User Reviews

The first episode of 1957. A newlywed couple is stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire. An older man named Moon drives by to help, but quickly flashes a dark side.

We've seen the three leads before. Character actor Robert Emhardt, young Biff McGuire (still acting in 2013) and the short-haired brunette Mary Scott had more than a dozen series appearances among them. Emhardt has the most interesting role here as he more or less stalks the young couple.

The episode is tense, mysterious and, I have to say, not especially realistic, but sometimes that's the price you have to pay.

Because I was willing to step back and enjoy the fun, I won't turn on the utter ridiculousness of the plot. Instead, it pulls us along as long as we accept Mr. Moon as a sociopath. As characters are reeled in, so are we. The performance of Ray Emhardt, one of Hitchcock's favorites, makes the whole thing. He threatens, backs off, frightens, annoys, confronts, all with that big round Sidney Greenstreet face. I do have to say that the young woman is a bit dense. She says things like, "If he wanted to shoot you, he could have done it anytime." The fact that there would be any shooting doesn't seem to faze her very much. She is caught up in this honeymoon (which apparently she has been waiting a long time for) and damn it, no-one is going to mess it up. Even her husband. My advice, however, is to just enjoy the fun.

Vintage Hitchcock of the caliber that separated the series from the rest of the TV pack. Ray and Meg Loomis are such sweet young newly-weds. When their car breaks down, passerby Mr. Moon stops to help. But soon nice guy Moon goes absurdly ballistic when Ray accidentally smudges his clean white suit. Then the pudgy character weirdly turns up at their honeymoon hotel. What's with this guy-- he must be some kind of crackpot. The ending is a real stunner, especially for 1950's TV.

In my book, there were two characters who could carry a whole Hitchcock half-hour—the jowly Henry Jones and the baby-faced Robert Emhardt. There was no one else like them in distinctive appearance and arch manner. Here it's Emhardt as the aptly named Moon. Note how smoothly he transitions from Good Samaritan to enraged crackpot. Right away we know he's going to put the wrong kind of moon in honeymoon, especially when he takes a hammer to the hotel room wall. How's that for newly-wed privacy. In passing— see if you agree: Mary Scott as Meg with her big black eyes, round face, and pixie hair-do is a dead ringer for cartoon character Betty Boop!

Martin Berkeley wrote this absolutely amazing episode, a hero to lots of us kids, behind several sci fi classics, such as TARANTULA. Actually that iconic film was also shot at Universal, where Hitchcock did his tv show.

I have watched this episode for decades and have been fascinated with it. There is a method to the madness, as we all know Hitch. Robert Emhardt, a familiar character actor, especially on tv, plays a man named "Moon"? That alone should spark your interest. This gent IS a genuine crackpot.

He steals the show... Basically, Moon helps a newlywed couple with a flat tire; the young man accidentally gets dirt on his jacket and he becomes their worst nightmare. This may also be an early "stalker" episode; Moon seems to be everywhere, and dangerous to know. The guy carries a gun, ready to shoot.

Of course, there's more to the plot, without giving too much away, and a rather clever ending. Martin Berkeley wrote this very well. If you're a mystery buff, you will love the ending.

10 Stars.

One title that fits the show to the letter. Great late night viewing. SEASON 2 Universal remastered dvd box set. 5 disc set.

A man and his fiancee have just married but their wedding came at a lousy time, as the husband's beloved aunt was just murdered. On their way to their honeymoon, they have a flat...and their spare is also flat. So, when a good Samaritan arrives, things seems just peachy...until this stranger threatens to kill the husband after he gets the man's jacket dirty.

When the couple arrive at the hotel, they are shocked to see that the same angry man is in the room next door. And, then he begins making threats...as if he really DID intend to kill the husband. What's next? Well, the twist ending, of course.

There are a lot of plot problems in this episode and if you think it out, the show really made little sense. See it and see what I mean. I could list the many reasons but if I did, it would include some spoilers. Suffice to say that the show, though fun to watch, was impossible to believe in any way....none.

John Meredyth Lucas showed a lot of promise with his first of only three 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes as director, the very underrated "Jonathan". With his three episodes as director he showed good potential and two of the three episodes were very good though not quite outstanding, don't think he got enough of a chance as the two very good episodes were better than a lot of the episodes from the more prolific directors.

"Crackpot", the second of the three, was a disappointment. It has one truly great performance and a fascinating character, but is wrecked by how weakly done the story is. A case of a performance to be much better than the episode itself, another example of this from the series being "The Better Bargain". Personally do not agree with it being rated higher than "Jonathan", it is the only one of Lucas' episodes to not do much for me and it's a lesser entry for Season 2.

The best thing about "Crackpot" is the excellent performance of Robert Emhardt, he has such a riveting presence whether benevolent or dangerous. And he is helped by that his character is psychologically fascinating and the only one to have any development or growth. There are moments of tension in the latter stages, largely down to Emhardt's performance.

It's slickly made with some nice atmospheric shots. The audio is suitably ominous and will never stop raving about the haunting use of "Funeral March of a Marionette" for the series' main theme. Hitchcock's bookending is typically droll in writing and delivery.

However, there are too many drawbacks. The biggest problem is the story, which is truly preposterous and on the most part suspense free, especially when things become not what they seem. Lucas proved with "Jonathan" that he could do creepy atmosphere well, but here he seemed at sea with the material and there is nothing distinguished here.

Did think it took a little too long to get going and that the scripting could have been a good deal tighter. Biff McGuire (series regular and always reliable) and Mary Scott do what they can with what they have but their characters are nowhere near as interesting, actually found Scott's bland and close to neurotic and the limited material stopped them from giving much meat to them.

Concluding, rather mixed on this episode. 5/10.

Totally ridiculous plot, without a shred of reality. Even back in the fifties, didn't courts put any limits on police behavior about gathering evidence? The only saving grace is Robert Emhardt, who is always a pleasure to watch no matter what awful material he's given to work with.