Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV Series) Mink (1956) User Reviews

The Case of the Stolen Stole!!

[kidboots · 8/10 · 10 July 2012]

There is something about these plots, even though they turn up in movies all the time ie "Phantom Lady" - you know, someone does something a trifle on the shady side, needs an alibi and then nobody wants to know them!! In this quite good episode Ruth Hussey plays a woman accused of acquiring a mink stole by not quite honest means. The police are involved but she is puzzled - she claims she was given the name of a woman who had a mink stole she was selling cheap, by her hair-dresser. But as the police retrace her steps, no-one seems to know anything about it - and she is looking decidedly loopy!! Just when she feels that her world is becoming unstuck she is visited by an insurance assessor, but actually he is really Charley the scam artist and the instigator of the theft and he'd like to do a deal but will she be persuaded??

After the starkly dramatic "Never Again" this is like a nice storm in a teacup. Ruth Hussey who I thought was always better than the parts she played, specialised in nice "sensible wife" roles, she was good as the flustered Mrs. Hudson who may or may not have known she was buying stolen goods. As well, the lovely Veda Ann Borg is the glib hairdresser and Sheila Bromley, she of the many sexy pre-code bit parts played Lois.

"A good mink does more for a woman than a psychiatrist."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 2 August 2021]

Yeah, the old mink coat story. My wife wanted a fur too; it now hangs in the closet after a half dozen wearings since the 70's. Oh, well.

This story was about a scam with a number of moving parts which finally unraveled when Charley Harper (James McCallion) showed up with an offer to take back the mink for cash and steal another one for Paula Hudson (Ruth Hussey)! What a kick in the head! She refused of course, but crooks will be crooks, and he took it anyway when she was distracted on the phone. After calling the police, there wasn't much of a twist left for the viewer to figure out, except for Sergeant Delaney's (Vinton Hayworth) suggestion that maybe, just maybe, Mrs. Hudson's bargain mink was offered at a five finger discount. The look on her face said it all.

WOW how socially unacceptable is this now!!!!

[mikesinclair-30063 · 8/10 · 29 January 2021]

At the end when Hitchcock describes how rather than diet he is going to exercise instead, he states:

"I'm quite an athlete, you know. I particularly excel in chess, falconry, wife-beating, that sort of thing."

WHOA........WIFE BEATING!!

Nowadays that would have been the end of his career.

Good First Half

[dougdoepke · 3 February 2016]

Mink wraps of any kind were a big status symbol in the upwardly mobile 1950's. No wonder Paula (Hussey) wants one, in this case, a mink stole. So, she buys one, and now she and hubby can show off to their peers. Trouble is her stole turns out to be stolen, at least that what the cops say. But Paula certainly looks the respectable suburban housewife. Nonetheless, the people she claims put her on to the good deal now claim never to have seen her. Oh my, so who's telling the truth. Certainly a trip to the slammer won't do her respectable standing any good.

The first half really holds interest as we wonder what the real story is. But once we're tipped off, the narrative fades into a kind of tepid resolution. Too bad the second half doesn't really keep up the interest of the first. Hussey's fine in the lead role, and I can't help thinking she resembles Lucille Ball's Lucy Ricardo in some of the shots. Maybe it's also the similar period fashions, especially the hair-do. Anyway, the entry's an okay time passer, but nothing special.

The Fifties Were Really Hard on Those Minks

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 23 October 2008]

We recently inherited a mink coat. It is absolutely gorgeous. But who wears these things these days. I remember quiz shows in the fifties and sixties where this was the ultimate prize one could win. Models paraded around with them (Dicker and Dicker of Beverly Hills). This is about a woman who buys a mink stole on the cheap from some shady woman and then gets arrested because the thing is identified by the furrier who bought it. She has come for an appraisal and they recognize it. The police get involved and there is a whole secrecy thing. She is gaslighted, if you will. Nobody will take responsibility for selling it to her. Obviously, if you're a cop, you should realize right away that should you talk, you are admitting trafficking in stolen goods. Well, things get pretty intense with the woman ready to do jail time. There are further complications where things get resolved. There are some unanswered questions which people seemed happy to ignore back then.

