The Alfred Hitchcock Hour A Matter of Murder (1962–1965) Online

"A Matter of Murder" is a black comedy of errors, guest starring Telly Savalas as Philadelphia Harry, leader of a small group of car strippers, who get more than they bargained for when they make off with a car belonging to Sheridan Westcott (Darren McGavin), who has just murdered his shrewish wife and hidden the corpse in the trunk, while checking the nearby lake for the proper depth to dump the body. Not panicking, Westcott tells the police that his wife was in the stolen car, victim of a kidnapping and still alive, while Harry realizes that the best way to get rid of their problem is by installing the stolen vehicle in Westcott's own garage. In cahoots with his wife's pretty young niece (Pat Crowley), Westcott gives the car a makeover before abandoning it on a lonely deserted road, where Harry's gang unwittingly steal it a second time! Forging a ransom note to throw the police off the track, Westcott withstands a search of his home, threatening a possible lawsuit, which might actually succeed unless Harry can find another way to avoid a murder rap. Pat Crowley was best remembered for her starring role in television's PLEASE DON'T EAT THE DAISIES, and Darren McGavin, Kolchak himself, was well cast against type as the arrogant killer.

This program is well-written, well-paced, and fun from the start. No drama here. Even in grind-'em-out TV, "A Matter of Murder" shows that if the writing and acting are good, inexpensive on-studio-grounds productions can be excellent.

Telly Savalas, Patricia Crowley and Darren McGavin are the lead players, and I liked Marc Rambeau who looked like a star to me. His career and life were short. Likewise for Lee Kinsolving of the same era.

For me, "A Matter of Murder" ages better than most 1950's and 1960's material because Patricia Crowley's character is smart, complete, and even dominant. She isn't the white-glove-wearing housewife that are seen so much in this period (see, for example, Julie Adams in "A Little White Frock").

Have fun.

You may need a score card to keep up with all the maneuvering. Seems Westcott (McGavin) prefers the adorable Enid (Crowley) to his shrewish wife. So in good Hitchcock fashion, guess who ends up in the trunk of the family car. But that's when the fun starts. Philadelphia Harry (Savalas) and his bumbling crew specialize in stealing cars. So they unknowingly steal the incriminating vehicle before Westcott can get rid of it and the body. Now it's back and forth between the two culprit crews as each tries to stick the other with evidence of murder. And somewhere behind, the cops are trailing.

Solid Hitch—murder, suspense, and irony, all done with a touch of black humor. I like the way it's really glamour girl Enid who does the planning for Westcott. Now there's a switch since cuties are usually just airhead décor. But here she's in low-key charge. However, keep the score card handy since the narrative is both tricky and complex.

***SPOILERS*** Honest as the day is long car thief Phildelphia Harry, Telly Savalas, and his gang get stuck with this stiff-FeBee Westcott- who was murdered and hidden in the trunk of her murderous husband the slimy Sheriden Westcott, Darren McGavin, car. It was Sheriden and his squeeze or girlfriend Enid Bentley's,Pat Crowley, plan to deep six FeBee in a nearby lake but it was Phildephia Harry and his gang of car thieves, by showing up unexpectedly, that interrupted their plans.

Finding the stiff or body in the trunk after stealing the car P.Harry soon realizes that there was a murder involved which he and his boys if caught would be held responsible for. Playing the distraught husband Sheriden makes like he's looking for his wife but at the same time tries to recover her body by tracking down where P.Harry hid the car and ,by cremating it, destroying the evidence of his crime. It's the police who feel that FeBee is dead and her body was dumped in the nearby lake and plan to have it dredged which is just fine with Sheriden and Enid who know that it's not there and would let them get away with their crime; But P.Harry has different ideas.

****SPOILERS**** Shjeriden & Enid's plan backfires or boomerangs on them with P.Harry and his boys recovering FeBee's body and putting it where the police can find it. And together with the body is all the evidence that the police or courts would need to convict the two murderers. It was car thief P.Harry by being honest and exonerating himself of FeBee's murder that brought the truth, or FeBee's body, to the surface in this at first kidnap and later murder case.

It's pretty much an out and out comedy, not all that funny but the story twists keep it lively and amusing. McGavin and Savalas were, of course, soon to be TV stars in their own right. Both kind of do what you'd expect but the story robs them of any direct conflict which is too bad as it'd be fun to see them react off each other.

Show has a pretty dated and obnoxious 60's comedy music score, that seems to be pieced together from the music library. Does feature a fair amount of on location scenes, including one where you can see that it's raining for real in a scene--this helps keep the show moving.

Savalas gang scenes aren't really convincing, as the dumb stooge guys just aren't very funny. McGavin is more successful in his blustering scenes.

Police elements are treated fairly seriously which seems odd in this context and the ending of the show is too abrupt, the real pay off being left off camera.