Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV Series) Mrs. Herman and Mrs. Fenimore (1958) User Reviews

Don't Trust Strangers

[Hitchcoc · 6/10 · 11 July 2013]

This may be the prototypical Hitchcock Presents episode. It involves an elderly woman who lives in the house of her uncle, a snarly, mean-spirited man who never has a kind word for her. She feeds him, takes care of him, puts up with his crude behavior. She's no prize herself, but she sits and waits, hoping an acceptable person will come along to help her in a murder plot. The one that finally fills the bill is an attractive, middle-aged actress, down on her luck. She has answered a room-for-rent ad and is quickly accepted. As it turns out, she falls into the plot and begins to ingratiate herself with the old guy. Since he never unlocks his door, she is to maneuver herself into his room and then leave his door unlocked. The niece, who seems older than her uncle, will then enter the room while he sleeps and turn on a gas burner and asphyxiate him. Of course, things don't always work out as the plotters wish they would and that's where the twist comes in. A very representative episode. Good character actors and a pretty good prescription.

"I've waited a long time for the right person."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 10 October 2021]

Sometimes you have to question the casting in these older TV shows. Doro Merande, who portrays Mrs. Herman in the story, was actually six years older in real life than her Uncle Bill (Russell Collins). Now technically that's possible, but not all that common. When she says to Mrs. Fenimore (Mary Astor) that the old buzzard has 'outlived his usefulness', you have to consider how a statement like that might have applied to herself.

Say, did you catch a comment Uncle Bill made to the old biddy early in the story when he told her she should leave the hooch alone? I wonder what he was referring to, since there was no context when he made the statement. In my time it would have referred to marijuana, but it would be reasonable to suspect he was talking about Mrs. Herman's preference for alcohol.

Well, the 'very unfortunate accident' planned for Uncle Bill never got to play out as originally conceived after Mrs. Herman announced her suspicion about the old geezer's net worth to Mrs. Fenimore. I thought that twenty five hundred dollar offer was a bit on the low side considering murder was involved. Apparently Mrs. Fenimore felt the same, deciding to turn things around to her advantage in a most calculating way.

'A deal is a deal..."

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 2 April 2021]

When the episode begins, you see that a woman and her uncle are miserable living together as they simply don't like each other. Neither is especially pleasant nor likable. But when a new border (Mary Astor) arrives, things are shaken up a bit. Suddenly, the crusty uncle is behaving like a gentleman and he's trying to impress the lady. And, his sister thinks the woman is her new friend and confidant...so much so that she'll gladly help her kill the uncle for his fortune! Of course, the plan doesn't go as expected. How this happens you'll need to see for yourself.

This is a decent but unremarkable episode. Nothing great, nothing bad...just an average show in most every way.

A rather mediocre presentation of an old story...

[ronnybee2112 · 7/10 · 12 January 2023]

This is an old story that has been done hundreds of times before in one form or another. Basically on one hand we have a crabby old uncle that is single and rich and on the other hand we have a single,non-working niece that is getting on in the years herself. The two of them live in a house together and spend the days making each-other miserable it seems. The niece has occasionally rented-out rooms in the house over the years to bring in some money. It is not completely clear who actually owns the house,but it is probably the uncle. The uncle is a man of some means,apparently he owns a fair-bit of real-estate property in town. What is the problem? Apparently the uncle is going to leave everything to the niece when he dies,no question about that. The trouble is,uncle isn't dying soon-enough to suit the niece ! The niece has apparently been planning to kill the uncle for quite awhile but she needs an accomplice. In order to find an accomplice,the niece advertises a room for rent in the house and she tries to find the perfect renter that can help her with the sinister plan. It doesn't take long for the niece to find a tenant that happens to be a talented and seasoned actress (of all things!) The new tenant moves in and the house livens-up with this new lady. Before long,the niece talks to the new tenant about her plan for murdering the uncle. The niece promises the lady-tenant the sum of $2500 to help with the murderous plan. (Surely this was a fortune back then but not enough to kill for !) Meanwhile,the uncle seems to warm-up to the charming lady actress and they start spending a little time together and they even go-out socially a few times.

