![]() In Breakdown, he offered a moral that simply wasn’t there, and here the only connection his introduction has to the show in question is that he says the words in the title. Still, I do like the fact that Hitchcock’s introductions seem to have less-and-less to do with the content of the show. Now you see what might happen if you fall asleep under the dryer.” It is one step away from a ‘kitchen’ joke, but I’ll chalk it up to values dissonance. “Oh, good evening ladies and gentlemen especially the ladies. ![]() Examining a shrunken head for no reason other than because shrunken heads are cool, he greets his audience. Hell, Hitchcock even opens the episode with a healthy dose of good old fashioned sexism. And it is played for wonderfully grim laughs. Played as a black comedy, Back For Christmas is the story of a henpecked husband who finally has enough of his shrewish wife and decides to kill her while absconding to the United States. However, Back For Christmas won’t put any of those rumours to rest. I’m not sure quite how much weight to give these assertions, as I lack the in-depth behind-the-scenes knowledge to properly comment. He just teaches them a thoroughly good lesson.” Discussing the treatment of his actresses, USA Today suggests, “He pecked away at their insecurities, whispered filthy remarks right before they faced the camera and forced them to do countless takes of physically demanding scenes.” There are apocryphal tales about Hitchcock boasting at dinner parties about being able to strangle a woman with one arm. “Hitchcock’s women are outwardly immaculate, but full of treachery and weakness,” Bidisha writes in The Guardian. That ground has been covered by film writers with far more experience than myself. Hitchcock has always been something of a controversial figure when it came to women. It’s also an episode that will probably add fuel to the “Alfred Hitchcock was a misogynist” debate. Back For Christmas is Hitchcock doing wonderfully dark comedy, to the point where the surrealist introduction above perfectly sets the tone. After all, Revenge was a straight-up noir tale and The Case of Mister Pelham was an existential mystery. It’s amazing how much variety Hitchcock managed to bring to Alfred Hitchcock Presents. As you have no doubt already guessed, tonight’s story has nothing whatsoever to do with shrunken heads. First, you must wait until the original owner of the head dies. Collecting them, of course, not making them. It’s a very worthwhile cause and you can donate here. The “For the Love of Film” blogathon this year is raising money to keep one of Hitchcock’s earlier works, The White Shadow (which he wrote, edited, designed and assistant-directed), available on-line and streaming for free. I’ll be looking at some of the episodes of the classic show that he directed. ![]() As part of the “For the Love of Film” blogathon, I’ll be taking a look at Alfred Hitchcock’s contributions to his celebrated anthology series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. ![]()
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