Good Evening: An Alfred Hitchcock Presents Podcast

Stephen Fontaine is a prisoner bound to San Quentin, traveling in handcuffs and a forty-pound Oregon boot. But according to Fontaine, it’s Sergeant Rockwell, the man seeing him off to prison, who’s truly manacled—by the daily grind of the 50s, imposed on him by the Man. The men have a long train ride north, during which time Fontaine attempts to convince Rockwell to free himself from his own self-imprisonment by taking Fontaine up on a bribe. Will Rockwell cave in the end? Or is there another, far more tragic twist ahead?   Burn-o-Meter: N/A 
Overall Rating: 7.25 Oregon boots

Alex Gifford is no penny pincher. According to him, he’s just . . . a careful man. But when his wife Jennifer discovers his secret stash of money, Alex turns to a more reckless course of action. After all, if he doesn’t kill Jennifer, she’ll hat-shop, steak-eat, and three-way-light-bulb him out of house and home! The trouble is, every murderous method that Alex could employ will cost him money. Can Alex get away with the perfect crime without having to spend a dime? Burn-o-Meter: 2 
Overall Rating: 8.5 dollars saved

The little mining town of Copper Pocket used to be a den of vice and discord until two months ago, when the holy (and STRONG) McMahon Brothers showed up and turned things around. Now it’s all “brother” this and “brotherly love” that. But a little man who looks suspiciously like Norman Lloyd has arrived on the scene, and he’s here to shake things up with devilish, seemingly supernatural powers. Could this little man truly be the devil himself? Or are more sinister human powers at play? Burn-o-Meter: 5.5 
Overall Rating: 6.5 deep pocketbooks

When Fred Riordan violates his parole within 48 hours, the warden has some questions for him. So does the prison’s psychiatrist, who’s determined to get to the bottom of what must have frightened Fred back into the safety of the prison. The psychiatrist thinks he’s onto something, but could it be that Fred’s reasons for returning to the warden’s office are more intentional—and sinister—than the doc and the warden can imagine? Burn-o-Meter: 7.5 
Overall Rating: 6.5 outside frights

Judy thinks she’s made it big when her fiancé’s rich uncle dies, but as it turns out, Mr. Craig has left his entire inheritance to . . . his faithful dog, Casper. His nephew, Thomas Craig, will only inherit when the young, healthy Casper dies. Judy immediately begins scheming ways to do away with the pup, but could it be that she’s bitten off more than she can chew? Burn-o-Meter: 3 
Overall Rating: 5.5 last wills and testaments

When Jack murders the husband of his lover, Phyllis, to get him out of the way, he doesn’t count on Phyllis’ crocodile dressing case playing an important role in the incident. But as it turns out, Phyllis is more dead-set on reclaiming her crocodile case than she is on fake-mourning her dead husband. Soon, the crocodile case becomes the bane of Jack’s existence. But will it also turn out to be his downfall? Burn-o-Meter: 9 
Overall Rating: 8 crocodile cases

The year? 1980. The technology? Astounding. The life expectancy? Excellent. But businessman Mr. Treadwell is not content. His live-in mother-in-law is the bane of his existence, and it doesn’t seem he’ll be rid of her anytime soon. Enter Mr. Bunce, a representative of the newly formed Society for Experimental Gerology, who proposes a dastardly solution to Mr. Treadwell’s problem. Will the SEG’s murderous mission prove successful? And even if it does, will Mr. Treadwell himself be able to rest easy in old age?

Mrs. Herman has a problem. She wants to live her life to the fullest, but her wealthy Uncle Bill refuses to die and leave her his fortune. But Mrs. Herman also has a solution: She intends to employ the help of a glamorous new boarder named Mrs. Fenimore. The more the ladies scheme, the more their plan seems to be going according to plan. But does Mrs. Fenimore have some secrets up her ruffled sleeves? Burn-o-Meter: 9 
Overall Rating: 6.75 bedtime poems

It’s 1909 in San Francisco, and Mr. Stepp is a man with a problem: He’s murdered his boss in a rage after being fired. The trouble is, when Mr. Stepp arrives back at work, his boss, Mr. Baldwin, is alive and well. Could it be that Stepp hallucinated the entire thing? Or are there more sinister forces at work behind the scenes? Burn-o-Meter: N/A 
Overall Rating: 8 bullets for Baldwin

In this nail-biting episode from the Master of Suspense himself, 5-year-old Jackie Hester replaces a toy gun with his uncle’s real gun and ammunition and proceeds to wield the weapon on unsuspecting victims throughout suburbia. Will the adults in Jackie’s life catch up to him in time to prevent a tragedy? And what does this 60-year-old episode have to say not only about gun safety, but also the insidious reach of colonialism? Burn-o-Meter: 5.5 
Overall Rating: 6.5 grocery store ponies

