Sometimes we are better off not getting what we wish for. That's what the conniving Jack Cassidy has happen. He pushes the woman he loves into a marriage with an old sick, very rich man, thinking he will benefit from his fortune when the old guy dies. But things have a way of going in other directions. A well thought out and pleasantly displayed victory for a woman who could have been destroyed.
6 Reviews
No murder, just a great irony
AlsExGal9 January 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Alfred Hitchcock was not just about murder and the wrongly accused, he also had a great deal of insight into human behavior and was a master of irony. I'm just going to spoil this episode outright to prove my point. Plus it is one of my favorites. Charlotte, a 25 year old woman has a poor boyfriend, Mark, but a rich old man (65 years old),Howard, wants to marry her. Mark urges her to do so. He is in poor health and plus he is old! This just shows how much things have changed in 55 years. A 65 year old man, especially with the money to buy state of the art medical procedures, could today be expected to perhaps reach the century mark. But back to our story.
Thinking she'll be free in two or three years tops, Charlotte marries Howard and figures that once a widow she will inherit millions and then marry the boyfriend. Five years pass and the old man lives on! Charlotte wants to leave and goes to talk it over with Mark - who technically has NOT been her boyfriend since she married. She is true to the old man. Charlotte wants to leave Howard and salvage what she has of her youth - remember 30 was reaching middle age in 1961 - with the man she loves. Instead she walks in on Mark with another woman. And they are NOT having a quilting bee! Charlotte then leaves and goes back to her rich husband, Howard, cutting off any communication with the untrue boyfriend.
Several (10?) more years pass, and Charlotte hears from Mark again. This time he brings a son with him - a son Charlotte has never had given the age of her husband, and he uses her affection for the boy to get back in her life. His son, Billy, is motherless, the mother having died a few years back.
Well Howard just keeps on going like the energizer bunny and finally dies on Howard and Charlotte's 25th wedding anniversary at the age of 90, just as he has given her the 25th pearl for her anniversary necklace - he gave her one for every year of their marriage.
Is Mark in like flint with Billy bridging any past problems between himself and Charlotte? Not exactly....you see Billy is now 18, and 50 year old Charlotte decides to reclaim her youth by marrying Billy! Maybe Billy does love her in some odd way, or maybe he is figuring she is 50 how long can she live? And so the whole thing starts all over again, with Mark still out in the cold.
Don't think it isn't worth watching just because I told the entire story to you. The fun is in the little touches that Hitchcock does in the direction. Highly recommended, and I haven't seen this episode in decades!
Thinking she'll be free in two or three years tops, Charlotte marries Howard and figures that once a widow she will inherit millions and then marry the boyfriend. Five years pass and the old man lives on! Charlotte wants to leave and goes to talk it over with Mark - who technically has NOT been her boyfriend since she married. She is true to the old man. Charlotte wants to leave Howard and salvage what she has of her youth - remember 30 was reaching middle age in 1961 - with the man she loves. Instead she walks in on Mark with another woman. And they are NOT having a quilting bee! Charlotte then leaves and goes back to her rich husband, Howard, cutting off any communication with the untrue boyfriend.
Several (10?) more years pass, and Charlotte hears from Mark again. This time he brings a son with him - a son Charlotte has never had given the age of her husband, and he uses her affection for the boy to get back in her life. His son, Billy, is motherless, the mother having died a few years back.
Well Howard just keeps on going like the energizer bunny and finally dies on Howard and Charlotte's 25th wedding anniversary at the age of 90, just as he has given her the 25th pearl for her anniversary necklace - he gave her one for every year of their marriage.
Is Mark in like flint with Billy bridging any past problems between himself and Charlotte? Not exactly....you see Billy is now 18, and 50 year old Charlotte decides to reclaim her youth by marrying Billy! Maybe Billy does love her in some odd way, or maybe he is figuring she is 50 how long can she live? And so the whole thing starts all over again, with Mark still out in the cold.
Don't think it isn't worth watching just because I told the entire story to you. The fun is in the little touches that Hitchcock does in the direction. Highly recommended, and I haven't seen this episode in decades!
Better than expected
talonjensen19 April 2018
This episode was much better than I expected, the writing is good, the acting even better (for the time) and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The ending is very predictable once you are slightly over half way through the episode, but it was still nicely done and worth watching.
No writer today would write something like this where some characters seem "happy enough" with their choices without feeling great mental anguish or socially acceptable justice. But, the main amoral character does get lampooned in the end.
