Death on television: the best of Henry Slesar's Alfred Hitchcock stories

515 Pages·1989·1.17 MB·English

by  Henry Slesar

Death On Television : The Best of Henry
title: Slesar's Alfred Hitchcock Stories Mystery
Makers
Slesar, Henry.; Nevins, Francis M.;
author:
Greenberg, Martin Harry.
publisher: Southern Illinois University Press
isbn10 | asin: 0809315009
print isbn13: 9780809315000
ebook isbn13: 9780585192123
language: English
subject Detective and mystery stories, American.
publication date: 1989
lcc: PS3569.L38A6 1989eb
ddc: 813/.54
subject: Detective and mystery stories, American.
Page i
Francis M. Nevins, Jr.,
and Martin H. Greenberg
General Editors
Also in this series
Buffet for Unwelcome Guests
The Best Short Mysteries of Christianna Brand
Carnival of Crime
The Best Mystery Stories of Fredric Brown
Darkness at Dawn
Early Suspense Classics by Cornell Woolrich
Exeunt Murders
The Best Mystery Stories of Anthony Boucher
Leopold's Way
Detective Stories of Edward D. Hoch
The Adventures of Henry Turnbuckle
Detective Comedies by Jack Ritchie
Page iii
Death on Television
The Best of Henry Slesar's Alfred Hitchcock Stories
Edited by Francis M. Nevins, Jr.
& Martin H. Greenberg
Introduction by Henry Slesar
Southern Illinois University Press
Carbondale and Edwardsville
Page iv
Copyright © 1989 by the Board of Trustees, Southern Illinois
University
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Edited by Timothy Burns
Production supervised by Linda Jorgensen-Buhman
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Slesar, Henry.
Death on television: the best of Henry Slesar's Alfred Hitchcock
stories / edited by Francis M. Nevins, Jr. & Martin H. Greenberg;
introduction by Henry Slesar.
p. cm.(Mystery makers)
ISBN 0-8093-1500-9
1. Detective and mystery stories, American. I. Nevins, Francis
M. II. Greenberg, Martin Harry. III. Title. IV. Series.
PS3569.L38A6 1989
813' .54dc19 88-26342
CIP
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements
of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence
of Paper for Printed Library Material, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Page v
For Manuela
Page vii
Contents
Introduction ix
Henry Slesar
Night of the Execution 1
The Right Kind of House 10
One Grave Too Many 18
Party Line 29
The Money 37
A Crime for Mothers 51
The Last Escape 61
A Woman's Help 74
Coming Home 85
Cop for a Day 94
The Case of M.J.H. 102
The Test 112
Burglar Proof 128
Most Likely to Succeed 140

Page viii
Final Vow 146
Blood Bargain 180
Starring the Defense 194
Behind the Locked Door 220
Second Verdict 235
Page ix
Introduction
HENRY SLESAR
Quick. Fill in the following phrase. "Alfred Hitchcock, Master of" Did
you choose the word "Suspense"? So would most of the biographers,
journalists, and drama pundits who have written, and will continue to
write, about Hitchcock's extraordinary career in movies and
television. There's only one thing wrong. When describing his classic
TV series (which has actually been seen more often, by more people
around the world, than all of Hitchcock's feature films) the word just
isn't accurate enough, particularly when applied to the half-hour show
called "Alfred Hitchcock Presents.'' What Alfred Hitchcock presented,
week after week, should have earn him another title: "Master of
Irony."
Don't get me wrong. I don't discredit the value of suspense. But
suspense is a vital ingredient in all dramatic works, not just thrillers. It
was the key ingredient in virtually all the fifty-three movies produced
under the Hitchcock banner, and, to a lesser extent, was the driving
force behind "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," which concluded his
television career. But the steam engine that drove "Alfred Hitchcock
Presents" could definitely be called an Irony Horse.
Famous example. A woman kills her husband with a blunt instrument.
When the police investigators stay for dinner, she serves it to them: a
frozen leg of lamb, now thawed and cooked. You probably recognized
the Roald Dahl story, "Lamb to the Slaughter." It has