Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV Series) The Cheney Vase (1955) User Reviews

"... on this program we use stabbings, shootings and garrotings only when they are absolutely essential to the plot."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 25 August 2018]

This episode of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' aired on Christmas Day in 1955. So as a nifty little tie in, the esteemed host offers his viewers an authentic replica of the titled Cheney vase for a mere forty five thousand dollars. I don't think he had many takers.

It's always cool to watch one of these old TV shows and see who pops up. This one features Darren McGavin of Night Stalker fame, and the Addams Family's Morticia - Carolyn Jones. Their opening romance fades when it becomes clear to secretary Pamela (Jones) that her boyfriend Lyle Endicott (McGavin) is a sleazeball trying to dupe an old widow (Patricia Collinge) out of an expensive heirloom. Ah yes, but the widow Cheney has an ace up her sleeve. I considered what Rod Serling might have done with this episode if he were writing it as a 'Twilight Zone' story; he might have substituted a fake vase in place of the real one. Instead, the writer here, Robert Bleese, substituted shelves full of them!

I'm sorry I missed virtually all of the Hitchcock TV programs back in the day when I was a kid. But that only inspires me to go out and look up as many of them as I can today. I think it would be an exercise quite rewarding.

Don't Mess with Little Old Ladies!

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 7 October 2008]

When you have someone in a wheelchair being taken advantage of, you know that at some point the bad guys are going to pay. In this case a man finagles his way into a vulnerable woman's confidence in order to steal a valuable vase. He manipulates her every way he can, employing a confidante, and getting ready to strike. The old girl isn't dumb and evidence begins to build. As with many of these people, the man has a flaw and doesn't play things out to the end. The episode has a satisfying ending where justice is served. The acting is reasonably good and the story has some credibility. It calls for some pretty drastic action and things like this often get in the way, but it's a pretty good Hitchcock effort.

Versatile Patricia Collinge!!

[kidboots · 8/10 · 11 March 2012]

I'll never forget Patricia Collinge's performance in "The Little Foxes". She played the pathetic, tragic Birdie, one of the people left smashed and broken by the ruthlessly evil Hubbard family. She was one of the stars in the original Broadway production. In "The Cheney Vase" she plays a vastly different character, a resilient invalid who is determined to keep her late husband's prized "Cheney Vase" in the family. Darren McGavin plays Lyle, a shifty museum assistant who has just been sacked but with the help of a forged letter of recommendation is able to secure a position of trust at the home of Martha Cheney.

His cheerful, indispensable demeanour quickly becomes that of a jailer as, with all her staff gone, Martha finds she is a prisoner. Lyle's plan is to get his hands on the Cheney vase, sell it and retire to Acapulco!! But Pamela, the smitten secretary, who helped secure him employment at Mrs. Cheney's, has had enough of his ruthless ways - he has also found someone else (Ruta Lee as a dizzy maid) a bit more congenial. She calls the curator and manages to relay an urgent message about the doings up at the Cheney residence before Lyle decides to get rough. But dear old Mrs. Cheney has an ace up her sleeve - enough to thoroughly bamboozle Lyle who's favourite expression is "why doesn't something good ever happen for me"!!!

Under-rated George MacCready does well as the museum curator and ditto Carolyn Jones who is good, as usual, as the captivated secretary.

The Old Family Heirloom

[bkoganbing · 3 November 2011]

Film fans will remember Patricia Collinge as featherheaded Aunt Birdie in The Little Foxes, but for a different Collinge one should look at this episode from the Alfred Hitchcock Presents series, The Cheney Vase.

The vase is Hitchcock's McGuffin here, a valuable antique in the Cheney family for years. George MacReady who is the head of a museum wants Collinge to sell it to him, but she prefers to keep it until she dies.

Which might not be long if Darren McGavin has his way. McGavin was fired by MacReady, but he fakes a letter of recommendation from his former boss and insinuates himself into Collinge's household. He even plants Ruta Lee there as a maid.

Collinge turns out not to be so featherheaded in the end however.

McGavin plays a nasty piece of work, but he didn't see what Collinge had in the way of wits by any means.

Definitely, though not personally directed by Hitchcock, in the spirit of the master of suspense.

Charming Patricia Collinge

[wes-connors · 7/10 · 19 August 2009]

After he is fired from a New York City art museum for lateness (and not showing up at all), womanizing drifter Darren McGavin (as Lyle Endicott) moves in on one of the museum's patrons, elderly and disabled Patricia Collinge (as Martha Cheney). Quickly, Mr. McGavin takes over Ms. Collinge's home. He gets rid of her loyal maid, and cuts Collinge off from the world outside. Next, McGavin plots to run off with shapely blond Carolyn Jones, after selling Collinge's most valuable possession: "The Cheney Vase". It being Christmas, presenter Alfred Hitchcock sells several unbreakable replicas of the $45,000 "Cheney Vase" during his closing remarks. Collinge and a great cast make this "Kind Lady" swipe a nice way to spend your half hour.

