User Reviews

Ray may have had the hots for Nyla, even so much as to take up fishing, so he could off his wife.

But it seems that Nyla found another way to get closer to the money, and she did not have to put up with Ray to do so.

Plus it was probably cheaper than a divorce for Gladys.

Most of the episode is Robert Horton and Anne Francis. I think it was only because this was a half-hour TV show that you did not see, um, more of them.

Still, a fun ride, and a good twist. I really did not see it coming.

I only wish they had not talked so much at the end. It was a little anti-climatic.

Alfred Hitchcock throws a knock on TV Westerns in his opening monologue. Robert Horton was in the middle of his run as a star on 'Wagon Train' when he filmed this program, so maybe there was a subtle swipe at his show there. Yet Horton must have been a Hitchcock favorite because this was his seventh appearance in the series.

You know, if Ray Marchand (Horton) was a little more perceptive, he might have avoided his own unhappy ending here, because enough clues were directed his way. Nyla Foster (Anne Francis) didn't appear to be all that enamored of Ray when he first showed interest, and when he actually put a move on her during a walk to the beach, she shoved off in a boat to avoid his advances. But then she lured him in like a good fisherman (fisherwoman?) with those thoughts of making it big on her own with a little help from Ray.

I'm pretty sure Ray's wife Gladys (Vivienne Segal) was in tune to her husband's scheming, and she nailed the story's twist ending for me when she said to him "Where are you planning to try first?" What poor Ray never considered was how Nyla might have also planned on a fast track to inheriting a pile of money that didn't include him. Through it all, Nyla's Dad (John Holland) kept a low profile, figuring Ray would have fallen victim to the trio's conspiracy, hook, line and sinker.

Like I was saying in a recent review, I'm not sure if this was done on purpose or if it was an accident for Robert Horton to play characters that had sugar mommas or not. Either way, it still leads up to a delightful episode. And this episode has one of my top favorite scenes from AHP. More on that later.

Our episode focuses mainly on three people. But I will mention a fourth character since he's important to the plot. Ray is married to Gladys. She's older than Ray. It's not a marriage based on love. It's purely based on money. Gladys has it and Ray wants it. Our other two characters are Nyla, who's playing the bait and her father, Mr. Foster.

Ray's getting into another one of his moods and he's attracted to Nyla. You can't say Gladys is in the dark about the basis of her marriage. She knows what Ray's there for. And obviously it's not the first time Ray has acted out. The favorite scene I was mentioning has Gladys threatening to cut Ray's allowance off. Again, there's no telling how many times in their marriage Ray's being punished like a child because his wife has the ability to not give him his allowance if he's acting up.

Anyway, Ray decides he's tired of being married to an old woman and decides the best route to take would be if Gladys is dead. Then he could be with Nyla. Nyla plays the bait very well. She pretends to be interested in Ray. Looking at the episode as a whole, I don't think Nyla cared for Ray at all. It's just part of the plan.

Gladys is into taking a boat out and fishing. That's two things Ray has been open about disliking. But hey, maybe it's time to show an interest in this if it can help get rid of Gladys? Ray decides the best route to take would be knocking Gladys into the water and her drowning since she can't swim.

But things blow up for Ray in an epic way. You don't see how it all plays out in screen but the ending has somebody coming back in the boat rental. Viewer watching for the first time will no doubt think Ray's coming back since this was his grand plan. But nope, GLADYS is the one coming back. Turns out she had a plan of her own. Ray's the one going into the water and Gladys has a perfect reason for not rescuing him. Everybody knows she can't swim.

Our ending focuses on our happy trio of characters left over. Turns out Gladys and Mr. Foster have the hots for each other. And what about Nyla? Nyla's not at all upset or concerned about Ray. She just wants to borrow Gladys' car!

This is a very enjoyable episode I'd highly recommend. Robert Horton plays his gigolo characters perfectly.