Alfred Hitchcock Presents 1.21

Safe Conduct

starring Claire Trevor

written by Andrew Solt

directed by Justus Addiss

American journalist Mary Prescott (Claire Trevor) is returning by train from a country that is behind the Iron Curtain when she meets professional soccer player Jan Gubak. He convinces her to sneak a watch across the border for hum. His sister is in Munich and in need of an operation. The watch is a family heirloom that he hopes to sell once the train gets to Munich in the hopes that the sale will raise enough money to pay for the operation. 

Gubak pulls a fast one and calls her out for trying to smuggle the watch. They are both held by the authorities until it is determined that the watch isn't valuable. They are both released at that point and allowed to get back on the train. Jan stops by to see her again. This time with another item that he wants her to smuggle out. This time it is really something of value, the memoirs of the organizer of an anti-communist group who recently died in prison. 

Thoughts

This is a decent episode but I think it falls short of greatness. I had fun trying to figure out what would happen in the end but none of the performances were particularly remarkable. The plot twists, in retrospect, seemed fairly formulaic.

Notes

This is the first of two episodes of this show in which Claire Trevor appeared. I've seen her in eight movies in recent years. I saw her most recently in Raw Deal (1948) and Murder, My Sweet (1944).

Jacques Bergerac played the part of Jan Gubak. This is the first of three episodes of this show in which he appeared. 

Werner Klemperer played the part of secret police captain who checks into Mary Prescott's story and decides that there is no point in holding her or Jan Gubak. This is the first of two episodes of this show in which he appeared. I know him best from Hogan's Heroes where he played the part of Colonel Klink. He had a small, uncredited part in The Wrong Man (1956).

John Banner played the part of the train conductor. I know him best from Hogan's Heroes where he played the part of Sgt Schultz. This is the only episode of this show in which he appeared. He was also in one episode each of Four Star Playhouse and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. He was in a few movies I have seen but none I have seen in recent years.

This is the first of three episodes of this show that Andrew Solt wrote. He is one of three writers credited with writing In a Lonely Place (1950).

This is the third of ten episodes of this show that Justus Addiss directed. The previous one was 1.14 A Bullet for Baldwin.