******* The Cheney Vase (12/25/55) Alfred Hitchcock : Robert Stevens ~ Patricia Collinge, Darren McGavin, Carolyn Jones

Out Foxed By The Fox

[Rainey-Dawn · 7/10 · 6 May 2016]

This is not too bad of an episode. Ms. Chaney out foxed the fox - she is a real clever fox in the end. It took her a bit to realize that she was being used to gain access to the vase but once she did come that realization she found the only way she knew how to get out of it - we hope. It's true this episode ended abruptly and could have had a bit more to it in the end... I wanted to know if Lyle ended up in jail or if he decided to harm Ms. Chaney and run off.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents has always been great to watch, I used to watch the reruns on TV as a teen - loved it. This episode was not directed by Hitchcock nor did he write or help to write this story - he only hosted it but it's a pretty good episode and always fun to watch Alfred's commentary before and after each episode.

7/10

Kolchak and the smarter old Lady!!!

[elo-equipamentos · 7/10 · 24 March 2020]

I felt sad watching the friendly Darren McGavin playing a crook in this episode, acquainted to see Kolchak as hero sounds weird he as bad guy, whatever as Lyle Endicott works at Museum when his tired Boss Hebert Koether (George Macready) after many warnings fired him, due he quite often was absent at work, however an old lady Martha Cheney (Patricia Collinge) whom just passing through to there receives another offer for his valuable antique vase, what is prompt refuses by her, Lyle has a phony letter of reference made by his blonde lover Pamela (Carolyn Jones), then he introduces himself to take care of his business, Martha accepts just for a little while as probationary period, slowly Lyle was handling all situations, getting rid of the old maid and having all control of Martha's life, searching there for the vase, nevertheless the old lady is smarter that he could imagine!!!

Resume:

First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / DVD / Rating: 7.5

Clever little take on the Kind Lady theme

[bbmtwist · 8/10 · 6 November 2016]

The play and later film of KIND LADY was an interesting piece of writing. The imprisoning of a helpless wheelchair bound old woman in her mansion, systematically cutting off all means of communication with the outside world - for nefarious purposes - was borrowed for this half hour adaptation and although the premise is different, so is the twist at the end.

The production belongs to Patricia Collinge, who is excellent as the matron, so good that one wanted it to last an hour so she had more time to show her stuff. McGavin plays the kind of role he was always good at - a sleaze. Carolyn Jones is impressive as his disapproving girlfriend.

Worth a look!

Kindness and manipulation

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 16 February 2022]

The story is not a novel one, but it did sound very interesting nonetheless and had the potential to be very suspenseful if done right. Robert Stevens directed 44 episode of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents', all worth watching at least once and the best ones are truly fine. 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' was mostly solid in quality up to this point, with only two disappointments and with "Breakdown" being a particularly exceptional episode.

While not one of the best episodes of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents', "The Cheney Vase" is also a long way from being one of the worst. Somewhere around high middle, an episode that has a lot of truly great things but also feeling a little lacking. It is not one of Stevens' best episodes, such as "Our Cook's a Treasure" for an example, but one can tell that it was directed by him. And this is meant in a good way because when Stevens was at his best in the series his work was on Hitchcock's level.

A lot is good in "The Cheney Vase". What immediately stands out is the acting. Patricia Coolinge is benevolent but also remarkably cunning, while Darren McGavin (in his second and infinitely better appearance in the series, after "Triggers in Leash") does sleazy and deceptively charming in a way that unsettles. Loved the chemistry between them, which grew in intensity the more that is revealed. A pre-Morticia Addams Carolyn Jones is also great. Stevens directs with tautness yet control too.

Production values are high, especially the atmospheric photography. The music is not used constantly but is quite haunting when it is. Cannot get enough of the theme tune, while Hitchcock's bookending is some of his drollest in writing (the intro is quite quotable) and cleverest in staging. The script is tight enough and intrigues, while the story is concise and engaging with some nice tension. The final quarter does surprise.

Did think that some of the episode could have done with more suspense. It also felt on the rushed side in a story that would have been better at least 15 minutes longer with what goes on. That way what is left unexplained could have gone into more detail. The out of the blue and rather too random arrival of a character with no explanation is an example of this.

In regard to the ending, it does surprise but it also felt too abrupt and vague.

Overall, quite good but not great. 7/10.

Great episode featuring the return of Darren McGavin.

[b_kite · 8/10 · 7 November 2018]

Lyle Endicott (Darren McGavin) is a shifty museum curator who has just been fired from his job, due to laziness. However, he sees dollar signs if he can obtain and old Cheney vase from the wealthy Martha Cheney (Patricia Collinge) who offers a lot of her old belongings to the museum. Lyle manages to take full advantage of the vulnerable Martha, but, he will learn taking the vase won't be as easy as he thinks.

