User Reviews

Bernie (Sydney Pollack) is a ceramics instructor at a summer camp. On the first day of his classes, it's obvious most of the kids have no interest in the class...and Bernie seems a bit miffed. But one kid, Aaron (Barry Gordon), seems really interested in the class and is taking a lot of pride in his statue. But over time, it seems that too much time is devoted to this...and Aaron is avoiding other subjects, such as swimming. Why is the boy avoiding his other classes AND why is he working so hard making the statue BUT he never seems to finish it...as the statue still lacks an arm.

This is very much unlike any other episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" as there's no murder, no crime...nothing evil or bad in the episode. But it still is very interesting and the twist is quite nice. Worth your time.

By the way, it is interesting to see Sydney Pollack acting. While he later occasionally acted, he's known more, by far, for being a director...something he began doing shortly after he made this episode.

This is a sad little story. A man (Sidney Pollack) is a ceramics expert who is working at a posh summer camp. He meets a boy, Aaron Gold, who has a great talent for this craft but who works methodically. He ignores the other aspects of summer camp and spends all his time in the ceramics building. But there are some really heavy threats to the teacher which leads to a surprising conclusion (an Alfred Hitchcock ending!).

Odd choice for a series built on suspense, chills, and mayhem. There's none of that here, although the ending manages some characteristic irony. Nonetheless, there's more depth than in the average entry, no doubt because the screenplay is based on a story by respected literary writer Phillip Roth. Sydney Pollack plays an earnest ceramics teacher hired by gung- ho Frank Maxwell to teach ceramics to boys at an exclusive summer camp. Naturally, 10- year old boys are more interested in the outdoors than sitting at a table mushing around with clay. Thus, Pollack's work is cut out for him. He's frustrated until student Barry Gordon shows both dedication and talent in fashioning an artistic one-armed warrior. The trouble is that Gordon's not interested in the vigorous camp activities that camp owner Maxwell prizes. That puts Pollack in a difficult position since he accommodates the talented boy, at the same time Maxwell threatens to fire him for it. So what does Pollack do—nurture talent or keep his job.

The story's really about enforcing unthinking conformity. Maxwell runs the camp like a petty tyrant, insisting on his own regime regardless of individual differences. That may be the only way to run a boy's camp, but it comes at a price for gifted boys like Gordon. It also comes at the expense of a personal reality, that only becomes apparent at entry's end when both Pollack and Maxwell are taught a lesson about imposing conformity in all situations. The story's probably not every Hitchcock fan's cup of tea. Nonetheless, it remains a worthwhile half-hour, superbly acted by the three principals, demonstrating that director-actor Pollack was as good in front of the camera as he was behind.

It is true that Hitchcock's bread-and-butter seems to be built on suspense; but every once in a while film and television noirs do a better job of penetrating one's deeper thoughts rather than preying on and/or exaggerating one's fears. This AHP episode proves that. While it is an abrupt departure for Hitchcock to air an episode that totally lacks in mayhem, this one totally reeks of sensitivity in feeling and thought, in part brought about by the rather understated but intense performances of Barry Gordon, Sydney Pollack and Frank Maxwell. And even though the usual surprise ending is to be expected, it's not an ending that leaves one proverbially horrified. Rather, it leaves one feeling very sad.

Rod Serling also released a few TZ episodes that concentrated on depth of feeling rather than instant reaction. In this writer's humble opinion, those rare episodes from both television directorial icons and their shows carry more weight in their viewing than the regular episodes might, simply based on the fact that the viewers are made to think, rather than just react...

If you enjoyed Barry in 'Day of the Bullet' you'll enjoy his performance in this episode as well.

So it's summer time and our story takes place at a summer camp. We have three main characters Aaron Gold (Barry Gordon), Bernie (Aaron's ceramics teacher) and pushy Mr. Stern wraps up the main cast.

Kids know their own mind. Aaron isn't into the sports activities at camp. He really thrives in his ceramics class. Meanwhile his peers in ceramics are more into the sports at camp. They don't care about the ceramics class. So many put low to no effort in the project they're doing in the course. You have one kid that made a ceramic pancake, one kid made a ceramic snake and several kids made ceramic ashtrays. Aaron's putting all his energy into his project. He takes considerable care in how he wants his project to come out. He's making a ceramic knight that has one arm. Aaron knows how he wants his project to look and I think Bernie was also fine with Aaron's one armed knight. The one not okay is Mr. Stern. He's very condescending towards Aaron to start with and the fact he's spending all summer on an "unfinished" project leads to more scorn from Mr. Stern. Yes, he does threaten Bernie's job if he doesn't slap a second arm and shield on that one armed knight so it'll be completed by parents night.

Bernie didn't have a choice. He needs the job/paycheck. Bernie puts the second arm and shield on Aaron's knight. Needless to say, Aaron freaks when he saw what happened to his project. Aaron runs out and Bernie confronts Mr. Stern and Bernie ends up pulling the second arm/shield off Aaron's project. It doesn't take long for a man with only one arm to come in and say he's looking for Aaron. This man is Aaron's father.

How did this episode get such a high rating? This is a five-minute skit stretched out to almost a half hour. Trying to make something special out of a kid who likes to do ceramics and who creates a one-armed knight fails miserably. The ending is seen a mile away, and even if you didn't anticipate it, you will shrug your shoulders and say, "That's it?" The actors are all decent enough, and while Alfred Hitchcock Presents often has some pretty great episodes, this one is really just a waste of time.