The Long Shot
- Episode aired Nov 27, 1955
- TV-14
- 30m
Heavily indebted Charlie Raymond is hired to accompany a British visitor on a trip across the USA, and looks for a way to take advantage of his employer.Heavily indebted Charlie Raymond is hired to accompany a British visitor on a trip across the USA, and looks for a way to take advantage of his employer.Heavily indebted Charlie Raymond is hired to accompany a British visitor on a trip across the USA, and looks for a way to take advantage of his employer.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAt the end of the episode, there is a promo for Alfred Hitchcock's newest film To Catch a Thief (1955), in which John Williams (Walker Hendricks) played H.H. Hughson.
- GoofsIn the beginning, Peter Lawford reads an ad in the newspaper that lists the phone number Murray Hill 3-8098. He then goes to the phone and dials the number, but the number he dials is not even close to the number in the listing.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Himself - Host: My last quarter.
[puts a quarter into a slot machine and pulls handle]
Himself - Host: I've been frightfully lucky this evening. Now if they were to invent a machine that I could play using orange seeds and cherry pits I'd be perfectly happy. All the foregoing will immediately seem justified, appropriate, clever. And even dignified, when I tell you that tonight's narrative is about a gambler. It is called "The Long Shot." If you like to bet when the odds are high and the risks great you'll appreciate our hero's philosophy. But if you prefer to put your money on a sure thing, listen to this friendly tip about a highly touted product.
- SoundtracksFuneral March of a Marionette
Written by Charles Gounod
Luckily that is the case with Stevenson with "The Long Shot". The improvement is so vast that a check to see whether it was the same person who directed both episodes was needed. It is not flawless and to me there are better episodes of Season 1 and of the series, "Breakdown" immediately coming to mind. "The Long Shot" though is very good and has enough of what makes me like 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' a good deal. Anything that manages to get a great performance out of Lawford already goes up in my estimations.
As said, Lawford is not a favourite of mine (not sure about that being a popular opinion) but it has always been dependent on the role and he did have some weak ones in his earlier years. He has a strong role here and gives a performance that is very committed, pretty subtle but never to the point of boredom and he excels at being shifty. Have always liked John Williams and felt he never gets enough credit and he does smug and distinguished very well. The supporting cast are solid.
"The Long Shot" is another well made episode, with some suitably moody photography and it is not claustrophobic or overblown looking. Stevenson is a lot more in control of the material here and directs with precision and a good eye for atmosphere for much of the time. It's hauntingly scored and the theme tune is for me one of the best uses of pre-existing classical music in television and not a conventional one. On the most part, it's scripted tightly and thoughtfully and the story compels and has a nice suspenseful atmosphere. The twist is well executed and clever, if not earth shattering perhaps.
Where "The Long Shot" is at its weakest is the over-talky and occasionally pedestrian mid-section.
Did feel too that there were moments going towards the end where suspension of disbelief is needed.
In conclusion, very well done. 8/10.
- TheLittleSongbird
- Feb 1, 2022
- Permalink
Details
- Runtime30 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1