Alfred Hitchcock Presents aka The Alfred Hitchcock Hour


The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

Tabs

About

From Wikipedia:

Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock, which aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the time it premiered on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades. 

A series of literary anthologies with the running title Alfred Hitchcock Presents were issued to capitalize on the success of the television series. One volume, devoted to stories that censors wouldn't allow to be adapted for broadcast, was entitled Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories They Wouldn't Let Me Do on TV—though eventually several of the stories collected were adapted.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents is well known for its title sequence. The camera fades in on a simple line-drawing caricature of Hitchcock's rotund profile. As the program's theme music, Charles Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette," plays, Hitchcock appears in silhouette from the right edge of the screen, and then walks to center screen to eclipse the caricature. He then almost always says "Good evening." (The theme music for the show was suggested by Hitchcock's long-time musical collaborator, Bernard Herrmann.)

The caricature drawing, which Hitchcock created, and the use of Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette" as theme music have become indelibly associated with Hitchcock in popular culture.

Hitchcock appears again after the title sequence, and drolly introduces the story from a mostly empty studio or from the set of the current episode; his monologues were written especially for him by James B. Allardice. At least two versions of the opening were shot for every episode. A version intended for the American audience would often spoof a recent popular commercial or poke fun at the sponsor, leading into the commercial. An alternative version for European audiences would instead include jokes at the expense of Americans in general. For later seasons, opening remarks were also filmed with Hitchcock speaking in French and German for the show's international presentations.

Hitchcock closed the show in much the same way as it opened, but mainly to tie up loose ends rather than joke. He told "TV Guide" that his reassurances that the criminal had been apprehended were "a necessary gesture to morality."

Alfred Hitchcock Presents finished at #6 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1956–57 season, and at #12 in 1957–58, #24 in 1958–59 and #25 in 1959–60.

Originally 25 minutes per episode, the series was expanded to 50 minutes in 1962 and retitled The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. Hitchcock directed 17 of the 268 filmed episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and one of the 50-minute episodes, "I Saw the Whole Thing" with John Forsythe. The last new episode aired on June 26, 1965, and the series continued to be popular in syndication for decades.

In 1985, NBC aired a new TV movie pilot based upon the series, combining four newly filmed stories with colorized footage of Hitchcock from the original series to introduce each segment. The movie was a huge ratings success. Alfred Hitchcock Presents revival series debuted in the fall of 1985 and retained the same format as the pilot: newly filmed stories (a mixture of original works and updated remakes of original series episodes) with colorized introductions by Hitchcock. The new series lasted only one season before NBC cancelled it, but it was then produced for three more years by USA Network.

Highlights
Pat Hitchcock O'Connell on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
03:54
John Forsythe on acting on Alfred Hitchcock Presents  and working with Alfred Hitchcock
08:11
Gene Reynolds on directing Alfred Hitchcock Presents
01:03
John J. Lloyd on the intros for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
01:30
Norman Lloyd on directing the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "The Man From the South"
03:21
Who talked about this show

Berle Adams

View Interview
Berle Adams on the impact of Alfred Hitchcock appearing on television in Alfred Hitchcock Presents
01:10

Richard Chamberlain

View Interview
Richard Chamberlain on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
00:48

David Chase

View Interview
David Chase on confronting his fear of directing on Alfred Hitchcock Presents; on learning how to deal with a crew and winning over an Italian DP
04:08

Robert Culp

View Interview
Robert Culp on working on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
01:07

John Forsythe

View Interview
John Forsythe on acting on Alfred Hitchcock Presents and working with Alfred Hitchcock
08:11

Walter E. Grauman

View Interview
Director Walter Grauman on directing Cameo Theatre: "The Man From the South" later remade (with Steve McQueen) as the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "Man from the South" [note: the star in the Cameo Theatre show was John Lupton, not Steve McQueen as Grauman recalls]
01:55

Earl Hamner, Jr.

View Interview
Earl Hamner on writing spec scripts for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
01:07

Arthur Hiller

View Interview
Arthur Hiller on directing Alfred Hitchcock Presents and working with and for Alfred Hitchcock
04:35
Arthur Hiller on directing Alfred Hitchcock Presents
06:05
Arthur Hiller on the production of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and on the tone of the show
02:54

Pat Hitchcock

View Interview
Pat Hitchcock O'Connell on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
03:54
Pat Hitchcock O'Connell on acting in and the production of Alfred Hitchcock Presents
05:41

Kim Hunter

View Interview
Kim Hunter on learning of the Kennedy Assassination while shooting The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
01:46

Walter Koenig

View Interview
Walter Koenig on acting on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
04:39

William Link

View Interview
William Link on writing for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
03:36

