All five of Arthur Hiller's previous episodes are watchable, though only "Post Mortem" really was great. Likewise with all the other eleven episodes that followed "And the Desert Shall Blossom". His output (seventeen episodes altogether) was inconsistent, not unexpected as none of the regular directors for 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' were consistent, but none of his episodes misfired massively or season or series low points. The premise was one of those could go either way ones, but the episode was still seen for the cast and as someone who likes the series a lot.
Seeing it, "And the Desert Shall Blossom" left me a little mixed. It's a fun episode that knows exactly what it's doing in tone, but there are episodes of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' that have much stronger and far more plausible stories. Anybody who likes light hearted are likely to love it, personally am one of those people and the series has plenty of good light-hearted entries. There are also episodes that don't sound appealing, but manage to be a lot more entertaining and suspenseful than they sound and was hoping "And the Desert Shall Blossom" would be one of those. Something it doesn't quite do.
The best aspect is the acting, which is absolutely great. Especially William Demarest, who was clearly having a lot of fun. The chemistry between the actors also entertains. As said, "And the Desert Shall Blossom" takes a light hearted approach and it's executed very amusingly and playfully. Loved the droll irony of Hitchcock's bookending and Hitchcock's wry delivery of it.
Furthermore, the production values are slick and atmospheric, neither overblown or cheap. The theme music is still a classic. The dialogue is entertaining and thought provoking, while not being too reliant on too much talk. It also doesn't come over as dull.
Did, as said, find the story patchy. It sounds quite silly on paper, and in execution not only does it go overboard on the silliness the whole premise is one big stretch stretched to the limit. A lot of it doesn't make much sense and requires some serious suspension of disbelief.
Was disappointed by the ending, which for my tastes was very prematurely predictable and indifferently staged. The music has too much of a recycled quality and despite the light hearted-ness of the episode's tone, there is an offbeat-ness that doesn't always gel.
Overall, decent if unexceptional. 6/10.
Seeing it, "And the Desert Shall Blossom" left me a little mixed. It's a fun episode that knows exactly what it's doing in tone, but there are episodes of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' that have much stronger and far more plausible stories. Anybody who likes light hearted are likely to love it, personally am one of those people and the series has plenty of good light-hearted entries. There are also episodes that don't sound appealing, but manage to be a lot more entertaining and suspenseful than they sound and was hoping "And the Desert Shall Blossom" would be one of those. Something it doesn't quite do.
The best aspect is the acting, which is absolutely great. Especially William Demarest, who was clearly having a lot of fun. The chemistry between the actors also entertains. As said, "And the Desert Shall Blossom" takes a light hearted approach and it's executed very amusingly and playfully. Loved the droll irony of Hitchcock's bookending and Hitchcock's wry delivery of it.
Furthermore, the production values are slick and atmospheric, neither overblown or cheap. The theme music is still a classic. The dialogue is entertaining and thought provoking, while not being too reliant on too much talk. It also doesn't come over as dull.
Did, as said, find the story patchy. It sounds quite silly on paper, and in execution not only does it go overboard on the silliness the whole premise is one big stretch stretched to the limit. A lot of it doesn't make much sense and requires some serious suspension of disbelief.
Was disappointed by the ending, which for my tastes was very prematurely predictable and indifferently staged. The music has too much of a recycled quality and despite the light hearted-ness of the episode's tone, there is an offbeat-ness that doesn't always gel.
Overall, decent if unexceptional. 6/10.