One of the best Hitchcock Hour episodes because it doesn't cop out with a reassuring explanation. John Megna is terrific as a boy who knows he's different. He likes magic, but not just fun magic tricks. When his father, Leslie Nielsen, takes him into the strange magic shop, run by David Opatoshu, the kid and the shopkeeper know he has found his true home. It's rare to see a child depicted so graphically as evil. Strange things happen one after another in this story, and some are pretty surprising for 1960s TV. The nice man across the street is one of the boy's targets as are the girls next door. When his parents let him have a dog, things get even stranger. For some, this episode will recall a Twilight Zone classic, "It's a Good Life". Definitely worth seeking out.
19 Reviews
A STRANGE story in every sense of the word...
binapiraeus12 August 2014
During the first part of this episode of "The Hitchcock Hour", I almost thought this might be one of the VERY best of the series - a somewhat strange little boy insists on visiting the 'Magic Shop' with his father for buying something with the money he got for his birthday; and the strange owner of the shop tells him that he's 'just the right kind', he shows him some rather queer and eerie magical tricks, and then puts him into a magic cabinet - from where he disappears into nowhere. His parents are desperately searching for him; but the next morning, he reappears from his bedroom as if nothing had happened - and yet something DID happen: he's completely changed, and his behavior soon starts alarming his parents VERY much...
Well, as I said, that was the first part - a very good adaptation of H.G. Wells' story, with a magnificent performance by John Magna as little Tony (friends of classic movies will surely recognize him as the boy who had to undergo that 'test of courage' in the great thriller "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte"), and some pretty chilling moments. But afterwards, the screenplay obviously moves away from Wells' story by depicting the typical atmosphere of a petty bourgeois 60s' US small town; and the 'horror' starts going into the reactionary direction of Stephen King and others, who a few years later would present us with 'possessed children' in the most disgusting way - it's only the really VERY unusual and unexpected ending that brings the story back onto the paths of H.G. Wells; and of Alfred Hitchcock, of course...
So, if you're able to endure the pedantic atmosphere that prevails throughout half of the episode, it IS worthwhile watching; for the really creepy beginning - and the most SURPRISING ending!
Well, as I said, that was the first part - a very good adaptation of H.G. Wells' story, with a magnificent performance by John Magna as little Tony (friends of classic movies will surely recognize him as the boy who had to undergo that 'test of courage' in the great thriller "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte"), and some pretty chilling moments. But afterwards, the screenplay obviously moves away from Wells' story by depicting the typical atmosphere of a petty bourgeois 60s' US small town; and the 'horror' starts going into the reactionary direction of Stephen King and others, who a few years later would present us with 'possessed children' in the most disgusting way - it's only the really VERY unusual and unexpected ending that brings the story back onto the paths of H.G. Wells; and of Alfred Hitchcock, of course...
So, if you're able to endure the pedantic atmosphere that prevails throughout half of the episode, it IS worthwhile watching; for the really creepy beginning - and the most SURPRISING ending!
Memorable and untypical episode
HEFILM1 July 2013
I have bad mouthed producer Joan Harrison's other hour long episodes, so must praise her this time. Like with the CONSIDER HER WAYS episode this is an unusual story for the series, unlike that episode this is well scripted. It does have a Twilight Zone like quality though it is better than most of the hour long Twilight Zones. And yes a particular Zone half-hour episode did kind of set the bar high for how this story resolves but that does not make this show unworthy, in fact it rivals that chilling ending. And this is based on an H.G.WELLS story that pre-dates Zone's IT'S A GOOD LIFE by a number of years anyway. Though the original story covers events in about the first half of this show, they extrapolate the rest in the adaptation.
Basic situation starting with trying to fulfill a child's birthday wishes leads into unreality and doubt keeps twisting and turning heading into places you don't expect. It's well acted and there are a few memorable flourishes from director Robert Stevenson. One involving a fire and another a crushed head. Music score is well done and was reused in other episodes. Only weak element here involves some off screen dog action that just comes off as cheap. In the original story the animal is a cat, just FYI. Naturally too the short story has more elaborate magic tricks than could be done when this show was produced. But what they do show here is effective most of the time.
There is some real horror here and a nice non-explanation explanation scene somewhat like the diner scene in THE BIRDS where the whys of the situation are left open but given some possible reasons and creating more genuine mystery to the whole thing.
This is ultimately a horror story with some horror in it and thought.