This is just and all around fun episode with Darren McGavin returning to the series to play a wonderfully awesome scumbag manipulator. Everything from the cast to just the way the episode builds itself up in its 25 short minutes in great. As for the twist its defiantly pretty clever. This one also seems to be the most easily obtainable outside of the series itself because I'm pretty certain its in the public domain. Also nice to see a young pre-Addams Family Carolyn Jones as McGavin's girlfriend in this to.

Fool Me Once....

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 25 February 2012]

Patricia Collinge is the wheelchair-bound patron (or is it matron) of an art museum. The director would love to get his hands on the famous Cheney vase that she owns but she refuses to part with the family heirloom.

Darren McGavin, in one of his neatly slimy performances, worms his way into her household, sees to it that the maid is gotten rid of, and dominates the elderly lady's life, trying to wheedle her out of the vase and sell it.

It's not too neatly written. McGavin's rise to household dictator must have taken some time, but everything is condensed. His ascendancy isn't shown. It's told by Collinge to the departing maid -- he keeps her prisoner, has cut the telephone wires, and whatnot.

But it has some things going for it. One is McGavin's overeager performance, and the other is the twist at the end -- improbable though it is.

GET YOUR RARE, PRICELESS VASES RIGHT HERE!

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 8 August 2023]

Veteran Robert Blees wrote this gem, who was behind such cult films as SCREAMING MIMI (1958) and HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL. Blees had a long career in films, later branching into tv.

I agree with the last reviewer; bad guys are no match for little old ladies. In this case, Hitchcock favorite Patricia Collinge plays a lady of means, versus gentleman schemer and con man Darren McGavin who would love to cash in -- as soon as possible. McGavin is particularly good as he goes through the motions, so frustrated at that, believing he can still pull off the perfect robbery, and fool the old bat.

OUTSTANDING cat and mouse game, also one of the few Alfred Hitchcock episodes to be released very early on dvd by itself. It turns up in multiple box sets with other 50s crime shows.

The cast is just right, early appearances by both Ruta Lee and Carolyn Jones, and no Hitchcock mystery would be complete without the appearance of George Macready, the ultimate villain or diplomat.

Watch McGavin's face at the very end. The best ending of 'em all.

SEASON 1 remastered box set, a terrific gift. 4 disc set. 2005 release.

OK, but a bit rushed

[ctomvelu1 · 6/10 · 6 January 2013]

This early Hitchcock episode stars a young Darren McGavin in a decent Shatner-type toupee as an out-of-work museum assistant and all-around cad and hustler. He befriends an old woman (Collinge, who steals the show) and talks his way into becoming her caretaker. She owns an antique vase worth a pretty penny for its day, which he intends to steal and sell. He turns the old lady into a prisoner in her own home as he plots the theft. OK episode, nothing particularly special about it, and the half hour format makes the episode feel rushed. For instance, while the bad guy has a very sexy blonde girlfriend with whom he intends to run away with (Jones), he replaces the old lady's longtime maid with an even sexier blonde maid (Lee) Unfortunately, we learn nothing about her, other than she is loyal to our heel. I thought for a moment he was going to doublecross the girlfriend and run off with the maid, but this element is not developed. Maybe he planned to run off with both. I know I would have. A clever ending and Collinge's savvy performance make this one worth a look. Just don't expect the superior production and expanded script values that would come some years later with many of the Alfred Hitchcock Hour episodes.

The Cheney Vase

[Prismark10 · 5/10 · 1 April 2023]

Lyle Endicott (Darren McGavin) is a born charmer but nothing ever goes right for him. After being fired from his museum Lyle goes for his next target with her little help from his girlfriend Pamela (Carolyn Jones.)

He worm's his way into a trial employment with wealthy elderly disabled widow Martha Cheney (Patricia Collinge.) She is a benefactor of the museum that Lyle has just been fired from. She also has a valuable item that the museum coverts. The Cheney Vase which Martha refuses to sell to the museum.

Soon Lyle has the widow all alone, her personal assistant and maid has gone, to be replaced by a maid Lyle has found.

All Lyle needs now is to find the vase. No easy task. Pamela is nervous as he also plans to kill the old lady.

McGavin is good as the sleazy Lyle but you just know that once again things will go wrong for him.

The twist was hard to take. It implies that Martha realised what Lyle was up to knocked off some fake vases quickly. Or she was making fake vases and selling them, thereby a fraud herself.