Norman Lloyd

View Interview
Norman Lloyd on directing the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "The Man From the South"
03:21
Norman Lloyd on the genesis of Alfred Hitchcock Presents
02:27
Norman Lloyd on Alfred Hitchcock's on-screen introductions on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
05:03
Norman Lloyd on directing the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "The Jar"
03:08
Norman Lloyd on directing the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "The Life Work of Juan Diaz"
01:14
Norman Lloyd on Alfred Hitchcock Presents producer Joan Harrison
03:12
Norman Lloyd on how the stories were selected for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
08:45
Norman Lloyd on the writers of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, including Roald Dahl
01:41
Norman Lloyd on the directors of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, including Robert Stevens
03:13
Norman Lloyd on the casting of Alfred Hitchcock Presents
02:50
Norman Lloyd on the Hitchcock-directed episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents
01:24
Norman Lloyd on Alfred Hitchcock using the crew from Alfred Hitchcock Presents to film "Psycho"
01:43
Norman Lloyd on the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes "Day of the Bullet" and "I Spy"
03:33
Norman Lloyd on why Alfred Hitchcock Presents went to an hour-long format, and what Hitchcock thought of the show
01:52
Norman Lloyd on the legacy of Alfred Hitchcock Presents
02:03

John J. Lloyd

View Interview
John J. Lloyd on the intros for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
01:30
John J. Lloyd on his first assignment in television - Alfred Hitchcock Presents
01:44
John J. Lloyd on his start as an assistant and becoming Art Director on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
02:16
John J. Lloyd on his working relationship with Alfred Hitchcock on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
00:40
John J. Lloyd on his budget and sometimes going over budget on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
06:32
John J. Lloyd on his Alfred Hitchcock's attitude toward art direction on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
01:16
John J. Lloyd on his research for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
01:06
John J. Lloyd on how Alfred Hitchcock expressed his views about art direction on Alfred Hitchcock Presents; on how Hitchcock directed episodes
02:25
John J. Lloyd on Alfred Hitchcock's personality on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
00:52
John J. Lloyd on speaking about art direction with the directors on Alfred Hitchcock Presents; on working with Joan Harrison and Norman Lloyd
01:56
John J. Lloyd on working with the staff on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
01:29
John J. Lloyd on memorable episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents  - "The Glass Eye"
01:00
John J. Lloyd on memorable episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents  - "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge," "Dip In The Pool," "The Crystal Trench," "One More Mile To Go" and "Who Killed The Count?"
04:32
John J. Lloyd on the set decorators on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
02:31
John J. Lloyd on working with the cinematographers and cameramen on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
04:13
John J. Lloyd on the studio where Alfred Hitchcock Presents  shot
00:46
John J. Lloyd on being nominated for an Emmy for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
00:55
John J. Lloyd on the prestige of Alfred Hitchcock Presents
02:19
John J. Lloyd on Alfred Hitchcock's talent for one-liners on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
00:19
John J. Lloyd on location shoots on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
00:36
John J. Lloyd on his tenure on Alfred Hitchcock Presents  - only the half-hour shows
00:33

Jerry Mathers

View Interview
Jerry Mathers on how he would see Alfred Hitchcock on the lot when he would film the openings for Alfred Hitchcock Presents, including one that was filmed on the Leave It To Beaver set
01:17

Richard Matheson

View Interview
Richard Matheson on adapting his own novel for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, "Ride the Nightmare"
01:01

Harry Morgan

View Interview
Harry Morgan on friend Norman Lloyd and Alfred Hitchcock Presents
02:58

Howard Morris

View Interview
Howard Morris on appearing on Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone
01:54

Bill Mumy

View Interview
Bill Mumy on acting in the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "Bang, You're Dead"
14:09

Fess Parker

View Interview
Fess Parker on guest-starring on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
03:29

Frances Reid

View Interview
Frances Reid on appearing on several episodes of Wagon Train and on working on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
02:22

Gene Reynolds

View Interview
Gene Reynolds on directing Alfred Hitchcock Presents
01:03

Rita Riggs

View Interview
Rita Riggs on costuming for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
04:19
Rita Riggs on costume elements used for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
00:31

Marion Ross

View Interview
Marion Ross on guest-starring on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
00:56

Abby Singer

View Interview
Abby Singer on assistant directing various shows
02:47

Doris Singleton

View Interview
Doris Singleton on working on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
01:31

Howard Smit

View Interview
Howard Smit on doing makeup for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
05:46

Robert Vaughn

View Interview
Robert Vaughn on working on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
00:44

Jane Wyatt

View Interview
Jane Wyatt on appearing on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour 
00:51

All Shows

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
J
L
M
N
P
R
S
T
W