Welcome to my new FOG column where I’ll try my darndest to mine NETFLIX for gems to instantly watch. Despite the negative press and consumer reactions to new pricing and content fails from our red-enveloped friends, I still want to believe that NETFLIX is the numero uno destination for entertainment on demand. Let’s start with this obscure thrill from the golden age of television…
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
I always thought the most heinous crime committed via Alfred Hitchcock Presents was the one performed each week by Alfred Hitchcock himself. Not just in the name of the series, but in his introductions and epilogues, Hitchcock overshadowed many talented people both in front and behind the camera. If Hitch compared his big-screen actors to cattle, the contributors to his small-screen program were fairly intricate puppets. He got a lot of the credit for bringing the Suspense genre to new heights for the masses.
One of the standout episodes of the program, The Creeper, first aired on June 17, 1956. It’s the perfect whodunit, with the major twist being that it’s not just that anyone could have, but you’re unlikely to find out the answer.
You can’t go wrong with any of the Season One episodes of AHP that are now streaming (not to mention other shows like Thriller), but if you need a good 30 minute fix of good storytelling and old fashioned suspense, this Creeper episode is the place to start.
Word of advice, lock the door before pressing play.
a little trivia about this selection:
Reta Shaw plays the annoying landlady of the building. You’ll remember her from a number of supporting characters in everything from Mary Poppins to Bewitched. She’s probably most known as Martha in The Ghost & Mrs. Muir.
Writer James P. Cavanagh wrote 15 episodes in all of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and even picked up an Emmy for the episode Fog Closing In, which is currently not available to stream on Netflix, but is available on DVD.
