The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (TV Series) Crimson Witness (1965) User Reviews

Brotherly love...and a rose.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 10 June 2021]

"Crimson Witness" features a couple brothers who are difficult to love. Ernie (Peter Lawford) embezzles from his company. Farnum (Roger Carmel) is a schemer....and has managed to take not only Ernie's job but his wife as well! So, seeing bad things happen to either or both of them isn't such a sad thing....and you'll see plenty of schadenfreude here!

The show is entertaining but not especially memorable....worth seeing but not brilliant in any way. The casting is unusual, seeing the paunchy and balding Carmel playing the brother that women love!

Ideally cast leads help a just OK story

[HEFILM · 6/10 · 15 August 2013]

Peter Lawford is perfect as someone who is smugly happy with himself at being more successful then he deserves to be and then suddenly has it all brutally taken from him by someone who, amazingly, is truly less likable than he is.

And it works, you do actually root for Lawford as his pompous brother, played by Star Trek pseudo comedy recurring character actor Carmel. Carmel calmly but viciously quotes various philosophers to justify his own crappy behavior and things just seem to get worse and worse for Lawford. You do detest the guy and his big smarmy, I-got-you-now, grin.

But it's all kind of claustrophobic in a cheap way and their corporate rivalry doesn't have any real urgency to it but the actors and writing makes it hold your interest most of the way. Not much style to the direction, there is one kind of long camera move that does stand out.

The story does have a few surprises to it, though none of them really work as shocks, at least it's not totally predictable.

The ending though is not so great and pretty much a standard type of TV ending but the show is worth watching. I've never been much of a Lawford fan but this stands out to me as a perfect use of his persona and well acted from him as well. I also admit I've never been a fan of Carmel either but he's very good here and has a layer of meanness that is lacking in his Star Trek, Mudd character. So this show won me over due to these two guys rising beyond my low expectations.

"You're gonna get in a lot of trouble."

[classicsoncall · 8/10 · 9 January 2023]

Funny, but I had the same reaction as IMDb reviewer 'dougdoepke' did for this episode regarding Peter Lawford's role as three-time loser, Ernie Mullett. What would Old Blue Eyes, Dino and Sammy have to say about his portrayal here; would they have to reevaluate his membership in the Rat Pack? Credit Lawford for taking on a role against type, he actually wound up as a sympathetic character here versus his younger brother Farnum. I couldn't place actor Roger Carmel at first, but then it came back to me that he appeared in two episodes of the original 'Star Trek' series as the boisterous but lovable rogue, Harcourt Fenton Mudd, who managed to get away with calling Captain Kirk names like laddie-buck. Too bad he wasn't as humorous here.

In any event, Farnum, against all odds, managed to steal brother Ernie's job, wife, and the secretary Ernie was having an affair with, all in a single day! What were those odds? Moving into Ernie's former office after his brother got bumped, Farnum changes the combination of the lock on the walk-in safe in order to thwart Ernie with any future thoughts of embezzlement, which he had already done to the tune of twenty-seven hundred and twenty-four dollars. Did anyone else think it odd that the safe lock combination consisted of letters instead of numbers. I've never seen that before.

Taking his frustration to the extreme, Ernie decides to knock off his brother with a carefully designed plan complete with alibi. It's always the little things however, that give away a guilty party, and in this case, it was an errant rose petal that turned up where it shouldn't have been. Considering its color though, shouldn't the title of the story have been 'Snow White Witness'?

What Would The Rat Pack Say

[dougdoepke · 4 March 2016]

Somebody in production had a sense of humor and the absurd. After all, who would think balding, fat Roger Carmel (Farnum) would be more attractive to women than sleekly handsome Peter Lawford (Ernie). What, for goodness sake, would fellow rat-packer Frank Sinatra say. But here, Farnum not only bests brother Ernie with his wife (Hyer) and mistress (London), but gets him demoted so that tubby can take his place in the company. With that kind of humiliation, what's Ernie going to do. I've got to hand it to playboy Lawford for taking such an out-of-character, loser role.

