Alfred Hitchcock Presents, "Bang! You're Dead"

[narziss39]

The witchdoctor mask looks like a prop that was used in a Three Stooges short, "Hot Scots," with some hair glued on top.

[shannonm75]

I didn't know they had an original or that Bill Mumy was in it.

[Juliaflo]

@shannonm75 As surely you did not know that the young lady playing the cheese salesgirl would team up with young Master Mumy a few years later in a little opus called 'Lost in Space'.

[shannonm75]

@Juliaflo Oh I know what Lost In Space is. I saw reruns when i was a kid. It was on all the time. Bill Mumy was good in that. And "Danger Will Robinson!"

[Richard40171]

>>For example, just when uncle is about to remove the clothes above the gun, his brother says, "Hey, take a look at this scenery in that travel magazine I told you about," and that would have delayed discovery as we cut to the boy walking the streets. Personally, too, I would have eliminated all that "Bang! Bang!" stuff and just had the boy walk the streets, perhaps touching the gun now and then. As for the scene with that little girl, I thought it was ridiculous and meaningless.

[Richard40171]

>>For example, one family member reaches for the phone to call the police, while another stops him just as his hand is on the phone, "No, I don't want the police involved. May cause a family scandal," etc. A neighbor child is beckoned to find the boy: "Go find him!" "No, I don't like him anymore. I don't want to play with him," etc. Similar to 4 O'Clock where the main suspense was on characters just failing to find Marshall. Even discovery of the gun missing could have been milked for suspense>

[Richard40171]

This is one of the few Hitch episodes, esp. dir. by Hitch himself, that just fell flat. Unfortunately it's just a basic premise that a child will not be allowed to kill someone, esp. early in the show, so there's really no suspense at all, despite the bravura attempt to stage it as such. Suspense should have been moral, rather than physical, such as the great scene when the three relatives sit in their car passively wondering what to do. The entire drama should have been written/staged thus>>

[lukafafrenz]

@Richard40171 i disagree w/ each of your points --it'd be a missed opportunity not to make suspense"physical" --the power that film has over written works is the ability to communicate viscerally thru images(i felt every bullet loaded) --there are endless alternatives for the characters' actions, but to what end? licking stamps can be"milked" for suspense, but wouldn't advance the plot --& belying suspension of disbelief is like fretting about seeing the beginning before the end(its fundamental)

[Richard40171]

@lukafafrenz Your reply hinges on the word "physical." The great scene in GODFATHER when Pacino and help try to protect his wounded father by sitting outside the hospital is "physical." The wonderful thing about suspense is it's "internal," whereas surprise is "external." No matter how many times I c Rope or Godfather I feel intense suspense, because it's internal; and, yes, physical BY DEFINITION (any image is physical; Bergman showed this). Of course "licking stamps" can advance>

[Richard40171]

@lukafafrenz >a plot like anything else! Removing a meal off a chest advanced the plot and created intense suspense in ROPE. You're entitled to your opinion about the bullets; but from the first shot I KNEW there was no way that boy would kill anyone or even fire a bullet. Oddly one critic felt that about FOUR O'CLOCK, but I did not. So it's subjective to a degree. FOUR O'CLOCK is brilliantly suspenseful to me, as is ROPE (poss. HItch's masterpiece, not VERTIGO). When I say "to a >

[Richard40171]

@lukafafrenz >degree, I mean aesthetics is subjective but not criticism, which is objective in the sense that one argues one's point by appealing to images, context, mise-en-scene, etc. It's subjective whether that convinces or not, but the argument is objective. One thing that annoys me about statements about acting is they're never objective in my sense. A critic categorically declares a performance great or lacking & we're supposed to take his word for it! Bad criticism!

[globe255]

Maybe it will teach a lesson to the parents in the gun country America that they need to keep their weapons in a safe box to avoid similar situations.

[TheFutureLooksGrimm]

That little buckaroo was fixin to kill somebody! ;)

[papanolen]

love it!!!!

[Dariadadou]

Beau Film (:

[RatnipTX]

I raise my hand!

[RatnipTX]

This is Hitchcock at his best. Wait for the Hitchcock's comments at the end. And you want to keep GUNS in your house you friggin' right wingers??????????? Sure. Go ahead particularly with a 5 year old in the house. Yeah, yeah, I know it's your 2ND AMENDMENT RIGHTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Juliaflo]

@RatnipTX After 50 years, Mr. Hitchcock's cautionary at the end still gives me goosebumps. If it does the same to you, raise your hand.

Happy Hallowe'en.

[Juliaflo]

To the one posted this-----Thank you.

[Juliaflo]

This coming Monday marks 50 years since its first airing. That cautionary at the end rings true today. If you agree, raise your hand.

[TakeMeBackTo1986]

the most EPIC episode of AHP ever! XD! Only "THE MAGIC SHOP" from Alfred Hitchcock Hour is ALMOST its equal! :)

[Juliaflo]

@TakeMeBackTo1986 I second that completely.

Happy Thanksgiving.

[Galantski]

witchdoctor curse

[ultimatezeldafan101]

awesome!

if you love hitchcock like this

[CraigSFiney]

Classic