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During a career spanning 50 years of film-making, from the silent era into the age of television, Alfred Hitchcock became as famous a public figure as any of his stars. Tonight's programme looks at the first 25 years of an extraordinary and prolific : career, with extracts from his early British films, behind- the-scenes shots of Hitchcock at work, and rare home movie material seen here for the first time on television. His complex personality is explored through interviews with those who knew him and worked most closely with him. Hitchcock himself, characteristically droll, appears in interviews filmed at different stages of his career. Featuring actors James Stewart, Joan Fontaine and Teresa Wright; screenwriters and collaborators Charles Bennett, Rodney Ackland, Albert Whitlock, John Michael Hayes and daughter Patricia Hitchcock.
"A lot of people think I'm a monster. They don't care to be associated with me because of the nature of the work one does...." By the late 50s, when he made North by Northwest, Alfred Hitchcock was the best-known film director in the world, celebrated equally for adventure thrillers and for the psychological suspense stories that he had been making since he started directing films in Britain in the 20s. Tonight's Omnibus looks behind the image of the droll clown, which he presented in his television series, and at the achievements, and the problems, of the later years. Drawing on television interviews with Hitchcock, the recollections of colleagues and friends, and scenes from his films; the programme explores his relations with his female stars, the brilliance of his film technique, the difficult role of his scriptwriters, and the ambiguous character of Hitchcock himself, showman, practical joker and film-maker of genius.
Alfred Hitchcock is probably the most famous director in film history, he made his name and his fortune from scaring millions out of their wits, but his films were more than just entertainment, he put his own deepest fears onto the silver screen. In this BBC special we get a glimpse into the life of Hitchcock. We see how as a child he grew up in the suburbs of London as somewhat of a loner, how he developed an imagination which would help open doors for him as he got an apprenticeship in the fledgling British movie business and ultimately broke through in America, becoming the legend he is today.
Paul Merton looks at the British films of Alfred Hitchcock, the silent films and the early sound films.
First episode of a two-part profile on the life and films of Alfred Hitchcock.
Second episode of a two-part profile on the life and films of Alfred Hitchcock.
When Carl Spann's wife Elsa is assaulted by an unknown attacker, he drives his still-incoherent wife around town, hoping she can point him out, so he can kill him.
A famous pianist returns to his home town to find the man who murdered his father.
A cook tries everything she can think of to end a dispute between two gunmen who have sworn to kill each other.
Frank Partridge and his wife plot to cheat their life insurance company by having her hide out for 7 years and declared legally dead, but an investigator believes Mr. Partridge has murdered her.
When a young woman leaves her ill mother in a Paris hotel room and comes back later, she finds her mother is missing, and all the hotel's employees deny she and her mother were ever there.
Gangster Dan Varrell, just released from prison, goes looking for the woman he holds responsible for his brother's death.
William Callew is involved in a bad traffic accident on a rural road, that leaves him so paralyzed he appears lifeless, and when help arrives they think he's really dead.
A man fears that the new cook he's hired is actually a murderess.
Heavily indebted Charlie Raymond is hired to accompany a British visitor on a trip across the USA, and looks for a way to take advantage of his employer.
A series of troubling incidents lead Mr. Pelham to believe that he has a double who is deliberately impersonating him.
When Mr. and Mrs. Crane hear the Verbers having a violent argument in the apartment just above them, and then Mr. Verber disappears the next day, they can't help suspecting the worst.
While working as a department store 'Santa Claus', a paroled convict tries to help a troubled boy.
When Lyle Endicott is fired from his job at an art museum, he comes up with a plan to take advantage of a trusting invalid whom he befriended at the museum.
When an office worker is fired from his job, he shoots his boss to death, but when he returns to the office his boss is alive, and has no recollection of the incident.
Gangster Sam Dunleavy sets up an elaborate alibi so that he can kill his ex-girlfriend Goldie, who left him for another man.
During a massive manhunt for escaped convict Sam Cobbett, Cobbett invades a house where young housewife Mary Schaffner is home alone.
A reporter discovers the truth about the infamous Lizzie Borden murder case.
Two retired insurance salesmen confront an aggressive, hostile woman in hopes of saving her from a disaster.
Inventor Ralph Cowell murders his silent partner Alfred, only to be blackmailed by vagrant Peter Goodfellow, who witnessed the crime.
While investigating a murder in a theater, Detective Krovitch uncovers a strange web of tensions revolving around ventriloquist John Fabian and his female dummy.
An American journalist meets a soccer star while traveling behind the Iron Curtain, but then is arrested as a suspected smuggler.
A young man tries to insinuate his way into a monastery, in order to gain revenge on a thief whom he blames for ruining his life.
Herbert Carpenter plans to murder his wife Hermione, bury her body in the basement, and then leave on a long business trip.
