The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (TV Series) The Paragon (1963) User Reviews

Joan Fontaine and Gary Merrill Particularly Affective

[savanna-2 · 7/10 · 30 May 2015]

While Alice steamrolls through life, the picture of perfection, she leaves a path of victims in her wake. Never waking up to the fact that , for all her well-meaning, she's causing greater harm than good.

She seems to base all of her decisions on one thing "would she want to know if the situations were reversed" and goes from there. She believes that being right is more important than being discrete. From that position, we see here bull doze through a series of interactions, from close friends to almost (the dinner guest) perfect strangers.

She is oblivious to the harm and waste she lays about her. No where is she greeted with happiness. Everyone has armored themselves as much as possible to withstand her blows, but sense they never know what new hell she's about to launch, she always hits her mark.

I thought Gary Merrill's Fred Pemberton, was the perfect counter-point as Joan Fontaine's Alice Pemberton's, long suffering husband. You can tell that he loves Alice to the core of her being. That he would give anything for her to gain insight into her behavior, but it's all for naught. Nothing, nothing, nothing works. So measures have to be taken to stop Alice before she causes ultimate destruction and chaos in the lives of those around her.

I've always felt there was something special about this episode. The sheer presence of Joan Fontaine, would lift even the most common material above the mundane. She is genius at establishing all we need to know to understand this character right out of the box.

Does this woman EVER shut up or listen to anyone?!

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 6 May 2021]

The summary for "The Paragon" is very vague, though Joan Fontaine must have enjoyed playing Alice. Alice is a know-it-all who has an amazing capacity to annoy everyone around her. She thinks she knows better than everyone and has an opinion about EVERYTHING...and she's completely insufferable. Her beleaguered husband, John (Gary Merrill), loves her but he's losing patience with her, as she drives folks away...which harms his business and has lost all their friends. He tries to help her to change, but STILL she is awful to be around and will not accept any criticism. Eventually, John jokes that he may kill her if she doesn't learn to control herself and her opinions. Or, is it a joke?

This episode really holds your interest...due to Fontaine's amazing character! Plus, you really are rooting for something horrible to happen to her and for the person who kills her to get a medal...much like in the great film "The Suspect" (1944). However, it's not perfect as the ending just seemed unsatisfying and weak....without a real twist. Good acting...okay story...and with the unnecessary epilogue by Hitchcock to say that the crime was punished.

Not the ending I expected!

[silversurfersgp · 6/10 · 23 June 2020]

As the seemingly paragon of virtue who has alienated almost everyone she has known in her life through her unconsciously passive-aggressive supercilious patronising behaviour, Joan Fontaine gives such a towering performance that most of the principal cast is left in her wake.

Everything seems set up for the long-suffering husband to poison his wife the 'paragon', which he duly does at the end, no surprise there, though the slow but steady buildup that leads up to that is almost Hitchcockian.

However, I was anticipating a sly twist whereupon it is the husband who takes the poison for himself instead, thus putting a long overdue end to his earthly sorrows, a conclusion which would have been similar to that of "Final Arrangements", the season 6, episode 36 plot of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

One of the creepiest episodes of any classic TV show from the era

[masutz · 10/10 · 14 March 2016]

I'm dumbfounded at the criticism of this episode. I think it gets better and better with each viewing. There is enough about the plot on other posts, so I won't go into it other than to say it is compelling and not absent.

Joan Fontaine's performance is exceptional and she embodies in a short span of time the type of person that would truly drive the most gentle of souls to murder. The character is so tone deaf to anything but her own whims that it makes your skin crawl and has a cringe factor that I've only experienced with a handful of Hitchcocks or Suspense episodes.

It's brilliant and certainly a top performance -- not only by Fontaine, but her husband in the show also. I highly recommend it.

More Interesting Than Suspenseful

[dougdoepke · 27 November 2015]

There's no real plot, instead the entry's more like a character study. That's likely why heavy- duty actress Fontaine was hired. Her wealthy wife Alice Pemberton means well, and in that sense she's a paragon. But her constant "I know better than you do and it's for your own good" attitude is alienating everyone, including husband John (Merrill). And she's so blithely confident about it, there's no getting through to her. Naturally, something has to give.

Note the spooky hook at the outset that grabs viewers before all the talk starts. The hook's meaning also pays off in the final scene. It's a larger than usual cast, as Alice goes from one family member to the next, in her quest to improve lives by finding fault. Merrill's quite good as her patiently exasperated husband who can't get through to her. Plus, it's a tribute to Fontaine's acting skills that she's more exasperating than dislikable. Were it the latter, the episode might be off-putting. One more thing, catch Hitch's brief closing remark. I think it amounts to a quip on the series' special, ground-breaking appeal. All in all, it's an unusual entry that makes a good, if often overlooked, point.

