Breakdown

Episode aired Nov 13, 1955
TV-14
26m

IMDb RATING

8.1/10

2.1K

YOUR RATING

Joseph Cotten in Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955)

Crime Drama Mystery Thriller

William Callew is involved in a bad traffic accident on a rural road, that leaves him so paralyzed he appears lifeless, and when help arrives they think he's really dead.William Callew is involved in a bad traffic accident on a rural road, that leaves him so paralyzed he appears lifeless, and when help arrives they think he's really dead.William Callew is involved in a bad traffic accident on a rural road, that leaves him so paralyzed he appears lifeless, and when help arrives they think he's really dead.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

8.1/10

2.1K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
This won Edward W. Williams the 1956 Primetime Emmy for Best Editing of a Television Film.

Goofs
When watching current film-transferred versions on a modern definition television, one can see William Callew (Joseph Cotton) blinking his eyes even though it was established earlier that he could not move anything, including his eyelids. This is especially noticeable when the two escaped convicts are moving his body and disrobing him in the car. This would not have been noticeable at the time of first broadcast due to the poor resolution of the televisions.

Quotes
[last lines]
Alfred Hitchcock: Well, that was a bit of a near thing. He reminded me of my own situation. Imagine, if you can, the terror of being inside a television set, knowing that any moment, the viewer may shut you off, and being powerless to prevent it. And I go through this every week. My only consolation is that some portions of our program are so fascinating, that they hold the viewer spellbound. Such an episode follows immediately. And then I'll be back again.
[commercial break]
Alfred Hitchcock: There, now, that really held you in suspense, didn't it? For more of the same, I recommend you tune in next week at this time. I shall see you, then. Bonsoir.

Connections
Featured in Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King (2006)

Soundtracks
Funeral March of a Marionette
Written by Charles Gounod

User reviews28

Review

Featured review

9/10

Genius...Absolute Genius

Hitchcock traverses the macabre into pure existential terror. The stasis of the camera combined with the sparse mise-en-scene imprisons the spectator in the director's subjective and absolute control. This episode is a primer on minimalist horror and also reveals Hitchcock's internal mechanisms, which we now know were not just idiosyncratic but transgressive.