Unscrupulous brothers Paul and Henri Tallendier plan to murder their Aunt Rosalie so that they can get their uncle's inheritance.
Dishonest Frank and Lorna Bramwell visit the home of wealthy, eccentric Monica Laughton, with the intention of robbing her.
Recently deceased mystery writer Alexander Penn Arlington gets permission from the recording angel to relive his last day on earth, so that he can find out who murdered him.
Mr. Crabtree is grateful to find a new job, until his new employer gives him a most unexpected assignment.
When Mark Halliday and his new wife unexpectedly see a portrait of Halliday's first wife, it is only the first in a series of disturbing developments.
Antiques dealer Laurence Appleby thinks he has solved his financial problems by killing his wife Lena, but new complications arise in his second marriage.
Karen Stewart has once again broken her promise not to drink anymore, and now she is in a strange bed, injured, with no memory of what happened the night before.
Rich American Howard Lattimer visits London, and bets 1000 pounds that he can spend the night in a room that is said to be haunted.
When Clara Nash is murdered, her baby-sitter Lottie Slocum is excited to be the center of attention, and she also hopes to become closer to Clara's husband.
When Clint Ringle learns that Ellie Marsh, the schoolteacher whom he loves, is engaged to Walt Norton, Clint kills Walt and then hides in the schoolhouse's bell tower, waiting for his chance to exact further revenge.
After Dana Edwards' fiancée Laura is killed by a hit-and-run driver, he is visited by John Hurley, who claims to be able to use memory recall techniques that will help him to remember the car's license plate number.
When a prince who is well known as a playboy takes a sudden romantic interest in a shy, plain housewife, everyone is baffled and fascinated.
Paula Hudson has a stolen mink coat she tells police she purchased on a recommendation, and when they retrace her steps to find out how she obtained it, everyone denies they ever talked to her about it.
Gil Larkin is suspected of murder when Mona Cameron's allegedly abusive husband is shot dead in front of him and he gets knocked out by an unknown assailant.
A serial killer known as "the strangler" terrorizes a New York neighborhood.
A man ends up running to the Mexican border after trying to collect money his employer owes him.
After his daughter kills a man, Mr. Princey devises a plan to save his family name.
A woman begs her husband not to go away on a business trip. But he refuses, deserting her just as an escaped lunatic finds their neighborhood.
Aware that their friend's wife is cheating, Wally and Bud draw the same conclusion when they find him digging up his basement and his wife's missing.
Hoping to profit from insurance fraud, a man torches his house. But the plan could backfire unless he enters the burning home to retrieve his ring.
A man conceives the perfect plan to murder his rich aunt. Confidently, he cooperates with the police, only to discover one fatal flaw in the elaborate scheme.
Albert Birch's childhood sweetheart Edwina Freel gets in touch with him and, surprisingly, agrees to marry him. She arrives with her sickly baby named Toby, but things are not as they seem.
When a gangster is killed, his rival realizes the cops will come after him. His alibi unravels with the arrival of a mysterious package.
Mr. Brenner threatens to take sisters Cissie and Joanna to court unless they sell him their home. But the sisters will stop at nothing to stay put.
Mason Bridges plays poker with one of his company's wealthy clients. He gambles everything he has and everything his company owns on one single game.
When his father dies a teenager suspects his stepmother, whom he's resented since the day she married his father.
Furious at his cheating wife, a mobster hires a hit man to kill her. But the plan turns complicated when he overlooks some loose ends.
A man thinks that a manuscript's murder mystery is more fact than fiction, so he visits the author's home to see what lies buried in the garden.
A nosy housewife sets out to prove that the new neighbor has murdered his wife.
A man's wife devises a greedy scheme to take over his failing business. But persuading him to come back isn't as easy as getting rid of him.
When a car breaks down, a newlywed couple is helped by Mr. Moon, who turns nasty when his suits get dirty.
A man agrees to help his pretty neighbor, an actress, to hide her murdered husband. But his good deed backfires when he becomes a suspect.
A district attorney faces a crisis in his campaign for governor when his mentally unstable brother decides to eliminate the competition.
A crafty, resourceful criminal being transported via train tries to bribe his escorting police sergeant for his freedom.
A wealthy older man confronts the young, handsome suitor (Horton) that his wife is leaving him for.
A man begins to suspect that his wife is trying to poison him.
A young ruffian involved in a failed stickup learns some hard facts of life during a police interrogation.
An insurance investigator is compelled to re-examine an old claim when troubling new facts come to light.
When the wife of a two-timing husband starts to connect the dots, the consequences could prove deadly.
An alcoholic has-been actor tries to blackmail a producer into casting him in a new play.
