Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV Series) The Case of Mr. Pelham (1955) User Reviews

The clone of Mr. Pelham!!!!

[elo-equipamentos · 8/10 · 17 October 2019]

Alfred Hitchcock's offers to us an implausible tale, but who care anyway, the Case of Mr. Pelham is original and fresh, about a man of middle age, just single (Tom Ewell) who has his own business, living in a normal and easy lifestyle, when suddenly he realizes that someone else is trying to mimic him, he already was warned by some friends that they met him in another places, however unnoticed by Mr. Pelham, who didn't remember to be there, in fact in that moment he was out of town, then he meets his Doctor to discuss such madness, the Doctor suggest some advices, however every day is getting worst, the results is unpredictable at least, nice episode!!

Resume:

First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8

Weirdsville.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 22 February 2012]

Someone once called this episode "the weirdest material Hitchcock ever worked with in this or any other medium." Poor Tom Ewell, playing it perfectly straight, is a colorless but reasonably well-off accountant or something who gradually discovers that some sort of impostor or doppelganger is insinuating himself into Ewell's life, displacing him bit by bit.

At first, the double's appearance are fleeting and unimportant. But by the end, he's been working in Ewell's office and handling the business. People are beginning to confuse the two and Ewell's own identity is coming into question. So, to prove he's the real Pelham, Ewell buys an outlandish tie that the impostor, sticking to the rules, woudn't be found dead in. (The logic here is a bit weak.) Ewell winds up in a madhouse and the impostor assumes his identity completely.

There's an implicit element of the supernatural. We never learn anything of the impostor's background, yet he knows details of Ewell's personal history, his phrases, his tone of voice, that no one is likely to have learned, no matter how intensely the subject had been studied.

I think there's the glimmer of a moral message too, rather than just a paranoid fantasy. It's more like stories that came out of Poe ("William Wilson") or Robert Louis Stevenson ("Dr. Jeykll and Mr. Hyde") except that here the impostor stands not for the conscience or the id but for a systemic change in American values.

What was happening in 1955 after all? It was the age of Madison Avenue, of the man in the gray flannel suit, of industry, hard work, of moving into new and bigger housing in the suburbs. Greed was good.

The final scene has the doppelganger playing snooker with a colleague. Says the friend: "You must be in the millionaire bracket by now, aren't you?" "Could be," replies the ersatz Ewell. It's a small and almost insignificant exchange but it's hard to imagine why the writers and Hitchock left it in except to point up the fact that the impostor is a more nearly perfect chronicle of the times. He's replaced Ewell simply because he's better at making money than Ewell was.

Or -- maybe not.

Watch out the haircut

[searchanddestroy-1 · 8/10 · 22 June 2019]

I guess many viewers have missed something: the haircut in the final pool game scene. This haircut is the supposed poor lead character's one, not his double. because if you give close attention to the double's haircut in the previous scene, in the lobby, with the butler, the double has a specific haircut, different from the one he has in the pool game. Follow me? So in the pool game scene, this is the true hero whom we see, even if his conversation may supposes he is not. Confusing. I Don't know if Hitch thought about it...If he did it deliberately or not.

Who Is That Guy in the Mirror

[dougdoepke · 7 March 2007]

Al Pelham is a mild-mannered, average-looking New Yorker with a small brokerage business. Then, strange things start happening. Someone is impersonating him for no apparent reason, a look-alike down to the smallest detail of appearance and memory bank. Whoever it is, he's taking over Pelham's life, easing him slowly out of existence. But why? Who could envy such a routine existence.

The premise seems more appropriate for the Twilight Zone since there appears to be no natural explanation. Even more relevant is the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), which was probably in development about the time this episode aired. Nonetheless, it's an intriguing 30 minutes, low-keyed, without hysteria or adornment as Pelham's predicament becomes ever more precarious. Lending a nice sinister touch is the predatory-lion painting that overhangs the last scene. It's thoughtful touches like this that can make the difference between a good episode and a memorable one. Those looking for a more natural explanation of Pelham's predicament might consider the emergence of a second, more assertive and success-oriented personality. But, however you take it, the premise was challengingly novel for the depths of 1950's TV, and is still one of the more memorable episodes.

