The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Series 3, Episode 22    David Friedkin    Morton Fine, David Friedkin (teleplay); Avram Davidson (story)    Ron Randell, David Carradine, Sally Kellerman    22 March 1965    48:29 (total) • 45:07 (film) • 2:01 (Hitchcock)    2/10

Thou Still Unravished Bride

A young woman is found strangled to death on a street of London. She is the fourth victim to be found dead, strangled with a silk stocking. A crowd gathers before her body is taken away. Two cops (Tommy Bonn, RON RANDELL and his best man Stephen Leslie, MICHAEL PATE) stand and observe the aftermath of the attack. Today was supposed to be Tommy's wedding day to his 31 year-old girlfriend Sally (KELLERMAN). In flashback Tommy and Sally discuss their wedding in a park before Sally returns home and finds her mother altering her wedding dress. She feels nervous about getting married and appears to be depressed. Mr & Mrs Setlin come to the apartment with their son Elliot. Sally rejects Elliot's offer to accompany her as she goes out for a walk despite the growing concern with the murders of young women which have been going on in the city of late. Whilst her parents and in-laws await Sally's return home, Myrna (the maid of honour) arrives at the apartment. Tommy also telephones the apartment but concern begins to grow when nobody knows what has happened to Sally. Tommy and Stephen come to the apartment, as Sally pays a visit to a pub. There she meets a strange looking young man called Clarke (DAVID CARRADINE). Meanwhile Tommy and Stephen trace Sally's last known whereabouts to a local chemist where they speak to the owner Mr. Guerney and his son. They then speak to Mr. Sutherland, the owner of a book store Sally visited earlier in the day where he read her poetry from John Keats (this is where the title of the story comes from). Tommy and Stephen continue their investigation and visit the pub where Sally had been earlier. There they meet Edward Clarke and speak with him. Edward takes the men to the spot where he claims her walked with Sally. Edward confesses that he hunts people and suggests the police should drag the river to look for her after admitting killing her. But Tommy returns to the apartment and finds Sally there alive and well. She explains the reason she went for a walk was to make up her mind as to whether she really wanted to get married to Tommy. The police drag the River Thames and find the body of a young woman. TRIVIA •The title of the story is a quote from poet John Keats in his ode on a Grecian Urn: "Thou still unravish’d bride of quietness". •When David Carradine makes his first appearance in the story he is told by a police officer to stand back. The acting and dialogue in this scene is so cheesy. •Apparently if you want to make your movie set appear to show that you are in London all you have to do is put a double decker bus and a telephone box in the shot, as is evidenced in the story here. •In the scene in the park where Tommy and Sally discuss their wedding it seems that either their dialogue was dubbed or the DVD is out of synch. The words do not match the lips. •Sally is 31 years old. She says so twice in the same sentence when talking to her mother! Her mother replies that her daughter is 31. Okay, we get it. Sally is 31. •Virginia Gregg plays the part of Mrs. Setlin, who is the mother of Elliot. At one point (around 23 minutes) she tells Elliot, "Please be quiet for Mother." It's the way she pronounces the word "mother" that reminds the viewer she was the voice of "Mother" in Hitchcock's "Psycho" five years previously. •The woman seen in the background throwing the darts in the pub is pretty useless, isn't she? •The dead woman who is fished out of the river continues to blink when the camera is on her for only a few seconds. I mean, she had one ting to do: keep still and play dead for a screen time of literally 2 seconds, and she couldn't even do that? Appalling.

HITCH'S PROLOGUE (52 secs + 17 secs): [Hitch is standing by a large suggestions box] "The suggestion box is the mark of the enlightened company. We've had one for years. We offer prizes to our workers for the best suggestions but so far have been unable to make any awards since the suggestions are usually unsigned. We used to have a woman do this work but some of the suggestions were improper. This first suggestion is directed at me. [Hitch reaches into the box and pulls out a rope with a noose] I'm touched but I'll have to return it. I never accept gifts from employees. And now this evening's drama. It is about a disappearance. Sudden, startling and frightening. It follows this suggestion from our sponsor." "The second half of our story will be on view presently. I have filled boxes like this with suggestions that the station break be abolished. Just how successful I have been will be apparent in a moment." HITCH'S EPILOGUE (52 secs): "I discovered that the suggestion box hadn't been opened for years and years. I wish we had taken the trouble for some of the oldest ones in the bottom of the box are quite good. This one for example: "Why not put wheels on a gasoline engine on the sled and call it a truck?" What is all the more remarkable is that when this suggestion was made, the wheel hadn't been invented yet! But he provides a drawing. Unfortunately we cannot reward this man, he is no longer with us. I'm afraid this man isn't either. [Hitch reads from the paper] "Help I am being held prisoner in the secretarial pool." Poor fellow, it's too late now. We must remember to look at these sooner. Next week we shall return with another story and of course, some commercials." SPOILERS Clarke is the killer, but Sally survives.

IN MY HUMBLE OPINION... This story got so boring so quickly that it took me three days to find the motivation to finish watching it after I gave up after just 15 minutes! Without a doubt this was one of the most tedious episodes I have ever sat through. The ending was absolutely shit. Horrible episode.

THE CAST (click any image to enlarge)

Tommy Bonn... RON RANDELL Edward Clarke... DAVID CARRADINE Sally Brenner... SALLY KELLERMAN Stephen Leslie... MICHAEL PATE Mr. Brenner... KENT SMITH Mrs. Brenner... EDITH ATWATER Mrs. Setlin... VIRGINIA GREGG Mr. Setlin... HOWARD CAINE Mr. Sutherland... BEN WRIGHT Guerney Jr... RICHARD LUPINO Woman... BETTY HARFORD Bobbie... VICTOR ROGERS Sergeant... GEORGE PELLING Elliot Setlin... TED BESSELL Bartender... BRENDAN DILLON Mother... DORIS LLOYD Myrna... JANA LESLEY Guerney Sr... ALAN NAPIER

GALLERY (click any image to enlarge)

Acknowledgements: The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion by Martin Grams Jr & Patrik Wikstrom (book) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0394094/ [IMDb] This page was last updated on: 22 December 2020