Basic situation starting with trying to fulfill a child's birthday wishes leads into unreality and doubt keeps twisting and turning heading into places you don't expect. It's well acted and there are a few memorable flourishes from director Robert Stevenson. One involving a fire and another a crushed head. Music score is well done and was reused in other episodes. Only weak element here involves some off screen dog action that just comes off as cheap. In the original story the animal is a cat, just FYI. Naturally too the short story has more elaborate magic tricks than could be done when this show was produced. But what they do show here is effective most of the time.
There is some real horror here and a nice non-explanation explanation scene somewhat like the diner scene in THE BIRDS where the whys of the situation are left open but given some possible reasons and creating more genuine mystery to the whole thing.
This is ultimately a horror story with some horror in it and thought.
The Magic Shop Episode - The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
maximumjoys212 April 2014
The Magic Shop episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour is one of the creepiest stories I have ever seen. When I first saw it after a long day of working I fell asleep right in the middle and have waited months for it to re-air. Well it did 2 nights ago and I made sure I watched it to the end. I found it to be a very disturbing story & almost regretted watching it to the end. The little boy who was cast is creepy, the magic shop owner is even creepier. I love horror, suspense, thrillers and have pretty much seen them all. This story kept me engaged, and I have been thinking about it since I watched it. If you ever see it ready to air, watch it, you will not be disappointed!
Much more like "The Twilight Zone" or "The Outer Limits" than "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour".
planktonrules19 May 2021
The Grainger family have a weird kid....no other way to say it! On his birthday, he insists he wants to take his birthday money to the nearby magic shop to spend it...but his parents insist there is no magic shop where he says there's one. Nevertheless, the father (Leslie Nielsen) humors him...and there turns out to be a magic shop exactly where the kid said! But it gets much weirder. The man inside (David Opatashu) dotes on the boy and says how special he is...and the man is seriously creepy! The father is also creeped out by the guy and insists they leave...and the child just disappears! Soon, the man running the place vanishes...and the father finds himself lying in the middle of the road!! When he awakens, he blathers about losing his son in the magic shop....but everyone tells him it's a travel agency...there is no magic shop!! Clearly, a creepy supernatural thing has happened.
What about the boy? Well, he comes back a day later and insists he was gone for a week...but won't tell the parents anything more. So, they take him to a psychologist...and the man thinks SOMETHING weird is going on here! But what??? Soon, the boy begins showing signs of being evil...sort of in the Antichrist sort of way!
In so many ways, this episode plays like an installment of "The Twilight Zone"* or "The Outer Limits"...not an Alfred Hitchcock show. Both "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" are normally firmly grounded in reality....and mostly crime. But this one is supernatural and weird throughout. Now I am not complaining...but it clearly is atypical for the series. However, it IS good...extremely creepy and frightening...and with an ending that might leave you ill at ease! In fact, it made we wish the show did MORE supernatural shows like this one.
*The closest I've seen to this episode is "The Twilight Zone" episode "It's a Good Life"...where the little boy has amazing powers and has all the adults around him in abject fear of the little monster.
What about the boy? Well, he comes back a day later and insists he was gone for a week...but won't tell the parents anything more. So, they take him to a psychologist...and the man thinks SOMETHING weird is going on here! But what??? Soon, the boy begins showing signs of being evil...sort of in the Antichrist sort of way!
In so many ways, this episode plays like an installment of "The Twilight Zone"* or "The Outer Limits"...not an Alfred Hitchcock show. Both "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" are normally firmly grounded in reality....and mostly crime. But this one is supernatural and weird throughout. Now I am not complaining...but it clearly is atypical for the series. However, it IS good...extremely creepy and frightening...and with an ending that might leave you ill at ease! In fact, it made we wish the show did MORE supernatural shows like this one.
*The closest I've seen to this episode is "The Twilight Zone" episode "It's a Good Life"...where the little boy has amazing powers and has all the adults around him in abject fear of the little monster.
nightmarishly terrifying
robcrawford21 March 2015
Warning: Spoilers
I have thought about this episode for the last 50 years, wondering what it meant and what would have happened to the boy. This is perhaps the most frightening TV drama I saw as a child. I remember it vividly, something to recall whilst feverish or at that paralyzed state just before waking. It is terrifying on a level that basic for me.
***Mild spoiler warning.*** I think what scared me so much was that the child escaped the control of his family, became a malevolent force in his own right as his parents watched on. The acting is very good. Also, much of it goes unexplained, which is a treat for the imagination.