Spectacularly Weird Entry from a First-Rate Series

[snowyfminor · 9/10 · 8 January 2012]

I have a hard time explaining to people why I love this episode so much. Tom Ewell's friendly but oddly unattractive face (as the titular character) is certainly a major force in this first-season gem. Or perhaps it's the homey nightclub where's he a member. More obviously it could just be the story, which is simple, familiar, and yet totally uncanny: a well-adjusted man believes his doppelganger is out to ruin his life. The show is a series of flashbacks as Pelham reveals his unfolding nightmare to his mustachioed psychologist, played pitch-perfect by Raymond Bailey of Mr.Drysdale fame. (For some reason, I love watching him sip the beer from his tall glass as he listens intently to Pelham's dilemma) And my god, that gorgeous black-and-white photography has never looked more scintillating. Perhaps these are mundane items, but for me they make me yearn for the golden age of Hollywood.

With its disquieting conclusion, "The Case of Mr. Pelham" defines that beautiful bygone era.

"The Case of Mr. Pelham" is one of best in first season

[chuck-reilly · 9/10 · 19 December 2008]

In this first season entry, Tom Ewell plays Albert Pelham, a nondescript executive in a big city who suddenly senses that he has a double or doppelganger that is impersonating him. At first he believes that it's all in his mind and he consults a psychiatrist named Doctor Harley (Raymond Bailey) who gives him little assurance regarding what is actually transpiring in his life. The good doctor's advice isn't beneficial either and Pelham leaves the office with little to show for his visit. Things soon get worse as Pelham's friends, his personal secretary and everyone else, seem to be taking orders from the "double" and not from him. It's enough to drive a fellow to madness, which may be the point of this whole exercise. In the end, Pelham tries desperately to discover who this vile perpetrator of his personality is by changing his own routines and clothing (specifically the color of his tie). Wouldn't you know it, the doppelganger pulls the rug from under him by accusing Pelham as the impostor. Naturally everyone believes him because poor Pelham is stuck in an outfit that the "real" Pelham would never be caught dead in. So much for that strategy. Pelham is soon carted off to the nearest mental institution so someone can figure out his "true" identity. Poor fellow.

As one earlier reviewer noted, this episode probably fits better into Rod Serling's canon rather than Hitchcock's usual tales of irony and suspense. That said, it's one of the more intriguing entries in the first season of the show. Funnyman Tom Ewell plays it straight as an arrow as Pelham and is highly effective in the role. As most people know, Ewell will always be remembered for his role in the movie "The Seven Year Itch". He's the one gazing at Marilyn Monroe as her dress lifts up from the New York City subway draft. In "The Case of Mr. Pelham," he doesn't have near that kind of good fortune.

Kind of Predictable. Yet, Still Amusing

[mzkmblog · 7/10 · 14 July 2021]

The ending is in particular pretty humorous once you figure out what exactly is going on in the last scenes.

That said, the episode could have benefitted from one of Hitchcock's usual clever commentary at the end of the episode about the main character's solution to his own problem or how it came about in the first place.

Wonderfully uneasy

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 9 February 2022]

Absolutely loved the idea of the story, which was a different one for the series at that time. There were episodes where one is immediately sucked in even reading the synopsis and having a feeling that it would be good, and "The Case of Mr Pelham" is one of them. It also has the advantage of being directed by the master of suspense himself, whose previous episode was the brilliant "Breakdown" (a season and series high point). So expectations were high.

Those expectations were absolutely filled and very nearly exceeded with "The Case of Mr Pelham". While not quite as brilliant as Hitchcock's previous entry, it has all of the things that made that episode so good and executes them just as well. "Breakdown" gets the slight edge for the atmosphere being a little more chilling and for having a more satisfying ending. "The Case of Mr Pelham" is still an excellent episode and one of Season 1's best overall, and certainly up to this point.

Some people might like that the ending is open to interpretation and ambiguous, while that was intriguing to me there was too much of an abrupt and incompletely inconclusive feel in a case where a well rounded off conclusion was needed.

