The story and ending are a bit thin for a full hour long program--I know it's not really an hour with commercials removed but you get my meaning. The story is pretty straight forward and at this length you have a bit too much time to get ahead of what's going to happen. Some scenes just kind of go on past the point where you "get it" especially some dancing scenes. It is however nicely produced, more than a usual amount of real on location beach house footage and very well acted. It does feature a Bernard Herrmann score that adds layers of meaning to the wife's lonely existence in scenes with her alone sort of moping around the house that otherwise would just be silent filler material. Kennedy is especially good at being an aging want-to-be Hip character without it being cartoonish. He's a rather sad character and his wife's refusal to be anything but old also makes her interesting. You side with who you should but you kind of see each character's point of view too. All this helps make it drama rather than a cheap TALES FROM THE CRYPT type formula affair.
10 Reviews
Arthur Kennedy and Phyllis Thaxter
kevinolzak1 January 2012
"Change of Address" is a strong episode filled with melancholy, featuring Arthur Kennedy as Keith Hollands, a middle aged playboy seeking a younger lifestyle, only held back by his wife Elsa (Phyllis Thaxter), who has been recovering from a bad fall on the ski slope. Keith is enamored of a Malibu beachhouse and wants to buy it, but Elsa hates the water, and anyone pretty nearby who might tempt her husband's easily wandering eye. The banter between the pair is rarely warm, as Keith displays little concern for his wife's fears about their new home, which only grow worse over time. Seeking answers about the house's background, Elsa decides to write the wife of the previous owner, now supposedly living in Texas, while the owner resides in Seattle, still receiving his wife's mail. Kennedy makes a suitably cold villain, while the attractive Phyllis Thaxter still fills out her swimsuit quite nicely, never once losing audience sympathy. Among another superb cast is Royal Dano as the real estate man, and the teenaged Tisha Sterling as the object of Keith's desires (her mother, Ann Sothern, appears in the very next episode).
Your showing your age baby. The next thing they'll be asking you for is your ID!
sol-kay28 February 2012
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** Middle age blue collar playboy Keith Hollands,Arthur Kemmedy, is getting a bit sick and tired of his old bag of a wife Elsa, Phyllis Thaxter, with all the young chickadee-do's,teen age girls, hanging around his rented Malibu beach house. Resenting that Elsa is keeping him from scoring with the with all the young and jiggly bikini girls on the beach Keith plans to off her when the chance finally comes. Using the excuse of draining the basement at the beach house to keep the place dry, Elas is suffering from arthritis, he in fact plans to make it Elsa permanent resting place. It's in fact Elsa herself who by her investigating the owner of the beach house a Mr. Wilson who somehow in around about way gets wind of what her "kind and loving" husband is planning for her.
It was Mr. Wilson's wife who mysteriously left him just before he rented the beach house to the Hollands. With Mr. Wilson now getting all his wife's mail back in Seattle it becomes very obvious to Elsa that her leaving wasn't at all that it was made out to be. Why would Mr.Wilson's wife leave him and yet allow her mail to be sent to him and not forwarded to her back in Texas? It was Elas constant meddling in the Wilson's affairs that caught the eye of the local police. By getting the Seattle PD to interview Mr. Wilson about his old lady's disappearance he, thinking that they had the goods on him, broke down and confessed that he in fact murdered her buried her in the basement of his Malibu beach house!
***SPOILERS*** When the local Malibu cops headed by Sergeant Karnes came to Keith's place to dig Mr.Wilson up they were in for a big surprise. Not only was Mrs. Wislon buried there but buried so was Elas whom Keith had murdered not realizing that she, Mrs.Wislon, was buried there as well! As things turned out it was Elsa's women's intuition that exposed Mr. Wilson's crime but didn't enlighten her enough in what her own husband Keith had planned to do to her all along. In that case it was love not her woman's instincts that blinded her which in the end cost Elsa her life!
It was Mr. Wilson's wife who mysteriously left him just before he rented the beach house to the Hollands. With Mr. Wilson now getting all his wife's mail back in Seattle it becomes very obvious to Elsa that her leaving wasn't at all that it was made out to be. Why would Mr.Wilson's wife leave him and yet allow her mail to be sent to him and not forwarded to her back in Texas? It was Elas constant meddling in the Wilson's affairs that caught the eye of the local police. By getting the Seattle PD to interview Mr. Wilson about his old lady's disappearance he, thinking that they had the goods on him, broke down and confessed that he in fact murdered her buried her in the basement of his Malibu beach house!
