A newsman taking a forced plane trip to Egypt describes his past connection with arms trafficking to a lovely governess who knows part of his story is untrue.A newsman taking a forced plane trip to Egypt describes his past connection with arms trafficking to a lovely governess who knows part of his story is untrue.A newsman taking a forced plane trip to Egypt describes his past connection with arms trafficking to a lovely governess who knows part of his story is untrue.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAs the opening caption states, the story is set in Nairobi in 1958 although technically, most of the action takes place in flashbacks and when the plane is in the air.
- GoofsAs the passengers are seen climbing the stairs to board the plane, they are on its left side. When the view switches to the interior of the plane, they are seen boarding from the right side.
- Quotes
[introduction]
Alfred Hitchcock: [Hitchcock is in his usual suit with a long white scarf around his neck, being buffeted by strong winds as he pilots a magic carpet that sputters audibly; he turns to the audience] Good evening, earthlings. Now you housewives know what to do with your rugs when the moths get in them.
[camera moves in to show the 'control wheel' Hitchcock is holding which looks like a fan made out of bent wire]
Alfred Hitchcock: Put the moths to work. After all, if you can't lick them, join them. This could be the transportation of the future. I'm certain the day is not far off when the two-carpet family will be quite common. No special launching platform is needed. The well-waxed hallway of your home will do.
[Hitchcock grimaces as he tries to look down]
Alfred Hitchcock: 10,000 feet up, and yet I could swear I saw a billboard.
[gestures below]
Alfred Hitchcock: Over there.
- SoundtracksFuneral March of a Marionette
Written by Charles Gounod
It is also the case in "Flight to the East". It is not a bad episode in my view, as it does show off Merrill's talent very well and has its moments. It is also heavily flawed, almost all of it story related, and is not a great first impression for Hiller. Luckily he did go on to do better for 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents', including his next episode "Disappearing Trick". When it comes to Season 3, "Flight to the East" is not one of the best by any stretch, but it is also not one of the worst again by any stretch.
There are good things here. Merrill is very good and carries the episode with persuasive authority. Patricia Cutts is also strong and they interact beautifully together. Also thought that the episode was filmed very nicely and cleverly, Cutts is very photogenic too.
Hitchcock's bookending is amusingly ironic and "Funeral March of a Marionette" continues to be classic theme music, love how suitably macabre it is.
On the other hand, "Flight to the East" could have been a lot better. It is too talky, especially in the first half that also didn't need to explain so much. And it is of the kind that does ramble and has too much in a short period of time to digest what is being said. Hiller's direction is undistinguished and has a bite off more than he can chew. The story sounded good on paper but very flawed in execution, actually can say very little if anything good about it.
Something that immediately struck me was how over-crowded it was, with it trying to cram in too much content in too short a space of time. A longer length of at least 15 minutes, and even better feature length, would have done this very interesting story structure justice. With the too short length and over-crowding, it made the episode feel confusing and rushed and the constant backing and forthing between the two viewpoints confused things further. It is also dull, with no suspense or tension, the flashbacks bogging down the momentum and of course the over talkiness of the script. The ending is both anaemic and implausible.
Concluding, watchable but a disappointment. 5/10.
- TheLittleSongbird
- Feb 1, 2023
Details
- Runtime30 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1