"A Bullet for Baldwin" is the second 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episode to be directed by Justus Addiss. The first one being "Salvage", which to me is a very good episode and saw the series get back on track after a quality dip for a few episodes. Really liked the idea, quite complicated conceptually but always liked the more psychological kind of stories. It is always great to see Sebastian Cabot, best known to me for 'Family Affair' and his Disney voiceover work.
There are better episodes of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents', of Season 1 (which was not always smooth sailing but was mostly solid) and overall. There are also worse on both counts. "A Bullet for Baldwin" to me is one of the high middle entries in the series. It is good and does do a lot that is highly commendable, but it didn't wow me and this is one of the half hour episodes that would have been better with a longer length with a story of this nature.
Shall start with the good. It is slickly and atmospherically made visually and Addiss' direction is tight enough as well as controlled. While not enhancing the atmosphere as such, when it is used the music doesn't distract or feel at odds either. The wonderfully devillish theme tune is a classic, and one of those that one hears in popular culture a lot before and since and recognise it without knowing what it is (Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette"). Hitchcock's bookends are typically droll, remember not being crazy about them to begin with but there were some inspired crackers throughout the series' run.
In terms of scripting, "A Bullet for Baldwin" is thought-provoking and doesn't have any excess fat. Liked how tongue in cheek it was too, and in a way that was amusing and not corny or too broad. The story is very compelling and never dull, it is not perfect by all means but it is also quite suspenseful and twisty. John Qualen excels in the psychologically fascinating lead role and Cabot relishes his part.
However, "A Bullet for Baldwin" did feel rushed at times, a lot goes on and sometimes at a fast rate and the final act especially could have done with a slowing down and expansion because it did start getting a little too complicated.
Furthermore, it is one of the episodes that would have benefitted from being longer by at least 15 minutes and even better feature length. Half an hour is too little for a story of this nature. The ending is very interesting and very surprising, it just could have gone into more depth.
On the whole, not great but good. 7/10.