Magnificent!

[mls4182 · 10/10 · 16 March 2022]

Joan Fontaine plays herself! This is the best TV show ever. It shows pious people are evil. They all also have big hair.

Joan ticks off and insults everyone in her wake. They all slam the door as she leaves. A must see!

"I would have worries if I gave in to them, but I never do."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 13 September 2022]

The finale of this episode is telegraphed early on, unusual since Alice Pemberton (Joan Fontaine) discovered the murder agent in her husband's coat pocket, and chose not to suspect a thing. You think she would have since she was always focused on the negative in family members and acquaintances. Apparently, John Pemberton (Gary Merrill) was held in higher esteem, but still bore his wife's intrusive remarks that drove a wedge between her and everyone she came in contact with. Fontaine's character immediately brought to mind a particular aunt of mine who had the same tendencies to comment on one's personal appearance and behavior; It can be darn frustrating. The story ends quite abruptly following John Pemberton's lacing of Alice's cocoa with a vial of 'hexitone'. Almost certainly because the Hays Production Code still held sway until about 1965, Hitchcock waters down the ending by stating that John turned himself in to authorities to face the music. An autopsy would have revealed the cause of death, so at least in this case, the viewer could have come to the same conclusion without having it spelled out.

Nearly perfect lead performances

[papillrm · 9/10 · 14 August 2016]

I saw "The Paragon" today on the "Decades Channel." I was so taken by the writing and the performances that I tried to learn more about the episode. And that's unusual for me. Once you start watching it, it's one of those shows that you can't easily stop watching. Compared to other episodes, this story is much more about character development than plot or intrigue. I was rather surprised to find that others didn't give it a higher approval rating. The only part that I perhaps wished had been better was the somewhat anticlimactic ending. But there's only so much that a writer can accomplish within a program that lasts less than an hour.

Interesting but flawed

[rms125a · 7/10 · 22 July 2018]

The story was interesting, and, in the beginning, was like a dramatic version of Keeping Up Appearances (1990) with Joan Fontaine's character, Alice Pemberton, being as thickheaded, insensitive, obtuse, and unyielding as that of Patricia Routledge 's Hyacinth Bucket. Like Hyacinth, Alice also sports big hair, a huge bouffant that is a cross between Martha Mitchell and the Bride of Frankenstein.

Alice's mother is a cheery down-to-earth older lady, and the two women may as well have been from different planets for all the resemblance they bore to each other. I, for one, had no idea they were even supposed to be related. I thought the older woman was her landlady, not her mother. Such was the chemistry between the two.

The same is true of all -- except for her callow, superficial niece who dotes on her aunt -- of Alice's relatives (siblings, in-laws, nephews) -- all of whom respond to her visits as though they would prefer to be undergoing root canals with faulty anesthesia. To all of these verbal and nonverbal cues, Alice remains fatefully oblivious, not to mention insulting and condescending to the servants.

She also remains stubbornly oblivious to the tensions in her own marriage and her own husband's discomfiting behavior. Ironically, given the story's ending, her husband is the only person who genuinely cares for Alice, who evidently must have been different a decade earlier when they wed, and he is the only one to show any physical affection for Alice (and the only person whom she physically embraces), although her sister, Madge, does try at one point to hug the oblivious Alice, without success.

It lacks compactness and a better lead actor than Gary Merrill, who was never a great actor. But otherwise the acting is very good. Fontaine's character is not sympathetic but the actress does make Alice's doomed trajectory quite compelling.

Awesome!!!!

[peggies118 · 10/10 · 3 July 2020]

As always, Alfred Hitchcock Presents "Paragon" is a casting and production Triumph!Gary Merrill as always is magnificent and Joan Fontaine is truly perfection as always!

Well acted. Poorly Written.

[jaypalmquist824 · 6/10 · 28 January 2015]

A story of a well-heeled woman, whom insinuated herself into her in-laws lives to the point of distraction and alienation.

I found this television story lacking in depth and sincerity. It was like a badly thought-out episode of The Twilight Zone, in that the main character, a sophisticated, socially aware, Alice Pemberton (Joan Fontaine) was oblivious of the effects of her actions and behavior ...either to her husband, or to her family, until the end... except in this case, that didn't even happen.

Worse, none of the characters were sympathetic. They were all written as self-absorbed, self-centered and self-protective, to the point that I was ready to poison the whole cast myself ...just for their bad reactions to an otherwise well-intentioned busy-body.