Count Mattoni is brutally murdered and Scotland Yard Inspector Davidson must wade the through a myraid of suspects.
Scotland Yard Inspector Davidson continues in his investigation of the murder of Count Mattoni he contiunes to wade the through suspects. He discovers that each not only appears guilty, but also that many readily admit to having committed the crime.
Scotland Yard Inspector Davidson discovers who killed Count Mattoni. Due to a legal loophole, however, the killer cannot be tried.
After murdering his shrewish spouse, a man finds that disposing of her body may be the challenge of his life.
A hired killer discovers there's a huge catch to being the favorite of his organization's big boss.
A henpecked husband escapes into a fantasy world populated by a girl from the South Seas and a dream of murder.
A practical joker convinces a barfly into thinking that the world is about to end.
In 1919 London, a killer is stalking the streets, and residents look to a police sergeant to catch the culprit.
A precocious, pigtailed girl attaches herself to a grumpy loner in the hopes of learning his secrets.
The wife of a gardener goes to extreme lengths to spend more time with her movie-star daydreams—and less time with her fertilizer-obsessed husband.
Taxidermist George Tiffany conceives a macabre method of dealing with a brother-in-law who has long outstayed his welcome.
The shifty son of a shop owner plots to extract money from his long-suffering father.
Cemetery owners bribe an allegedly dying man to be their first customer for business reasons...but the plot backfires when the man simply will not expire.
A fickle young woman gets entangled in a web of crime and deceit at her remote mountain cabin.
Two men are waiting for their train in the station's waiting room. The neighborhood has a criminal asylum nearby from which a criminal has escaped. Nervous about the situation, these two people start suspecting each other.
Captivated by his physical beauty, an aging spinster develops an obsession for a ventriloquist, travelling all over the country to watch his act with his child-sized dummy.
When an ordinary clerk starts receiving letters which accurately predict the outcome of future events, he takes a dangerous gamble with his life.
A lawyer, with blackmail in mind, meets with a famous detective who prides himself on never having committed a single mistake in his long and distinguished career, to prove that he convicted an innocent man.
A convicted robber is released to the family of one of his cell mates, against the better judgment of his parole officer.
Intending to break up with an infatuated student, professor Donald Mason tracks her down at a babysitting job, where the conversation ends in murder.
After finding a cash-laden wallet John Gaminski promises his wife that he'll return it. But when he reneges, she demands that he share the money.
An ex-con heads to a mine to retrieve a cache of stolen loot. When his two former partners show up, three's a crowd with $100,000 at stake.
A death-row inmate awaiting the electric chair uses his final hours to prove his innocence in a killing.
A pretty underage girl, bored with adolescence and eager to experience all that adulthood allows, acts out in ways that could ultimately prove deadly.
Touring Mexico, Janet's rich aunt dies, and the car holding her corpse is stolen. Without a body, Janet can't claim the inheritance.
A conniving handyman tries to blackmail an innocent housewife for a fabricated dalliance.
An elderly woman is terrified that her disagreeable male neighbor will kill her beloved—but habitually roving—tabby cat.
Warren, a prosecuting attorney with a long history of acquittals, must deliver a guilty verdict in a murder case to ensure his political future.
A successful businessman who once acted cowardly in the war—but got undeserved credit for heroism—attempts to buy off an old Army buddy who knows the truth.
When a businessman's mistress threatens to expose their secret relationship to his wife, he realizes he must do anything to stop her.
Her elderly father becomes alarmed when a jilted woman purchases a handgun.
Two crime-obsessed buddies plot the perfect murder—one with absolutely no motive.
Traveling in Paris, an Englishwoman finds herself accidentally locked in a hotel room with a corpse.
Filled with jealous rage, a man plots revenge on a coworker he is convinced has had an affair with his wife.
A gambling-addicted housewife owes money to a bookie, and resorts to desperate measures in order to raise the money.
In this violent home-invasion tale, a gun-wielding convict terrorizes a married couple whose relationship is already on the ropes.
Things are not what they seem when two soldiers discharged from the Algerian war spend some time together in Marseilles.
After the death of her troubled son, a mother decides to sell her house, but a potential buyer discovers she may be hiding something.
A woman alone in a quiet house finds herself haunted by the noise of a foghorn. As the story progresses, she tries to recall how the sound became so horrifying to her, but the answer may be deeper than she thinks.
The plight of an American war correspondent suddenly becomes front-page news when a former British Army nurse recalls a strange incident from the past.
A handsome homicide detective is befriended by four old ladies who invite him for tea and proceed to play out a variation of Arsenic and Old Lace for his benefit.
A debonair tennis player looks into his attractive partner's past and her presumed dead husband.
Domestic bliss comes to a rapid halt when a housewife discovers that her police chief husband has been having an affair while she's been pregnant.
