Series Description

The Alfred Hitchcock Presents TV show was a 30 minute (1st 7 seasons)/60 minute (final 3 seasons) horror series that switched networks three times during its run (see broadcast history below). This was not pure blood and guts horror like we usually see. The episodes included a touch of drama, suspense, and sometimes even comedy into the mix. Audiences could depend on being "on the edge of their seats" just like in Alfred Hitchcock's movies! In every episode, you knew that something bad was going to happen - but when? In the typical Hitchcock style, viewers were "teased" with danger several times in many episodes before the actual "horror" struck! Don't watch this show alone!

Alfred Hitchcock Presents Cast

Alfred Hitchcock .... Host

Alfred Hitchcock Presents Broadcast History:

Seasons 1-5 on CBS
Season 6, 7, and through December of season 8 on NBC.
January of season 8 to the end of season 9 on CBS
Season ten on NBC

Alfred Hitchcock Presents Trivia:

The idea for the "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" TV show was not Hitchcock's. It was that of Lew Wasserman the (then) president of MCA. Alfred Hitchcock selected the 40 or so scripts to be used each season from only about 100 given to him.

Among other award wins and nominations, Alfred Hitchcock Presents got four Emmy nominations for "Best Series". In 1956 it was nominated for "Best Action or Adventure Series" but "Disneyland" won. In 1957 it was nominated for "Best Series - Half Hour or Less" but "Sgt. Bilko" (aka: "The Phil Silvers Show") won. In 1958 it was nominated for "Best Dramatic Anthology Series" but "Playhouse 90" won. In 1959 it was nominated for "Best Dramatic Series - Less Than One Hour" but "Alcoa Theatre" won.

You might notice that whenever there was an episode where a "bad guy" got away with a crime, Hitchcock would say something like, "Three weeks later the criminal was killed in a car accident" or something like that. The reason was that Hitchcock believed that the evildoers should sometimes get away just like in real life, but the sponsors had a problem with that! So by stating that they would "get their due" at some (not too distant) future date, both Hitchcock and the sponsors were happy!

In 1985 a new Alfred Hitchcock Presents TV show hit the airwaves and Hitchcock's old black & white intros were colorized and used for the new program.

Alfred Hitchcock only directed 18 episodes of the series himself.

U.S. audiences enjoyed Mr. Hitchcock during the opening and closing segments of the series where he would "poke fun at" the show's sponsors. European audiences never saw that. Apparently, European broadcasters didn't like teasing those who were paying the bills so Hitchcock had to film different scenes where he'd mostly just make fun of Americans. Surprise, surprise ... the Europeans loved it. Hitchcock also did those segments in French and German during the third season! It was no big deal for Hitchcock as he was fluent in both of those languages.

Beginning with the eighth season, the length of Alfred Hitchcock Presents increased from 30 minutes to 60 minutes and the name of the series was changed to, "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour".

When most of us think of Aaron Spelling, we think of the numerous series he produced including "Charlie's Angels (1976)", "The Love Boat (1977)", "Fantasy Island (1978)", "7th Heaven (1996)", and "Charmed (1998)". Aaron had an acting career too, however, and one of his roles was as a road worker on episode #7 of Alfred Hitchcock Presents titled, "Breakdown".

The eerie music at the beginning and end of each episode was composed by Charles Gounod and titled, "Funeral March for a Marionette".