A TV Review by MIKE TOONEY:


“The Long Silence.” An episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (Season 1, Episode 25). First air date: 22 March 1963. Michael Rennie, Phyllis Thaxter, Natalie Trundy, James McMullan, Rees Vaughn, Vaughn Taylor, Connie Gilchrist, Claude Stroud. Teleplay: Charles Beaumont and William D. Gordon, based on the short novel (“Composition for Four Hands”) by Hilda Lawrence. Director: Robert Douglas.

HILDA LAWRENCE Composition for Four Hands

   Ralph Manson (Michael Rennie) simply can’t believe his luck. First, he embezzles $200,000; but the person who can pin Ralph’s malfeasance on him, Robbie Cory (Rees Vaughn), goes missing. Just when everyone thinks Robbie may be dead, however, he shows up with the evidence against Ralph.

   But Ralph’s luck still holds: Nobody knows Robbie has returned, so when he and Robbie get into a violent argument — during which Ralph, craven coward that he is, begs Robbie to give him at least a head start — Ralph loses control and kills Robbie.

   When his head clears, Ralph sets about making this murder look like a suicide. He takes Robbie’s body upstairs in the Manson mansion (his place in name only, since he has married into the millions belonging to his wife, Nora, played by Phyllis Thaxter). He hangs Robbie’s corpse from a chandelier and proceeds to type out a suicide note.

   But while he’s in the throes of composition, Nora, one floor down, hears him and goes upstairs to Robbie’s room, where she sees Ralph typing and quickly realizes his deception. Just when Ralph’s goose looks like it’s cooked, however, Nora tries to run away but tumbles down the stairs. The doctor will diagnose full-body paralysis and aphasia, duration unknowable.

   So Ralph’s luck STILL holds, since Nora can’t do or say anything. All he has to do is wait until she’s alone and overdose her cocoa or quietly smother her in her sleep — whatever the occasion might call for; it’s just a matter of time.

   But Ralph’s luck will run out when he fails to anticipate just how eloquent a completely paralyzed person can be.

   This one’s worth watching just to see Michael Rennie playing against type; here he’s a despicable gigolo rather than his normal stalwart authority figure. Rennie’s criminous credits include, but are not limited to: The Patient Vanishes (1941), Uneasy Terms (as hardboiled P.I. Slim Callaghan, 1948), Phone Call from a Stranger (1952), 5 Fingers (1952), Les Miserables (1952), Dangerous Crossing (1953), Soldier of Fortune (1955), The Third Man TV series (as Harry Lime, 1959-65), two episodes of Batman (as The Sandman, 1966), The Power (1968), and the appearances on The F.B.I.

   James (or Jim) McMullan occasionally got involved with crime in movies or TV: 13 installments of Chopper One (1974), three episodes of Cannon, two of Joe Forrester, three on S.W.A.T., three of Barnaby Jones, She’s Dressed to Kill (TVM, 1979), 14 episodes of Dallas, and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997).

   You can watch “The Long Silence” on Hulu here.

Editorial Comment: The cover art for the Ace Double paperback (G-539) was done by Bob Schinella. An close-up image can be found on this auction page, at least for now.