Joseph Cotton plays a cheating husband who's parked on a remote "Lovers Lane" with lovely Julie Adams (she's also "seeing" someone else) when he's accosted by a young hoodlum (Don Gordon) who seems bent on not only robbing the couple, but making life even more miserable for them. At gunpoint, Gordon lays on the insults to Cotton (much fun is made of his name "Courtney Masterson") and then demands that he get into the trunk of his own car. But the tables are turned quickly as Cotton knocks Gordon down and somehow ends up with the gun. Gordon pulls out a knife, but...now it's Cotton who's giving the orders, and after much pleading, the would-be robber is forced into the trunk himself. Ms. Adams naturally wants to know what Cotton's plan of action is now that Gordon is safely locked up, but Cotton isn't sure what to do. Going to the police is ruled out because it would be too much bad publicity for both of them. After driving her home, he takes a ride back out close to the original scene of the crime. After releasing Gordon, the two have some words and Gordon assures Cotton that he hasn't seen the last of him. Cotton has other ideas about that; he puts a bullet through the fellow's heart. Cotton now feels that it's safe to go to the police and concocts a story about how he picked up "hitch-hiker" Gordon and then an attempted robbery ensued. According to his tale of woe to the cops, Cotton wrestled the gun from Gordon (almost true) and then shot him when the firearm went off "accidently." After checking Gordon's dubious past, Cotton is able to finally go home and it looks like he's in the clear. There's no further investigation and no marital infidelity exposed either. But...a few days later in his office, Cotton receives a visitor who identifies himself to his receptionist as a detective. When the fellow enters his office, he tells Cotton that he's a Private Investigator hired by his wife to keep tabs on him. It seems that she's suspected all along that he's been cheating on her. Then the payoff: the P.I. throws Gordon's knife on his desk and tells Cotton that he saw the attempted robbery out at Lovers Lane. He watched the whole sordid affair in which Gordon ended up in the trunk of Cotton's car. At that point, the Investigator informs Cotton that he doesn't have to report his infidelity to his wife or go to the police after all. He's only interested in blackmailing Cotton for all he's worth. With Gordon's death on his hands, our hero is caught between a rock and a hard place. And that's where the story ends. This episode was directed by Stuart Rosenberg who went on to direct features like "Cool Hand Luke," among others. The cast is in peak form in this entry, but there is one complaint: Julie Adams isn't given enough screen time. Host Hitchcock was keen to have some of his shows end ambiguously. This is one of them.
Review of Dead Weight
