As I recall, this is one of the episodes that helped put the series on the TV map, probably because it's an imaginative take on a legendary double murder. So why did Lizzie Border take an axe and give her parents 81-whacks. Well, a breakfast of cold mutton does sound like it could addle the brain. Just the thought makes me gag. Anyway, to find out why, we're given lots of talk and few scene changes. Happily, strong acting and direction do a lot to compensate. Basically, the story's a drawing room drama with gripping undercurrents. On the cast side, I especially like Joan Loring as the innocent looking Emma, Lizzie's sister.The baby-face actress had a short but stellar career in 40's noir. Then too, Carmen Mathews is commanding as the intimidating Lizzie, while Polly Bowles is duly tricky as the inquiring reporter. In fact, for 30-minutes there's not a man in sight, which strikes me as unusual for the time.
I doubt that any other series could have gotten away with the ending, which is one reason many of us were drawn to the format at the time. Note too that Hitch doesn't balance the scales in his epilogue. Rather, we're left with a contemplative fade-out that seems ironically appropriate given the case's actual history. Anyway, it's a riveting character study, courtesy sedate New England, 1892.
I doubt that any other series could have gotten away with the ending, which is one reason many of us were drawn to the format at the time. Note too that Hitch doesn't balance the scales in his epilogue. Rather, we're left with a contemplative fade-out that seems ironically appropriate given the case's actual history. Anyway, it's a riveting character study, courtesy sedate New England, 1892.