Okay episode, at best. Sam (Mathews) loves his cat and birdie, but he's no soft-hearted pushover. Instead, he's a brawny tough guy who's going to teach his two-timing girl friend (Michaels) a thing or two about slow and painful death. Too bad for her sake she's not a kitty or a birdie. But first he needs an airtight alibi since the cops watch him like hawks. So he arranges one for a hefty fee with a nightclub crook. Now what can go wrong. Being Hitchcock, we know something will and with an ironic chuckle.
The story's okay even if the upshot seems more contrived than usual. Actually, the cast is the real draw. The Runyonesque Mathews is always a colorful character with his fractured grammar of "deese" and "dem", along with a face that looks like ten miles of bad road. Then there's Beverly Michaels on leave from one of Hugo Haas's sleazy bad movies. Together, they're like a marquee team from Guys and Dolls. And catch James Edwards in a small bartending role. He was one of the first African-Americans to get dignified roles, even before Sidney Poitier. His lead role in 1949's Home of the Brave was a landmark shattering of Black stereotypes. Too bad his role here is not bigger. All in all, it's a colorful half hour, even if not top rank.
The story's okay even if the upshot seems more contrived than usual. Actually, the cast is the real draw. The Runyonesque Mathews is always a colorful character with his fractured grammar of "deese" and "dem", along with a face that looks like ten miles of bad road. Then there's Beverly Michaels on leave from one of Hugo Haas's sleazy bad movies. Together, they're like a marquee team from Guys and Dolls. And catch James Edwards in a small bartending role. He was one of the first African-Americans to get dignified roles, even before Sidney Poitier. His lead role in 1949's Home of the Brave was a landmark shattering of Black stereotypes. Too bad his role here is not bigger. All in all, it's a colorful half hour, even if not top rank.