User Reviews

Paul Henreid was the second most prolific director for 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents', the most being Robert Stevens. None of the regular directors for the series were consistent, with pretty much all of them having a mix of very good and more and not particularly good episodes. As well as the second most prolific director, Henreid was also one of the more variable in terms of episode quality. As far as his previous episodes go, there were winners like "Last Request" and "A Little Sleep" but also disappointments like "Silent Witness" and "Enough Rope for Two".

Up to this point "Guest for Breakfast" is one of the winners generally, though can understand totally if others don't connect with it, especially if suspending some disbelief is not easy. It is not perfect by any stretch and there are better episodes of Season 3 (as well as worse), before and since, but "Guest for Breakfast's" premise was one of the more intriguing ones of the season's later episodes and the episode mostly does an impressive job with it. So it's definitely recommended from this viewer.

"Guest for Breakfast" isn't perfect, with it being rather contrived later on and for me the ending was not much of a surprise and could have been more suspenseful and less silly.

However, a lot works. It is a very well acted episode, with Joan Tetzel and Scott McKay turning in very strong work in their roles. Their chemistry is also dynamite, as is chilling Richard Lacey. Their characters are very interesting and don't have character flaws exaggerated. Hitchcock's bookending is still wildly entertaining and full of his usual droll humour.

The story is compelling and has tension, while not being too simple or convoluted. The script is intelligent and as lean as beautifully cooked steak. Henreid directs thoughtfully and makes sure that the tension doesn't slip in one of his better directing jobs in his early episodes for the series.

Production values are simple but never cheap, the simplicity isn't a bad thing here with it being an intimate location and some slick atmospheric shots are managed. The main theme has never gotten old and fits the tone of the series beautifully.

Very well done episode with lots of great things. 8/10.

Tightly-written and very well acted. The leads, Joan Tetzel and Scott McKay, give solid, believable performances as the bickering well-to-do couple whose lives and feelings are totally exposed when a killer on the run enters their house and holds them hostages. The back-and-forth negotiations with the killer take a sinister tone, as each debates the other on who will go with the killer and who will be left behind to be shot. This changes their lives, for the better, with a highly satisfactory ending. Credit the veterans Tetzel and McKay with very solid performances which carry this episode.

This is the classic "marriage made in hell" scenario. It's about a couple out of the George and Martha mold who fight bitterly. They verbally abuse one another time after time. As luck would have it, a murder/fugitive shows up at the door and holds them hostage. The story has the two of them betraying each other time after time as this guy gets an itchy trigger finger. The intruder is not the brightest bulb and is unable to get a foothold of authority because these two are so caustic. The story is quite ludicrous and the conclusion unbelievable. Too much contrivance and not enough human insight. Sometimes writers get lazy and I'm sure deadlines were quite severe, but a softer touch, perhaps making this a bit comedic, may have helped.

GUEST FOR BREAKFAST is a film that sure reminds me of a much later film, THE REF. This movie is about a wanted man taking a refuge from the police in a home and holding a bickering couple captive...with humorous results. Well, GUEST is not nearly as overtly funny...but it is very darkly funny and well worth seeing.

When the story begins, you see a married couple at breakfast. The pair obviously hate each other and the husband uses his acid wit to torment his wife....though she's not exactly a prize herself. Out of the blue, a wanted killer bursts into their house and takes them prisoner and threatens to kill one or both of them. And here is where it gets dark...both the husband and wife try to convince the killer to kill their spouse and spare them!! It's pretty sad....but also funny. What's to become of these god-awful folks? See the show.

I loved this show and the ending. It really made me laugh and was fun....and is one of the best episodes of the series I've ever seen. Clever, well written and unique...at least until they made THE REF!

This excitable story by master writer Robert C. Dennis is partly true. There are many cases where a robber actually brought feuding couples together, or at least in the defense of each other. Dennis, of course, in collaboration with Hitch, naturally adds the dark comedy slant. Exellent direction by Paul Henreid, as you will see.

Joan Tetzel (as Eve) and Scott McKay (as Jordan) shine here as a couple who are about to call it quits --until they are held hostage by a desperate killer.

The dialogue here between all three characters is priceless, leading to the question... just who will survive the ordeal? Wait and see, and you may already have it figured out. A kewpie doll if you have!

A couple of interesting footnotes. Joan Tetzel was cast in Hitchcock's famous trial movie, THE PARADINE CASE and for years was married to popular character actor Oscar Homolka. Scott McKay was originally considered to play Wilbur on the MISTER ED tv series, later marrying film star Ann Sheridan and becoming a widower when she soon died due to cancer. A Hollywood tragedy, still talked about to this day.

10 Stars for this one. SEASON 3 EPISODE 21. Remastered dvd box set. 5 dvd set/ 17 hrs. 2007.

A couple bickering over breakfast is interrupted by a gun-toting killer on the lam (he rings the bell). They disrupt his plans by the mere fact that neither cares if the other one dies.

The acting trio isn't much. Compare this intruder to the menacing one played by John Cassevetes in Season 1. For his part, the husband reminds me of Phil Hartman in one of his comic roles. There are some nice period details ("my wife doesn't drive"), but the whole thing rings of contrivance. The husband in particular acts as though this sort of thing happens to him quite often. Even worse, the ending is out of sorts for the show.