Man with a Problem

This is the old "man on the ledge" story. Gary Merrill is out there, having just experienced the death of his young, beautiful wife, Elizabeth Montgomery (of Bewitched fame). It turns out that she has had an affair and has asked for a divorce. Her unhappiness is never given a foundation. Merrill seems like a nice guy, but we don't know the details of their marriage. He does what he can to try to salvage things but she is adamant. Of course, the bulk of the episode is about the current situation. The usual New Yorkers are down there yelling for him to jump, while a young police lieutenant works to talk him off the ledge. A complicating factor is the Captain who butts in and refuses to let the young man do the talking, saying he is a publicity hound and is just doing this to feather his own nest. The conclusion is incredibly far fetched but quite satisfying (as is often the case if you don't think about it for more than a minute). As with this plot, it factors in a fear of heights and the poor man's near falls.

There have been several "man on the ledge" tv episodes and movies, for that matter, but this one hits the bullseye, and in a most bizarre way. I agree with the last reviewer, director Robert Stevens did some fantastic work with his two leads.

Gary Merrill plays a very desperate man called Carl, about to jump off a hotel ledge. His beautiful wife (played by Elizabeth Motgomery, in a very early role) has died and he has nothing much to live for. Enter Barrett, a cop, played by Peter Mark Richmon -- who tries to talk him down -- but he may have a problem himself.

An outrageous episode and hang tight for the ending. Once again, Hitch has the last laugh. Imaginative writing by Joel Murcott, known for BONANZA. But this ain't no western! Wait and see.

A few familiar faces; Bartlett Robinson as the hotel manager, comedian Sid Melton as a cabbie and look for Vic Tayback in an early role. Note, at the time Gary Merrill was married to Bette Davis.

SEASON 4 EPISODE 7 remastered Universal dvd box set. 15 hrs. 30 min. Released 2008.

It's sometimes the last thing we would always think about but it something that can happen to anyone. When it seems all hope is completely lost and there is just no salvation, no where to go but down.

This is my third favorite tale in the show, there isn't much to say it's a simple man on ledge premise which has been done many times on other shows but this was one of the first and still the best.

This mainly comes more to our fear of heights. I really like the cinematography of the episode it really feels like your up there and I remember half the time I was just griping my seat hoping I won't fall off. You almost feel like any moment something or should I say someone is about to drop.

There is this one blackly funny moment and suspenseful at the same time when we see there is this group of idiotic teenagers just goading the guy to jump. And at that moment you can just see the fear in the guy's face as there is one part of him that does but another part that doesn't.

The interplay between both the policeman and the guy is solid as you are constantly hopping the cop will be able to talk the guy out of it, get him to have a change of heart. It's sort of a character drama as we discover details about both parties. For the guy it's understandable on his troubles, the loss he's going though down to discovering a terrible secret like that could push anyone over the edge (no pun intended) it's like everything that held your world together is just gone. I kinda like that we see that the cop's life has troubles of his own. Hearing that just goes to show that the guy isn't alone in the matter because everyone that we pass by is troubled in one way or another, I honestly don't know anyone that isn't; but it's how we deal or get through it that matters and keeps us going on.

Will he or won't he jump, you'll have to wait and see.

Rating: 4 stars

When the show begins, a man is seen up on the ledge of a tall hotel in New York and it's obvious he is a jumper. But despite this, he hasn't jumped yet and a cop (Mark Richmond) manages to build rapport with him and the jumper (Gary Merrill) is talking to him so there apparently is some hope. It seems that the jumper is upset because his wife has been cheating on him and eventually it resulted in her committing suicide....and then the show springs the wonderful twist that really shocked me!

While "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" is a very good show much of the time, too often the twists at the end are pretty limp and you can't help but feel disappointed. This one in no way disappoints....as the writing and acting are just terrific. Dark...but terrific! What is NOT terrific is the epilogue by Hitchcock. It seems that some of the sponsors must have balked at the notion of crimes going unpunished and insisted that he say something along the lines of "the police later figured out he was responsible and he was sent to prison"....which is a total cop-out and this is exactly what they did here. Frustrating and unnecessary....and for this I deducted a point from an otherwise great episode.

Great cast, good episode but has anyone else realized how similar it is to that film from 1951 called 14 Hours? I know there's some differences but there's some dialogue that's nearly word for word. Are they both based off the same story or something? I can't find anything mentioning the extreme similarities, it's driving me nuts lol. Gary Merrill is always fantastic, huge fan of him, and I usually like Elizabeth Montgomery but she was kinda blah in this TBH. Back to the similarities with the 14 Hours film, even down to the scene of the cabbies placing bets on if he's going to jump or not , the one genuine cop who wants to help Gary, the psychiatrist, SO many scenes are almost word for word to the film, it's nuts!