpse" and, like Fay Bainter, "Power of Attorney" was her last credited role. Married to Cedric Hardwicke from 1950 to 1961, she later wrote an autobiography, Nobody Ever Accused Me of Being a Lady, published in 2001.

Mark Sturges
as Roger

*Jonathan Hole (1904-1998) is a familiar face as the hotel desk clerk. He started out in vaudeville in the 1920s and had numerous small parts on radio, on stage, in movies, and on TV all the way up to 1990, including appearances on The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. This was his only role on the Hitchcock show.

*Mark Sturges (1941- ) plays Roger, Eileen's fiancee. This was his only appearance on the Hitchcock show and his career onscreen was rather brief, lasting from 1964 to 1974. He is notable for being the eldest son of the great film director, Preston Sturges.

*Anthony Jochim (1892-1978) has a brief part as Mary's lawyer, who is murdered off screen by Jarvis. He played many bit parts in a nearly 40-year screen career; his other appearance on the Hitchcock show was as the jury foreman in "I Saw the Whole Thing."

Thanks to Peter Enfantino for providing a copy of the short story!

Sources:
The FictionMags Index. Web. 8 July 2017.
Galactic Central. Web. 8 July 2017.
Grams, Martin, and Patrik Wikstrom. The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion. Churchville, MD: OTR Pub., 2001. Print.
Jepson, Selwyn. "Letter of the Law." Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine July 1952: 26-32. Print.
IMDb. Web. 8 July 2017.
"Power of Attorney." The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. NBC. 5 Apr. 1965. Television.
Wikipedia. Web. 8 July 2017.


James Bridges on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: An Overview and Episode Guide

James Bridges wrote or co-wrote 16 teleplays over the course of the three seasons of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. He began with "A Tangled Web," a complex re-imaging of a novel by Nicholas Blake and his most successful adaptation of a book rather than a short story. "The Star Juror," based on a French crime novel, was less successful, and it was followed by "Death and the Joyful Woman," from a novel by Ellis Peters; the show falls apart in the fourth act due to its over-reliance on a movie serial trope. "Dear Uncle George," co-written with Richard Levinson and William Link and based on their story, is highly entertaining and features a character similar to their Lt. Columbo. His last teleplay for season eight was "Run for Doom," which is satisfying from start to finish even though it is based on a short crime novel.

Of the six episodes he wrote for season nine, five were based on short stories and one of these, "The Jar," was perhaps the best entry in the entire series. "The Cadaver" was based on a story by Robert Arthur that itself had been adapted from his radio play; the script is outstanding and makes for a great episode. Next came "The Jar," based on Ray Bradbury's short story and an absolute classic. "Murder Case" was not much of a letdown, highlighted by strong performances by John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands. The only episode of this season to be taken from a novel, "Beast in View" is a disappointing adaptation of a great book and is marred by weak lead performances and awkward special effects. "The Gentleman Caller" is adapted from a short story by Veronica Parker Johns and has both a good script and good performances, while "Bed of Roses" was adapted from an unpublished story by Emily Neff and is a fast-moving, well-directed hour of television with a winning performance by Kathie Browne.

Bridges wrote five scripts for season ten and all were based on short stories. "Return of Verge Likens" is a masterpiece of suspense that is based on a story by Davis Grubb; Grubb also wrote the story that inspired "Where the Woodbine Twineth," a creepy Southern Gothic with a haunting score by Bernard Herrmann. Rivaling "The Jar" for classic status is "An Unlocked Window," one of the scariest TV episodes ever broadcast and with one of the most shocking twist endings of all time. "Death Scene" is an entertaining look at the contrast between Old Hollywood and the youth of 1965, with the great John Carradine and Vera Miles in starring roles. Last of all was "Power of Attorney," a plodding melodrama.