It's all in the numbers when a bookkeeper becomes obsessed with his mundane life and crime statistics.
Love is in the eye of the beholder when a happily married woman sees a bomb attached to the family car as a sign of her husband's affection.
'Tis the season to resurrect old family grudges when a brother accuses his sister of murdering his wife on a less than jolly Christmas Eve.
When three beautiful blonde women are strangled with a silk stocking, Mr. Morgan becomes convinced he knows how it happened, even though no one will hear him out.
When a newly married couple realizes that a lottery ticket is in her recently deceased ex-husband's burial suit, they put their love on the line to exhume the winnings.
A man learns never to separate a woman from her accessories when his "perfect" murder plot is spoiled by a missing piece of luggage.
A desperate man takes the ultimate plunge when he gambles a fortune without his wife's knowledge.
A senior bank teller is tempted by the prospect of sudden wealth when a known gangster makes a large withdrawal from his account.
A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing when a woman discovers she has extraordinary powers to see the past of objects.
Still waters run deep when a lawyer with mayoral ambitions murders a woman who claimed he tried to embezzle money from her in the past.
An elderly actor proves he still has the chops to grace the stage when he reveals a tragic tale from his past.
Two partners discover their real feelings for one another when one is bitten by a poisonous snake and it's up to the other to save his life.
Silence may be golden, but it also proves lethal when a young boy witnesses an escaped mental patient and can't tell anyone about it.
A morgue attendant gets the last laugh when he finally has enough of a man who has been provoking him.
A joyride in a new convertible is seriously called to a halt as the corrupt public officials in a small town attempt to take advantage of the defenseless drivers.
A lawyer gets creative when the man he is defending offers him half of his net worth if he will find a way out of the case.
A man's marriage seriously malfunctions when he buys a robot to take over his relationship with his demanding wife so he can escape to Rio.
A man relates the series of events that led him to contemplate suicide to a police officer.
A gunsmith sets his sight on two gangsters who will kill him if he testifies to what they've purchased in court.
When a hypnotist puts a young woman into a trance during a seance, things go wildly out of control and she stabs her husband. But is she really to blame for her actions?
It's hard to tell who's the bigger cheater when a wife and her husband's jealous mistress sit down for some lethal negotiating.
When two old men need a miracle in order to keep their home, the answer arrives in the unlikely form of a killer on the run from the law.
Two women plot to do away with an irascible old man and seize his money, but their plan is foiled when one of them decides she deserves more of the fortune.
A funeral parlor owner is put in an awkward position when a deceased client comes back to life and demands a much smaller affair than what was planned for his funeral.
Motherly love knows no bounds when a woman decides to get revenge on the married man who has been dating her daughter.
Two construction engineers are between more than just a rock and a hard place when one of them discovers the other's violent past during an explosive tunnel blast.
When a wealthy woman mistakenly accuses her elevator boy of robbing her, his resulting imprisonment will take her to levels of guilt she never expected.
A desperate department store owner foolishly agrees to a scheme to have her store burned down so she can collect the insurance, but the fiery transaction doesn't go down as planned.
It's murder most foul when a man decides to drown the longtime girlfriend who's been supporting him, but his crime doesn't go unnoticed for very long.
A young woman with her eye on marriage wonders why she still hasn't met her boyfriend's mother.
During his last week of work before retirement, the longtime employee of a jewelry store serves an unusual client.
When John learns that he has been made the beneficiary in his cousin's will, he decides he can't wait for nature to take its course and begins plotting murder.
A middle-aged couple, recently wed and constantly bickering, learn how married life can be murder.
A used car salesman with a spendthrift wife concocts a killer deal with his father and two college boys.
Nothing is as it seems when a young Scotland Yard inspector follows a widow suspected of smuggling jewelry.
Thelma Tomkins and her deadbeat boyfriend begin poisoning an old and wealthy woman in order to get an inheritance ... but the results are not what they expected.
When a miser discovers how expensive a divorce will cost, he comes up with another way to rid himself of his wife.
A reporter with a gambling problem will do anything for a lucrative story - including spending the night in the Murderers' Den of a wax museum.
Pining for her boss - a former movie star now forced to take supporting roles - a middle-aged secretary shows how she will do anything to make her romantic fantasy a reality.
A retired Scotland Yard inspector goes to extreme lengths to prove the guilt of a suspect in an old murder case.
When he loses all his money in a poker game, a man tells his pregnant wife an involved lie to explain the missing cash.
A prominent lawyer appears able to manipulate any situation successfully - except, perhaps, for his marriage.
A newspaper reporter gets a tip about an out of this world story: a man who claims to be a Martian.
When a local bank clerk cheats him out of $200, a man takes extreme measures to get back his money.
