Alfred Hitchcock Presents 1.15

The Big Switch

starring George Mathews, Beverly Michaels

directed by Don Weis

Sam Dunleavy (George Mathews) makes plans to kill Goldie (Beverly Michaels), his ex-girlfriend. He's sore at her for starting to date another guy while he was out of town, trying to avoid the police. Sam is being watched by the police but he gets some help from Barney, an old friend who owns a nightclub. Barney agrees to be Sam's alibi while he sneaks out of the club and kills Goldie.

Everything goes according to plan, up to a point. Sam sneaks out of the club and breaks into Goldie's apartment. He's there when she gets home but she convinces him not to kill her. He goes back to the club and arrives just in time to be blamed for shooting and fatally wounding Barney who accidentally shot himself while cleaning his pistol.

Thoughts

This was good but not great. I thought the performances weren't nuanced enough for me and plot wasn't terribly subtle. I like the twist in the end, Sam getting accused of killing one person when he had originally intended to kill someone else. 

Notes

This is the first of two episodes of this show in which George Mathews appeared. I've seen him before in an episode of The Phil Silvers Show, 1.28 Bilko and the Beast.

This is the only episode of this show in which Beverly Michaels appeared. She had a fairly short career in television and movies. Her first screen credit is from 1949 and her last was from 1956. She died in 2007.

George E. Stone played the part of Barney. This is the only episode of this show in which he appeared. He also appeared in one episode of The Twilight Zone (1959).

James Edwards played the bartender in the nightclub. This is the second of two episodes of this show in which he has appeared. The first was 1.07  Breakdown.

This episode is based on a story by Cornell Woolrich. This is the first of three episodes of this show that Woolrich had a hand in writing. He also had a hand in writing episodes of Suspense, Four Star Playhouse, Suspicion, and the Alfred Hitchcock Hour. He wrote the story upon which Rear Window (1954) was based. Other movies that I have seen that were written (in whole or in part) by Woolrich include Fear in the Night (1947), Never Open That Door (1952), and If I Should Die Before I Wake (1952).

This was the second of five episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents that Don Weis directed. The first was 1.12 Santa Claus and the 10th Ave Kid. He also directed episodes of Four Star Playhouse, The Twilight Zone (1959), Kraft Suspense Theatre, Batman (1966), and Kolchak: The Night Stalker.