Will this actress-lady help with the murder? What will happen? Check it out,and let us know what you think about it ! I say about 7/10.

Lady Astor

[dballtwo · 9/10 · 9 March 2021]

Mary Astor had been working in Hollywood almost 40 years when this episode was filmed, but she was never better than here, playing Mrs. Fenimore. Just in explaining Fenimore's self-conscious theatricality ("I am an actress") she demonstrates a perfect sense of comic characterization and timing. And for a woman in her fifties, Astor retained her remarkable good looks -- a central plot point in this amusing scheme to spare a rich man the "agony" of old age. This type of minimalist production doesn't seem to have a place on American TV today, though it's more entertaining than much of what replaced it.

Conspiracy

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 3 June 2023]

'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' is a very interesting and very well done, if not consistent, series that ran for seven seasons between 1955 and 1962. Every season had some truly fine episodes, and they all had some not so good episodes. This was all obvious in Season 4, that had some real highs and some real lows and sometimes in quite quick succession to each other. Loved the premise for the second Arthur-Hiller directed episode in a row "Mrs Herman and Mrs Fenimore."

The good news is that "Mrs Herman and Mrs Fenimore" didn't disappoint me. It is an improvement over the still pretty decent previous Hiller directed 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episode "And the Desert Shall Blossom" and for me it is one of Hiller's better episodes. Up to this point his second best after "Post Mortem". For me, "Mrs Herman and Mrs Fenimore" is very good and nearly great, if not one of the 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' classics of Season 4 and overall.

It is a little bit of a slow starter, with the set up being a little too slight.

Maybe it could have done with a little suspense.

So much is great about "Mrs Herman and Mrs Fenimore". The acting is extremely good from all, especially from Mary Astor who balances darkly amusing comic timing and even darker calculation expertly. Doro Merande more than holds her own and has great chemistry with both her and equally strong Russell Collins. Hitchcock's bookending is amusingly ironic and Hiller directs with more confidence and edge.

Furthermore, it's solidly made with some atmospheric photography. The series theme music is one of the best and most inspired examples of pre-existing classical music being used as a main theme, fitting perfectly with the series' overall tone. The writing is thought provoking, fun and unsettling, with no over-talkiness and there is a good deal of intrigue and unsettlement. The ending is not earth shattering as such, when it comes to originality that is, but it is very well executed, eerily calculating and didn't feel too predictable.

Concluding, very well done. 8/10.

LET'S KILL UNCLE!

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 30 April 2024]

Two exceptional actresses make this story a hoot, one of the seasons very best episodes. This was also Oscar winner Mary Astor's second appearance on the show, and she rolls with it. Truly, a role that was made for her.

Astor plays Mrs. Fenimore, an actress who has seen better times and is looking for a new home. Popular character actress Doro Merande plays the frustrated lady of the house who is saddled with a nasty uncle (well played by Russell Collins), making her life miserable -- except the fact that he's loaded. She's had enough of this guy and, perhaps, maybe.... Mrs. Fenimore can help her dispose of the old man so she can live happily ever after?

Astor steals the show here and plays a real smooth game, without giving too much away. A dynamic two woman show to be sure, spiced with some very interesting dialogue between both leads. Once again, a classic script from Robert C. Dennis.

Mary Astor, still looking beautiful, had given up her movie contract at MGM, tired of always playing somebody's mother and switched to television, and with enormous success. No question Hitch was a fan of hers and wanted to get Mary on his tv show. Doro Merande, a popular stage actress, later entered films and tv, likewise with great success. She was best known as Aunt Ethel on the HONEYMOONERS.

This one will give you a hearty laugh, again thanks to Hitch and the great Mary Astor. SEASON 4 EPISODE 12 remastered Universal dvd box set. 5 dvds. 15 hrs 30 min length. Released 2008.