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Alfred Hitchcock Presents & The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

 
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Bud Brewster
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Joined: 14 Dec 2013
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Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Thu Feb 01, 2024 2:54 pm    Post subject: Alfred Hitchcock Presents & The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Reply with quote



One the most disturbing TV episodes I've ever seen was presented in season 2 (episode 17) of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour in 1964, a story called The Jar.

Pat Buttram plays Charlie Hill, an amiable middle-aged man who lives in a small community in swamp country, where the impoverished people have little to entertain them except each other's company.

Charlie returns from a trip to a small traveling carnival with a large glass jar with lid on top and something very strange suspended in the murky water inside. He purchased it from a carnival barker (played by Bill Barty) who used it as a sideshow attraction.

The simple people in Charlie's community gather at his house one evening and sit around gazing at the jar, each person offering their own philosophical speculations about the strange, organic-looking object. Rather than being repulsed by it, the bizarre mass somehow inspires a sense of wonder, along with profound thoughts about life, death, and the mysteries of the universe.

The regular gatherings at Charlie's house become a ritual which he greatly enjoys, and he revels in his role as the keeper of the enigmatic glass container, along with the attention he's getting from his neighbors.

But Charlie's slutty young wife, Thedy Sue, hates the jar and it's disturbing contents, and she plots with the young man she's having an affair with to get rid of the jar.

The shocking ending is unforgettable, and I highly recommend you watch the pristine copy of the episode on the DailyMotion link below.

The cast is a real plus. It includes James Best, George Lindsay, and Slim Pickens.

The haunting score is by Bernard Herman, and the screenplay is by James Bridges from a short story by Ray Bradbury.




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