Notable Cast, Okay Story

[dougdoepke · 1 February 2016]

The cast is as notable as the story, which is okay even if a bit fragmented. Slimeball Lyle (McGavin) charms his way into wealthy old Martha's (Collinge) mansion with an eye on stealing a valuable hidden vase. The antique is there somewhere, but where. The old lady won't tell, especially after she finds out what a manipulator Lyle is. But what can she do, alone with him in the house. Good to see old pro's like Macready and Collinge picking up paydays, and for once Macready doesn't even have to be the bad guy. And, guys, what about the great eye- candy. Not just one shapely blonde, but two (Jones and Lee), though Jones's career success would come as a brunette. Also, good to see that underrated Mc Gavin showing a charming side, especially with no vampires for Kolchak to hunt down. Anyhow, it's an unexpected ending even if not very plausible. But to me it's the array of performers that remains most memorable.

It's okay...just okay.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 17 February 2021]

This installment of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" is a good example of the notion that anthology shows vary considerably in quality and not every episode is a winner. While the acting is good here, it's an otherwise forgettable episode.

Lyle (Darren McGavin) is fired from his job at the museum, mostly because he isn't competent and he couldn't care less about his job. Instead of learning from it, however, Lyle sees an opportunity to rob an old woman of her priceless treasure, the Cheney Vase. He goes to work for the old woman and ingratiates himself to this wheelchair-bound old lady...and he sees her as an easy mark...which she really isn't.

The acting is very good. Carolyn Jones, Darren McGavin and the old woman, Patricia Collinge, is very good. But the twist just isn't that interesting....and left me rather flat.

Miffed by the Sudden Ending!

[Sylviastel · 7/10 · 15 August 2013]

Sir Alfred Hitchcock's television series was popular in the 1950s but he didn't direct or write the episodes. He merely introduced and spoke at the end about the story shown in between. In this story, I would have liked to know what happened to the Cheney Vase, Ms Cheney, and Mr. Endicott. This is a great episode even though it ends quite vaguely. I was struck by the ending which I won't spoil. The cast is marvelous especially Darren McGavin who played Lyle Endicott, a recently fired assistant curator at a museum. Carolyn Jones played his girlfriend and the museum's secretary. Patricia Collinge is brilliant as the trusting wealthy invalid artist. Ruta Lee has a brief memorable role as Ruby. The ending was quite a surprise and taken aback by the Cheney Vase.

Hitchcock Lite

[Goingbegging · 7/10 · 20 June 2021]

Not directed by the Master, but 'presented' with top-and-tail dialogues by Hitch that somehow add a little stardust to these distinctly low-budget productions of under half-an-hour that proved surprisingly successful.

The Darren McGavin character gets fired from his job in a prestige museum. Emerging from the boardroom, he is greeted by one of their rich, elderly patrons Martha who, rather improbably, has a soft spot for him. Collecting his hat to leave, he overhears her declining an offer by the boss (George Macready) to buy a valuable vase that she wants to keep in her possession.

With a faked letter of introduction, prepared by the museum secretary who is beholden to him, he inveigles his way into Martha's home and becomes her full-time custodian, using devious tactics to make the long-serving housekeeper redundant and to convince Martha that she's getting forgetful, thus increasing her dependence on him. We can't reveal how Martha rumbles the deception, or how she deters the theft, but an early reference to her favourite hobby might provide a clue.

Patricia Collinge is badly miscast as Martha, who ought to be at least twenty years older and a lot more geriatric. Collinge was a well-kept sixty-two at the time, still glamorous, looking unnatural in a wheelchair, and altogether most unlikely to be lonely and vulnerable. The scenes of her (imagined) dementia do not carry conviction. And the arrival of a new young housemaid near the end is entirely unexplained.

Finally, why does the English-born Hitchcock pronounce 'vase' as 'vaize', while the Americans say 'varze' in the ordinary way?

The Cheney Vase

[coltras35 · 6/10 · 18 May 2022]

When Lyle Endicott is fired from his job at an art museum, he comes up with a plan to take advantage of a trusting invalid whom he befriended at the museum. This episode has shades of "Bonfire" from the "Alfred Hitchcock hour" series starring Peter Falk that has a nasty character trying embezzle from an old lady's niece. He sticks to her like glue. Here, Darren McGavin plays the devious and nasty man, keeping the old lady as prisoner. This is a well-acted thriller, and mildly diverting.

The Cheney Vase

[bombersflyup · 2/10 · 16 February 2020]

However cunning, it's cold and unrewarding. The story's also rather dull and the ending isn't believable.

Vase of fortune

[AvionPrince16 · 5/10 · 8 February 2023]

So yeah we follow a man who just got fired wnd will have an opportunity with an old woman who got a Vase who worth a real fortune. The man who got fired will try to steal and sell it but nothing will happened as planned and that old woman see really clear in that guy mind and will trick him. So yeah another episode where i didnt really get into it. The beginning was pretty interesting but everything after got prettg superficial and lack of real purpose or morality. Good to watch anyway to know what will happen but thats all. We are pretty curious if that man will succeed to steal the vase but nothing more than that to be honest.