Jodi MacArthur read my short story "The Great Whydini" and mentioned how much she enjoyed magician tales. That, in turn, reminded her of this old Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode titled "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" starring Brandon de Wilde and Diana Dors. I hadn't seen this episode before and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The story was written by the incomparable Robert Bloch.
Part 2 | Part 3
15 comments:
In my comment on your story, I wrote a whole thing about how it reminded me of a Hitchcock Presents program, where he comes out at the end and reassures us that all guilty parties were apprehended and suitably punished for their misdeeds....then I decided I'm always saying too much in these comments and deleted it. Ha.
Ron, Use as much space here as you desire. Your knowledge and take on posts is very much welcomed.
He didn't write the story? For some reason, I thought he had. Darn it! So glad you enjoyed. I saw this years ago and its stuck with me.
Thanks for the plug too!
Funny Ron had thought of it too. It's a small world.
From the title of this post I figured you were going to tell us what the heck this new Nicholas Cage flick has to do with Fantasia. But hey, this is even better.
Jodi, Bloch, a disciple of H. P. Lovecraft, also wrote PSYCHO among countless other extraordinary tales. It makes sense he was behind this memorable episode.
Evan, Yeah, putting this post together, I saw Cage everywhere. Hm. Maybe I'll give it a try.
That was a grim little narrative for 1960's television.
Thanks for this. When I was young I was quite a fan of Brandon de Wilde but I have never seen this ep of Hitchcock.
*shoots self in foot*
Thanks for that David, I don't remember ever having seen that one.
Geoff,
According to Wikipedia: "The Sorceror's Apprentice" episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents never aired on the NBC network because the finale, by 1960s standards, was deemed "too gruesome" by sponsor Revlon. The following season AHP switched to a 1-hour format and a new name (The Alfred Hitchcock Hour), thus rendering the half-hour episode unusable and as such a lost episode. It eventually was released in the program's syndication package to affiliate stations without a word of complaint.
"The Sorceror's Apprentice", once denied network broadcast, is now the most widely distributed episode of all those produced.
Naomi, His performances in SHANE and HUD are unforgettable.
Jodi, Not at all. :)
Reb, It sure was good wasn't it?
"Smile, Irene! Smile!
Yep, that was a darn good show.
Glad you liked it.
Just saw Brandon in a scene from HUD. Funny how that happens.
I made my students watch this episode on Wednesday. You weren't by any chance 14 and in kiddie jail this past week, were you?
Patti, He went far to early. Geez, what could have been.
nelizadrew, Ha. No, but I wish I had had a cool teacher to show us shows like this when I was growing up. Thanks for stopping by and I'll check out your blog when I get a chance.
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