cynicschism

     In a recent post, I recommended The Alfred Hitchcock Hour for those who enjoy classic mystery programs.  Granted, not every one of the 93 episodes is great, and there are a few dogs in there too, but the majority are solid suspense entertainment. The program is currently running on the Chiller network, Channel 257 on DirecTV. It is on at 12 noon each weekday, and I also believe it runs earlier in the morning.

     There was a recent episode entitled The Second Wife, that was one of the better episodes of the series. It concerns the arrival of Martha (June Lockhart) to a small town to marry Luke (John Anderson) who she met through a lonely hearts correspondence club. Luke is on the reserved side, but as they get to know each other, he seems like a good husband.

     Then Martha makes a discovery while talking to some local women. Luke had a first wife, who died under mysterious circumstances. She starts to wonder. She comes home to find Luke in the basement and notices there is now a large hole in the always damp basement. A hole just large enough to bury a human body. Martha grows even more suspicious. She slowly begins to suspect that Luke is planning to do her in, just as he might have done to his first wife. To go further would be to give away the ending, which turns out to be a tragic result due to miscommunication.

     The Second Wife unfolds at a nice leisurely pace, and does a good job of showing the two characters getting to know one another. It takes time to tell the story. It also paints a detailed picture of the atmosphere of small-town life, where everybody seems to know everyone else and their secrets. Usually in the Hitchcock series, when the husband starts to dig a hole in the cellar, he’s up to no good. That isn’t necessarily so in this case, and that gives the story its depth and interest. It also gains from being a little more subtle than the usual mystery fare. If this episode pops up again, be sure to catch it. It’s quite well done.

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