Alfred Hitchcock Presents Series 1, Episode 19    Robert Stevenson    Robert C. Dennis (teleplay); Terence Maples (story)    Robert Newton, Philip Reed    05 February 1956    24:04 (total) • --:-- (film) • -:-- (Hitchcock)    7/10

The Derelicts

Ralph Cowell (Phillip Reed) is a successful inventor with a beautiful wife (Peggy Knudsen) who likes to spend more money than he can earn. Ralph receives a surprise telephone call from his elderly business partner Alfred J. Sloane (Cyril Delevanti) who wants Ralph to buy him out after a profitable year. Ralph complains that he cannot afford to do so because he has spent all his money satisfying his wife. When Sloane threatens to get his lawyer involved Ralph has no choice but to murder him, strangling him in the park. The I.O.U. note which Ralph had previously given to Sloane is retrieved from the scene of the crime by a tramp (Robert Newton) who witnesses the murder and uses it to blackmail Ralph. The tramp and his friend show up at Ralph's luxurious apartment and when Ralph cannot meet their demands of $1,000 a month in exchange for their silence, they move in with him. This does not prove to be popular with Ralph's wife! TRIVIA •

HITCH'S PROLOGUE (0 secs): X HITCH'S EPILOGUE (0 secs): X SPOILERS Ralph is caught after pawning the cigarette case he stole from the dead body of Sloane.

IN MY HUMBLE OPINION... Ralph's wife is simply the most selfish, greedy woman in the world. Her whole attitude stinks and her selfishness ultimately leads her husband to commit a murder of an acquaintance, a decent gentleman who has done nothing wrong. Phillip Reed makes his second appearance in the series (he was in "Bullet For Baldwin"), and puts in a fine performance. The lead character is played in a slightly overly-British manner by Robert Newton and rounds up a diverse cast.

THE CAST (click any image to enlarge)

Peter Goodfellow... ROBERT NEWTON Ralph Cowell... PHILIP REED Herta Cowell... PEGGY KNUDSEN Mr. Fenton Shanks... JOHNNY SILVER Detective Monroeney... ROUBERT FOULK Alfred Sloane... CYRIL DELEVANTI Other man... BOB MORGAN

GALLERY (click any image to enlarge)

Acknowledgements: The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion by Martin Grams Jr & Patrik Wikstrom (book) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0508283/ [IMDb] This page was last updated on: 12 February 2022