Category: Feature Film-drama - Movie - Mystery / Suspense / Thriller - TV Shows - Television
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DVD Alfred Hitchcock Presents - Season Two
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" appears to be the guiding philosophy behind season 2 of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Like season 1, these 39 episodes (totaling 16 hours, 52 minutes, and originally broadcast from September 30, 1956 to June 23, 1957) follow the established formula that made the series so popular, with self-contained tales of murder, suspense, and intrigue (mostly running about 26 minutes each) based on short stories from a variety of new and established writers in the mystery genre. (Many of these stories also found their way into Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.) By latter-day standards of intensity, most of these episodes play like tame, parlor-trick mysteries or single-room chamber pieces that accommodated the show's emphasis on budget-friendly production values. Still, modern-day viewers can readily appreciate the consistently high quality of writing, direction, and performance, along with the droll, playful introductions by Hitchcock himself, now fully established as a TV celebrity in addition to his global acclaim as "the master of suspense." (Ironically, Hitchcock's first-season jokes at the expense of series sponsors are mostly missing here; apparently Hitchcock agreed to aim his humor elsewhere.) With the release of season 2, Universal has upgraded their disc format to appease fans who complained about double-sided discs in season 1; these five discs (eight episodes each, with seven on disc 5) are single-sided, double-layered, and neatly presented with no-frills menus and easy access to episodes. (Unfortunately, cast and credits are not listed on the packaging, which includes brief plot synopses on the inside slip-case.) Picture quality is uniformly crisp and clean, and sound quality is mostly excellent, allowing for somewhat lower volume on a few episodes (so turn 'em up). Another improvement on these DVDs is the inclusion of four chapter stops for each episode.
As with season 1, the season premiere ("Wet Saturday") was directed by Hitchcock, who also helmed "Mr. Blanchard's Secret," the season highlight thriller "One More Mile to Go," and "The Three Dreams of Mr. Findlater." It's no accident that these rank among the finest episodes (Hitchcock enjoyed the speed and economy of TV directing), but while there are a few misfires along the way, most of these episodes adhere to the smart, literate standard of the series. They're also an impressive showcase for new and established actors from the twilight of Hollywood's golden age: Seasoned veterans like Cedric Hardwicke, Mildred Dunnock, Henry Jones, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Edmund Gwenn, and Albert Salmi do fine work here, and the relative newcomers include Rip Torn, William Shatner, Dick York, and Robert Culp, among others. Of course, no crime could go unpunished in '50 TV-land, so Hitchcock (in closing each episode) assures us that all criminals were eventually brought to justice. All in a day's work for Alfred Hitchcock Presents! --Jeff Shannon
Review(s): DVD Alfred Hitchcock Presents - Season Two
One-Sided Discs, Chapter Breaks, Quicker Episode Access, And David Wayne's Dilemma All Help Make This A Dang Good Set Of DVDs
I was very pleased to be able to add "Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season Two" to my TV-DVD collection on October 17, 2006, when Universal Studios Home Entertainment officially put this 5-Disc set into circulation. And the video quality looks very nice here too, in my opinion. These black-and-white prints for this second "AHP" season (from 1956-1957) have survived in admirable shape.
This set includes all 39 second-year "AHP" episodes on five single-sided, dual-layered discs (which is a nice change from the first-season set, which has thirty-nine shows placed onto three double-sided DVDs). These 2nd-season shows appear to be uncut for the most part too.
A few seconds of Hitchcock's dialogue may possibly have been trimmed here and there (leading into what were the commercials breaks when the shows originally aired), but nothing of a substantive nature has been cut out from what I can detect. And the running times would tend to back up that conclusion as well. In sampling a few episodes from Disc #1, I found running times of 26:11, 26:21, 25:28, and 25:33 for the first four programs.
