The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (TV Series) Final Escape (1964) User Reviews

Fair throughout with gut-wrenching ending

[deedrala · 7/10 · 1 August 2020]

First - correction of another reviewer's errors: it was a supposedly "fool-proof" (not fullproof) plan, and Paul/Edd Byrnes didn't "switch places" with the dead inmate in the coffin - he pushed the dead guy aside so he could lay next to him to sneak out of the prison camp as part of his escape plan.

As for my review, I nearly fell asleep during the first 35 minutes of this ep, until 10 minutes before the end when it began to hold my interest. I knew the escape plan wouldn't work, of course, but I wrongly assumed it would be due to the old man/Doc (Robert Keith) still passed out from his drinking binge or in the middle of another. I realize how desperate Paul was to get out of there, but still, how could he possibly trust the old drunk who had daily chest pains, and who was so intoxicated that he fell down the steps after barely acknowledging Paul's pleas to not let him down? Not the kind of guy to trust your life with, to say the very least.

**MAJOR SPOILER** Even though most viewers will be expecting the escape to fail, I'll bet no one would have guessed WHY it failed. It was a real shock to see Doc himself - Paul's accomplice - as the corpse lying next to Paul in the coffin at the very end, when Paul was screaming for him to come get him out of there. But it instantly made me wonder - where was the prisoner who was killed by the log, since that's who we were led to believe Paul was sharing the coffin with (small plothole)? Too bad, though, that the director or editor didn't notice that Keith's eyelids fluttered noticeably while he was supposed to be dead so they could reshoot just that part, since it all but ruined the impact of the standard Hitchcock twist in the very last frame.

Classic escape drama----with twisted ending

[chuck-reilly · 9/10 · 26 September 2006]

Convict Paul Perry (Edd Byrnes) has devised a full-proof method for escaping from prison. When a fellow inmate dies, Edd switches places with the dead man's corpse and (similar to "The Count of Monte Cristo") hides in the coffin. But Edd has to go "underground" and wait for his accomplice to dig him out of his grave. And wait and wait and wait. Well wouldn't you know it, Edd's accomplice has been permanently detained.

In this episode, Edd Byrnes proved that he was a fine dramatic actor and gives an excellent performance. It's too bad he didn't continue to do work at this level. Most folks now remember him mainly for his years on "77 Sunset Strip" as carhop "Kookie" with his ever-present comb. As it stands, this entry in the "Alfred Hitchcock Hour" remains one of the best. Viewers will also spot old Coach from TV's "Cheers", Nicholas Colasanto, in a supporting role.

slightly botched in the final moments, still memorable

[HEFILM · 8/10 · 10 July 2013]

This was also remade for the "color" Hitchcock reboot series in the 1980s. It's well made and well acted with a convincing and grim work- camp setting and exterior locations and a really solid script. The main character is a well balanced bit of crook and hero, one you still root for enough for the whole thing to work. It's mostly a three character piece of crook, old con and guard and all are well written and preformed to have enough depth to escape the cliché.

It's paced and feels more like a feature film like the best of the hour long Hitchcock's do. Effectively tracked with music from other episodes and contains many effective camera angles. It's nearly perfect but the ending is kind of spoiled by the director. He allows the camera to show and see too many things that the main character can't and this may spoil the powerful ending for regular fans of this type of fiction and show. The final couple of shots also are repeated perhaps due to fear of something not being clear to the audience.

I think this version is better than the remake however I remember the ending working better in that version. Hithcock introduces the show from an enormous wine vat while stomping grapes.

Kookie Breaks Out of the Bighouse

[dougdoepke · 2 May 2015]

It's a one-note plot, but thanks to a thoughtful script and persuasive acting, the story works, though you may see the major twist coming. So how's young Paul (Byrnes) going to escape prison; after all, he's got a slick reputation to protect. Besides, the head guard (McNally) is one arrogant son of a gun, and keeps challenging Paul to just try to escape. Also, how's old broken-down inmate Doc (Keith) going to help since he sort of totters around.

For fans of old 77 Sunset Strip (1958-64) Byrnes' turn here comes as a revelation. Who would figure that the jive talking Kookie of that detective series could actually play a hardened criminal; still, he's quite good. Then too, judging from his frail appearance, I'm not surprised the aged Keith would soon pass away. Too bad, because he's an unusual TV presence here. Also, production did a good job faking a dead-end lumberyard that the cons labor in. This is definitely not a place to put in prison time; no wonder Paul's desperate to get out. Note too, that the cemetery markers don't bother with names, just numbers. I guess they let God sort 'em out.

And, oh yes—guys-- there's absolutely no eye candy in this 60-minutes, so be prepared for a gang of ugly screws and cons. All in all, it's a different Hitch, with the usual ironical, but not too surprising, ending.

Offbeat and Memorable Because of Actors Ed Byrnes and Robert Keith

[jayraskin1 · 9/10 · 31 March 2019]

There is some fine acting here. Robert Keith was the father of Brian Keith and one time husband of Peg Entwhistle. Brian Keith, a successful movie star in the 40s and 50s was best known as for the television series Family Affair 1966-1971. He committed suicide in 1997. Peg Entwhistle is famous for committing suicide by jumping off the Hollywood Sign in 1932. Robert Keith was never a star, but he had good supporting in Marlon Brando's "the Wild One" and "Guys and Dolls." He is most famous for his last two roles in 1964, this one on the Alfred Hitchcock Hour and his appearance as the patriarch of a rather selfish family in "the Masks" on the Twilight Zth one. Ed Byrnes became a short lived television super-star on the1958-63 detective series "77 Sunset Strip" as a hip parking valet named "Kookie." Byrnes played a baby faced criminal in the pilot episode, but was quickly accepted as one of the series heroes. The audience feels a lot of sympathy for both "Doc" (Keith) and young bank robber "Paul Perry" (Byrnes). Both are suffering being in a rather strange southern prison where the inmates work for 13 cents a day. Doc wants money to help his granddaughter get medical treatment. Perry just wants to get out of the 11 years he has to serve in the prison. The question is can they trust each other in order to get what they want.