Had he just written "The Jar," "Return of Verge Likens," and "An Unlocked Window," James Bridges would have cemented his place as one of the great writers for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, but his many other fine contributions show why he would go on to a successful career as a screenwriter, a career that began when Norman Lloyd suggested to the young playwright that he try his hand at teleplays.

EPISODE GUIDE-JAMES BRIDGES ON THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR

Episode title-“A Tangled Web” [8.18]

Broadcast date-25 Jan. 1963

Teleplay by-James Bridges

Based on-A Tangled Web by Nicholas Blake

First print appearance-1956 novel

Notes

Watch episode-unavailable

Available on DVD?-unavailable

"A Tangled Web"

Episode title-“The Star Juror” [8.24]

Broadcast date-15 March 1963

Teleplay by-James Bridges

Based on-The Seventh Juror by Francis Didelot

First print appearance-1958 novel

Notes

Watch episode-unavailable

Available on DVD?-unavailable

"The Star Juror"

Episode title-“Death and the Joyful Woman” [8.27]

Broadcast date-12 April 1963

Teleplay by-James Bridges

Based on-Death and the Joyful Woman by Ellis Peters

First print appearance-1961 novel

Notes

Watch episode-unavailable

Available on DVD?-unavailable

"Death and the Joyful Woman"

Episode title-“Dear Uncle George” [8.30]

Broadcast date-10 May 1963

Teleplay by-William Link, Richard Levinson, and James Bridges

Based on-an unpublished story by Levinson and Link

First print appearance-none

Notes

Watch episode-unavailable

Available on DVD?-unavailable

"Dear Uncle George"

Episode title-“Run for Doom” [8.31]

Broadcast date-17 May 1963

Teleplay by-James Bridges

Based on-Run for Doom by Henry Kane

First print appearance-1960 novel

Notes

Watch episode-unavailable

Available on DVD?-unavailable

"Run for Doom"

Episode title-“The Cadaver” [9.8]

Broadcast date-17 Jan. 1964

Teleplay by-James Bridges

Based on-"The Morning After" by Andrew West

First print appearance-Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine Feb. 1964

Notes

Watch episode-unavailable

Available on DVD?-unavailable

"The Cadaver"

Episode title-“The Jar” [9.17]

Broadcast date-14 Feb. 1964

Teleplay by-James Bridges

Based on-"The Jar" by Ray Bradbury

First print appearance-Weird Tales Nov. 1944

Notes

Watch episode-unavailable

Available on DVD?-unavailable

"The Jar"

Episode title-“Murder Case” [9.20]

Broadcast date-6 March 1964

Teleplay by-James Bridges, William Link, and Richard Levinson

Based on-"Murder Case" by Max Marquis

First print appearance-London Mystery Magazine Sept. 1955

Notes

Watch episode-unavailable

Available on DVD?-unavailable

"Murder Case"

Episode title-“Beast in View” [9.22]

Broadcast date-20 March 1964

Teleplay by-James Bridges

Based on-Beast in View by Margaret Millar

First print appearance-1955 novel

Notes

Watch episode-unavailable

Available on DVD?-unavailable

"Beast in View"

Episode title-“The Gentleman Caller” [9.25]

Broadcast date-10 Apr. 1964

Teleplay by-James Bridges

Based on-"The Gentleman Caller" by Veronica Parker Johns

First print appearance-Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine May 1955

Notes

Watch episode-unavailable

Available on DVD?-unavailable

"The Gentleman Caller"

Episode title-“Bed of Roses” [9.30]

Broadcast date-22 May 1964

Teleplay by-James Bridges

Based on-"No Bed of Roses" by Emily Neff

First print appearance-Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine March 1977

Notes

Watch episode-unavailable

Available on DVD?-unavailable

"Bed of Roses"

Episode title-“Return of Verge Likens” [10.1]

Broadcast date-5 Oct. 1964

Teleplay by-James Bridges

Based on-"Return of Verge Likens" by Davis Grubb

First print appearance-Collier's July 15, 1950

Notes

Watch episode-unavailable

Available on DVD?-unavailable

"Return of Verge Likens"

