Harry Pope is lying in bed and discovers that there is a sleeping snake on his stomach.Harry Pope is lying in bed and discovers that there is a sleeping snake on his stomach.Harry Pope is lying in bed and discovers that there is a sleeping snake on his stomach.
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Storyline
Did you know
- Trivia21 years later, this same Roald Dahl story, appeared in season 2 episode 5 of Tales of the Unexpected.
- Quotes
[introduction, Hitchcock is sitting on a park bench reading a newspaper]
Himself - Host: Good evening. Here we are in orbit once again. Most of tonight's program will be taken up with a story called 'Poison'.
[a hissing is heard and the camera cuts to Hitchcock's back pocket that happens to be...]
Himself - Host: A rattlesnake. It's a new warning device I've instituted to sound an alarm when a pickpocket is at work. He comes in several sizes, including very small ones for ladies' purses.
[Hitchcock pokes at the rattlesnake making it hiss again]
Himself - Host: He's very alert. This is far superior to ordinary burglar alarms, for if the thief is foolhardy enough to put his hand in the pocket...
[shrugs]
Himself - Host: There are a few bugs in it. Once when a thief put a hand in my pocket, the snake became confused and struck in the wrong direction. The doctor had to put a tourniquet around my stomach. Unfortunately, that proved to be the wrong stomach. It was the snake who died. I see that it is now what my sponsor calls 'high time' and here is what he thinks it is high time for.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Trouble with Harry Isn't Over (2001)
- SoundtracksFuneral March of a Marionette
Written by Charles Gounod
"Poison" is an absolutely brilliant first episode to Season 4, to me it is a very strong contender for the best 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' opener. It is a great representation of Dahl's work too, though very different to the family literature that he is so famous and justly highly regarded for. In my view as well, it is one of the master of suspense's best episodes of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents', along with "Breakdown", "One More Mile to Go" and "Lamb to the Slaughter".
It is impeccably acted by Wendall Corey and James Donald, Donald really unnerves in a difficult role that is very reliant on facial expressions and body language than words and where one really feels the sweat. While Corey is at his most unsettlingly insensitive. The chemistry is very strong throughout.
Hitchcock's bookending is humorously ironic, which gels with the story with ease, with no sense of jarring or disjointed-ness, and his direction is some of his most tension filled and most inspired in look and atmosphere. He wasn't coined the Master of Suspense for nothing. "Poison" is one of the series' best looking episodes, with the eerily moody photography being very atmospheric and more cinematic than most 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes. "Funeral March of a Marionette" was an inspired and perfect choice for the series' main theme.
Furthermore, "Poison" is extremely well written and intelligently adapted, unmistakably Dahl at his darkest and also unmistakably Hitchcock. This sounds like an odd couple on paper, with the two being very different in style but that odd coupling feel did not at all translate on screen. The story is full of dark suspense and unnerving dread, while also having some offbeat-ness. The story didn't to me feel padded or over-stuffed, while also being easy to follow without being simplistic, actually didn't find the ending too prematurely easy to figure out and it stayed with me for a while after.
Overall, a brilliant start to Season 4. 10/10.
- TheLittleSongbird
- Apr 18, 2023
Details
- Runtime26 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1