Warmly recommended. I think it deserves it reputation as a classic, the best of Hitchcock presents. I bought the season (2) just for this episode and while the rest is OK, this is great.
***Mild spoiler warning.*** I think what scared me so much was that the child escaped the control of his family, became a malevolent force in his own right as his parents watched on. The acting is very good. Also, much of it goes unexplained, which is a treat for the imagination.
Warmly recommended. I think it deserves it reputation as a classic, the best of Hitchcock presents. I bought the season (2) just for this episode and while the rest is OK, this is great.
It's Not Your Usual Magic Show
dougdoepke24 April 2015
Memorable chiller. Little Tony's mom and dad are so conventionally suburban and their home life so ordinary, that the contrast with what comes later turns really menacing. Seems little Tony has extra-sensory powers when he sees a magic shop that no one else sees. Once he and Dad enter the magic shop's preternatural bubble, simple trickery gives way to the inexplicable powers of real magic, and a demonic force emerges. For the Grainger family, suburban life will never be the same.
Kudoes to producer Harrison for getting such an odd looking boy, Megna, for the pivotal role of Tony. That way, we're a bit discomfited from the start. And when Tony's latent sensibility is transformed by the sinister Dulong's magic box, it's not a big stretch. Then too, that wolf-like dog functions as a scary familiar for the boy sorcerer. Actually the episode reminds me a bit of Hitch's 30-minute Special Delivery (1959), which also dealt with a transformed suburban boy. Anyhow, the 60-minutes remains superior series fare. Importantly, it also undermines the placid assumptions of a well-ordered middle-class. For Hitchcock, I believe, this was a favorite theme, and maybe one reason why his work remains both unsettling and compelling without having to spill buckets of blood.
Kudoes to producer Harrison for getting such an odd looking boy, Megna, for the pivotal role of Tony. That way, we're a bit discomfited from the start. And when Tony's latent sensibility is transformed by the sinister Dulong's magic box, it's not a big stretch. Then too, that wolf-like dog functions as a scary familiar for the boy sorcerer. Actually the episode reminds me a bit of Hitch's 30-minute Special Delivery (1959), which also dealt with a transformed suburban boy. Anyhow, the 60-minutes remains superior series fare. Importantly, it also undermines the placid assumptions of a well-ordered middle-class. For Hitchcock, I believe, this was a favorite theme, and maybe one reason why his work remains both unsettling and compelling without having to spill buckets of blood.
Very scary story
nermalstanley9 July 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Thought I have not seen this episode since I was in elementary school 40 years ago. But it left a lasting impression.
A young boy goes to a magic store and vanishes along with the owner. He later turns up at home but seem different. He starts doing real magic (what you would probably call witchcraft (ala Bewitched). At the midway point the neighbor kills his dog and he vows revenge. In the last scene, he looks out his window and makes that neighbor's house catch fire. He moves his index finger in a circle then punches the middle and the fire starts in one window. He repeats that several times. In a minute, the whole house is engulfed in flames. After that he takes a picture of his father and with a knife, cuts the face and the same cuts come on his father. It ends with them eating and the family is scared to say anything.
This episode of the Alfred Hitchcock Hour will be run tomorrow August 15, 2008 at 6:00 am and 12:00 pm on the Chiller Network This may wind up not being as scary if I see it now. Like the end of the Outer Limits' Misfits of Zanti at the end you can see the strings holding the giant ants. You notice cheesy things like that now, but when you are a young child, things like this do not matter.
The Chiller Network is now showing the Alfred Hitchcock Hour, so maybe I can see it again.
A young boy goes to a magic store and vanishes along with the owner. He later turns up at home but seem different. He starts doing real magic (what you would probably call witchcraft (ala Bewitched). At the midway point the neighbor kills his dog and he vows revenge. In the last scene, he looks out his window and makes that neighbor's house catch fire. He moves his index finger in a circle then punches the middle and the fire starts in one window. He repeats that several times. In a minute, the whole house is engulfed in flames. After that he takes a picture of his father and with a knife, cuts the face and the same cuts come on his father. It ends with them eating and the family is scared to say anything.
This episode of the Alfred Hitchcock Hour will be run tomorrow August 15, 2008 at 6:00 am and 12:00 pm on the Chiller Network This may wind up not being as scary if I see it now. Like the end of the Outer Limits' Misfits of Zanti at the end you can see the strings holding the giant ants. You notice cheesy things like that now, but when you are a young child, things like this do not matter.