Episode title-“Where the Woodbine Twineth” [10.13]

Broadcast date-11 Jan. 1965

Teleplay by-James Bridges

Based on-"You Never Believe Me" by Davis Grubb

First print appearance-Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine Feb. 1964

Notes

Watch episode-unavailable

Available on DVD?-unavailable

"Where the Woodbine Twineth"

Episode title-“An Unlocked Window” [10.17]

Broadcast date-15 Feb. 1965

Teleplay by-James Bridges

Based on-"An Unlocked Window" by Ethel Lina White

First print appearance-The Novel Magazine April 1934

Notes

Watch episode-unavailable

Available on DVD?-unavailable

"An Unlocked Window"

Episode title-“Death Scene” [10.20]

Broadcast date-8 March 1965

Teleplay by-James Bridges

Based on-"Death Scene" by Helen Nielsen

First print appearance-Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine May 1963

Notes

Watch episode-unavailable

Available on DVD?-unavailable

"Death Scene"

Episode title-“Power of Attorney” [10.24]

Broadcast date-5 April 1965

Teleplay by-James Bridges

Based on-"Letter of the Law" by Selwyn Jepson

First print appearance-Evening Standard Detective Book, 2nd Series, 1951

Notes

Watch episode-unavailable

Available on DVD?-unavailable

"Power of Attorney"

In two weeks: Our brief series on Charles Beaumont begins with "Backward, Turn Backward," starring Tom Tully!

The Hitchcock Project-James Bridges Part Fourteen: Death Scene [10.20]

by Jack Seabrook

When I wrote my series on Robert Bloch's contributions to the Alfred Hitchcock TV show, I wondered why I did not see an episode with a scene that stuck in my head after I saw it in 1988 when the USA network ran the entire series. The scene involved John Carradine in a wheelchair asking a young man named Dancer to dance for him. I have now located that episode, and it's as good as I remembered; aspects of the story remind me of the work of Robert Bloch, but "Death Scene" is actually based on a short story of the same name by a mystery writer named Helen Nielsen, and the teleplay is another fine piece of adaptation by James Bridges.

Helen Nielsen was an American writer who lived from 1918 to 2002. The first of her 18 mystery novels was The Kind Man, published in 1951, and she had about 50 stories published in the digests between 1954 and 1991. She also wrote teleplays and had some of her works adapted for the screen, mostly on television, from 1959 to 1982. Five episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents featured her work as well as a single episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, "Death Scene," which aired on NBC on Monday, March 8, 1965.

"Death Scene" first appeared here

In Nielsen's short story, which first appeared in the May 1963 issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, auto mechanic Leo Manfred is smitten when Monica Revere brings her father's Duesenberg in for repair. A ladies' man, he drives her home to Mon-Vere, the fading Hollywood estate built by her father, film director Gavin Revere, for his bride, Monica Parrish. Leo is 30 years old and went to see Monica's movies when he was 11 or 12. Revere was injured while playing polo and ended up in a wheelchair; his wife divorced him and disappeared.

Leo sets his sights on the valuable property and resolves to seduce the film director's lovely daughter. Bonding with the older man over talk of the expensive car, Leo quickly appeals to his daughter, Monica, and the courtship is rapid and successful, though Monica shuns "popular clubs and bright lights." Leo soon becomes "firmly entrenched at Mon-Vere" and observes that the rear of the property is in disrepair and overlooks "a sheer drop of at least two hundred feet."

Leo proposes marriage and Revere agrees, with the condition that Leo purchase a $50,000 insurance policy naming Monica as beneficiary. After the arrangements have been made, Leo, Monica, and Gavin discuss honeymoons on the rear patio, near the crumbling wall that overlooks the precipice. Monica sits on the wall and Leo moves to keep her from falling,  but as he does so Gavin pushes him over the edge and he falls to his death. As he falls, he sees Monica's face clearly and realizes she is Revere's wife, not his daughter.