John Pemberton, played by Gary Merrill, was a miscast, forgettable, vanilla-grade, albeit calculating villain with a small conscious.

After insisting that Alice stop interfering with the in-law's lives, he uttered an overly-veiled threat to kill Alice if she didn't. Later he apologized for his as-yet-to-be-revealed crime, all while allowing Alice to summarily misunderstand his meanings and dismiss them altogether.

Meanwhile Merrill's performances seemed unrehearsed and rather unconvincing.

The ending was a let-down and somewhat anti-climactic, insofar as we had already seen Alice's death hallucinations once already, during a recovery at her sister's house. Furthermore, John Pemberton's understated, if not mostly ambivalent reaction to his wife's death, added little to the suspense.

Finally, Alfred Hitchcock closed with commentary, and this just affirmed the weak ending to the story.

P.S. Joan Fontaine's flamboyant hairstyle defined her character, as much, or more than any dialogue, plot or performance.

Chracter study of a covert narcissist.

[rwgrandcolas · 9/10 · 8 March 2022]

The plot is less important then the psychological study of the main character, Alice Pemberton, played to perfection by Joan Fontaine.

Other reviewers refer to Alice as a mere busy body. Even Hitchcock refers her as just as simply a wife who is "too kind, loving and helpful." These are understatements to say the least.

This is not how I see Alice.

Alice is more then likely a cold blooded narcissist and passive aggressive. She is probably an angry, and jealous person at her core. She fights her true narcissistic feelings of rage and inferiority by locating the faults or problems in others, points them out and then then "throws salt in their wounds." Her verbal slight of hand makes them feel sad and awful about themselves, their lives and decisions. This trick gives Alice her the feeling of superiority over others. Something that she needs and craves.

She always hides her cruelty under guise of being helpful, selfless, caring, and being simply more full of life and love then anyone else. This is her shield and it makes people helpless to defend themselves against her . Everyone finds it hopeless to point out to her that she has just interfered in their lives and deeply insulted them. If they do say something? She turns it against them and digs the blade in a little deeper.

Alice is absolutely incapable of being introspective or of seeing how others view her. The entire world and everyone in it is wrong and she is right. That is the only way for Alice.

Her false persona of a selfless do-gooder is so good that even she has lost touch with her true nature. She believes her own BS, that she really is a wonderful, special and caring person. Therefor she feels that she has every right to refuse to listen to advice or criticism from anyone including her frustrated and concerned husband. This does not change the fact is she is in reality a life and soul killing shrew.

Joan Fontaine did an excellent job with Alice. The silent condescending and impatient looks on her face when her husband, played Garry Merrill, attempts to advise her are perfect. Joan was so good at playing this role that even I felt angry and nervous watching her behavior. Joan was so good it makes your wonder if she pulled these mannerisms from someone she knew in real life.

The only minor flaw I found in the story is that Alice and her husband John have been married for ten years. I beleive that a normal person would have been reduced to a pile of ash after being trapped in a marriage with someone like Alice for ten years.

The character of John as played by Garry Merill seems to be a strong, wise, sensitive and charismatic husband. These exemplary qualities make you want to root for him. So maybe it is a good thing that he is presented this way after all. I only felt that the story would have been a touch more realistic if John was portrayed as someone who had been reduced to a weak, beaten-down-milquetoast due to living with this spirit killing woman.

Many might not like the ending. I thought the ending was appropriate just deserts and suitably creepy.

Joan Fontaine and Gary Merrill

[kevinolzak · 5/10 · 29 February 2012]

"The Paragon" benefits from its two stars, with Joan Fontaine as Alice Pemberton, a snooty woman of great wealth, who thinks she knows best about what to do and how to do it, and never hesitates to let family and friends aware of it. Gary Merrill is a good match as her husband John, who dearly loves his wife, but fears that her bossiness is alienating all those closest to them, patiently trying to explain to Alice how hurtful her never ending put downs are becoming. When she learns certain dangerous information that would mean devastating scandal, refusing to listen to John's pleas, he must resort to drastic measures to prevent her from hurting people anymore. One of those hour long shows that might have worked better in a half hour format.

Names trivia.

[robertsbuehler · 10 August 2020]

In the car scene Mrs Pemberton mentions the name "Lillian Hall."I had to do a search and found out Lillian Hall was a silent screen actress.She was married to actor Walter Pemberton. She was also in two films directed by Hitchcock in 1927 prior to the filming of The Paragon. Hall committed suicide due to a failing career with the advent of talking movies. She slit her throat, very "Hitckcockian", whilst also using a gas oven. Coincidence of names? Probably not.

