Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV Series) The Hatbox (1961) User Reviews

Good story, well acted

[talonjensen · 8/10 · 25 April 2018]

I liked this entry, it reminds us that there were previous generations that felt entitled, not just today's. with the cheating student who can't believe that his cheating is a big deal because everyone does it.

The verbal dueling between the police officer and professor was entertaining. And, even thought the ending was predictable, there was a nice touch with the hat that I enjoyed (the hatbox/hat having several different meanings).

"Good night, Margaret."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 28 February 2022]

A couple of old time TV faces appear in this episode. Paul Ford was the flustered Colonel John T. Hall on the 'Phil Silvers Show', and Billy Gray spent seven seasons as son Bud Anderson on 'Father Knows Best'. Gray's character is college student Perry Hatch, who figured if father really did know best, he'd be cut off from his allowance at school for cheating on an exam. Prodded by buddy Dan (Jamie Brothers), Perry figures it's worth a shot to try and argue Professor Jarvis (Ford) out of writing his father. While spying on Jarvis at his home, the boys watch him bring a brand new hatbox to a garbage can on the curb, and upon investigating, wonder whether there's something fishy going on with the teacher's wife, who's been gone from home for over six weeks. With their imaginations running wild, they go to the police to say they suspected foul play, and with some convincing, Lieutenant Roman (Frank Maxwell) decides to check things out for himself. A perfectly plausible conversation with Jarvis convinces the lieutenant that the man is on the up and up, wishing for his wife to come back home following a quarrel they had. It's kind of a stretch to imagine how Professor Jarvis managed to turn his wife into a lab skeleton, but that's the payoff here, with only one's imagination left to consider how long he was going to get away with it.

So, the student is caught cheating and decides to get some dirt on his professor.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 17 April 2021]

The story is set at some college. During an exam, Professor Jarvis (Paul Ford) notices a student cheating (Billy Gray)...and instead of having the student expelled, he plans to talk to Perry's father about his son's cheating. Perry is worried, as he expects his father to cut him off because of his dishonesty.

Perry is a jerk. And so instead of taking his lumps, he does some spying on the Professor and spots him throwing a brand new ladies hat in the trash. The student jumps to the insane conclusion that the Professor murdered his wife and that's why he's throwing some of her stuff away. And, considering the couple are known to fight, he contacts the police!

This is a decent episode with a decent twist. And, as you'd expect, it's dark and oddly comical. However, like too many episodes, Hitchcock himself gives an epilogue which undoes a lot of the episode...probably due to sponsors who didn't want an episode too dark.

Formulaic, but Fun

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 1 June 2021]

When Bud Anderson (Billy Gray) gets caught cheating on an exam, he decides to get revenge on his professor. The guy's wife is away and he and his friend try to set the guy up. A cop takes the bait and is soon following their lead. This is a classic story that could be used as an example of a hackneyed, predictable plot. Still, it was a good time.

MAYBE SHE IS... MAYBE SHE ISN'T... DEAD?

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 22 March 2023]

Henry Slesar wrote this season premier episode, also into soap operas, such as the EDGE OF NIGHT. Hitch also liked his work.

This one is interesting, all about teen student Billy Gray caught cheating on an exam. Enter Paul Ford, perfect for the role of an old school professor who believes in punishing the guilty -- although Gray gets away easy (this time) with a note to his father.

Nevertheless, the spurned teen feels he's been singled out and does a little investigating on his own. His conclusion; the bitter old man may have killed his wife!

An intriguing battle of wits between the two, with Ford coming out on top, claiming HE IS the victim? It's verbal abuse. Billy gets yelled at again, because the nasty wife is actually away, visiting relatives and... Wait for the ending...

Paul Ford shines here, one of the best character actors who gained fame late in life. Best remembered for the PHIL SILVERS SHOW and many other movies and tv shows as a rambling, over the top character.

Alan Crosland, Jr directed, son of the famous film director ( THE JAZZ SINGER). Crosland just let the camera roll on Ford, a natural if there ever was one.

Billy Gray is also quite convincing.

SEASON 7 EPISODE 1 remastered CBS dvd box set.

ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS: The Hatbox (TV) (Alan Crosland, Jr., 1961) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 5/10 · 23 January 2010]

A middling entry in the long-running suspense TV series (typically introduced by the genial Master himself) dealing with a college student whose hounding by his professor (Paul Ford) makes him suspect the worst when he finds a brand new hat among the latter's garbage while the wife is supposedly visiting relatives out-of-town. Needless to say, the cops do not believe his murderous assertions, especially when confronting them with the henpecked professor's own claims of innocence. Although he was not the director on this particular episode, Hitchcock's influence is evident in both the obvious thematic similarities to his own classic feature REAR WINDOW (1954) as well as his trademark wryness (typified here by the droll if predictable twist ending).