Vera Miles as Nikki Revere

The life insurance check is delivered and the Reveres agree that the money will come in handy for Gavin's comeback as a director.

James Bridges adapted "Death Scene" for the small screen and top talent was used to ensure that it made an engrossing hour of television. Harvey Hart directed the show and Vera Miles stars as Nikki Revere, while the great Hollywood actor John Carradine plays Gavin Revere and young star James Farentino plays Leo Manfred.

As the opening credits appear, we hear a musical theme on brass and strings and know that we are in for another treat, because the score of this episode was composed by Bernard Herrmann and lives up to his usual high standards. Establishing shots show the gate to Mon-Vere and its grounds; the famously elaborate and expensive Beverly House compound was used for location filming. The property once was owned by William Randolph Hearst and has been seen in many films, including The Godfather.

James Farentino as Leo

Nikki (as Monica is called here) emerges from the house wearing a scarf and sunglasses and checks her face in the mirror; Hart uses a mirror shot to provide the first look at her close up. Inside the house, Gavin watches her from a window and then wheels himself through an ornate room. She drives through the streets on her way to the garage and her classic British car is in contrast with the modern vehicles that surround it. This opening sequence is brief and wordless; the scene then shifts to the garage, where the show begins to track Nielsen's story.

James Bridges adds a buddy character named Dancer Smith, an aspiring actor who is both co-worker and roommate to Leo Manfred. Adding this character allows Leo to express his thoughts in conversation. Hart uses various low- and high-angle shots to keep the scene in the garage interesting, including alternating zooms on Leo and Nikki as their eyes lock while he revs the motor, suggesting that his heart races at the sight of her. Unlike the story, Leo insists on driving her home (rather than being told to do so) and, as he drives, he puts popular music on the radio, begins to bop around in his seat, and asks Nikki if she does the Swim or the Watusi. Instead of the faint smile she gives Leo in the story, Nikki does a sultry swim move at the door before disappearing into the house.

John Carradine as Gavin

This entire conversation is new to the teleplay; in the story, Leo did not know who Nikki was until they got to her house, while in the show, he recognizes her right away and takes the initiative to drive her home so he can talk to her about her parents' films. Here begins one significant change from the story that helps set up the show's surprise ending: Leo mentions that Nikki's parents' careers started in silent films, meaning that they are much older than they are in the short story. The silent era ended almost 40 years before 1965, when the show was broadcast, and Leo remarks that he has seen some of the films on The Late Show. In the story, he saw them as a child, less than 20 years before, which makes it more plausible that Nikki could convince him she is Revere's daughter rather than his wife.

Buck Taylor as Dancer

A new scene follows in Leo's apartment as he and Dancer discuss Nikki's parents and their estate; in the story, a similar conversation occurs between Leo and his boss at the garage. Leo and Dancer then ride Dancer's motorcycle to Mon-Vere after dark, where Leo rings in and Nikki tells him to go away. There is an extended scene between Leo and Gavin, where the old director warns Leo to stay away from Nikki. Leo pulls an ignition cable from the car, is summoned back to Mon-Vere, and has another scene with Gavin. The young Lothario casually tosses a rock into the large, empty swimming pool and looks over the edge of the cliff at the far end of the property, also tossing a rock down into this abyss and showing how much farther the drop is there than it is into the pool. His courtship with Nikki seems to occur entirely at Mon-Vere, while in the story they go out to secluded night spots.

After another scene with Dancer at the apartment, where Nikki telephones Leo, Leo speaks to Gavin about marriage and pushes the old man's wheelchair slowly along the edge of the pool, suggesting that he's thinking about causing an accident, then pushes him near the edge of the precipice. Bernard Herrmann's score features descending and ascending plucked strings and ominous horns to add to the sense of menace.

