ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS SEASON TWO

ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS Season Two. 

The second season of Hitch's half hour series -- not to be confused with The Alfred Hitchcock Hour although it often is -- presents more interesting stories of the macabre and dark humor with more hits than misses [although the final dozen or so episodes all fall kind of flat despite some interesting premises]. Jessica Tandy gives an excellent performance as a nervous mother with a secret in "Toby." Dorothy Stickney and Carmen Mathews have a "Conversation over a Corpse." "Jonathan" is an intriguing, hard-hitting story about the rivalry between a son (the excellent Corey Allen) and his father's new wife. In The Rose Garden" with John Williams, Patricia Collinge writes a book about her brother-in-law's murder, which certainly upsets her domineering sister. "A Bottle of Wine" pits Herbert Marshall against his wife's lover and "The End of Indian Summer" stars Gladys Cooper as a widow who may be the next target of a con man. Claude Rains offers a superb performance as a desperate actor in "Cream of the Jest." To read about season one of the show, click here. 

Verdict: More black comedy and chills from the Master. ***.