User Reviews

It almost feels like cheating to write about this episode and the next because they are parts of a larger story. The principal characters are introduced here, and the murder mystery that follows is made complicated by the actions of multiple claimants to the death of Count Victor Mattoni (Anthony Dawson). Interestingly, all have credible stories with evidence to back them up. Bernard K. Froy (Charles Cooper) is an American businessman who wrote Mattoni a letter that implicates himself, and he becomes the first, and at this point, only suspect. The plot thickens in Part 2 of 'I Killed the Count'.

In the years that ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS was part of television the format was stories that were told in half an hour episodes. Later the episodes were expanded to full hour episodes. But only once did the show try to do this format: a three part retelling of the story, which was based on a play by Alec Coppel (who did the novel for MR. DENNING DRIVES NORTH and worked on the screenplay for VERTIGO). Coppel's play had (by 1957) been twice telecast in Great Britain, once in the late 1930s and once in 1947. But given the 30 minute episodes (actually more like 24 minutes due to commercial interruptions) there were three half-hour episodes that were made for the series. It was never repeated, possibly because it required a degree of exposition of the previous episodes before the next one could be shown.

Count Victor Mattoni (Anthony Dawson) is found shot in the head by a maid (Patricia Hitchcock - Hitch's daughter) in his London flat. The case is being handled by Inspector Davidson (John Williams) assisted by Detective Raines, a new man at the Yard (Charles Davis). In the course of the investigation Davidson constantly finds Raines an ironic counterpoint due to what he has to what they both discover, and Raines honest (perhaps too honest) reaction to the evidence or statements.

For soon they are deluged by statements. It seems that Mattoni was a bad gentleman, and he may have had more enemies than a man should. For instance, Viscount Storrington (Alan Napier) hated Mattoni for his treatment of his daughter, whom the Count has married. There is a child by the marriage. The Count wants custody of the child, and has threatened to take his bitter wife to court for a fight for the custody, unless she agrees to return to him. Then there is Bernard Froy, a wealthy American sportsman, who is in love with Countess Mattoni, and has written him a threatening note (which Mattoni is using for some blackmail) and now wants to get the letter back. Then there is Mullett (Melville Cooper) who works in the hotel, and whom Inspector Davidson claims that he seems to recall having seen before. Cooper cannot place Froy in the hotel, but he can place Storrington there.

The secret of the play is that several of the characters confess to the murder of the ogre Count. Davidson and Raines have to sort it out, in the wake of a fourth confession. In the end of Part III they have an answer, but they realize it is not an easy answer for the law to reach justice here as in a normal case.

The performances were all good, especially Williams again as a Scotland Yard Inspector. A young Rosemary Harris as another person who is in the ill-fated residential hotel rounds out the cast of this amusing play-let.

Except that everybody involved seems to keen to pin the blame on themselves.

Nice to see Pat Hitchcock as a Cockney maid - she screams, but at least she doesn't drop the tea tray. John Williams gives his puzzled Inspector from Dial M for Murder, and Anthony Dawson reprises his seedy villain - this time an Italian count.

Proceedings are spun out over three episodes by Hitchcock breathlessly summarising previous sections.

Several people confess, all claiming that "We struggled for the gun - it went off - it was an accident!" This doesn't fit the appearance of the corpse, with a neat hole in his temple. Nor does it fit the discovery of the cartridge in the adjoining flat. Couldn't forensics tell from the wound how far away the assailant was?

All the self-confessed killers claim they shifted the body to the armchair where it was found, with realistic re-enactments. It's really not easy to manhandle a body. Wouldn't his clothes be all rumpled after this treatment? And they weren't.

The ending is as usual a bit abrupt, and left to our imaginations.

I am enjoying catching up with this series, and relishing Hitch's witty intros and outros.