I, personally, have experienced very little difficulty at all while playing any two-sided discs from Universal, but I still like the fact that USHE now seems to be utilizing the one-sided DVD format for most of its television catalog. The single-sided discs look nicer too....they aren't as plain-looking, in that the single-siders include a label on each DVD, complete with photos, show title, and of course an easy-to-read disc number.
The same photo of Mr. Hitchcock (holding a hangman's noose, which seems fairly appropriate) is displayed on each of the five disc labels in this AHP-2 collection. It might have been nicer to have a different picture adorning each of the discs....but the redundant photo doesn't bother me at all. Heck, I just like opening this package and seeing SOME type of label on the DVDs, period.
Other than the switch to the single-sided discs, this set is almost identical to the Season-One release in most respects (such as the packaging and the DVD menu design and layout).
The Main Menu provides choices for "Episode Index", "Subtitles", and a "Play All" option. (The "Play All" can be accessed from any of the "Episode Index" menu screens as well.)
Eight shows occupy each disc (except Disc #5, which has seven). English subtitles are available for each program. The "Episode List" (title only) text screens that were a part of the first-season release have not been included in this second-season boxed set.
Universal has also elected to omit the episode description text screens from the S.2 menus. A wise move too, because a lot of "spoilers" were revealed in the S.1 show summaries. For Season Two, when an individual episode is selected, you're taken straight to the episode (without going to a sub-menu first).
Unlike Season One, chapter breaks have been inserted for all 39 of these year-two episodes, which I like a lot. There are four total chapters (scenes) per program. Advancing past the first "chapter" takes the viewer directly to Act 1 of the episode, while skipping the opening credits as well as bypassing Hitchcock's prologue/introduction.
Alfred's droll intros are fun to see....but being able to get right to the beginning of the body of the program with one quick click is quite handy too. That's a very nice chaptering option to have.
I haven't seen many of these Hitchcock episodes for quite some time, so some pleasant memories were rekindled when I watched some of the AHP shows on these DVDs -- including the following impressive entries:
"Fog Closing In", "None Are So Blind", "De Mortuis", "Vicious Circle", "Father And Son", "Nightmare In 4-D", "Kill With Kindness", "The Night The World Ended", "Mr. Blanchard's Secret", and the three-part story starring frequent AHP guest star John Williams entitled "I Killed The Count".
In addition to the above-mentioned installments, the Season-Two episode I enjoy the most is "One More Mile To Go" (first aired on April 7, 1957). I actually had no idea that this episode was even going to be a part of the S.2 collection, so it was a real treat indeed to see this one pop up in the Episode Index on Disc #4. It is also one of the very few episodes directed by Mr. Hitchcock himself during this second season of his television series.
"One More Mile To Go" stars David Wayne and is an episode filled with tension, suspense, and the one thing that frightened the daylights out of Director Alfred Hitchcock more than anything else -- the police. According to Mr. Hitchcock's daughter (Pat), and via interviews with Hitch himself in the years prior to his death at age 80 on April 29, 1980, Alfred very much feared the police.
Perhaps that fear of "men in blue" was the springboard for episodes like "One More Mile", which has a script that features a motorcycle cop trailing after David Wayne throughout the program. And, according to what Pat Hitchcock has said in the past about her father, "nothing could be more menacing than that" (i.e., being pursued relentlessly by a policeman) -- especially if the person being chased (in this case Wayne) has a terrible secret he wants to hide....a "secret" in the form of something that Wayne stuffed into the trunk of his car shortly before being pulled over by that menacing man in the blue uniform.
"One More Mile To Go" has been compared in some ways to the movie "Psycho" (which Hitchcock directed three years later). I hadn't really thought about the "Psycho" comparisons in the past, but the AHP episode does mirror that iconic Hitch film in several ways, including the part of a policeman tailing the car being driven by the story's main character.
I could probably watch "One More Mile" every day of the week and not tire of it. It's an episode that has an eerie and mysterious quality that, for me, makes each repeat viewing just as satisfying as the one that preceded it.