Everything else is fantastic. It is stylishly and atmospherically made and Hitchcock's direction is typically exemplary. His bookending is also wonderfully droll and interesting. The music adds well to the ominous unease and have said a lot in reviews for the previous episodes about the theme tune being such a perfect pick for the series and can't get enough of it.

Furthermore, the script is lean and thoughtful and the story is laden with uneasy suspense and a truly scary atmosphere that is enough to give the chills. A good deal goes on but it doesn't feel over-stuffed and it is neither too simple or over-complicated. Flashbacks have the dangers of bogging down the momentum or distracting from the story without adding much, "The Case of Mr Pelham" does neither.

The titular character is one worth rooting for, while not being too passive, and played with absolute conviction by Tom Ewell, here playing it straight in an atypical dramatic role that could easily have been played blandly but isn't. Raymond Bailey is perfectly cast as well.

In summary, excellent. 9/10.

"You're mad, you know."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 14 July 2021]

The one thing this story doesn't do is explain who the 'real' Albert Pelham actually was. The one we're introduced to as the story opens begins to question his sanity as folks all over town mention how they've seen him in places he never went to. That would be quite maddening if it happened to you or me. Tom Ewell, usually cast in comedic roles, finds himself in a quandary here, seeking out a psychiatrist friend (Raymond Bailey), and relying on his butler (Justice Watson) to help identify his neurosis when it looks like he might be losing control. I can see how this would be a tantalizing episode for viewers back in the day, but the fact that the identity switch is never explained offers a bit of frustration when the program is over. Alfred Hitchcock himself pokes a little fun at what we just saw during his little vignette when the story closes, with his 'other self' being carted off by the men in white coats, while he bids the viewer good bye. This was an episode that was memorable for me, but not entirely satisfying.

Quite Compelling!

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 6 October 2008]

Alfred HItchcock Presents was often criticized for leaving the plots open ended. I loved this, but my literal minded friends didn't. This is quite a fascinating episode where to men share the same identity. They look exactly alike. One is a rather mild mannered introspective man. His reincarnation is a bold, pushy business man with little soul or kindness. The episode is from the perspective of the former who realizes he is being seen in places he couldn't possibly be. He treats people with a short curt manner. Eventually, the second man even moves into his home. It's the sorting out that's the problem. This is a bit Twilight Zone like. We move toward a conclusion. And what is it? Have we been seeing something that is a man's delusions? Is this other guy the real deal? That's what makes it so interesting.

Curious, if slightly frustrating

[nqure · 6/10 · 22 October 2022]

I have to admit to preferring 'Tales of the Unexpected' as an anthology series but ...Hitchcock Presents...is its precursor -and there are a few storylines that feature in both series such as 'The Orderly World of Mr Appleby''.

I thought this episode would be more comedic, as a man believes somebody is impersonating him after he is accused of odd, uncharacteristic behaviour on a number of occasions, such as rudely ignoring another club member. The confusion is gradually heightened but not actually explained, leading to a somewhat frustrating conclusion.

It has faint echoes of Dostoevsky's 'The Double', where a man finds himself displaced in his office & life by a more successful version of himself, who is able to fit in by being more sociable & obsequious than him.

As one reviewer seemed to suggest, the conclusion is left open-ended, but Mr Pelham's doppelganger is now on the verge of making his first million, suggesting that the more assertive side of his personality has emerged to take over, casting aside the old Pelham. Perhaps the story has some social relevance for the mid 1950s America in which it is set as a more assertive type of go-getting individual began to emerge, displacing older values (as suggested in the perceptive review, titled 'Weirdsville').

Now that's disturbing

[Cristi_Ciopron · 9/10 · 12 October 2009]

THE CASE OF MR. PELHAM, with Tom Ewell, plays as the most disturbing episode of this series; the protagonist looks a bit like Bogarde. Directed by Hitchcock, performed by Tom Ewell and Raymond Bailey, Justice Watson, Kirby Smith, Kay Stewart …, this episode tells the story of a double—not of a metaphysical double, but of a criminal one, and it has surreal accents. Ewell, himself an anachronistic Bogarde impersonator himself (i.e., a Bogarde before Bogarde), gives his character a clinical twist. How will a businessman identify himself? A businessman, thrown down the spiral of what seems at first like a farce, is stalked by a mysterious impersonator who seems to know everything about his victim; and most facts remain unexplained by the episode's detective solution. Hitchcock calls the episode a frolic.

