The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (TV Series) The World's Oldest Motive (1965) User Reviews

The twist at the end made this one worth seeing.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 30 June 2021]

Alex (Henry Jones) is a terrible husband. Instead of loving and caring for his wife, he spends much of his time chasing other women. Recently, he's become very fond of a 26 year-old lady and during one rendezvous, he notices a man watching them (Robert Loggia). This continues for some time until the man finally approaches Alex. The stranger knows a LOT about Alex and his man dalliances....and offers to help him. How? By killing Alex's dowdy wife (Kathleen Freeman)!

While there have been other episodes about assassins and folks offing their spouses, this one worked because it STILL was fresh and watchable thank to the fun twist at the end. Not among the very best but still a very good episode.

Cheating husband looks to get rid of wife

[CCsito · 7/10 · 3 October 2009]

This Alfred Hitchcock episode was directed by Harry Morgan who starred in Dragnet and M*A*S*H on TV. The story deals with a husband (Henry Jones) who is married to Kathleen Freeman. On the side, the man has a mistress (Linda Lawson). After the mistress tries to pressure him to end their relationship, he then comes across a man who specializes in disposing of problems. He decides to pay the hit man (Robert Loggia) to do the job of getting rid of his wife. He tells the mistress about his plans to get rid of his wife and she becomes enraged and tells him to stop the plan. What he doesn't realize is that he has been the victim of a long planned con. The mistress and the hit man leave with his money and the husband is left to ponder about how he was tricked and what a fool he was.

One of the top 5 very best of AHH

[deedrala · 8/10 · 25 September 2020]

"The World's Oldest Motive" is very well done in every area: casting, acting, writing/dialogue, direction, originality, and......cleverness. It's what all the others in the AHH series should be, but unfortunately many of them can't hold a candle to this one.

An extra added bonus was seeing Henry Jones fast-dance, haaa.. He was a superb actor (especially as Leroy in The Bad Seed - absolutely stellar performance), but he had no rhythm when it came to dancing (I was instantly reminded of Frankenstein).

I almost felt sorry for Alex (Henry Jones) when it became all too clear that not only had he been conned out of thousands of dollars for which he received nothing in return, but his young mistress was one of the pair of con artists, AND she and her slick partner in crime were about to leave on a fabulous trip that poor Alex had unknowingly paid for.

Another plus: one of the few Hitchcock hours with very little - if any - unnecessary padding to fill time.

8 out of 10 / Grade B

Old Theme, Hitch Variation

[dougdoepke · 23 March 2016]

When jowly, aging Alex (Jones) hooks up with luscious young Fiona (Lawson), we know something's up. After all, this is Hitchcock. Trouble is Alex has an aging plump wife (Freeman) that Fiona doesn't know about. But when Fiona finds Alex is married she cuts him off. Now it looks like Alex is stuck; that is, until slickster Shausak (Loggia) arrives to offer him a super efficient solution to his problem.

It's an okay episode with the usual spiral toward an ironic payoff. There's quite a bit of padding, especially with the extended Alex-Shausak interview in the washroom, of all places. But, as usual, the entry benefits from excellent casting. A familiar face from that era, Jones combined first-rate acting skills with an unmistakable Basset hound face. Add that fine utility actress Kathleen Freeman as the dowdy wife, and their scenes together are little gems of toothless sharks.

All in all, it's a decent, if padded, variation on a familiar premise, done up Hitchcock style.

THE ASSASSIN WOULD LIKE TO TALK WITH YOU?

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 29 July 2023]

Harry Morgan (Col. Potter from MASH) did some directing his time, in fact, headed a few episodes of his own tv show. He also did two Hitchcock tv shows, and a super job at that. He actually began his second career in the mid 60s, directing the PAT BOONE SHOW.

This again, is one of the best episodes from the final season. As I have said, I think the third season of the hour long series had the most intriguing episodes, at least they featured some of the best actors in the biz. Case in point. Movie and tv sly old fox Henry Jones (as Alex) plays a man who has a bad marriage, or maybe it's all about him??

The man with a "problem" has always been a central theme with Hitchcock, both in his movies and tv show. The million dollar question is what happens next? Although this is NOT in any ways an original story, the writers kind of instituted a unique u-turn. Instead of going to a hitman to finish the job, the gentleman comes to Alex. Another top actor, Robert Loggia, who could play anything from businessmen to mob bosses, portrays the assassin who has been watching him, and knows the score.

One of the best tough cookies around, Kathleen Freeman, plays Alex's not so pretty wife. If she is out of the picture, Alex can further develop his relationship with an attractive twenty-something.

Why not give it a try? The trick here is after all is said and done... he changes his mind???? Interestingly, this idea may have been lifted from an entry in the WHISTLER movie series from the 1940s, starring Richard Dix. Dusted off, but still as clever.

Freeman, one of the most visible faces in both movies and tv, got her start in the late 1940s, appearing in bit parts in such classics films as NAKED CITY (1948). Truly one of those gifted actors who you know all too well, but always forget their name.

Considering the talent, a late night must, if just to see the wheels fall off the wagon! SEASON 3 EPISODE 25.

"Gotta get some kicks out of life, kid!"

[classicsoncall · 8/10 · 20 January 2023]

Seriously, how dumb do you have to be to tell the girlfriend you're having an affair with that you'll marry her just as soon as your wife is murdered? Fortunately, Fiona McNiece (Linda Lawson) had just the right reaction to keep Alex Morrow (Henry Jones) on the hook to keep him wondering if he had a chance with her. Now I don't recall the name of the Statistical Assistance Corporation agent that approached Alex being mentioned, but in the credits it's Richard Schausak. All the while I kept thinking that Robert Loggia's character would have been a better match for Fiona than the droopy faced Jones, and in the end, I was proven correct since they were both working the scam together. After five years, they had the gimmick down pat, and good old Alex fell right into their trap. Fifteen thousand dollars lighter and Alex had his 'curlers and quilted housecoat' wife Angela (Kathleen Freeman) to go back to. Oh well, he still had his prized stamp collection, while Hitchcock didn't have a reason to opine on a guilty party getting sent up for murder.

Great Henry Jones

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 1 June 2023]

While the story was pretty pedestrian, it was fun watching Henry Jones and his expressions of frustration. He is ridiculously having an affair with a beautiful young woman who knows just how to deal with him. She plays hard to get until killing his wife seems the only option. She is Kathleen Freeman who made a career of being frumpy. But she is patient and does what she can for the guy, even though he deserves nothing. The ending is quite good although I would have had a different one where the wife has hired the same guy to do Henry in. There are times when watching an old guy like this try to act like a kid is a bit hard to watch. The dance scenes for instance.