The death of a wealthy convalescent makes his nurse suspect that the cause was not natural.
A millionaire takes a hunting trip during which he hatches a plan to make his wife's lover his prey.
When a woman's blatant indiscretions with her ex-husband continue even after a confrontation with her current spouse, the consequences are dire.
When his former fiancee turns up missing, chicken farmer Arthur obligingly lets the police search his ranch, despite the fact that they seem to suspect him of her murder.
Dangerous secrets are revealed when a devoted widow travels to the glacier in Switzerland where her husband's body has been preserved since his deadly fall forty years earlier.
A 17-year-old causes havoc at a bar and alarms everyone around him when he talks hysterically about how he'll be "born again" when someone else dies at eleven o'clock.
John Piltkin picks up three hitchhikers who rob him. After he spots them in a diner, he exacts his revenge. He steals a car and picks the hitchhikers up. Concealing his face in shadows, he then pretends the car has stalled and walks off to get help. The hitchhickers are then arrested in the stolen car.
Nothing is as it seems when a polio victim in an iron lung suspects his wife of becoming attracted to a new neighbor and wonders if she's planning to get rid of him for good.
Sick of his wife's menagerie of strange and high-maintenance animals, a frazzled husband decides to get her the perfect present - a highly poisonous coral snake.
An aspiring hitman takes on a risky assignment to kill a rival gangster but then finds himself easily conned by his target in a treacherous game of cat and mouse.
Troubled by the responsibility of his aging mother in law, a man takes advantage of a society that specializes in "taking care of" elderly relatives and then soon finds out that he may be in for a similar fate.
Lovers' Lane becomes a dark and deadly destination when an ad executive and his former girlfriend are attacked by a young thug, and his efforts to protect them quickly go from heroic to something much more criminal.
After his neighbor warns him about suspicious disappearances around them, a man wonders if the vanishings have anything to do with a delivery to his young son.
When a traffic delay prevents a dying boy from reaching the hospital in time, his bereaved father and brothers swear revenge on the salesman who hogged the road when a life was on the line.
A successful businessman finally gets his greatest wish to see inside the kitchen of his favorite dining club, but has he just ordered his final meal as well?
Moments before he's set to swing from the end of a Union rope, a Southern supporter reflects on the sabotage attempt that brought him there and sees a possibility for freedom.
A teacher's interest in the one student who seems to care about her lessons turns tragic when she and a kindly neighbor follow the girl to a man's apartment.
A down-on-his-luck gambler bets his hand (literally) for a convertible, but the game is stopped by a person with an even larger interest in the outcome.
An antiques dealer takes refuge in a tucked away monastery with the goal of seizing a priceless manuscript, but his greed will extend his stay at the holy place for much longer than he ever imagined.
Some important things get lost in translation when a South American oil explorer agrees to have his loyal native assistant take his murderous wife to a head shrinker for her health.
A middle aged plumber is suspected of bludgeoning to death the father of his 19-year-old love interest, but the Sheriff can't figure out how the man could have done the crime and been caring for his baby grandson at the same time.
After twelve years in prison for stealing $200,000 from his investment firm employers, Milton Potter calmly returns all the money he embezzled and pursues some very unique post-prison retirement plans.
When Clete Vine, a successful businessman, reads about a gangster's violent death, he recalls how he and a childhood friend were profoundly affected by an event that began with their innocent admiration of an elegant car.
A righteous and hypocritical civic leader on a road trip accepts mechanical help from a young man who then asks for a lift, soon afterwards he reveals he's recently been released from reform school.
When his over-bearing mother mentions missing her dead husband, a selfish bachelor is happy to arrange the reunion and enlists his actress girlfriend to help by posing as a clairvoyant.
It's one lucky dog who is named the beneficiary of his deceased master's estate, but he then becomes the target of murderous plots concocted by the humans in his life.
A ruthlessly ambitious Hollywood publicist capitalizes on the drowning death of an actress, but his hopes for success sink like a stone when he learns that she's still alive.
The patrons in a copper town saloon initially scoff at the mysterious, small man who barges in, but soon find themselves handing over their valuables when he takes on two strapping brothers.
What begins as a mother-son vacation soon becomes a trip to agony when he falls in love with a girl who is determined to share his affections ... and will do anything to get rid of her nemesis.
A sensible widow beginning her stay in a remote summer cottage refuses to be alarmed by news of an escaped mental patient, but her resolve weakens as she visits with an off-beat local.
The forty-first private eye hired by a man to find his wife's killer follows the clues to a suspect, and then realizes that the case is more complex than he had realized.
A wealthy entrepreneur is sure that the man he meets on a cruise ship is the same person he robbed and left for dead many years ago ... or is he?