The stolen mink

[gregorycanfield · 10/10 · 3 March 2022]

Excellent. Excellent to the highest degree!! This is what I would call a quintessential Alfred Hitchcock episode. Great, suspenseful story that keeps you guessing, from beginning to end. I must admit that I'm not too familiar with Ruth Hussey. I wouldn't mind becoming acquainted with her other work. Very nice looking lady, and a fine actress. Ruth plays Paula, who buys a "bargain" mink, not realizing that it was stolen goods. Everyone involved seems to be out to get Paula. I won't elaborate any further, as it might ruin the experience for anyone who has never seen this great episode. Great cast, including Vinton Hayworth (General Schaefer from I Dream of Jeannie!) and Vivi Janiss as a female detective. Great, great episode. I loved every minute of it!

One loose thread

[silversurfersgp · 5/10 · 8 February 2021]

As another reviewer has noted. Ruth Hussey who plays the gaslighted Mrs Paula Hudson does remind one of Lucille Ball playing Lucy Ricardo. When James McCallion who plays the real mink thief Charlie Harper comes in, he looks like a younger Nathan Lane. Eugenia Paul who plays the fake model Dolores Dawn is undoubtedly one of the loveliest actresses to have ever graced a Hitchcock episode; she plays up her ingenue looks with her large innocent eyes perfectly.

The bloodlessness of this episode (apart from all the poor animals who became furs) extended to a couple of little comic touches with police sergeant Bradford and her need for a permanent wave. And while it was treated like a joke in many a Hollywood production up till then, Hitchcock's flippant remark about wife-beating would not have made the final cut today.

Right at the end, after Sgt Delaney hints that she ought to have suspected the mink she was buying was stolen, the ambiguous look on Mrs Hudson's face suggests that, in the deepest recesses of her mind, for all her moral ethics, she probably did.

One loose thread: Mrs Hudson never got back the $400 she paid for the stolen mink; one can only assume it would have been returned to her eventually.

THE STOLEN MINK SCANDAL!

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 24 August 2023]

I agree with the last reviewer how times have really changed. True, back in the 50s (when this episode was filmed, and especially in Hollywood), wearing a mink coat was a sign of social status. Today a mink hoodie would be more fashionable.

Who better to play the role of a woman of taste than Ruth Hussey, who began her career as a fashion commentator, before becoming a Powers model and then a star at MGM. Here, she plays a lady of means who has an eye for a mink coat --only it happens to be stolen merchandise. Funny thing is NO ONE can varify her story that she is NOT a thief. What a Hitchcock dilemma that only mushrooms for your entertainment pleasure.

This was Hitch's favorite recipe; a person in trouble, the walls closing in but fast. Now what?

There's also a great supporting cast with series regular Vivi Janis playing a cop this time around. Popular 40s blonde gangster moll or sometime heroine Veda Ann Borg plays Lucille.

Look for pretty Eugenia Paul (as Dolores), who played a few roles in her short career before marrying one of the famous Pep Boys, heir to the auto parts store chain.

The inside joke, and perhaps with Hitch; Ruth Hussey appeared in THE LADY WANTS MINK (1953), a few years before this episode. She also was nominated for an Oscar in THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, playing a fashion photographer.

A must for those who dare not leave the mansion without the proper attire! SEASON 2 remastered Universal dvd box set. 5 dvd set. 16 hrs running time. 2006 release.

A touch of mink

[TheLittleSongbird · 5/10 · 6 April 2022]

While there were some misfires in it, 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' was a very interesting and more than worthwhile series if you love the master of suspense. At its best though, it was brilliant. Season 1 had some great and more episodes, as well as a smaller handful of misfires. It was great to see Robert Stevenson back in the director's chair for the first time since "There's an Old Woman" and the story idea grabs the attention enough at least.

