User Reviews

Helen (Barbara Bel Geddes) has been dating Philip for years. And, each time the subject of marriage comes up, Philip (Don Dubbins) makes various excuses not to get married...saying he needs to break it to his mother gently. It's also odd that during the years they've been dating, Philip has never introduced Helen to his mommy. What gives? Well, now that Philip FINALLY has agreed to get married, Helen will get a chance to find out what gives with mom!

In some ways this is like a non-murdery version of "Psycho" and you wonder if one influenced the other. Regardless, it is entertaining and fun...and a CRAZY good time! Well worth seeing.

There's a mother out there. Where is she exactly? Barbara Bel Geddes is the long suffering fiancée who has just married a man substantially her junior. He is a man of mystery. He seems kind and loving, but still lives with his mother. There is always an excuse whenever they talk about her. Supposedly, she is an invalid, so time passes and there's always a reason, mostly physical, that she can't meet the proposed bride. It's that Psycho/Rebecca thing where there is a mysterious person out there, but we don't get to see them. Things, of course, have to come to a head. Bel Geddes lays down an ultimatum: "Marry me or I'm out the door!" The story is told in flashbacks. The young man leaves then returns from Korea. She is faithful to him for four years. If you know Hitchcock, you will really enjoy this episode.

The title sounds a little lightweight, but the story is not. Sweetly wholesome Helen (Bel Geddes) tells in flashback about her long, frustrating engagement to rich boy Philip (Dubbins). It's one excuse after another that puts off their wedding day, yet all appear to revolve around Philip's imperious mom. Helen keeps trying to meet mom, but there too, it's one excuse after another. So what's going on, since Philip seems such a nice sincere boy.

With the many conversations, an entry like this depends greatly on effective acting. Fortunately, Bel Geddes, a series favorite, excels at this type role, while newcomer Dubbins is also excellent. Together, they keep interest on high, even though the entry's basically a one-note plot— just what is going on with mom. Then too, any resemblance here to a well-known Hitchcock movie is not, I suspect, strictly a coincidence.

When this one begins, Hitch is standing with a ball and chain clamped on one of his legs and holding a mallet on his other side saying, "Good evening, this is one of the most difficult and frustrating game of croquet I've ever played." The actual story begins as Helen Brewster Pryor (Barbara Bel Geddes) flashes back to when she was just dating her now-husband Philip (Don Dubbins) as he was just going to Korea. They've just known each other for four months and she has yet to meet his invalid mother. Unfortunately, this would go on for years even after Philip goes on to a job in a publishing house. But she's finally going to meet her now that she's living in her mansion...Another fine performance of Ms. Bel Geddes with Dubbins matching her. The ending may or not surprise you if you know about some of Hitch's work. By the way, he's not the director of this one, instead it's Arthur Hiller who would eventually do his own Hitchcock tribute when he made Silver Streak some 17 years later. So on that note, "The Morning of the Bride" ep of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" is well worth a look. P.S. The role of Helen's housekeeper was played by Hitch's daughter Pat Hitchcock.

10 Stars.

Arthur Hiller directed this excellent episode, but to tell you the truth, it could have been Hitchcock himself. This one will keep your attention in spades. Hiller directed 17 episodes for Hitch, and brought us LOVE STORY about a decade later.

Barbara Bel Geddes (as Helen) tells the strange tale about her relationship with Philip (well played by Don Dubbins). He comes from a wealthy family, and is it his money or is it his personality that makes him so curious? The big question; will this couple ever get married? Next question, will Helen ever get to meet his elusive mother? If this wasn't a primer for PSYCHO, then what? There are some very close ties to that classic film, without giving a lot away, except to say it's clever.

Exceptionally written by Kathleen Hite, who began her career as a secretary at CBS. She eventually became a top tv show writer, often for westerns, like GUNSMOKE. She is a member of the Cowboy Hall of Fame for all her tv western work, and that has got to be a first for anyone connected to Alfred Hitchcock. Great trivia question.

Look for Pat Hitchcock in a small role as Helen's roomie. Pat was a very good actress in her own right, one of her best roles in STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951), directed by her famous dad.

SEASON 4 EPISODE 19 remastered CBS dvd box set.

5 dvds. 15hrs 30 mins. Released 2008.

Our two main characters are Helen and Phillip...now let's get the elephant out of the way first. I think the storyline is supposed to paint Helen out as being much older than Phillip but imo they pretty much look the same age.