The Chiller Network is now showing the Alfred Hitchcock Hour, so maybe I can see it again.
So this proves that Hitch DID do supernatural horror!
deedrala5 August 2020
It figures - I just recently submitted a review here on imdb of another Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode in which I made a point of stressing that Hitch never did supernatural or sci-fi in his TV series or movies....guess I should've waited until I saw this one, since it was already on my DVR. I even had a vague memory of Hitch saying that in one of his wraparound segments or maybe I read it somewhere in the 60 years I've been following him and his works, but...whatever. While watching this ep, it kept going through my mind that it must all be a dream/nightmare of one of the parents or most likely the child himself, but nope! The theme of this ep is definitely supernatural, all the way to the end, to the point that I kept thinking I was watching Twilight Zone.
Speaking of which, I noticed most of the reviewers here compared it to the TZ ep 'It's a Good Life'. I wish they had stuck to just reviewing this ep on its own without comparing it to anything else. The main difference between the two is that the cause of the magic powers was never shown or explained in the IAGL ep, as it was shown in detail in 'The Magic Shop'.
If I had seen this as a child when it was originally shown in the early 60s, it would have scared me to death - I would have had nightmares about that evil overly-toothy narrow-faced kid (his facial characteristics reminded me so much of the 'Alien' creature!) every night for a year. But now, 5 decades later, after all manner of evil/possessed children in scores of shows and movies....meh. The BEST of the bunch, when it comes to evil children (with only heredity to blame - no woo/hocus pocus involved), will ALWAYS be the original "The Bad Seed" with Patty McCormack as Rhoda.
7 out of 10 - grade B-
Speaking of which, I noticed most of the reviewers here compared it to the TZ ep 'It's a Good Life'. I wish they had stuck to just reviewing this ep on its own without comparing it to anything else. The main difference between the two is that the cause of the magic powers was never shown or explained in the IAGL ep, as it was shown in detail in 'The Magic Shop'.
If I had seen this as a child when it was originally shown in the early 60s, it would have scared me to death - I would have had nightmares about that evil overly-toothy narrow-faced kid (his facial characteristics reminded me so much of the 'Alien' creature!) every night for a year. But now, 5 decades later, after all manner of evil/possessed children in scores of shows and movies....meh. The BEST of the bunch, when it comes to evil children (with only heredity to blame - no woo/hocus pocus involved), will ALWAYS be the original "The Bad Seed" with Patty McCormack as Rhoda.
7 out of 10 - grade B-
Well done, not perfect, but, well done
talonjensen25 March 2018
Most reviewers don't seem to realize this is based on H.G. Wells' 'The Magic Shop'. While it isn't quite as horrifying as the Twilight Zone's version: 'It's a Good Life', it is well done and different enough that I enjoyed the difference. Both versions expand on H.G. Wells original in slightly different ways and both are enjoyable.
Personally I'm not really a horror fan, most modern horror is simply blood and gore as extreme as possible with a little obvious tension. But, this show is enjoyably horrifying and Megna is a great choice as a terrifying child.
I did see the Twilight Zone version first, so the ending here wasn't much of a surprise to me, still enjoyable and well done.
Personally I'm not really a horror fan, most modern horror is simply blood and gore as extreme as possible with a little obvious tension. But, this show is enjoyably horrifying and Megna is a great choice as a terrifying child.
I did see the Twilight Zone version first, so the ending here wasn't much of a surprise to me, still enjoyable and well done.
The little shop on the corner
sol-kay10 April 2012
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** Getting $15.00 for his 12th birthday little Tony Gringer, John Megna, wants his dad Mr. Gringer, Leslie Nielsen,to take him to this magic shop in town to buy some goodies or tricks for himself. At first not being able to find the shop Tony heads for this travel agency that turns out to be a front for the magic shop. With Tony & his dad Meeting the shop's proprietor a spaced out and creepy looking Mister Dulong,David Opstoshu, who's about as weird as they come yet for some strange reason little Tony seems to have a close and strange relationship with the guy. It's as if Tony knew Mr. Dulong for some time and kept it from everyone including his parents.