Lack of sleep is ruining a widower's life, but the real nightmare begins when he finally meets his brother-in-law, a menacing veteran still holding a grudge for his sister's death.
A beautiful Greenwich Village nightclub singer unwittingly risks her life - and that of her pianist - when she makes the mistake of brushing off "Little Dandy", a dangerous mobster.
Chronic unemployment makes a poor husband desperate enough to steal from a man he believes is dead, but he soon regrets the decision when he sees that the lifted wallet contains more than just cash.
A busybody fears for her life when she learns that the man who blames her for his wife's death has escaped from prison and may be planning a visit with his former neighbor.
A falsely convicted prisoner is determined to make his walk to the gas chamber on of dignity, but his plan suddenly changes when he hurls himself at the jovial guard known as "Pops".
An unconventional governess disrupts a conservative household with her radical ideas about interior design, wines, art and - especially - children and their education.
When he goes to a bank to transfer money, a man writing a book on the subject of unsolved crimes has no idea that he will find information about the $500,000 robbery he is chronicling ... or does he?
A pair of truck drivers stranded in the Arizona desert find themselves at the mercy of two kidnappers who are heading to the border ... and determined to take the last of the drinking water with them.
Believing that financial reasons prevent him from leaving his wife, an unhappily married man and the woman he really loves hatch a scheme that they believe will solve all their problems.
A touch of mink for Mr and Mrs Bixby is only part of a story of love grown cold and a hidden passion beneath the surface.
Bewitched advertising executive Ralph Jones seeks psychiatric help when he inexplicably finds an escape from his present day marital woes by traveling back in time to his earlier carefree bachelorhood.
Lumbered with more than an enormous debt, a businessman needs money - and fast. His doting fiance-in-waiting provides an instant solution, but in so doing, her act of desperate kindness leads to fatal consequences.
A pensive, withdrawn child attending a summer camp fashions a one-armed warrior knight in clay, to the consternation of his counselors. Is there a reason behind this particular display?
Two passengers on a train leaving Grand Central station at 5:48 - one in fear of his past catching up with him at long last, the other intent on exacting a revenge which will restore the balance of power.
Love letters from a pen pal bring an escaped convict to a country cottage in search of the woman he plans to make his bride. With the police closing in, is more than his heart trapped?
At the Last Chance Saloon, an outlaw rides in to town amidst a raging blizzard. The "Whistling Kid" has a price on his head, and everyone wants a piece of the action.
A midlife crisis for a man with a teenage past boasting athletic prowess and vigor puts a dangerous strain on his marriage, and his own physical state. How much more can a wife take living under starter's orders?
To win the hand of his beautiful girlfriend, a bookie-turned-import agent eyes the main chance with a deceitful ploy. In so doing, he finds himself earning more than the highest prize.
On the passing of his wife, a man reflects on a marriage filled with bitterness and suspicion through the pages of her diary, and comes to realize he never really knew her at all.
The theft of a woman's purse is the start of a tale of profit and loss which strikes close to home when the identity of the culprit is sought through a series of conflicting photographs.
Philip Weaver concocts a scheme to murder his employer.
When a down-on-his-luck man finds a small fortune on the streets of Las Vegas, a simple act of charity pays more dividends than he ever expected.
The time for love is any time, but for Dane Ross and his beloved Lisa, the clock is almost certainly ticking.
The witches of Salem are getting younger by the year, and for nine-year-old Kate Kendall this isn't a problem as she has a new playmate for the summer. Parents Phyllis and Ben are altogether more concerned, and consult the local Reverend on the subject of exorcism.
When a mother returns to seek out her long-lost abandoned daughter, money rather than love seems to be her driving motive. Refusing to pay, the girl's pseudo-adoptive parents call the woman's bluff and demand a court settlement to the matter.
An escapologist with a daring new act, a deceitful wife with a passion for music and the musician performing it, and a last escape worthy of Houdini himself, make cheating death a circus act to bend anyone's sanity.
The Prince of Darkness stalks the living once more as legendary Hollywood producer Ernst Von Kroft makes a low-budget bid for a return to the fame and glory of the big screen. When he falls short of renewed stardom, it could be a pain in the neck for all concerned.
In a small provincial town, an English lady takes in lodgers. For Billy Weaver, the town of Bramley offers accommodation at a reasonable rate, and a vacation to die for.
A knight's tale of chivalry and honor sees two men vying for the affections of a beautiful woman fighting an honorable duel for her heart and hand. All is fair in love and war, but a little cheating is expected.
When a man is released from prison for a crime he didn't commit, he sets about balancing the ledger of life by pulling off an audacious robbery which he believes the police can never prove he was responsible for. Will his hotel key prove his undoing?
On a wing and a prayer, a gambler with a mission thinks he has a hotline to God in praying for a string of successful winners. Convincing a naive minister to play the odds with the parish funds, could this be the race which beats the horse player?
