Alfred Hitchcock Presents 1.20

And So Died Riabouchinska

starring Claude Rains

written by Ray Bradbury, Mel Dinelli

directed by Robert Stevenson

Police Detective Krovitch discovers something stranger than murder when he investigates the death of a man named Ockham whose body was found in the basement of a theater. Krovitch learns that Ockham was there to see John Fabian (Claude Rains), a ventriloquist. Alice, Fabian's wife, was having an affair with Mel Douglas, his manager. That wasn't why Ockham came to see Fabian or why Ockham was murdered. 

Riabouchinska, Fabian's dummy, does much of the talking. She was modeled after a former assistant of Fabian's, an assistant who mysteriously vanished more than a decade ago, before Fabian met Alice. 

The episode ends with Riabouchinska dying and Krovitch arresting Fabian.

Thoughts

Did Riabouchinska really come to life or was Fabian talking through her? I lean towards the latter. The story makes considerably less sense to me if I am supposed to believe that is was Fabian talking through her.

I watched this episode once before, about three years ago. I wasn't satisfied with it then and I feel the same way now. There's something missing here. I don't need everything spelled out for me in great detail but I feel as thought there are far too many things shrouded in mystery at the end of the episode.

Notes

This is the first of five episode of this show in which Claude Rains appeared. I've seen him in a several movies including Notorious (1946).

Charles Bronson played the part of Detective Krovitch. This is the first of three episodes of this show in which he appeared. He was also in one episode each of Four Star Playhouse and The Twilight Zone. He's been in a handful of movies that I have seen including Red Sun (1971).

Claire Carleton played the part of Alice Fabian. This is the first of three episodes of this show in which she appeared. She was in three episode of Four Star Playhouse, the first of which was 1.05 Welcome Home. She has been in a few movies I have seen including an uncredited role in Mildred Pierce (1945). 

Lowell Gilmore played the part of Mel Douglas. This is the only episode of this show in which he appeared. He was in two episodes of Four Star Playhouse, the first of which was 1.09 The Man on the Train.

This is the second of five episodes of this show that Ray Bradbury had a hand in writing. He wrote the story upon which this episode was based. That story was originally used for an episode of the radio program Suspense in 1947. See my notes about 1.18 Shopping for Death for more about other episodes of television and movies that he had a hand in writing.

Mel Dinelli wrote the teleplay for this episode, the only episode of this show which he had a hand in writing.

This is the fourth of seven episodes of this show that Robert Stevenson directed. The previous one he directed was 1.19 The Derelicts.