A no-limit game of poker brings a real estate man to the brink of ruin.A no-limit game of poker brings a real estate man to the brink of ruin.A no-limit game of poker brings a real estate man to the brink of ruin.
Francis De Sales
- Card Player
- (as Francis de Sales)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- Quotes
Sam Klinker: Mason, friendship ceases when the first card is dealt.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Perpetual Grace, LTD: Eleven (2019)
- SoundtracksFuneral March of a Marionette
Written by Charles Gounod
Featured review
Cards on the table
Absolutely loved the title and the premise sounded intriguing, actually one of the more interesting ones of Season 2 up to this point. Adding further to the intrigue is that "Crack of Doom" is the fourth 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' epidode directed by regular James Neilson (a relative regular for good reason). All his three previous outings ("Help Wanted", "The Orderly World of Mr Appleby" and "The Legacy") are worth watching, while neither being season or show high points.
So is "Crack of Doom". As far as Season 2 goes, it's somewhere firmly in the middle. Not one of the best or one of the worst, and doesn't fare too badly compared to the relatively mixed bag of episodes before it (where only "Conversation With a Corpse" was above very good). It doesn't quite live up to its great title but as far as the premise goes, it is more or less what was expected or maybe just a little bit less. Not a waste of potential by all means.
"Crack of Doom" has a lot of good. It is a slick looking episode and Neilson directs more than competently, with a mostly assured pace and a sense that he knew what he was doing. Hitchcock's bookending is as enjoyable and drolly ironic as ever, not coming as out of place. The main theme for the series has lost none of its memorability.
The script is thought provoking while not taking itself too seriously or coming over as verbose, it's also fun. The story does grip generally, it is straightforward but it isn't too simple while with nothing that is too challenging. Ray Collins carries the episode with confidence.
It's not a perfect episode by any stretch. There are no real surprises, with the ending being very predictable this time.
Wouldn't have said no to more suspense, this was a premise that was crying out for it and there wasn't enough of it in the final quarter. Also thought that it slackened towards the end in energy when the story struggles to reach the duration limit.
Overall, not great but pretty good. 7/10.
So is "Crack of Doom". As far as Season 2 goes, it's somewhere firmly in the middle. Not one of the best or one of the worst, and doesn't fare too badly compared to the relatively mixed bag of episodes before it (where only "Conversation With a Corpse" was above very good). It doesn't quite live up to its great title but as far as the premise goes, it is more or less what was expected or maybe just a little bit less. Not a waste of potential by all means.
"Crack of Doom" has a lot of good. It is a slick looking episode and Neilson directs more than competently, with a mostly assured pace and a sense that he knew what he was doing. Hitchcock's bookending is as enjoyable and drolly ironic as ever, not coming as out of place. The main theme for the series has lost none of its memorability.
The script is thought provoking while not taking itself too seriously or coming over as verbose, it's also fun. The story does grip generally, it is straightforward but it isn't too simple while with nothing that is too challenging. Ray Collins carries the episode with confidence.
It's not a perfect episode by any stretch. There are no real surprises, with the ending being very predictable this time.
Wouldn't have said no to more suspense, this was a premise that was crying out for it and there wasn't enough of it in the final quarter. Also thought that it slackened towards the end in energy when the story struggles to reach the duration limit.
Overall, not great but pretty good. 7/10.
helpful•113
- TheLittleSongbird
- May 4, 2022
Details
- Runtime30 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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