An antique dealer comes up with a clever way to raise money to pay off a loan. But things won't be as easy for him the second time around...or will they?An antique dealer comes up with a clever way to raise money to pay off a loan. But things won't be as easy for him the second time around...or will they?An antique dealer comes up with a clever way to raise money to pay off a loan. But things won't be as easy for him the second time around...or will they?
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen Miss Sturgis writes the check for the broken figurine, she dates it April 15, 1956, the date that this was first aired.
- GoofsLena Appleby is holding a full glass of water when she takes her fatal fall, but there is no broken glass or spilled water on the floor anywhere near her body.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Himself - Host: [Hitchcock comes up from a half-bow] Good evening, ladies. Has your husband recently acquired a faraway look in his eyes? In the event, something unforeseen happens to you, do all of your worldly goods go to him? Is he, at this moment, nervously excusing himself from the room? If you have answered, "Yes" to all the above questions, you receive a score of 100. A gold star for neatness. And my advice to leave for mother's immediately. That is, immediately after the conclusion of our program. Our story tonight is called "The Orderly World of Mr. Appleby." Unfortunately, it will do nothing to relieve your fears. If that is what you want. If you want contentment, security, peace of mind, listen to this advice from our friendly philosopher.
- ConnectionsVersion of Tales of the Unexpected: The Orderly World of Mr. Appleby (1980)
- SoundtracksFuneral March of a Marionette
Written by Charles Gounod
"The Orderly World of Mr Appleby" turned out to be quite decent, but not great let alone exceptional. It could have done more with the premise and not much wows, but it still turned out to be worth watching and has enough to like. "The Orderly World of Appleby" is not one of the best episodes of Season 1 or 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' in general. At the same time, it is also not one of the worst. Personally put it somewhere in the middle.
Good things are certainly here. Robert H. Harris does a great job in the lead role and is the main reason to see "The Orderly World of Mr Appleby", suitably fidgety but also suitably easy to hate. Perfect for his jerk-ish character. The ending is another strength and elevates what is otherwise not the greatest of stories to a better level, it's plausible and surprising.
Supporting cast are pretty good if never outstanding. Hitchcock is wonderfully droll as is the humour and irony in the bookending. Neilsen directs with competence if not with complete distinction, while the episode is well made visually. Especially the photography. Still love the main theme.
However, the story didn't strike me as too great. It came over as on the far-fetched and thin side, and really could have done with a tighter pace and more suspense. Without those it did come over as bland. The script also could have been tighter.
Despite the supporting cast being pretty good, the supporting characters are not particularly well written with them not being gone into more depth.
Overall, quite decent but there was something missing. 6/10.
- TheLittleSongbird
- Mar 22, 2022
Details
- Runtime30 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1