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More "AHP-Season 2" DVD Details:
Video -- Full Frame (original 1.33:1 TV ratio).
Audio -- Dolby Digital Mono (2.0).
Subtitles? -- Yes (English only).
Bonus Features -- None (except for some ads for other Universal DVDs).
Packaging -- A three-panel folding Digipak case with an outer slipcover/box.
Paper Insert? -- No.
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The "Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season 2" DVD collection is another excellent reason to start building a "Classic TV On DVD" library (if you haven't already started building one, that is). With 39 gorgeous and well-written half-hour B&W teleplays available in one convenient and affordable DVD package, "AHP-2" earns a "Very Much Recommended" label from this reviewer.
THE OTHER GREAT ONE.......
JACKIE GLEASON WAS THE GREAT ONE, BUT WITHOUT A DOUBT ALFRED HITCHCOCK WAS IN THE 1950'S IS MY EARLIEST MEMORY OF SUNDAY NIGHTS AT 10 PM. HITCHCOCK PRESENTS IS WITHOT MATCH WHEN IT CAME TO A FORRUNNER OF ROD SERLING AND THE TWILIGHT ZONE. HITCHCOCK'S PRICELESS DRY WIT AND CALM ENGLISH MANNER AT THE BEGINING AND END OF THE EPISODES MADE THE WATCHING ALL THE BETTER. HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO ANY ONE WHO LOVES A TWISTED TALE OF NOT ALWAYS SEEING IS BELIEVING. 5 STARS TO UNIVERSAL FOR THIS RELEASE IN 5 DISCS, CLEAR, CRISP, NO FREEZE UP, GLORIOUS IN B&W.
No more dual sided discs! Yea!
The second season of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" arrives on DVD a year after the first set. I suspect Universal wanted to gage the reaction from fans before moving forward with future sets. Luckily Universal has abandoned the dual sided dual layered discs that they had many manufacturing problems with on the first season set. Instead they've opted for single sided dual layered DVDs. We get five DVDs housed in a boxed set the same size as the first (with the same cover design but with the title card in green vs. blue). As before the episodes are listed on the inside and out flaps of the cardboard holder. Unfortunately none of them list which ones were directed by Hitchcock.
Four of the five discs in the set are on top of each other. As with the first set Hitch directed some of these himself--four to be exact "Wet Saturday", "Mr. Blanchard's Secret", "One More Mile To Go"and "The Three Dreams of Mr. Findlater". I watched these first. "Wet Saturday" is a droll story of murder and looks at the wrong man theme that is prevelant in Hitch's work.
***Warning a couple of spoilers ahead***
In "Wet Saturday" (on disc one)A father (Cedric Hardwick) discovers his idiotic daughter has murdered a boy she thought was in love with her. When the boy foolishly admits he is in love with someone else she clocks him. The dim witted siblings conspire with their father to try and cover up the murder when a friend (John Williams) comes to visit. This provides them with the perfect set up and alibi.
"One More Mile to Go" (on disc four) demonstrates the brilliant visual sense that Hitch always used in his films. It's a stand out episode. The episode opens with a shot of a muffled argument between a husband and wife seen through the front window of their house. We don't hear what is said but don't need to as we see the way it ends. How you ask? Why with murder of course! Visually stunning with smooth camera work a story that unfolds building suspense with virtually no dialogue in the first fifteen minutes (at least none that can be made out) and a nice O. Henry type pay off at the end the episode is prime Hitch undermined only by the melodramatic music score. Although Bernard Hermann would have been a bit too expensive for the episode it simply cries out for one of his unusual atonal scores.
That's not to suggest that the rest of the episodes are trash--far from it and the half hour episodes all have top notch writers (Stirling Silliphant, Evan Hunter), TV directors (Robert Stevens, John Meredyth Lucas, Paul Henreid) and casts (Sir Cedric Hardwick, John Williams, William Shatner, Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn). The half hour format works well for most of these "mini-movies".