***SPOILERS*** When the local Malibu cops headed by Sergeant Karnes came to Keith's place to dig Mr.Wilson up they were in for a big surprise. Not only was Mrs. Wislon buried there but buried so was Elas whom Keith had murdered not realizing that she, Mrs.Wislon, was buried there as well! As things turned out it was Elsa's women's intuition that exposed Mr. Wilson's crime but didn't enlighten her enough in what her own husband Keith had planned to do to her all along. In that case it was love not her woman's instincts that blinded her which in the end cost Elsa her life!
Repetitive, but with an Interesting Undercurrent
dougdoepke30 August 2014
No need to recap the plot. HEFILM's right: the material would have worked better in a 30-minute format. That's mainly because the one-note plot dwells on the same point, albeit with an interesting undercurrent. Middle-age Kennedy wants to join his bikini cutie and the Gidget beach crowd. On the other hand, dour wife Thaxter just wants to go home, back east. The producers knew what they were doing when they hired two of the best actors in the business-- movie vets Kennedy and Thaxter. They manage to maintain interest throughout, despite the often redundant narrative.
One interesting feature is trying to figure out Kennedy's motives. He treats Thaxter callously, but seemingly won't let her go. So why not just divorce her and then join the Frankie and Annette crowd. Then too, what is that hole in the cellar intended for. Is he acting on impulse when wielding that shovel or has he planned this all along. I'm not sure whether this undercurrent of ambiguity is intentional or not. Then again, maybe I missed something. Anyhow, it's an exotic treat watching one of Hollywood's best play a balding aerobic wannabe.
One interesting feature is trying to figure out Kennedy's motives. He treats Thaxter callously, but seemingly won't let her go. So why not just divorce her and then join the Frankie and Annette crowd. Then too, what is that hole in the cellar intended for. Is he acting on impulse when wielding that shovel or has he planned this all along. I'm not sure whether this undercurrent of ambiguity is intentional or not. Then again, maybe I missed something. Anyhow, it's an exotic treat watching one of Hollywood's best play a balding aerobic wannabe.
A Woman Scorned--Sort Of
Hitchcoc23 May 2023
How many times can a woman stand to be called "Baby." In about half the Hitchcock TV show, the male (usually dominates that term. It must be sickening. Here a middle aged couple have rented a e house on the ocean. From the get go, she hates being there. It is never explained why. Her husband tries being what he is not--a kid. At some point he gets fed up with her complaining, especially after he starts hooking up with a pretty twenty-something girl who frequents the beach. So, wife needs to be gotten rid of. There is a fly in the ointment having to do with a previous owner and this leads to the irony that is hitchccock. Ending makes up for the slow moving events up till that time.
"Maybe that house just doesn't like women."
classicsoncall27 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This episode appears to be a reworking of a first season 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' story titled 'Back for Christmas', although both appear to have different writers. Those reviewers who state this one could have been done in a half hour format only need check out the earlier one. I didn't mind the longer version here, as it demonstrated just how corny Keith Hollands (Arthur Kennedy) looked trying to maintain a youthful appearance with a few minutes of daily calisthenics on the beach of his newly rented home. But even that wasn't as corny as the sight of all those adult teenagers dancing at the local night club; is that what we looked like back in the day? I can only shake my head now.
After a while I began to think that Elsa Hollands was really pushing her luck with how much she hated the new Malibu digs. It felt like her husband was really trying to make a new start with the change of scenery, but the Mrs. Started right in with references to 'little what's-her-name' in addition to claiming how creepy the beach house was. She wasn't entirely wrong though, when she left her husband in a huff at the night spot, old Keith immediately hooked up with the mysterious beach babe (Tisha Sterling), which for the life of me, I couldn't figure out whatever she might have seen in him.
What started out as a home improvement project in the rental home's basement suddenly provided Hollands with the inspiration to start a new life by casting aside the old one. The payoff for this episode was kind of dragged out with the arrival of the authorities and the amount of time it took to make their way into the basement, since we already knew Hollands' goose was cooked. Besides Keith Hollands looking out of place in this story as a would-be swinger, the sight of Royal Dano as the real estate agent was somewhat jarring after seeing him in countless TV and movie Westerns of the era.