An arresting tale of crime and misdemeanor in a small town sees a traveling salesman embroiled in deceit and murder. In a twisted variation on the prince and the pauper, the swapping of clothes reveals the true identity of a murderous fiend.
When you're handsome and attractive, the ladies will always pay you the sort of attention you want. For Arnold Bourdon, there's only one problem: how to get rid of his shrewish but wealthy wife. Perhaps her new companion and nurse hold the key.
Dark secrets lie at the heart of a private Indian museum, with one particular exhibit telling a sinister story of seduction, betrayal and murder.
Lucy Baldwin wishes to marry her boy friend Arthur. Unfortunately, her domineering mother believe that Arthur is only out for money opposes the marriage. When Lucy's mother falls ill, Lucy sees her chance. She slips her a fatal dose of sleeping tonc and she dies. Lucy and Arthur are married and Arthur takes Lucy to visit his mother. Unfortunately, Arthur's mother is just as domineering as Lucy's. Since Arthur's mother is ill, Lucy suggests a dose of sleeping tonic to take care of the problem.
A cash-strapped, treacherous couple set on being together no matter what the cost find that the price of love runs high when a private investigator comes onto the scene and discovers bigamy and murder are the perfect deathmate.
When a prosperous racketeer with a fear of death gambles with life, those closest to him turn their backs on him in his hour of need. Can a dead man walking really show gratitude?
How to marry a millionaire becomes a pathway to a loveless union for a beautiful young woman already in a relationship with a grasping and handsome man. Thinking she has married a man with a year to live and a fortune to inherit, her future plans soon go awry when her husband does the unexpected - he continues to live!
When a nightclub beauty is visited upon by the misfortune of a former husband whom she has carelessly neglected to divorce amidst her rapid rise to stardom and subsequent bigamy, murder seems the only answer. Surely, reasons beautiful Crystal Coe, you can't trust a man to be of any worth her now?
The boy who cried wolf got his comeuppance in the end. What of a spurned girl seeking the attention of all and sundry? When one lie replaces another and the stakes are raised to murder, what of the girl at the gloating place?
When a robbery goes wrong and one fatal bullet becomes four, can self defense really be the motive behind a frightened man's gun-toting pursuit of the culprits? The police think not ... and they may have a point.
James Howgill wants a divorce from his wife. When she refuses to give him one, he hires a private eye to follow her in hopes of finding evidence of adultery.
Good staff are hard to come by and, once found, are as priceless as one's own wife when it comes to their talent in the kitchen. At least, for handsome and distinguished Kerwin Drake, this is certainly the case when the arrival of his dowdy down-at-heel wife is a mere hors d'ouevres for the murderous meal that follows.
When an armed robber is released from prison, beaten down by the system and wanting to retreat to his long-lost family life, his homecoming makes for a shocking revelation.
Browbeaten husband seeks nothing but the best for his late-lamented wife. The most expensive casket from the best in the business, every detail attended to in the making of final arrangements. Just one item left of the to-do list: kill the wife.
When music is the food of love, sweet passion spells more than cream in the coffee for two couples.
The price of ambition for District Attorney Rudolf Cox is high when a hard-bitten hoodlum prepares to make a confession that could put an end to his high-profile career.
When caught cheating on a test, Perry Hatch visits his college Professor to plead his case before a letter is sent to his parents. But upon witnessing the Professor disposing of a brand new ladies hat box, Perry thinks he may be onto something sinister.
Young Jackie Chester is ostracized by his fellow playmates because he doesn't own a toy gun like theirs. Upset at being left out, he finds a gun in his Uncle's suitcase - unaware he has a real revolver ... and it's loaded.
The manager of a carnival discovers his drunken purchase of a monkey is in fact a female midget dressed up as the animal. Falling in love with her "owner", she sets about to break up his marriage.
Two bank robbers, Phil and Davey, are forced to act when it is revealed a woman was an eye-witness to their crime. Phil devises a clever plan to dress up as a policeman to gain entry to her secure location, but will his plan go without a hitch?
A lonely housewife invents the story a prowler is on her property in order to entice a handsome detective to visit her. But she may have inadvertently helped the police with a major investigation that will affect her own life.
After a drinking contest, students decide to play a joke on one of their fraternity friends, Alan. Putting fake blood on one of them, they lead Alan to believe he has committed murder, placing into action a deadly chain of events.
When a young wife is assaulted in her home, her husband is enraged upon her selecting who she thinks was the culprit from a police line-up. But his wife is on the brink of making a shocking discovery.
A hit-man's retirement is jeopardized when he is blackmailed by a man threatening to reveal his past to his wife - who knows nothing about his wicked ways.