"Mink" could and should have been a good deal better than it was. It is not one of the worst episodes of Season 1, none of it is on the same levels of weak as "The Hidden Thing", but it had potential to be a lot more exciting than it turned out and it was a great of a promising start but runs out of gas too early. There are better episodes in the season, and we are including Stevenson's entries, this is certainly no "And So Died Riabouschinska".

There are good things about "Mink". Ruth Hussey is very good in the lead role and is the main reason as to why the second half is just about worth sticking with. The cast are all fine, though the rest of the cast are never on the same level as Hussey. The episode is slick visually and has some nice atmosphere, mink coats always catch the eye on film and television.

It is also an episode with a promising first half, where there is some real intrigue and it is easy to invest in Paula's predicament. The bookending, with one exception, is typically ironic and the main theme is suitably devillish.

For me, the second half is not as interesting. The story does thin out and loses its tightness, there is no real suspense and the mystery becomes bland and obvious. The ending is so anaemic too that it's almost immediately forgotten about and it is easy to question was there an ending or a twist.

Stevenson's direction is on the uninspired side in the second half and the dialogue never properly crackles. While usually loving Hitchcock's bookending and generally it's humorous here, the wife beating remark really doesn't hold up and is in bad taste.

Overall, watchable but uneven and bland. 5/10.

The stolen stole?

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 19 February 2021]

Times have certainly changed. In the 1950s and 60s, the ultimate fashion accessory, if you could afford it, was a fur coat. Nowadays, such a coat is rather passe...something few women would want any more.

The show begins with a lady (Ruth Hussey) going to a furrier to get an appraisal on her new mink stole. However, the people recognize the stole...it's one they made themselves and it is one that was reported stolen! Well, she leaves before the police arrive and as she's at lunch, a female police officer approaches her and informs her that a complaint has been lodged against her....and the coat appears to have been stolen. But when she takes the coat to the lady who sold it to her second-hand, you wonder who is telling the truth...as she said she never sold anyone any mink ever.

The acting in this one is very good. But the twist? I couldn't even tell if there was one. No real suspense and a really disappointing ending. But, had it been an episode of "Dragnet" or some other police show, it would have been quite good....but clearly NOT what you would expect for "Alfred Hitchcock Presents".

Mink Stoles: Declasse.

[rmax304823 · 5/10 · 1 April 2012]

I don't even know what a mink stole is but evidently they were of immeasurable value in 1956. I know what a mink -- the animal -- looks like. They're always dark. But this stole looks silvery with darker stripes. And it really is STOLE. That's a shabby and ungrammatical attempt at a pun and it's unworthy of me, but it's about as entertaining as this somewhat complicated and rather pointless story.

Ruth Hussey discovers that the mink stole she's bought was the result of a complex act of thievery. The police get hold of her when she brings it in for an appraisal. The story has Hussey and the police unraveling the mystery of the stolen stole.

A couple of observations. I get the impression that a woman is not supposed to wear garments (or stoles, whatever they are) made from exotic furs these days. It's politically incorrect.

Next, the thievery plot involves a gang that denies everything Ruth Hussey claims has happened. If you've seen "The Lady Vanishes" you'll know what I mean. One of the plotters is Eugenia Paul, née Popoffon, who plays a model. Eugenia Paul may actually have BEEN a model. Her features are so dark, so beautifully even, that they might have been designed by a computer. She's not much of an actress but who cares? Finally, I'm viewing the DVD from the boxed set of Season One and some details that probably weren't evident on a TV screen in 1956 now sort of leap out at you. Too much use is made of make up. Every crack in the plaster leaps out at you in relatively high definition. The false eyelashes are glaringly false. It's a minor thing, but a little distracting.

Overall, a thought-provoking episode. The thought it provokes is this: What is the difference between a stole, a boa, a scarf, a serape, and a shawl?