Remains a good watch , despite the story being done to death since.

[b_kite · 6/10 · 3 October 2018]

Albert Pelham (Tom Ewell) discovers that someone has been impersonating him. Fearing his life is being taken away from him, Pelham confronts his double, only to begin doubting his own sanity.

Hitchcock returns again for his 3rd directing credit, taking on another familiar story that much like "Breakdown" has been done about a zillion times since this. The tale of a man who discovers he has a double trying to take over his life and slowly push him out or is he slowly going mad. The out come is usual always the same conclusion and the one here is no different, that's maybe why the impact of this one really didn't hit me to hard because I pretty much knew where this was going after the two Pelham's finally meet. As said before Hitch does his usual great job behind the camera and the cast is excellent here, I could defiantly see how in 1956 this was damn good television as Hitch was apparently nominated for a prime time Emmy for best directing. Not to sound harsh on this episode as it seems to be a favorite among fans of the series, and it is a very fine episode, but, I guess the fact that the story being done to death and seeing this a hundred times on other movies and series since really hurt the out come for me, and personally I believe Hitch should have got the Emmy nod for either "Revenge" or "Breakdown" as I believe those two episodes to be superior to this one. Closing note: Hitchcock's closing narration is the greatest!.

Great story idea....absolutely no payoff.

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 16 February 2021]

This is one of only about a dozen and a half episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" where the famous director actually directed the episode. While this is good, the ending really left me cold as I kept expected a neat payoff...but got nothing.

Mr. Pelham (Tom Ewell) is a businessman who seems to be losing is mind. Because of this, he tells a psychiatrist (Raymond Bailey) about his problem. It seemed that some time ago, it started to feel as if someone was taking over his life. For example, when he would go out, his duplicate would be home. And, when he was at work, it seems his double wasn't. Ultimately, you see him confront the double...and he looks exactly like him.

All through the episode I kept thinking how neat the set-up was for this show and it really sucked me into the episode. But there was no payoff....no explanation for any of this. And, because of this, it was so frustrating to watch. Technically well made but the script needed work.

Ive never heard of this story before

[brjess38 · 10/10 · 27 March 2019]

Brilliant story, new to me. I love this episode. Its one of alfreds best directions.

Victim to Guilty man

[AvionPrince16 · 8/10 · 14 May 2022]

An interesting story ,very intriguing from the start and until the end .we try to understand trough all the episode to reveal the truth behind the strangeness of the situation and we wondering what happened and how is it possible. And finally the victim of the situation become the guilty guy .Just because he tried to buy some new clothes that he cant imitate .Nice episode even if its end pretty suddenly but it was nice and interesting.

genre: uneasiness

[RResende · 4 November 2009]

I have been feeding on these small adventures. Even though i had obviously heard about this show, i had never tried it. Right now i have seen a handful of episodes, and incidentally i've been hitting many directed by Hitchcock. This is such one. After having seen these episodes, i consider that they deserve individual commentary, even though it sounds reasonable to consider this a "show". I mean, quite beyond the immortal generic, the Hitchcock sketch that Alfred himself drew, and the by now inseparable soundtrack, we have a feel to every episode (at least those i've seen so far) that binds them together. I'm still not able to properly define what that is, but apparently, and generally speaking, every episode tries to play with the basic notions of the mystery genre (Hitch's cinematic home), mixed with nonsense and the bizarre. It doesn't press so hard on these two aspects as Twilight Zone, but it so far i reckon in it higher visual interest, or wasn't the patron of this show AH. In any case, the episodes are uneven among them, and quite different in their conception, different writers, different directors, different actors. So i look at them as short films, part of a larger universe where they exist together.