Mon-Vere

Dancer then brings Leo to Mon-Vere and Leo invites him in, leading to Dancer's finger-snapping, hand-clapping demonstration of modern dance that involves acrobatic flips and nearly ends in Dancer going over the edge of the cliff. This results in more discussion of the retaining wall and the 100-foot drop that is beyond it. Gavin screens Death Scene for his guests in his private home theater. It is a silent film and Leo and Dancer laugh loudly at the dated story and exaggerated acting; Gavin, offended, throws them out. In the film, Monica Parrish, Gavin's wife, plays an orphan named Susu. This scene corresponds to an earlier one in the short story where Leo tells Nikki that the small shrine her father has built around his Oscar statuette is stupid; here, his alcohol-fueled behavior drives a wedge between him and Gavin.

Later, Leo calls Nikki and she says that Gavin has forbidden her to see him. She invites him over the next morning, saying that they'll speak to Gavin together. By the pool, Gavin tells Nikki that she must choose between him and Leo. She approaches Leo as if to embrace him but then shoves him backward toward the edge of the pool. Gavin wheels forward and provides the final push. Instead of falling 100 or 200 feet over the edge of a cliff, Leo falls into the nearly empty pool and is killed. We see his body floating in a few inches of water at the bottom, in a shot slightly reminiscent of the one that frames Sunset Boulevard.

Why did James Bridges decide to have Leo die in a fall into a pool rather than over the side of a cliff? Perhaps it was easier to film and more dramatic to see Leo's body clearly from the point of view of Gavin and Nikki, not far away. Unlike the short story, Leo never seems to realize that Nikki is really Gavin's wife. Bridges cleverly foreshadows the ending near the beginning of the show, when Leo asks Nikki about the dance called the Swim and she shows him that she knows how to do it; subsequent scenes showing the pool and the one where Leo wheels Gavin along its edge suggest a pool-related accident is coming, but until the end of the hour it's not clear whether the fall will occur there or at the edge of the property, much less who will be the one to fall.

Virginia Aldridge as Susu

James Bridges has one final surprise up his sleeve, a surprise that Helen Nielsen later called "an added twist-on-my-twist ending" that she "loved." There is no sign of the insurance agent who appears in the story. Instead, Nikki speaks by telephone with her daughter Susu (recall the name of the character in Death Scene), who is shown taking care of her own small child. As Nikki talks, she removes makeup in front of a mirror, including small appliances that hide wrinkled skin. She removes her long, blond wig and is revealed to be an old, wrinkled woman with wispy, white hair. It is a shock to see the young, beautiful Vera Miles transform into the elderly character. This is a conscious, dramatic choice that works well on the TV screen but would not work as well on the printed page. In Nielsen's story, Monica Parrish is a middle-aged woman who convinces Leon that she is 15 to 20 years younger than she really is by wearing scarves and hats and avoiding bright light. In the TV show, Vera Miles plays her real age but then makeup is used in the final shots to age her a good 40 years, making it plausible that she had been a young woman when she acted in silent films and is now an old woman in 1965. The transformation requires some suspension of disbelief but, as with other such shocking transformations in classic TV shows, it was seen originally on a small, black and white TV by viewers who were not expecting it and who did not have the advantage of watching it in high definition and freezing the frame. In 1965, this climax must have been quite a surprise!

Nick Borgani as Sam Gread

In a sense, "Death Scene" is the flip side of "An Unlocked Window," since both shows feature key characters who disguise their identity and reveal it in the final moments. In "An Unlocked Window," a man dresses as a woman and is unmasked as he commits a murder. In "Death Scene," a woman uses makeup to pass as a younger woman, and removes the makeup to reveal her real face after committing a murder.

Harvey Hart (1928-1989) does a superb job of pacing in his direction of "Death Scene," and the narrative never slows down. He uses occasional mirror shots and angled shots to make the show visually interesting. Hart was a Canadian director who worked mostly in episodic TV from 1955 to 1989; he directed five episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.