Okay, maybe the story's not too plausible. Still, we can't be sure where it's headed, so interest is maintained. Plus, there're the three babes. Maybe because they're all blonde and shapely, I had some trouble keeping track (poor me). All in all, there may be no trademark atmosphere nor eerie effects, but there is a nice slice of irony highlighting a seemingly trivial character detail. Thus, the hour remains an unpredictable oddity, especially for fans of Lawford.

Harcourt Mudd Against the Rat Pack

[Hitchcoc · 6/10 · 27 May 2023]

I never really cared for Peter Lawford. He always struck me as a minimal talent and an overrated star. His connection to Sinatra, Davis Jr., and the Rat Pack was really tiresome for me. Here he plays a guy who steals from his company and does little to advance himself, so one day he is fired. He is replace by his brother, who is played by the guy who played Harry Mudd. He is not an attractive man but woman can't resist him. Of course, Lawford is furious. The guy even took his wife and his girlfriend, Julie London. Since he is no match for his brother, the solution is to kill him. But a certain little tattle tale becomes his undoing.

Worth watching for the music alone!

[dainamariebradley · 10/10 · 10 July 2023]

This episode was, for me, like watching one of the many old movies I watched as a child growing up in the 1960's. Unrealistic, but lots of fun! They were heavily censored, most in black and white, with amazing music scores, such as the one in this show. I agree that Peter Lawford's acting is not exactly A-list or Emmy/Oscar-worthy, but this is the type of pure, fluffy escapism so prevalalent during that era. This is one of my favorite episodes in this series. As learned much earlier, Hitch had a deal with his worried sponsors that did not allow his protagonists to escape justice, so as to send the message that crime doesn't pay. In this episode, I was rooting for Ernie to get his full revenge against his selfish, hateful brother (who probably had a rough time competing with his suave sibling's good looks growing up), and it seemed like he might actually succeed. Of course, we know why he would be caught. Damn those roses, it's always the little details that prevent them from getting away with what should have been a perfect crime. Still, this episode was brilliantly written and executed for a television program at that time. Pure entertainment, with no special effects, bad language, graphic violence, nudity, fast cars, CGI or gimmicks. I miss the 1960's! Rotary phones, great fashion, beautiful furniture, manners and no Big Brother! So happy that quality shows like this one live on, long after most of the actors have gone to that big stage, set or lot in the sky.

Peter Lawford and Roger C. Carmel

[kevinolzak · 4/10 · 21 February 2012]

"Crimson Witness" stars Peter Lawford as Ernie Mullett, who has the looks to succeed, only to watch his younger brother Farnum (Roger C. Carmel) get all the accolades. First, Ernie loses his job, his wife (Martha Hyer), and even his mistress (Julie London) to his overachieving brother, who adds to Ernie's frustration by cleverly deducing how much his older sibling had embezzled from the plant. The embittered Ernie concocts a murderous scheme to eliminate Farnum once and for all, using his latest secretary (Joanna Moore) for the perfect alibi. But alas, the best laid plans do go awry, as there is indeed a 'crimson witness' that reveals Ernie's guilt. Roger C. Carmel was best remembered for two appearances as Harcourt Fenton Mudd on the popular STAR TREK, in "Mudd's Women" and "I, Mudd." Hollywood veteran Alan Baxter plays the plant supervisor, with lovely Nancy Hsueh ("Targets") in a tiny part as his secretary.

THE GAMES PEOPLE PLAY... AND BROTHERS PLAY

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 14 July 2023]

I agree with the last reviewer.... just listen to the music and that sums this ironic tale all up. It is fascinating to watch the Hitchcock mechanics at work --and so well oiled! After having watched this one for the better part of 50 years, it's still fun stuff, and in a way relatable as to the games adults play.