The ending actually struck me as comical justice and made me smile in spite of being not entirely "politically correct".
The ending is very predictable once you are slightly over half way through the episode, but it was still nicely done and worth watching.
No writer today would write something like this where some characters seem "happy enough" with their choices without feeling great mental anguish or socially acceptable justice. But, the main amoral character does get lampooned in the end.
The ending actually struck me as comical justice and made me smile in spite of being not entirely "politically correct".
AN ALFRED HITCHCOCK SOAP OPERA!
tcchelsey15 March 2023
Peggy O'Shea, long time writer of soap operas, such as ONE LIFE TO LIVE and SEARCH FOR TOMORROW, not to forget PEYTON PLACE, wrote this fabulous story. Hitch had to have endorsed this one.
Hazel Court, a staple in horror films, plays a beautiful young woman who happens to meet up with elderly millionaire Ernest Treux (and with a twinkle in his eye). Object: MONEY. But not what you think. The old man makes a deal with her to merely keep him "company" for a short time, and she will inherit millions for her "kindness"? It turns out to be 25 YEARS!
There's also the soapy side story with her ex-beau Jack Cassidy, who decides to stick to plans and wait it out --or does he? And what really becomes of their relationship?
Don Weis directed this with his usual flair. He did lots of campy films to his credit, and applies a bizarre charm to this classic episode. The dinner scenes with this odd couple take the cake.
For chiller buffs, Hazel Court's next big film would be THE PREMATURE BURIEL, opposite Ray Milland.
SEASON 6 (1961) CBS/Universal remastered dvd box set.
Hazel Court, a staple in horror films, plays a beautiful young woman who happens to meet up with elderly millionaire Ernest Treux (and with a twinkle in his eye). Object: MONEY. But not what you think. The old man makes a deal with her to merely keep him "company" for a short time, and she will inherit millions for her "kindness"? It turns out to be 25 YEARS!
There's also the soapy side story with her ex-beau Jack Cassidy, who decides to stick to plans and wait it out --or does he? And what really becomes of their relationship?
Don Weis directed this with his usual flair. He did lots of campy films to his credit, and applies a bizarre charm to this classic episode. The dinner scenes with this odd couple take the cake.
For chiller buffs, Hazel Court's next big film would be THE PREMATURE BURIEL, opposite Ray Milland.
SEASON 6 (1961) CBS/Universal remastered dvd box set.
Not much like an episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents"
planktonrules16 April 2021
When the episode begins, Mr. Rutherford (Ernest Truex) surprises his young secretary (Hazel Court) by proposing marriage! He's 65 years-old and claims to have a weak heart...and is very blunt about the money she will inherit if she marries him. She initially says no, as she's engaged to Mark (Jack Cassidy)...and tells Mr. Rutherford this. He doesn't seem to care...and he just wants to have a pretty wife for his final years. It turns out Mark actually LIKES the idea, as he thinks it's worth it for his fiancée to inherit $11,000,000...and he plans to just marrying her once Rutherford is dead. Not exactly a romantic, is he? But then a problem occurs...she marries Rutherford and Rutherford unexpectedly lives much, much longer!
This was an enjoyable episode but seemed completely unlike an episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents". There really is no twist, no dark elements...nothing of the sort. For fans who want this mayhem and murder, you might want to skip this one...though I actually thought it was a nice change of pace.
This was an enjoyable episode but seemed completely unlike an episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents". There really is no twist, no dark elements...nothing of the sort. For fans who want this mayhem and murder, you might want to skip this one...though I actually thought it was a nice change of pace.
"Is it gonna kill you to hold his hand?"
classicsoncall14 February 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Talk about robbing the cradle! This episode took the concept and stood it on its head. Kind of creepy too if you think about it from a woman's point of view. The only one to blame here was that money grubbing boyfriend (Jack Cassidy) of Charlotte Jameson (Hazel Court). Charlotte would have married him in spite of missing out on an eleven million dollar payday, but he talked her into marrying sixty five year old Howard Rutherford, thinking the man would kick off in a year's time. As the years rolled by and Charlotte collected another pearl with each passing birthday, Mark Lansing (Cassidy) married, had a son, and divorced, leaving him pining for his old flame. His second mistake was introducing his ten year old boy to Charlotte, who took to him immediately since her husband was too old to start a family. Fast forward another ten years, and Howard finally breathes his last, which by the way, was one of the most awkward death scenes ever. Free now to marry a younger man, Charlotte decides to do just that, and poor, foolish Mark never saw it coming!
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