What's really going on between the two weirdo's Tony & Mr. Dulong, who seem to be talking in code with each other, starts to greatly upset his dad who wants to get Tony and himself out of the place ASAP: Or as soon as possible! But Mr.Dulong has other tricks up his sleeve which includes making himself as well as Tony and his magic shop invisible to the naked eye and driving Mr. Grainger to the point, in him playing in traffic, of committing suicide! Disappearing and then reappearing, with the entire town police department looking for him, some 24 hours later Tony has now become as weird as his master Mr. Dulong ever was. As we find out in him using his magical or satanic powers Tony has taken over the entire Grainger household and even injured with his new found devil dog, oddly named after Mr.Dulong, a number of persons in between! As well as him burning down , by him just willing it, his nosy neighbor Mr. Adams', Paul Hartman, house!
***SPOILERS*** In the end it's Tony who now runs the Gringer house with his parents Mr. & Mrs. Gringer, Peggy McCay, helpless to do anything about it but just do what he demands of them: Or Else! What seemed to have happened here is that Tony has had a previous experience with that weirdo Mr. Dulong who took him under his wing and gave him the power to control those around him. What price Tony paid for that is never revealed to those of us watching. In fact what you would have thought Tony would have wanted most of all is in him getting his very prominent buck teeth fixed or straightened out, which would have been kids play for the master magician Mr.Dulong, wasn't any part of the deal he got.
What's really going on between the two weirdo's Tony & Mr. Dulong, who seem to be talking in code with each other, starts to greatly upset his dad who wants to get Tony and himself out of the place ASAP: Or as soon as possible! But Mr.Dulong has other tricks up his sleeve which includes making himself as well as Tony and his magic shop invisible to the naked eye and driving Mr. Grainger to the point, in him playing in traffic, of committing suicide! Disappearing and then reappearing, with the entire town police department looking for him, some 24 hours later Tony has now become as weird as his master Mr. Dulong ever was. As we find out in him using his magical or satanic powers Tony has taken over the entire Grainger household and even injured with his new found devil dog, oddly named after Mr.Dulong, a number of persons in between! As well as him burning down , by him just willing it, his nosy neighbor Mr. Adams', Paul Hartman, house!
***SPOILERS*** In the end it's Tony who now runs the Gringer house with his parents Mr. & Mrs. Gringer, Peggy McCay, helpless to do anything about it but just do what he demands of them: Or Else! What seemed to have happened here is that Tony has had a previous experience with that weirdo Mr. Dulong who took him under his wing and gave him the power to control those around him. What price Tony paid for that is never revealed to those of us watching. In fact what you would have thought Tony would have wanted most of all is in him getting his very prominent buck teeth fixed or straightened out, which would have been kids play for the master magician Mr.Dulong, wasn't any part of the deal he got.
The Spoiled Brat
Hitchcoc20 May 2023
Before there is a supernatural element to this episode, the parents smother the kid with gifts for which he shows no appreciation. A neighbor brings him his coin jar and he uses it to go to a magic shop with no regard for anyone's thoughts. The kid who plays the boy has a weirdness about him that contributes to his dangerous being. It's a little like the kid who terrorizes a whole town in "The Twilight Zone." I suspect that the owner of the magic shop is a stereotypical Satan who destroys the kid, turning him into a monster with tremendous powers. Leslie Nielsen is the father and he pays a price for the kid's allowable behavior. Good episode based on a John Collier story. One of our better horror writer's at the time.
Better To Step Outside The Box.
rmax30482330 January 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Reminiscent of a familiar "Twilight Zone" episode -- "It's A Good Life." Leslie Nielson is the father of young John Megna. It's Megna's birthday and he insists on being taken to a magic shop, although Nielson insists that the shop doesn't exist. Megna takes him by the hand and leads him to the address and, lo, the shop is there, and David Opatoshu is the smiling, quiet, mysterious proprietor. I don't think I'll go any further into the plot, except to say that the kid apparently finds what he wanted. It's not that different from what all of us normal people want -- the ability to command our environments.
Nielson is a good utility player. He never demonstrated much range but his very earnestness was put to good comic use in the "Airplane" spoofs. I didn't care for Megna much. He might be a sweetheart in real life, but he has a head shaped like a cantaloupe, a prognathous jaw, and a set of incisors that belong on some kind of man-eating sea creature. Opatoshu doesn't have much work to do.
Nielson is a good utility player. He never demonstrated much range but his very earnestness was put to good comic use in the "Airplane" spoofs. I didn't care for Megna much. He might be a sweetheart in real life, but he has a head shaped like a cantaloupe, a prognathous jaw, and a set of incisors that belong on some kind of man-eating sea creature. Opatoshu doesn't have much work to do.