Private detective Al Frute falls love with his client's wife when her husband hires him to prove her infidelity. Al decides the best way forward is to provide the required evidence to ensure a happy ending for all.
Being hit by a falling plank of wood has rendered a young man with amnesia. All he has in his possession is a $1000 bill and a note with a doctor's address. Visiting the doctor jogs his memory, which is unfortunate for one of them.
A doctor gets more than he bargains for when he attends to a man's gunshot wound. However, the doctor may have the ultimate revenge from the grave.
A local sheriff has failed to find enough evidence to prove Millie Wright killed her husband. When the sheriff's wife stumbles across some clues that may prove Millie guilty, will she speak up?
Elisa Minden begins to question her actions when discovering her fiance talking to his late wife's grave about the virtues of torture and the fact he had caught his wife having an affair. Will Elisa regret going through with the vows?
Two young actors are up for the same role and get together for an afternoon's rehearsal. Alcoholic Bart Collins shows just a tad too much realism when he strangles his friend Jerry to death. Now what to do with the body?
Two lonely people, one an old man suffering amnesia, the other a young, lost boy, find they have more in common that they realize when meeting at the police station.
Young criminal Jimmy French convinces his girlfriend to take a peek at her psychiatrist boss' files in order to find the perfect blackmail victim. But will Jimmy end up being the one under analysis?
When a faith-healer cures a mechanic's stomach ulcer, it leads to love and murder.
When a convict takes a girl hostage after murdering a gas station attendant, he is puzzled why she doesn't try to escape when several opportunities arise ... and why she is being so helpful.
Following a train accident, Mr. Sequiras fakes being paralyzed from the waist down so he can collect compensation from the train company. When tiring of having to pretend he cannot walk, Sequiras comes up with a plan to "walk" again when meeting a girl who really is paralyzed.
When a young boy murders another boy with a knife, his father convinces attorney Vernon Wedge to take on the case. Wedge comes up with a rather unique "test" to prove the boy's innocence, providing it can be used in court.
As part of a publicity gimmich, ex-criminal Sammy Morrissey agrees to attempt opening a "burglar proof" safe. If he can unlock the safe at a press conference, he can keep the $50,000 contained within. But will Morrissey prove the hand is quicker than the eye?
A group of young thieves hit on the idea of robbing a wealthy man by one of them volunteering to babysit. However, when robbing the premises, the man returns home, leading to murder and revenge.
When a long-time employee retires with little in the way of thanks, the man decides to rob the company and run off with his secret girlfriend. His wife, however, has other plans.
An unfaithful husband and his girlfriend concoct a plan to murder his wife after she plans to divorce him, which will leave him penniless.
A funeral director blackmails a client when he discovers the man's business partner didn't really die in a road accident, but was shot instead.
When a boxing manager tries out a special formula designed to enhance the performance of race horses on one of his prize-fighters, he finds himself in the ring fighting for his own life.
When a writer agrees to sponsor a fledgling author's first book, he receives a lesson in patience.
The death of a beloved pooch sets off a series of deadly events for the dog's shattered owner
The sale of an expensive pearl teaches a con-man a lesson in honesty that will cost him far more than just his integrity.
The warden of a prison is puzzled by the fact a man has just broken his parole conditions just two days after being released. Despite probing for answers, the warden eventually discovers the reason for the convict's return.
A bragging, successful businessman takes pity on a former down-on-his-luck college friend by giving him a job, revealing how he has cheated the government out of tax revenue. Perhaps he should have kept his mouth shut.
A newlywed couple are involved in an accident, leaving them each with a disability. The husband has a bad limp, but his wife's injuries are not as easily identified ... until one night when she goes missing.
An assistant manager of a department store finds a unique use for a girl he has caught shoplifting. Agreeing to let the girl off, he sets into motion a plan that will lead to murder.
A disgruntled employee hatches a plan, with the help of two professional thieves, to steal a shipment of negotiable bonds. Will he get away with a clean sweep?
An American criminal living in Rome gets more than he bargained for when supplying narcotics to a group of juveniles.
Initially delighted with divorce, a man soon regrets the agreement when his ex-wife's alimony payments are wiping him out. Desperate to claw back the money, a scheme involving a stranger may be the key to his happiness ... or cause further debt.
A desperately broke beatnik couple, Mitch and Judy, plan to use a well-off man, who has shown an interest in Judy, to finance their lifestyle. But who's using who?
Caroline Hardy's affair with the handsome Paul Ross comes to an abrupt end when her brother tells Paul's wife about them. Intent on revenge, Caroline sets off an explosion that will have life-changing results.
The frustrated wife of a carnival musician is in love with the circus strong man. With the appearance of a homeless boy comes a plan to free her from her husband. But will he play the final trick?