The show looks good in its presentation. There aren't any extras as with the first set (which included a featurette on the production of the series). I would have liked to see a commentary or two comparing the production of Hitch's TV shows vs. his films or, at the very least, a featurette focusing on the various directors that worked on the show. We get "Sneak Peeks" which are previews of other Universal TV shows. It's a pity that no one thought to do a featurette on the other directors (such as TV stalwarts like Paul Heinrid,Robert Stevens and others) that worked regular on the show).
From early viewing it appears this is a superior set to the first just because they discontinued the dual sided discs. Definitely worthwhile for fans of Hitchcock and suspense dramas. I do think that Universal should reissue the first season (and exchange a revised 3 disc dual sided set for 6 single sided DVDs). It would be good customer service. Unlike the first set I can recommend the second season for fans of the show.
Related DVD's Alfred Hitchcock Presents - Season Two
When it premiered on CBS on October 2, 1955, Alfred Hitchcock Presents was an instant hit destined for long-term popularity. The series' original half-hour anthology format provided a perfect showcase for stories of mystery, suspense, and the macabre that reflected Hitchcock's established persona. Every Sunday at 9:30 p.m., the series began with the familiar theme of Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette" (which would thereafter be inextricably linked with Hitchcock), and as Hitchcock's trademark profile sketch was overshadowed by the familiar silhouette of Hitchcock himself, the weekly "play" opened and closed with the series' most popular feature: As a good-natured host whose inimitable presence made him a global celebrity, Hitchcock delivered droll, dryly sardonic... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 04 October 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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What a treat to see high quality un-cut Perry Mason episodes on DVD. The show has been in syndication for years but you have been watching cut up versions so more commercials could be shown. Now you can enjoy the full length of 52 minutes that each Perry Mason episode lasted.
Each episode you see Perry Mason defending his clients rights to the fullest with zeal and uses his sharp wit to fluster those who would do his client harm. In episode "The Case of the One-Eyed Witness" look for a young Angie Dickinson. More Info about this DVD Director(s): Francis D. Lyon - James Goldstone - Jesse Hibbs - John Peyser - Gerald Mayer DVD Release Date: Released the 21 November 2006 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I received my copy of the DVDs last week and love every moment as I watch every show. The color and sound were good. Though no special features on these DVDs for those who like that kind of thing. In this first season you see Mr Briggs (Steven Hill) as the Mission Leader. He did a great job as Mission Leader. Also, another interesting note is that the tape recorder wasn't the only method use to give the mission brief at the beginning.
This is a must see for any fan on the Mission Impossible TV Series.
I wonder if we shall see the other seasons anytime soon? Nothing on the radar screen. More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 05 December 2006 Usually ships in 6 to 11 days
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If you've got the others, grab this set as well. Looney Tunes have never looked better.
This time around, the box set is smaller and much more efficient. The previous sets had one disc per fold-out, which left extra space on the opposite side to fill up with dumb quotes from the shorts. Now the layout is much better.
The cover art however, could've been much better. It looks so much like the first volume - why couldn't they do something different? Volume 3's cover was refreshing, volume 4's looks bland. The gloss and emboss is nice, though.
I love the black and white shorts - the sense of humour in the early 30's shorts is totally different from later years. The characters would always make objects do things they weren't supposed to - like grabbing... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Chuck Jones - Robert McKimson - Friz Freleng DVD Release Date: Released the 14 November 2006 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The entire set were birthday presents for my husband and he is in "hog heaven!" I guess as we get older, we miss the really GOOD programming we watched as children!
George Reeve is the ONE, the ONLY Superman--FOREVER!!!!! More Info about this DVD Director(s): George Blair - Philip Ford - Lee Sholem - George Reeves - Harry W. Gerstad (II) DVD Release Date: Released the 14 November 2006 Usually ships in 24 hours
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