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Alfred Hitchcock
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7 Movies Like ‘The Menu’
Alfred Hitchcock fans, rejoice: you’ve got a lot more to stream and scream about this Halloween! Thanks to the new streaming service Peacock, hundreds of hours of Hitchcockian thrills and chills are available to stream for the first time ever. Peacock’s extensive library includes entire seasons of Hitchcock’s classic TV shows that have not only never been available to stream, some were never even released on home media!
Unlike The Twilight Zone, which consistently dabbled in the bizarre and macabre, Alfred Hitchcock’s first foray into weekly tale-telling didn’t exactly set out to shock and startle audiences on regular basis. Alfred Hitchcock Presents was more likely to feature stories about schemers, con artists, murderers, and jilted lovers than monsters or ghouls. But you can’t go wrong with a classic Hitchcock thriller—and these episodes are thrilling.
Some, however, were also horrifying—especially ones that aired after the debut of The Twilight Zone midway through Alfred Hitchcock Presents’ run. Coinciding with the 65th anniversary of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and the start of Halloween season, Decider has combed through the archives in search of the weirdest and most disturbing entries in Hitchcock’s seminal thriller anthology. Enjoy these half-hour horror shows, courtesy of Alfred Hitchcock (and Peacock).
"The Case of Mr. Pelham" (1x10)
Seven Year Itch star Tom Ewell takes on the role of the increasingly and justifiably paranoid Mr. Pelham, a man who believes there’s a lookalike out there slowly taking over his life. He’s eating his food, doing his work, wearing his clothes—who does this man think he is? He thinks he’s the real deal, of course, and you know things can’t end well for both Mr. Pelhams.
"And So Died Riabouchinska" (1x20)
There is one thing that’s remained terrifyingly true over the decades: ventriloquist dummies are terrifying. Just look at Family Matters‘ Stevil! That’s why the instant a disembodied voice skittered out from a closed chest in this Alfred Hitchcock episode, it made the list. Claude Rains, who previously starred in Hitchcock’s Notorious, takes on the role of a man in love with a way-too-detailed dummy. And as if that wasn’t enough, the man investigating the central murder is none other than action icon Charles Bronson!
"Gentleman From America" (1x31)
Hitchcock veers into haunted house territory in this tale of a rough and tumble American who takes a couple of Brits up on a bet to stay overnight in a spook-tacular mansion. But while Howard Latimer’s too busy wondering if his makeshift AirBNB is really haunted, he doesn’t spend a second thinking about the potential for permanent emotional and mental damage should he encounter an apparition. That was a mistake, Mr. Latimer!
"The Night the World Ended" (2x31)
Fake news was a lot easier to pull off in the time before 24/7 news networks and social media. All it takes is one fake newspaper heralding the end of the world to send one lonely drunk (Russell Collins) into a panic. With the world ending in a few hours, all laws fly out the window—even for an ostensibly nice, down-on-his-luck old man. This being Hitchcock, you know this practical joke isn’t going to end with a couple of chuckles and a good-natured, “You got me!” But still, someone gets got by the end of this episode.
"The Hands of Mr. Ottermole" (2x32)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents goes on a jaunt back in time to foggy old London in 1919 for this tale. A serial strangler is terrifying the populace, leaving a string of dead bodies in their wake. Everyone’s in a tizzy, from the reporters to the police as the victims keep piling up. But whose hands are doing the damage? Okay, listen: the title is obviously a huge spoiler. Still, there’s a spooky twist to this one!
"Murder Me Twice" (4x9)
Phyllis Thaxter turns in a captivating, dare I say haunting performance as a woman who just can’t help but get a little stab-happy while under hypnosis. This episode asks the question: can you be charged with murder if the crime was committed by a 100-year-old woman who took control of your body during hypnosis? Fun fact: this creepy episode was directed by David Swift, the same man who gave us another thriller with a woman in the lead: Disney’s The Parent Trap.
"Special Delivery" (5x10)
Y’all wanna see Alfred Hitchcock get into aliens? Here! You! Go! And you know this is the real deal, because this episode was written by prolific, iconic sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury! Okay, yes—this episode is built around the notion that martians are recruiting the kids of America into their invasion scheme by way of… mail-order mushrooms… but the paranoia is thick and the end is chilling!
"The Cuckoo Clock" (5x27)
Hitchcock loved a continuing collaboration, as evidenced by this twisty thriller of an episode. It comes from writer Robert Bloch, the author that wrote a little novel called Psycho. There’s an escaped mental patient on the loose and no one is to be trusted! This episode features two fantastic performances by two great actresses: future Oscar winner Beatrice Straight as a tormented mother just trying to chill in her cabin, and a panicked maniac played by Fay Spain, who has a 1950s Margot Robbie vibe.
"The Greatest Monster of Them All" (6x18)
The old monster movies of the ’40s get a new lease on life in this twisted tale of an aging horror icon (Richard Hale) who comes back for one more vampire movie. There’s only one problem: the cranky director’s decided to make this throwback scary movie into a goofy parody by using some cartoony voiceover (provided by actual cartoon legend Mel Blanc!). If you think Ernst von Croft is going to be fine with coming out of retirement just to be humiliated, think again!
"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (7x39)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents closed out it’s initial, half-hour iteration with an episode that was deemed too grisly to air in 1962. Twenty-year-old Oscar nominee Brandon deWilde stars as Hugo, an intellectually disabled runaway who falls under the sway of a circus magician Sadini and his two-timing wife Irene, played by blonde bombshell Diana Dors. Irene sees Hugo as a means to an out from her marriage to Sadini, but things don’t go according to her plan. Remember how this episode was too much for TV?