Uninspired and predictable, the opposite of most Hitchcock
drystyx10 November 2020
This episode of Hitchcock is one of his few supernatural stories.
That's usually a good idea, because when you only go "supernatural" one time in ten, then it works.
However, this one is sorely predictable because of the contrived way it caters to family men. In fact, it looks totally contrived by a writer who wants to act like being a father is the only existence on Earth. The writing is so narcissistic that you would feel embarrassed for the writer if he wasn't so self righteous.
There isn't one bit of originality in this. Nothing wrong with the acting. And that makes it even worse, that so much effort was wasted on this garbage.
That's usually a good idea, because when you only go "supernatural" one time in ten, then it works.
However, this one is sorely predictable because of the contrived way it caters to family men. In fact, it looks totally contrived by a writer who wants to act like being a father is the only existence on Earth. The writing is so narcissistic that you would feel embarrassed for the writer if he wasn't so self righteous.
There isn't one bit of originality in this. Nothing wrong with the acting. And that makes it even worse, that so much effort was wasted on this garbage.
Fine Hitchcock Hour, But No Twilight Zone
jadedalex14 February 2012
Warning: Spoilers
'The Magic Shop' is an imaginative tale from this series. John Megna, the young actor from 'To Kill A Mockingbird' gives a chilling performance as the omnipotent boy Tony.
David Opatoshu is effectively eerie as Mr. Dulong, owner of the magic shop, and Tony's magic 'mentor'. Scenes inside the magic shop are particularly imaginative, with the use of masks, funny mirrors and a box into which Tony disappears.
However, this theme of the all-powerful child had been explored more succinctly and with complete horror in the 'Twilight Zone's take of the marvelous short story by Jerome Bixby entitled 'It's A Good Life'. To be fair to the Hitchcock series, I am comparing 'The Magic Shop' with one of the best of Rod Serling's 'Twilight Zone's'.
The child actor Megna has a very odd, almost sinister face. This fits the story well, but Serling went Hitchcock one better by casting the cherub-faced Billy Mumy some five years earlier as the monster 'Anthony Fremont'.
Tony's powers are impressive, but they pale next to Mumy's 'Anthony', who has effectively wished away most of the United States into 'the cornfield'.
'It's A Good Life' is truly in the top ten, if not the top three of 'Twilight Zone's. And the tale is told in an economical twenty five minutes.
But to be fair to 'The Magic Shop', the fifty minute run time is not 'padded'. The story holds one's interest throughout, which could not be said for all Hitchcock Hours (nor for all of the hour T-Zones).
People wonder why the success of these early television programs lingers on today. Both 'The Twilight Zone' and 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' have been remade, with little success.
One clear answer is the age of political correctness we live in today. 'Twilight Zone: The Movie" stank of political correctness. In redoing 'It's A Good Life', the 'monster' has found a caring mentor by the end of the tale, a woman who will teach Anthony to use his powers for good.
This unfortunate use of 'PC' into the story line robs the tale of all its power. It's most unsatisfying, akin to Serling's weaker T-Zone scripts which always include some worldly moralizing. Hey Rod, I thought you were taking us to 'unworldly' places!
Both 'The Magic Shop' and 'It's A Good LIfe' (the original) end on very dark notes: the parents are living in fear as to what their child will do next. In the good old days of black and white television, writers did not feel compelled to pen false, 'happy endings'.
I highly recommend 'The Magic Shop' as one of the better 'Alfred Hitchcock Hour' episodes, even if Megna's 'Tony' comes across as just a brat compared to Mumy's monstrous 'Anthony'. The story is dark enough that I hardly chuckled at all at seeing Leslie Nielsen playing drama after all these years of witnessing his comic prowess via 'Airplane!' and 'Naked Gun'.
David Opatoshu is effectively eerie as Mr. Dulong, owner of the magic shop, and Tony's magic 'mentor'. Scenes inside the magic shop are particularly imaginative, with the use of masks, funny mirrors and a box into which Tony disappears.
However, this theme of the all-powerful child had been explored more succinctly and with complete horror in the 'Twilight Zone's take of the marvelous short story by Jerome Bixby entitled 'It's A Good Life'. To be fair to the Hitchcock series, I am comparing 'The Magic Shop' with one of the best of Rod Serling's 'Twilight Zone's'.