Not Sure How I Feel About This Episode

[a_athanas · 9/10 · 23 January 2023]

The episode is a play-by-play of every annoying thing this woman has said condensed into one hour. If anyone's annoyances were condensed into an hour, everyone would want to kill them too.

I think it's kind of sexist to have made a big deal about the way Alice acts, as if it's only WOMEN'S shared opinions and advice and knowledge that are insufferable to hear. Back then, MEN could do the same yet be considered wise and helpful by everyone (men, women, children).

Back then, women were expected to act more mousy, like they were the maid, even though they gave birth to the children, and were the woman of the house who raised the children and made everything run like clockwork. They couldn't expect any respect for that - that was the least they could do, and even then their husbands could get away with serial cheating on them for years at a time. If she complained, she could have risked everything. Back then, divorce laws favored husbands, and there were no high paying jobs for women, much less actual career paths.

It's kind of hypocritical that the episode faults her for being beautiful, wealthy, well married, intelligent, knowledgeable, and generous - things that society was/is constantly messaging women that they should strive for. But because she actually achieved it, people think they have to "guard themselves" from her speech. I have a feeling these folks wouldn't have liked her even if she were mute.

I guess in 1963, it was okay to hide your buddy's longterm affair that bankrupted his family, and okay to kill your wife for being great at everything, but it was NOT okay for the wife to be confident and proud of her accomplishments. For that, she must die.

If anyone in her social circle felt any kind of way about anything she said, THEY should have spoken up in real time. Maybe if they all had done so, she could have realized they were taking her speech in the wrong light, and adjusted her delivery, or just let them make their own mistakes despite her knowledge being available to help them. Her real "sin" evidently was being gorgeous and having her act together. It was a one-two punch that others couldn't handle or even admit to themselves or directly to her that they were jealous or felt inferior. If THEY didn't have such pride, they could have said something like "I just can't take perfectly good advice from you because you are more attractive and successful than me - please give me a break." Maybe then she would have toned it down a notch. But even that wouldn't have helped. She was a 10 living in a land of 6.5's. Instead, they all acted like martyrs until it was left up to her husband to speak up. If he REALLY felt like his business dealings were suffering due to her "lack of tact," then why did he wait a decade to say anything, and why did it have to come with a death threat? Did he not know anything about her before he proposed? Did he not make successful business deals already BECAUSE of her beauty, poise and ability to handle the Help and entertain? Did that not count?

There weren't any AHH episodes about a longsuffering wife murdering her HUSBAND after putting up with an attractive, successful businessman of a husband who bored everyone with his extensive knowledge of the market and who was an expert problem solver after years of hard knocks and practice (that today people pay good money for in the form of a Business Consultant).

If you compare this woman to the vulgar, overt Narcissists like The Housewives (of Fill in the Blank), I'll take her any day.

Superb Acting--Especially FontaneThis

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 10 May 2023]

If there was ever a more disgusting character in the Hitchcock TV series, I don't know who it would be. Joan Fontane plays the role of a selfish, self centered woman who has never faced a bit of adversity in her entire life. Her role in life is to go from setting to setting and subtly put people down, destroying their hopes and dreams. The thing is that she is utterly clueless. When her long suffering husband asks her to change some of her ways, she ignores him and does what she wants. She is hated by her family and their friends stay away from them. She can't see that she is the reason for this reaction. One thing I'll mention because I don't know why they did it. Whenever someone commits a crime and gets away with it, big Alfred tells how eventually they were arrested and often executed. This is cheap and tiresome. Was this because of some television code?

The Best Episode!

[Kiki2018 · 29 June 2018]

This is by far the best AHH episode!!! Up There with How To Get Rid of Your Wife and The Gentleman Caller! One of My all-time favorites!

FINALLY, a great episode of "Hour"

[Ripshin · 25 December 2023]

The reason this one works so well? Fontaine and Merrill. There are many actresses who could have never successfully pulled off this incredibly annoying character, without turning her into a cartoonish shrew. It was essential that they hire A-list actors as the leads.

One of the problems with "Hour," is that often, they utilize B-list performers, who can easily butcher a role. I have found "Hour" to be consistently weak and padded - this is an exception. It evokes "Presents" in the best of ways.

The "blob" in the opening and closing shots is quite creepy - very effective.

Oh, and I choose to believe that John got away with murder. (I know, I know, Hitchcock always tacked on an epilogue in which the guilty are inevitably punished.)