Vince Williams as Our Hero

Playing Nikki Revere is the gorgeous Vera Miles (1929 or 1930- ), who was Miss Kansas in 1948 and who had a long career in movies and on TV from 1950 to 1995. She was in "Revenge," the very first episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and she appeared in two episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. Among her many film roles were parts in Ford's The Searchers (1956) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), and Hitchcock's The Wrong Man (1956) and Psycho (1960). She was on The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. Famously, she was supposed to star in Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958) but got pregnant and was replaced by Kim Novak.

The great film actor John Carradine (1906-1988) plays Gavin Revere. He was the father of film stars Keith and David Carradine and he was on stage, in film, and finally on TV for over 60 years, from 1930 to his death. Among his many great films were The Grapes of Wrath (1940), Man Hunt (1942), and House of Frankenstein (1944); he also appeared in other films directed by John Ford and Fritz Lang, as well as other horror pictures. This was his only appearance on the Hitchcock show, but he made memorable appearances on The Twilight Zone, Thriller, and Night Gallery.

James Farentino (1938-2012) plays Leo. Born in Brooklyn, he was in two episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour ("The Black Curtain" was the other) and his career on screen lasted from the early 1960s until 2006. He was also on Night Gallery as well as several short-lived TV series.

Leonard Yorr as Wagner

Looking like a cross between Tony Dow and a young Burt Reynolds, Buck Taylor (1938- ) demonstrates acrobatic skill as Dancer Smith. The son of Dub Taylor, he has been on screen since 1961 and is still working; he was a regular on Gunsmoke from 1967 to 1975 and was seen on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour twice, as well as on The Outer Limits. He has a website here.

In smaller roles:

*Leonard Yorr (1915-1994) plays Wagner, Leo's boss at the garage; this was his only appearance on the Hitchcock show and he made a handful of appearances on screen from 1952 to 1972.

Horace Brown as Harry (?)

*Virginia Aldridge (1938- ) plays Susu, Gavin's real daughter; she had a brief career on screen and appeared on Star Trek as well as in "Final Vow" on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. She made two films with intriguing titles: Riot in Juvenile Prison and High School Big Shot, both in 1959.

*Captain Horace Brown (1905-1972) plays Harry, who (I think) has a brief scene as another mechanic at the garage; he has five credits on IMDb.

*Nick Borgani (1904-1987) plays villain Sam Gread in Death Scene. He had a career that spanned over 40 years on screen but most of his roles seem to have been uncredited bit parts.

*Vince Williams plays Our Hero in Death Scene; he was in four episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, including "Starring the Defense."

Sources:

"“The Bodyguard” Mansion – Aka The Beverly House Compound | IAMNOTASTALKER." IAMNOTASTALKER The Bodyguard Mansion Aka The Beverly House Compound Comments. Web. 24 June 2017.

"Death Scene." The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. NBC. 8 Mar. 1965. Television.

The FictionMags Index. Web. 24 June 2017.

Galactic Central. Web. 27 June 2017.

Grams, Martin, and Patrik Wikstrom. The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion. Churchville, MD: OTR Pub., 2001. Print.

"Helen Berniece Nielsen." Contemporary Authors Online. Gale, 2003. Web. 24 June 2017.

IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 24 June 2017.

Nielsen, Helen. "Death Scene." 1963. Hitchcock in Prime Time. New York: Avon, 1985. 330-41. Print.

Norris, J. F. "Pretty Sinister Books." FFB: The Kind Man - Helen Nielsen. 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 24 June 2017.

Stephensen-Payne, Phil. "Galactic Central." Galactic Central. Web. 24 June 2017.

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 June 2017. Web. 24 June 2017.

In two weeks: We conclude our series on James Bridges with a look at "Power of Attorney," starring Richard Johnson and Geraldine Fitzgerald!