After a while I began to think that Elsa Hollands was really pushing her luck with how much she hated the new Malibu digs. It felt like her husband was really trying to make a new start with the change of scenery, but the Mrs. Started right in with references to 'little what's-her-name' in addition to claiming how creepy the beach house was. She wasn't entirely wrong though, when she left her husband in a huff at the night spot, old Keith immediately hooked up with the mysterious beach babe (Tisha Sterling), which for the life of me, I couldn't figure out whatever she might have seen in him.
What started out as a home improvement project in the rental home's basement suddenly provided Hollands with the inspiration to start a new life by casting aside the old one. The payoff for this episode was kind of dragged out with the arrival of the authorities and the amount of time it took to make their way into the basement, since we already knew Hollands' goose was cooked. Besides Keith Hollands looking out of place in this story as a would-be swinger, the sight of Royal Dano as the real estate agent was somewhat jarring after seeing him in countless TV and movie Westerns of the era.
She's about as much fun as a migraine.
planktonrules31 May 2021
Phyllis Thaxter stars as Elsa Hollands, a woman who spends most of the episode complaining and being unpleasant. It all begins when her husband, Keith (Arthur Kennedy) insists that they rent a lovely home on the beach...the sort of place most folks dream of owning. Oddly, however, Elsa is against the idea and complains about it....even going so far as to try to get her husband to break the lease because she hates the place for no clear reason. In other ways, too, she just seems unpleasant and bitter and seems to also worry a lot about Keith chasing younger (and less irritating) women. On the other hand, Keith is no great prize and does seem to be the sort of guy who thinks he's still quite young and tries a bit too hard to fit in with the younger crowd.
Later in the episode, Keith begins digging in the cellar. He says it's to improve drainage and make the place less cold and wet...but it does seem like a prelude to burying Elsa there. Is he planning on ridding himself of an unpleasant wife or is something else happening with this most unpleasant couple?
Like some of the other one hour episodes, this one seems to have enough material for a much shorter show. Now this isn't to say it's bad...just stretched out too much. But the episode itself otherwise is only fair to middling...as there isn't all that much suspense and the twist, though interesting, wasn't enough to make this a must-see show.
Later in the episode, Keith begins digging in the cellar. He says it's to improve drainage and make the place less cold and wet...but it does seem like a prelude to burying Elsa there. Is he planning on ridding himself of an unpleasant wife or is something else happening with this most unpleasant couple?
Like some of the other one hour episodes, this one seems to have enough material for a much shorter show. Now this isn't to say it's bad...just stretched out too much. But the episode itself otherwise is only fair to middling...as there isn't all that much suspense and the twist, though interesting, wasn't enough to make this a must-see show.
STUPID!
skarylarry-9340031 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
When scared that a seagull smashed into a window, wouldn't Thaxter have said, " what if this is like THE BIRDS?" Hitchcock could have more or less plugged the Birds Movie! There isn't one person in a thousand that wouldn't have said that. I've noticed in almost every Hitchcock Movie and TV episode, he omits something or has things wrong. I think he was a complete idiot!
Heartbreak By the Sea
sneedsnood24 March 2015
Time was not kind to Arthur Kennedy, who was once a strikingly handsome leading man, but within ten years was playing character roles, like middle aged Keith Holland in this cliché ridden episode. Unhappily married to a humorless woman played by Phyliss Thaxter, Keith nevertheless insists on their purchasing a beach house that will be familiar to anyone who has ever seen a movie shot in Malibu. He loves it and she loathes it, sensing bad vibes. He flirts with the local young females, and in one of the more embarrassing scenes drags his wife to a youthful bar where they watch teenagers doing outrageous dances like "The Twist" and "The Mashed Potatoes," marveling at the very sight of it all. He starts an affair with a young babe, and this being 1962 it is never explained why she might be remotely attracted to him, but she is apparently his for the taking. He starts working out and trying to look younger, then begins digging a mysterious hole in the basement. Where could this possibly be leading? The surprise twist is okay, but it's been done before. Future heartthrobs Tisha Sterling and Michael Blodgett appear in tiny roles. In a way, you've seen this before.
Could have been more interesting
smoke022 March 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Tisha Sterling's character is presented as mysterious and alluring, as if she may hold the answers to all the questions, but is ultimately just implausible filler to make up for a very short and very predictable story.
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