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Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Greatest Monster of Them All
episode 6.18
USA 1961
produced by Joan Harrison for Shamley Productions/NBC
directed by Robert Stevens
starring William Redfield, Richard Hale, Sam Jaffe, Robert H. Harris, Meri Welles, Charles Carlson, Baruch Lumet, Mike Taylor, Ronnie Sorensen, Eve Lesley, Joan Marcus, Phil Adams, Alfred Hitchcock (host)
screenplay by Robert Bloch, based on a story by Bryce Walton
TV-series Alfred Hitchcock Presents
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Producer Hal (Sam Jaffe), director Morty (Robert H. Harris), and
screenwriter Fred (William Redfield) have a history together of putting
out cheap horror and monster movies for the high school and college crowd
by the dozen - which really leaves them with a problem presently: What
monster to use in their next movie? After all, even the most
undistinguishing audience does expext some kind of variety, and they've
already done all kinds of bugs except for cockroaches - which would be in
bad taste though. So Fred comes up with an idea, instead of picking yet
another creature from the animal kingdom, why not use veteran actor Ernst
von Croft (Richard Hale), who might have been out of the spotlight for
many years now, but back in the 1930s he was billed as the "Greatest
Monster of Them All". Plus, given that his star is on the decline, he
might be a cheap hire. Now von Croft is an actor with an old school
attitude and a certain sense of grandiosity who might identify a bit too
much with his role - that of a vampire - but the shoot goes just fine, and
the film's out on the market in a mere few weeks time. But when Fred and
von Croft watch the movie for the first time, they're in for a shock, as
von Croft's voice has been replaced with a Bugs Bunny-like
voiceover, for laughs, ruining the movie and also von Croft's legacy. Now
Fred gets roaringly drunk to get over this blow, but von Croft plots
revenge - and when Fred enters the studio the next day, he finds Morty
dead, Hal wounded, and von Croft, in full vampire get-up, roaming the
premises ... Now on a pure story level, this episode doesn't
have much to offer, it's a way too straightforward revenge story with
little in terms of twists and turns - but it still works beautifully as a
comic to satirical behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of low
budget film studios, while also paying hommage to old school Hollywood
horror. And while especially the scenes with Sam Jaffe and Robert H.
Harris as grouchy partners-in-crime are hilarious, Richard Hale gives his
character just the right pathos for him to feel real. So if you're at all
into vintage horror, especially from the low budget end, you'll probably
get a kick out of this episode.
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