When Billy Weaver arrives in a provincial English town during a spate of burglaries, he finds surprisingly affordable lodging at a local bed and breakfast. The elderly landlady there is kind and attentive, but Weaver gets hung up on a pair of names in her register: Christopher Mulholland and Gregory Temple. Could it be that all is not as it seems in this house filled with taxidermied animals and organ music? Burn-o-Meter: 5 
Overall Rating: 7.75 favorite hymns

When book editor Mr. Vinton pays a visit to one of his prospective mystery authors, he soon finds himself in the middle of his author’s book—a genuine Southern Gothic murder mystery involving old flames, sibling rivalry, and the titular rose garden. But what is fact and what is fiction? And will this episode’s strong performances make up for its anticlimactic ending?   Burn-o-Meter: N/A Overall Rating: 7 stone benches  

An apparently innocuous tea time between two well-to-do ladies soon takes a more sinister turn when one of the women—a Ms. Herbert—attempts to blackmail the other—a Mrs. Teleton—into divorcing her husband . . . and, incidentally, Ms. Herbert’s lover. Mrs. Teleton attempts to extricate herself from the situation with the help of expensive jewels and well-timed construction work. But is it possible that another party has been pulling the strings? Burn-o-Meter: N/A 
Overall Rating: 7.5 blackmail letters

After Professor Mason strangles the student he’s been having an affair with, he initially believes he’s gotten away with murder. However, an unlikely witness soon appears on the scene: the fourteen-month-old baby the student was babysitting. Soon, Professor Mason’s paranoia (or lack of childhood development education) gets the better of him, sending Mason into a downward spiral that could give Richard III a run for his money. Annie & Kathryn have a pointed difference of opinion about this episode, but they can agree on one thing: Pat Hitchcock is a treasure. Burn-o-Meter: N/A
 Overall Rating: 5.5 crying babies

After the kindhearted Alice is mugged, she reports to the police station in an attempt to identify her attacker. There, she’s startled to encounter a mugshot of a very familiar face: that of her son-in-law, Leo. Alice is torn. Does she attempt to find out about and potentially report Leo, AKA Willie Draves? And could there be an even more shocking revelation around the corner? Burn-o-Meter: 7.5 Overall Rating: 6.75 mugshots

In this very special holiday episode, Annie & Kathryn discuss yet another Hitchcock-directed episode in which podcast darling John Williams stars as a murderous husband, Herbert, who has sinister plans for his supposed wine cellar. Even though Herbert’s murder of his overbearing wife goes off without a hitch, there’s a little Christmas surprise awaiting him. Burn-o-Meter: N/A Overall Rating: 8.75 custom-made wine cellars

When a police officer shows up at Helen Parch’s door to remind her of a less-than-pleasant memory regarding her party line, she’s terrified to learn that an escaped prisoner might be attempting to find—and murder—her. What follows is a dramatic build-up to a poetically just and dreadfully ironic end. Burn-o-Meter: N/A Overall Rating: 8 party lines

A young Robert Duvall stars in this heady tale of professional jealousy and method acting gone wrong. Bart, a floundering actor, is irate when he discovers that Jerry, a drinking buddy of his, might have stolen “his” part in a Broadway play. When Bart ends up murdering his young rival, the episode descends into a darkly comedic twist that strains credulity . . . and Bart’s acting skills. Burn-o-Meter: N/A Overall Rating: 4 ice buckets

Mrs. Hudson gets more than she bargained for when she visits a local furrier to have her new mink stole appraised. Upon discovering that her prized possession has been reported as stolen, Mrs. Hudson is caught up in a police investigation and quickly realizes that all is not as it seems. Annie & Kathryn puzzle over the 50s obsession with mink, antiquated gender roles, and one woman’s guilt v. innocence in this episode rife with gaslighting and fur talk. Burn-o-Meter: N/A Overall Rating: 5.75 stolen stoles

In this year’s Halloween special, Annie & Kathryn tackle a three-part behemoth of a star-studded murder mystery. When Inspector Davidson arrives on the scene of Count Victor Mattoni’s murder, the case soon shapes up to be open-and-shut . . . or so the inspector initially believes. But when not one, not two, but three men confess to the count’s murder, Inspector Davidson and his quippy partner Raines are forced to do some head-scratching detective work. Burn-o-Meter: N/A Overall Rating: 8 murder confessions