One of the interesting things in this episode is that the characters are likeable and certainly don't deserve their fate. Usually the endings have characters getting what they deserved. This one leaves a bitter taste because neither of the two characters deserve their fate. The viewer is left pretty shocked and dismissed. This does remind the viewer that good or at least not bad people sometimes have unfair endings. This is what happened to both Robert Keith son, Brian, and his wife Peg Entwhistle.

Very memorable

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 20 May 2021]

"Final Escape" is an episode of "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" I saw decades ago...and I certainly could not forget it! It's very well done and its only problem is that it goes on a bit long. In other words, the hour long format works against it a bit and I could see how it could be remade years later as a half hour show instead.

Captain (Steven McNally) is a prisoner at a work camp and he wants to escape. He formulates a plan when he realizes an elderly prisoner can assist him get away from the place. How? Well, this older guy is one of the few who is allowed to leave the grounds...as his job is to bury the dead when this occurs. His plan? To climb inside the coffin and have the old guy take him outside the prison walls and bury him...and then uncover him later so that he can escape. Naturally, the plan goes awry.

This is an excellent and creepy episode...well worth seeing. As I mentioned above, it is overlong but it's still awfully good and well worth your time. And, it's one you won't soon forget!

First Saw It 54 Years Ago.

[kstrait-75052 · 10/10 · 8 November 2018]

Memorable Thriller!!! The greatest piece of movie irony ever seen on TV!

Tales from the Crypt

[sol-kay · 6/10 · 26 April 2012]

***SPOILERS*** Given an 11 year sentence for armed robbery and attempted escape with no possibility of an early parole all convict Paul Perry, Edd Byrnes, can think about is crashing out of prison-again-the first chance he gets. With Capt.Tollman,Stephen McNalley,determined to keep his record of never having a convict under his care escaping he's just as determined to keep Perry behind bars while he's in charge of the prison that he's confined in. The lucky brake that Perry gets is working for Doc, Robert Keith, who's in charge of the grave and mortuary unit of the prison. Old Doc who's just about to check out, from both prison as well as life, anyway is only interested in getting 5 G's for his granddaughter, who's suffering from polio, Elissa's, Besty Hale, operation. Doc makes a deal with Perry if he gets the cash,that's the result of the banks he robbed,for him by mail to his son Bart he'll sneak him out of the joint in a coffin together with another stiff,dead convict,in it as a decoy!

Going along with Doc's master plan in breaking out of the joint, prison, in a coffin seems to be the right thing to do for Perry in that who would suspect that a dead man who couldn't care less if he's behind bars or not, since where he's going bars can't hold him anyway, which is the way he's to make his great escape. And with Doc taking care of all the loose ends like burying and later digging him up how can he possibly lose! Well things went just as planned for Perry who with enough air, that Doc made sure he had, in his coffin he'll last long enough for Doc to come to his rescue when the coast, Capt. Tollama and the prison guards, is clear.

***MAJOR SPOILERS*** The one thing that Perry didn't figure on was Doc's advanced age heart condition and non stop drinking that in the end was to do him it. Doc did in fact keep his promise to get Perry out of poison for the 5 G's that paid for his granddaughter's operation but when it came to digging him up that was all on Perry's head. Since by then Doc was in no condition to do the ghastly job himself! He was in the same position or place that Perry was in at the time!

Plot Too Risky

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 20 May 2023]

Edd Byrnes who played Kookie on "77 Sunset Strip" is a prisoner in a lumber camp. He is a big time bank robber who has always managed to get away. But this prison is incredibly ruthless. He has the disadvantage of being combative and obvious. Mostly it involve an escape effort in a coffin set in motion by a drunken carpenter named Doc. The Captain (a sort of camp warden) keeps tabs on Byrnes daily so a plot is aways potentially on the radar. I'm afraid that the conclusion is a little obvious and a disappointment. One thing I have trouble with is when the person in question never has a snowball's chance. This is one of those.

Hitchcock program hits a dead end!

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 24 November 2022]

There was just about only one way for this Hitchcock program to end and the twist ending did not disappoint. Only thing is, it was telegraphed much too well with old Doc's (Robert Keith) heart condition and preference for the bottle. However, a lot of shows like this very often left a loose end that couldn't be accounted for, and for this one, you have to wonder what happened to the other dead prison inmate that got crushed by the log. Which by the way, was a very dumb accident if you take a look at that scene again. It's like the guy was asking for it. The casting surprise here was that of Edd 'Kookie' Byrnes, most recently a fan favorite of the popular TV series, "77 Sunset Strip". This was one time when the coffin in which Paul Perry (Byrnes) was buried in could have used one of those strings attached to a ringer above ground so in the case of an emergency like this one, he could have been saved by the bell.

Boring

[rms125a · 5 August 2017]

Just "watched" (for lack of a better word) this incredibly boring episode with the ending you know is coming as soon as the nature of the escape plot is outlined by an elderly drunk in whom a young wannabe prison camp escapee inexplicably puts his hopes. Still, kinda heartless ending, and, as another commentator noted, "one note", which is an incredible understatement. Never thought anything by Hitchcock could be so boring.