"The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" as well as "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" were generally very good shows. But they both had one serious problem. In many episodes involving 'perfect murders', the show just could not leave well enough alone. After the brilliant episode, Hitchcock came out for his usual epilogue and invariably he'd say something like "the murderers were soon apprehended and paid the price for their crimes". In other words, a moralistic ending which essentially undoes much of the greatness of the episode! He'd never have done this with his movies....so I can only assume sponsors of the networks demanded this tacked on ending. And, in the case of "Bed of Roses", it took a perfect episode (which clearly merits a 10) and reduces it's impact considerably.
When the story begins, George (Patrick O'Neal) has just married the boss' pretty daughter. Despite this, soon after the wedding, George sneaks over to his old girlfriend's house after she sent him some note asking to see him. Well, when he walks in her place, he finds the girlfriend dead....and he runs instead of contacting the authorities.
The next day, the cab driver who drove him to the girlfriend's house arrives at the office. He informs George that he COULD tell the police about that cab ride....or he could pay for the cabbie's silence. Instead of agreeing or disagreeing, he agrees to meet the man later. In the meantime, he tells his wife about his predicament. Oddly, she's not angry at him at all and suggests he invite the driver over to their house. What happens next sure comes as a shock to George!
This is a perfect episode....minus Hitchcock's terrible concluding remarks. The acting and especially the writing are right on target.