The child actor Megna has a very odd, almost sinister face. This fits the story well, but Serling went Hitchcock one better by casting the cherub-faced Billy Mumy some five years earlier as the monster 'Anthony Fremont'.
Tony's powers are impressive, but they pale next to Mumy's 'Anthony', who has effectively wished away most of the United States into 'the cornfield'.
'It's A Good Life' is truly in the top ten, if not the top three of 'Twilight Zone's. And the tale is told in an economical twenty five minutes.
But to be fair to 'The Magic Shop', the fifty minute run time is not 'padded'. The story holds one's interest throughout, which could not be said for all Hitchcock Hours (nor for all of the hour T-Zones).
People wonder why the success of these early television programs lingers on today. Both 'The Twilight Zone' and 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' have been remade, with little success.
One clear answer is the age of political correctness we live in today. 'Twilight Zone: The Movie" stank of political correctness. In redoing 'It's A Good Life', the 'monster' has found a caring mentor by the end of the tale, a woman who will teach Anthony to use his powers for good.
This unfortunate use of 'PC' into the story line robs the tale of all its power. It's most unsatisfying, akin to Serling's weaker T-Zone scripts which always include some worldly moralizing. Hey Rod, I thought you were taking us to 'unworldly' places!
Both 'The Magic Shop' and 'It's A Good LIfe' (the original) end on very dark notes: the parents are living in fear as to what their child will do next. In the good old days of black and white television, writers did not feel compelled to pen false, 'happy endings'.
I highly recommend 'The Magic Shop' as one of the better 'Alfred Hitchcock Hour' episodes, even if Megna's 'Tony' comes across as just a brat compared to Mumy's monstrous 'Anthony'. The story is dark enough that I hardly chuckled at all at seeing Leslie Nielsen playing drama after all these years of witnessing his comic prowess via 'Airplane!' and 'Naked Gun'.
Predictable ending but good storytelling
brbrknndy12 July 2022
"I'd like to see some real magic."
classicsoncall14 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
You might wonder how this made it as a Hitchcock program. The magic and supernatural elements remove it from your typical Hitchcock fare, and into the world of the bizarre and unexplained. The kid in the story was perfectly cast, with a look that bordered on evil, if you could actually call a twelve year old kid evil. A magic shop at the center of the story proves to be elusive; when young Tony Grainger(John Megna) winds up missing in plain sight, his parents (Leslie Nielsen, Peggy McCay) seek help from the authorities, only to have him show up the next day at home, with no explanation for his disappearance. Tony further complicates matters by insisting that he was gone for a long time, and his return is heralded by a strange assortment of powers he uses to inflict discomfort and pain to those he feels wronged him. The ending, for anyone who was a fan of Rod Serling's 'Twilight Zone', will call to mind an episode from that series titled 'It's a Good Life', in which Billy Mumy held his parents and immediate family captive to a threat that he would send them permanently into a corn field if they didn't treat him real good and real fine.
Great acting !
pnolname26 February 2022
The story would seem a bit far fetched, but the acting, especially by the kid and the magic shop owner, as well as the dialog, brings it to life. This kid is pure evil and he has no idea there is anything wrong with that. By far the scariest Hitchcock-hour episode.
Hitchcock meets Wells
dwknuj8 June 2023
There is a story, which may or may not be true, that in the 1930's Alfred Hitchcock set out to film a novel by H. G. Wells. The novel was War of the Worlds. However Mr. Hitchcock never shot it. He was dissuaded by the author. Wells said that the story was simply too dated (the subsequent versions have been so radically altered that little remains of the original tale). However, I don't think that Hitchcock ever lost his fascination with a literary output of Wells.
Hitchcock never got Wells out of his system for the big screen. Instead he turned to the small screen for this H. G. Wells story of The Magic Shop.
I've heard speculation through the years that Hitchcock filmed this under protest. The network wanted spookier fare to appeal to the teen demographic. I think that's ridiculous. The Master of Suspense knew just what he was doing and did it.
Still, it's a shame. I would loved to have seen Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart battling Martians.
Hitchcock never got Wells out of his system for the big screen. Instead he turned to the small screen for this H. G. Wells story of The Magic Shop.
I've heard speculation through the years that Hitchcock filmed this under protest. The network wanted spookier fare to appeal to the teen demographic. I think that's ridiculous. The Master of Suspense knew just what he was doing and did it.
Still, it's a shame. I would loved to have seen Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart battling Martians.
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