Alfred Hitchcock Presents: "Arthur" (Season 5, Episode 1)

Laurence Harvey as Arthur

(This blog post is part of the 11th Annual Favourite TV Show Episode Blogathon, hosted by A Shroud of Thoughts)

Aside from The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents might well remain the most famous American anthology television show ever made. Like many famous shows, various misconceptions have developed about Alfred Hitchcock Presents over the years. The first is that Alfred Hitchcock had nothing to do with the show beyond hosting it. The second is that he was deeply involved in the production of the show. The truth is actually somewhere in between. Indeed, Alfred Hitchcock directed the occasional episode. Among the best of the episodes directed by the master himself was "Arthur," which opened the show's fifth season.

"Arthur" centres on Arthur Williams (Laurence Harvey), the operator of a thoroughly modern chicken farm where he even makes his own chicken feed. Arthur is engaged to a beautiful woman named Helen (Hazel Court). Unfortunately, Helen wants to see the world beyond the chicken farm and ultimately marries another man,  a rich gambler named Stanley Braithwaite. As it turns out, life with Stanley isn't as enjoyable as Helen thought it would be, and she comes back after about a year. As it turns out, Arthur has no desire of welcoming Helen back into his life and has a rather novel solution to her return. In addition to Laurence Harvey and Hazel Court, the cast also features Patrick Macnee, later famous for The Avengers, as Police Sgt. John Theron and Robert Douglas as Inspector Ben Liebenberg.

"Arthur" was based on the 1948 short story "Being a Murderer Myself" by Arthur Williams. The episode "Arthur" follows the story fairly closely, although there are some differences. Arthur Williams's original story is set in South Africa, while the episode is set in New Zealand. Another difference is that in the story the protagonist's former girlfriend is named Susan, while in the episode she is named Helen. Both the story and the episode are narrated in first person, although in the story the narrator is unnamed. Of course, given "Being a Murderer Myself" by written by Arthur Williams, it is safe to assume the narrator's name is indeed "Arthur Williams," the name of the episode's protagonist.

As to Arthur Williams himself, "Being a Murderer Myself" was the only story he ever wrote. Legendary British crime writer Julian Symons included "Being a Murderer Myself" in The Penguin Classic Crime Omnibus, which he edited. He figured out that Arthur Williams was Peter Barry Way, a South African born in 1917,

As to Peter Barry Way's inspiration for "Being a Murderer Myself," according to Jack Seabrook in his excellent write-up on "Arthur" on the bare•bones e-zine, Peter Barry Way may have based the story on an actual murder case that took place in Sussex, England in 1925. Norman Thorne was a chicken farmer who was engaged to Elsie Cameron. Thorne started seeing another woman and decided that he no longer wanted to marry Miss Cameron. In an attempt to force Thorne to marry her, Miss Cameron claimed she was pregnant, even though the two of them had never consummated their relationship. Elise Cameron went to visit Norman Thorne on December 5 1924, after which she was not seen again. The police launched an investigation and ultimately found her overnight bag and other items on Thorne's farm. Thorne ultimately admitted he had dismembered her body, but claimed she had committed suicide by hanging, although the police found no evidence of such. In the end, Throne was found guilty by a jury and hanged for murder. Both "Being a Murderer Myself" and "Arthur" resemble the Norman Thorne case to a large degree, the biggest differences being that it is Susan/Helen who cheats on Arthur,  Arthur had a much more original means of disposing of the body and, at least in the short story he apparently gets away with his crime.

"Arthur" would not be the first time that Alfred Hitchcock and the short story "Being a Murderer Myself" crossed paths. It was one of the stories that was included in the anthology Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories They Wouldn't Let Me Do on TV, published by Simon & Schuster in 1957. In the preface, Hitchcock claims that this collection includes stories that "cannot be produced on the home screen." Of course, "Being a Murderer Myself" obviously found its way to the small screen or else I would not be writing this blog post.

Indeed, Alfred Hitchcock obviously loved the story, as it is one of the 17 episodes of the show that he directed. The teleplay was written by James Cavanagh, who wrote 15 episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. In addition to having been directed by Alfred Hitchcock himself and having been adapted by one of the show's more prolific writers, "Arthur" also featured one of the show's best casts. Laurence Harvey had already made a name for himself, having appeared in such films as Romeo and Juliet (1954) and Room at the Top (1958). Hazel Court had appeared in several television shows and movies, among them The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), which transformed Hammer from a minor studio to one of the greatest makers of horror movies of all time. Patrick Macnee was only a year away from becoming John Steed on The Avengers and had appeared in Scrooge (1951), Les Girls (1957) and other films.

While both Alfred Hitchcock's direction and James Cavanagh's teleplay are excellent, it is largely the cast that makes "Arthur" one of the best episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Given he narrates the episode, "Arthur" would not have worked if Laurence Harvey had not given a pitch-perfect performance. Fortunately, he does, from the very opening narration in which he addresses the viewer directly. Arthur is convinced he is clever and even claims to be "quite normal." Despite Arthur's claims otherwise, Arthur is hardly normal and possesses so much self-confidence that he is clearly an egomaniac. Fortunately, he also possesses a good deal of charm, which drives the episode forward.

Viewers familiar with Alfred Hitchcock Presents know that many episodes end with a culprit apparently getting away with their crime. "Arthur" is no different in this respect. Of course, this would violate the National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters' Television Code, which prohibited criminals from getting away with crimes. It was then in his outro that Alfred Hitchcock would explain how any perpetrators of crimes got their comeuppance, often humorously. "Arthur" features what might be the best and most hilarious comeuppance visited upon a criminal in an Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode ever, made all the better by Hitch's delivery of it.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents and its continuation The Alfred Hitchcock Hour produced many fine episodes and it is honestly difficult for me to choose only one as my favourite, but "Arthur" definitely numbers among them. I have always loved dark humour and the cast delivers superb performances across the board. Alfred Hitchcock's outro makes it all the better. Arthur Williams may have only written one story, but it made for a great Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode.