 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   

Good Evening: An Alfred Hitchcock Presents Podcast

Episode 85 - Rose Garden

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

Episode 84 - Tea Time

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

Episode 83 - Silent Witness

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

Episode 82 - The Man with Two Faces

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

Episode 81 - Back for Christmas

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

Episode 80 - Party Line

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

Episode 79 - Bad Actor

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

Episode 78 - Mink

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

Episode 77 - I Killed the Count, Parts 1-3

In this Hitchcock-directed episode, Vincent Price plays one Charles Courtney, a Sherlockian detective with a sterling investigative reputation and an ego to match. But when local defense attorney John Gregory shows up on his doorstep late one night, Courtney finds he’s in for the shock of his life. Will Courtney’s pride—and more importantly, Gregory himself—be able to survive this tense evening? And will Courtney’s infamous hubris be the cause of his downfall? Burn-o-Meter: N/A Overall Rating: 8.25 special vases

Episode 76 - The Perfect Crime

When Gerry Daniels, a man on death row, is given his last request, he attempts to set the record straight regarding his actual crimes by writing a sensational letter to the editor. But as this edgy, brilliantly crafted plot progresses, the viewer begins to question: Is Gerry condemning the city’s district attorney or himself? Burn-o-Meter: N/A Overall Rating: 9.25 last requests

Episode 75 - Last Request

Annie and Kathryn cover this infamous, star-studded episode about a Vegas gambler who agrees to some most unusual terms in a bet with a stranger. The prize if he wins? The keys to a brand new convertible. The cost if he loses? The pinky finger on his left hand. Tension mounts as the gambler places his fate in the hands of an everyday cigarette lighter’s reliability. But could it be that the terms of this bet are not quite so straightforward as they seem? Burn-o-Meter: 9 Overall Rating: 8.5 pinky fingers

Episode 74 - Man from the South

In a Good Evening first, Annie and Kathryn differ wildly in their opinion of this darkly comedic, Hitchcock-directed installment. When mystery writer Babs Fenton begins spying on her next-door neighbor, she latches onto many true crime theories in quick succession: Mr. Blanchard is a murderer. A controlling partner. A long-suffering husband hiding away a kleptomaniac wife! Or . . . none of the above? Only time—or the Blanchards themselves—will tell. Burn-o-Meter: N/A Overall Rating: 6 silver lighters TOP FIVE EPISODES SO FAR: ANNIE Conversation Over a Corpse The Motive The Deadly Lamb to the Slaughter Murder Me Twice KATHRYN The Motive The Deadly You Got to Have Luck An Open Window Mail Order Prophet

Episode 73 - Mr. Blanchard’s Secret

Charles Cavender can’t sleep. It’s not an unbearable heat of 92 degrees, and it’s not a noisy neighbor. It’s the fear that Jack Fletcher, the brother of his dead wife, is set on revenge. Determined to put an end to his insomnia, Charles tracks down Fletcher before he can be tracked down himself. But in the end, will that elusive good night’s sleep prove to be Charles’ downfall? Burn-o-Meter: N/A Overall Rating: 7.5 faulty old heaters

Episode 72 - Insomnia

Everyone knows the story of Lizzie Borden, immortalized in the famous children’s rhyme. Or . . . DO they? In this week’s episode, we revisit the famous Lizzie Borden case—this time with a twist that involves a nosy reporter, a not-so-secret compartment, and, naturally, an older sister named Emma. Burn-o-Meter: N/A Overall Rating: 8 axes

Episode 71 - The Older Sister

Good eeevening and welcome to a podcast review of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, hosted by sisters Annie and Kathryn. Every week, the sisters review a new episode of the classic anthology series first brought to television sets by the Master of Suspense himself. Mystery? Check. Trivia? You got it. Humor? Attempted. It's Good Evening.

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Good Evening: An Alfred Hitchcock Presents Podcast

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