Lively, entertaining reviews of, and essays on, old and newer films and everything relating to them, written by professional author William Schoell.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS: AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO THE TEN-YEAR TELEVISION CAREER OF THE MASTER OF SUSPENSE




















ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS: AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO THE TEN-YEAR TELEVISION CAREER OF THE MASTER OF SUSPENSE. John McCarty and Brian Kelleher. Foreword by Robert Bloch. St Martin's Press; 1985.

This book looks at the great Hitchcock's television career, including Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and Suspicion, many of whose episodes were directed by the Master and produced by his television company, Shamley. In addition to photos, the book lists every episode of Hitchcock's series, as well as the Suspicion episodes directed by Hitch, offering notes on some of the episodes. The opening chapter goes behind-the-scenes, relating how Hitch got into TV in the first place, the reactions of the sponsors [who Hitch regularly ripped during his introductions], the making of the black and white Psycho with a television crew etc.. Interesting and amusing foreword by Robert Bloch, who not only wrote the novel Psycho was based on, but many of the adapted stories and scripts for the TV show. This may not have as much info as The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion but it's definitely been proofread.

Verdict: An excellent reference source on a very popular and memorable show. ***.


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