This Mr Pelham is a very good and balanced example of the different genres they use. Maybe that's why i'm starting my comments here. Hitch's direction is quite low-key. It's competent, of course, fully detached from any ordinary television values - which 50 years ago probably didn't exist so rooted on people's minds as they do today - but apart from some dolly shots, exquisitely executed, the camera work is normal. Those dolly shots are actually remarkable, so check them, they usually start a scene, with a certain framing, that indicates a certain environment, and that framing is corrected through camera movement to make us find something that matters, like when Ewell gets the first time in the club, the camera adjusts our focus to Ewell, and puts us in the action. This subtlety is remarkable.

But the interest is in the narrative, the story itself. I have the feeling the idea here was deceiving us into believing we were watching a criminal identity swap case, only to make us fall into the awkwardness of the inexplicable. In the end, we really don't know what that was all about, and may be led to mistrust what we see. Who was the real Pelham? Who was the real Hitchcock, in the end? Like this is a kind of short "being malkovich".

It works, it's not fascinating beyond the taste of the mood, but it's good. Ewell... i don't know how could he be the man peaking under Monroe's skirt. His acting is so noisy and denounced it aches. Hitch's interventions are priceless.

My opinion: 3/5

http://www.7eyes.wordpress.com

WHAT IS MY DOUBLE DOING NOW???

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 5 August 2023]

Hitch took some time out of his busy schedule to direct this intriguing episode, and yes, I agree with the last reviewer --this could be confused as a TWILIGHT ZONE story. More over, Hitchcock received an Emmy nomination for Best TV Director, but lost! How can that be? A super trivia question.

Tom Ewell (THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH) is the perfect choice to play everyday guy Mr. Pelham who has a problem. Hitch always had a preoccupation with gentlemen with baggage, only this time it's not murder. It's all about somebody slowly taking over Pelham's life, an exact double, and having a very good time of it.

One of Hitchcock's favorite actors, Raymond Bailey, looking like Mr. Drysdale on the BEVERLY HILLBILLIES, plays the poor man's psychiatrist who has his doubts about the bizarre story. Perhaps the best thing about this tale is Ewell narrating what happens next and next .... and how long before he loses his mind!

By the way, the TWILIGHT ZONE did, in fact, come out with a very similar type story, called "Mirror Image" (1960), starring Vera Miles who is waiting in a lonely bus station and spots her mischievous double. Don't miss it. It would be cool if METV ran that episode back to back with this one on their late night schedule.

Wait for the closing with Mr. H and his own double! SEASON 1 EPISODE 10 remastered CBS dvd box set.

The Case of Mr. Pelham

[bombersflyup · 1/10 · 14 February 2020]

An entirely annoying episode and a waste of time as well, as it doesn't even have a conclusion. Empty canvas woohoo, it can be whatever you want it to be.

The Case of Mr. Pelham

[Prismark10 · 5/10 · 26 July 2022]

This was remade as The Man Who Haunted Himself, starring Roger Moore.

Although directed by Hitchcock himself, this is not as good.

Mr Pelham (Tom Ewell) stops to talk to a psychiatrist about some weird happening that have been occurring to him.

It looks like a doppelganger is going around to be pretending to be him at work, leisure and home.

Slowly taking over his life. Mr Pelham a well to do businessman is at a loss. He thought this was all a prank being pulled by his friend but is now wondering if he is going mad.

This short suffers in comparison with the Roger Moore movie where Pelham is involved in a car accident. Ewell's Pelham is too meek and that weakens it.

The Cloning of Pelham 1-2-3

[NoDakTatum · 5/10 · 11 October 2023]

Tom Ewell is Pelham, who tells a doctor (Raymond Bailey) a peculiar story. It seems Pelham's been in a couple of different places simultaneously. He snubs a local client, but while he was out of town. He does work in the morning, then comes into the office in the afternoon, not remembering the work. He leaves instructions with his butler, and does not recall them. Pelham figures he has a double who is taking his place at work, play, and his home, fooling friends and employees alike, and decides to confront him. Ewell is very good in his role as the paranoid man, he is very believable without going over the top.