Handsome Peter Lawford is getting squeezed out of his plush job at a big, big, big company (get it?) by his unhandsome, freeloading brother? What to do??? Versatile Roger C. Carmel plays his brother, perfect for this type of role as he could do so many terrific parts, best as an over the top villain. Watch him, especially with that handlebar moustache.

The female cast is about as good as it gets, with some lovely actresses; singer and actress Julie London as Barbara, who trades some good lines with Lawford. Also Martha Hyer as Judy and Juliana Moore as Madeleine. Always fun to watch deadpan Alan Baxter playing the company deadpan boss, who else? Baxter had a long career in movies and tv, and early in his career played some neat bad guys. Peter Lawford (one legendary of the Rat Pack) makes a smooth bad guy here, and next played director Paul Bern in the popular Carol Baker version of HARLOW. Of course, he was most famous for being the brother in law of President Kennedy, married many years to Patricia Kennedy.

Written by Morton S. Fine, long time writer for I SPY and many cop shows.

Not to be missed, from the final season (1965) Episode 12.

Brilliant Surrealistic Abstract Art Imitates Life Television

[wpbhomes · 10/10 · 3 January 2024]

The brilliance of this episode is subtle, and takes a few viewings to truly appreciate. It goofs on so many uptight American social norms that were just starting to be questioned in the mid 60's. (and many, for good or ill, ultimately rejected.) The idea that being a good 'company man' would always lead to reward and a long ever-rising career and the gold watch at the end. The scene where Lawford is called to his boss' office to learn he's been demoted in favor of his brother is a hilarious satire of how arbitrary, ruthless, and stupid corporate leadership can be, the semi-demented boss played perfectly by. Alan Baxter. It plays with the notion that the perceptions we take for granted as being 'reality' are superficial presumptions...that there is a deeper, weirder reality at play. Subtle breaks of the fourth wall reveal some postmodern-ish deconstruction, some 'air quotes' telling us this is a TV show, a constructed reality. One of these moments is when brother Farnum and Lawford's wife walk off after telling him she's leaving him for Farnum, they're in perfect lockstep. There's also a theme of no matter how slick, how 'in', how goodlooking etc. You are, life can kick you in the face at any time with no rhyme or reason required. Lawford had been ruthlessly, totally booted from Frank Sinatra's life at this point, which meant no more Rat Pack membership and the loss of all the future highly lucrative gigs that entailed. The loss of one f the most important friendships and relationships, business or otherwise, in Lawford's life. For a reason that was 100% unfair, something Sinatra blamed him for that he was not only blameless but utterly powerless to do anything about (and he tried desperately): JFK (then Lawford's brother-in-law) snubbing Sinatra during his celebrated Palm Springs visit in favor of Bing Crosby, due to the Kennedy's (totally legitimate) concerns about how Frank's mob ties would impact his image. Lawford was the only reason Sinatra even had a relationship with JFK at all, and now he blamed him when it came to a humiliating end, as Lawford's character blames and ultimately murders his brother for. I'm not entirely certain Lawford was even aware of what they were trying to do and say with the episode, he seems a bit confused and lost about how to play the bizarre and absurd goings-on, which is actually perfect for the character and episode. What at first watch may seems like a throwaway episode, one of the lightest weight of the entire series, actually reveals itself as the opposite. And: it's also just massively entertaining and often hilarious. A hidden classic of American episodic television, and a must-watch. A few times.

A tedious bore

[Ripshin · 17 April 2024]

I find some of the comments to be quite hilarious - especially the analysis by one over-eager fan. Symbolism, symbolism, symbolism! Yikes. I understand the reasoning, I just find it extreme.

Numerous unnecessary scenes. Bland supporting performances by most, although Roger Carmel chews the scenery. His second secretary - the lover of all things culturally Hispanic - is presented as too much of a dimwit.

It is ludicrous how everyone in Ernie's life just suddenly dumps on him. It became comical, and therefore losing any impact of a supposed analogy to the dreams/rewards expected by Mid-Century middle class Americans.

Overall, one to skip. (Yes, I do appreciate the soundtrack.)