This is supposed to be the best known stunt that Hitchcock ever pulled in any of his films. It may be so, but then it was a thirty minute television episode he directed on ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS, and he had to stick closely to the screenplay, written by the author of the original story Roald Dahl.
LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER has little real mystery to it for the viewer. Allan Lane is a police officer, and he returns home looking very serious and very tense. His wife is Barbara Bel Geddes, who has been keeping the house tidy (despite being pregnant). She is a supportive wife, and she tries to relax Lane regarding his depressed mood. Finally he explains to her that he wants a divorce. He has met another woman whom he wants to marry. He is willing to give Bel Geddes some money, and guardianship of the child. Bel Geddes looks like she is in a state of shock, and just says she will prepare his dinner. We see her go out to the freezer and get a leg of lamb. She starts removing the paper the butcher put around it, when she sees that Lane is looking in the phone book. She asks why, and he says he is leaving that night (i.e., he's looking for the number of a hotel). When she protests that he shouldn't leave, he says, "Try to stop me!" She returns to the kitchen, picks up the leg of lamb, returns to the living room, and hits Lane at the base of the skull with the leg. Then she returns to the kitchen and starts broiling the lamb.
It's only subsequently that Bel Geddes realizes Lane is dead. Instead of panicking, she remains cool. They had been invited out for dinner that night (earlier Lane rejected the invitation), so she cancels the dinner invitation over the phone. She then goes out to get some more groceries, and returns to plant evidence (dropping her groceries and bag on the living room floor as though she just found the corpse of her husband; upsetting furnishings to make it look like a struggle). Then she calls the police.
Harold J. Stone is the detective in charge, and the cops do everything properly and in order. We watch the medical examiner looking over Lane's corpse, and another forensic expert dusting for fingerprints. But they are confused. It is obvious that the room has been tampered with for them to accept a so-called fight. But that does not preclude a third party attack on Lane. The head blow was perfect, but it left no marks of breaking the skin. It could have been done with a heavy club. Stone later asks Bel Geddes about such an item - there is nothing like a baseball bat in the house. She even looks for it with him in the house.
The cops are aware that Lane had a history of affairs, but they keep thinking one of the woman might have done this. But how did they get out into the street with the club and not get noticed? Hours have passed, and Stone notices the lamb has cooked. Bel Geddes invites the cops to eat it, which they do, leading to Stone's pronunciation of the famous last line of the episode (see the "Summary Line") while a silent Bel Geddes quietly laughs.
I have often suggested that when Hitchcock used his sense of humor it was best applied in small amounts (in THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956) in the business of Jimmy Stewart making the mistake of going to the taxidermist shop, for instance). When he tried a full attack of his humor (THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY) the results were not really that hot. This episode shows Hitch at his best humor (blended with Dahl's wit). Also it touched on the other aspect of Hitch's personality people knew of - his love of food. Hitch liked to throw dinner parties with the food cut in peculiar shapes or served in odd colors. So this story would have been just up his alley. And he did it well given it's limited time (30 minutes) and relatively simple story.
The three performances are good, Bel Geddes adding this performance under Hitch's direction to the one she did a year before in VERTIGO. Her anti-heroine is quite a sweet type, and is justified in being hurt by being deserted by her husband (she is even having his child). Stone is good as an intelligent detective just befuddled by the issue of where is the murder weapon. Lane, better recalled for being a Western movie star or being the voice of Mr. Ed, is basically having to show his acting early on when his character is alive (he does well, particularly trying to find the right moment to spring his surprise announcement). For the rest he had to just lie "dead" on the floor - a really difficult type of job (he can't move too much).
As for the story, Dahl did well here, as in several other tales he wrote for the series that Hitchcock directed. One wonders at the end how Hitch might have directed CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY if he had been approached. It probably would have been emphasizing dark chocolate - very dark chocolate indeed.
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