Anyway, Helen and Phillip are dating but the strange thing is that Phillip just doesn't want Helen to meet his mother. And I want to throw in another tidbit on this aspect once I finish the review. He keeps stringing Helen along but there's always something coming up for why he doesn't want the two of them to meet. I must admit when I first watched this episode my mind probably went into the usual dirtbag territory. "I don't want you meeting my mother because she's gonna ask "Why are you dating her when you're already married and have children?!" No, I think the secret Phillip's holding is far worse than being married with kids.

Poor Helen keeps on trying...she goes out to the house and she sees a lady fleeing from the house and the lady says that nobody's at home. Helen doesn't know what Phillip's mother looks like so she naturally thinks she's being rejected in such a cruel way. She even tells Phillip about how crushed she was to see his mother running from the house to get away from her. Ah, but Phillip's always got stories up his sleeve and he comes up with something to smooth Helen's crushed feelings down. He even presents her with a book that his mother sent to her because she felt sorry for Helen having to read "War and Peace".

But time's ticking and honestly Helen's probably given Phillip more time than a lot of women would give him. Especially since Helen knows she'd like to get married. Pat's friend even reminds her that she's not getting any younger and at least Pat can play the field. Helen's stuck with a man that's really not big on taking the next step.

Helen works up the nerve and decides to end things with Phillip. But Phillip realizes he's about to really lose Helen and doesn't want that. The two end up getting married. Helen's at Phillip's house and she's very nervous because today's the day she will finally meet Phillip's mother. One can sympathize for all the nerves she must be having. Helen's about to get quite a shock. No, she's not gonna go into Phillip's mother's room and see a corpse decked out like Norma Bates. But she goes into the room and she's very puzzled when she sees an obituary on the desk. It's an obituary for Phillip's mother. She clearly doesn't understand....she's been dead for 7 years. Phillip's real side is about to come out. He doesn't see Helen as being a wife or even a girlfriend. She's just a replacement mommy for him. I absolutely love Don Dubbins performance in the last scene. It's absolutely iconic imo.

Let me touch base on that side remark I made up top. It seems sad to me you really wouldn't be able to do an episode with a storyline like this in today's times. You can try it but it wouldn't be believable. Helen would be pulling out her phone and googling Phillip in a heartbeat and it wouldn't take long to probably come up with an obituary. I know I avoid social media like the plague but let's face it, my name is gonna pop up when it concerns obituary references if you google my name.

Anyway, this is another delightful episode. Again, somebody please put this wonderful series on better quality dvds. Both Alfred shows are so underappreciated and it's pretty sad since both are such high quality.

Yes you could see this coming based on quite a bit of Hitchcock film history. But even an amateur probably noticed that something appeared amiss.

While Bel Geddes played her usual sweet self, Dubbins deserves the acting honors here, gradually turning in personality.

'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' is a very interesting and very well done, if not consistent, series that ran for seven seasons between 1955 and 1962. Every season had some truly fine episodes, and they all had some not so good episodes. This was all obvious in Season 4, that had some real highs and some real lows and sometimes in quite quick succession to each other. Arthur Hiller's episodes did vary, with none of them really being misfires while with no series high points.

He did direct some season high points though, and "The Morning of the Bride" is definitely for me in the better half of Season 4. By all means, it is not one of the best 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes but it is one of Hiller's best episodes ("Post Mortem" also being one of his best). "The Morning of the Bride" is not quite perfect, but it is a great episode and another great representation of series favourite Barbara Bel Geddes. Making the most of an intriguing premise.

Maybe it is a little bit of a slow starter.

Otherwise, "The Morning of the Bride" is great. Bel Geddes' performance is not quite as amazing as her tour de force performance in "Lamb to the Slaughter", but it is still truly excellent (very powerful in capturing her character's suffering and vulnerability). Even better is a truly terrific Don Dubbins, really unsettling as the character that grows the most. The chemistry between them scintillates. Hitchcock's bookending is amusingly ironic and Hiller directs with more confidence and edge.

Furthermore, it's solidly made with some atmospheric photography. The series theme music is one of the best and most inspired examples of pre-existing classical music being used as a main theme, fitting perfectly with the series' overall tone. The writing is thought provoking, fun and unsettling, with no over-talkiness and there is a good deal of intrigue and dark suspense. The ending is well executed and interesting, if not one of the series' most ingenious.

In summary, great. 9/10.

I wonder if this mother is jealous too. Excellent episode. All 3 actors are superb.