The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (TV Series) Lonely Place (1964) User Reviews

Unpleasant but strong

[darrenpearce111 · 8/10 · 12 August 2017]

Teresa Wright is best remembered for starring in Hitchcock's classic ''Shadow Of A Doubt'' and here again some twenty years later the home and family are not the safe place they seemed. The middle aged Teresa Wright in this case is a country wife immediately frightened by the deeply repugnant nature of the hired hand played by Bruce Dern (later to be directed by Hitch in ''Family Plot'').

Certainly not for squirrel lovers this is a serious and harrowing psychological episode. Not the usual depiction of a husband (played by Pat Buttram) in relation to a wife. Hitchcock's epilogue may come as unwelcome as twenty-first century sympathies may not accord with the television required moral standards of the time.

A Great Episode

[rexshard93 · 9/10 · 26 July 2007]

I liked this episode, because the performances from Teresa Wright (Stella) and Bruce Dern (Jesse) were great. The story is good.

The title itself shows what the story contains. This episode really shows how selfish and greedy a human can be. Selfishness and Greed destroys a human mind. Stella's husband Emery is a great example.

When Evil grows, Goodness collapses. That is one of the things that happened in this story.

I liked the setting, because it is different.

Like usual, Hitchcock's introduction and conclusion are also great. So I give this episode 9 out of 10.

A strange and well acted creep like episode that takes a strange twist!

[blanbrn · 9/10 · 11 April 2015]

A couple of weeks ago caught an episode on a classic rerun station of this classic series "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" from the 1960's. This episode called "Lonely Place" from 1964 from season 3 starred the great and good character actor Bern Dern. The tale is good with suspense even with a creep like feel of mystery and in the end it shocks a little with a surprise twist ending! Dern is Jesse a drifter a man who's lonely as he just lives from pillow to post one day he arrives in a valley on a farm of a couple named Stella(Teresa Wright)and Emery(Pat Buttram)and oh Jesse is looking for work he needs it even if it's only the 5 or 6 dollars a day that he's paid! Soon little by little it's seen at the dinner table that the manners of Jesse is strange and different it's clear that evil lies beneath as on the side Jesse starts to kill pets on the farm! And Jesse has an eye out for Stella the farmer wife it's like the attraction is like in a sexual psycho way! And beat it all Emery the husband is fooled and to weak and really a coward of a husband to say anything to protect his wife! Only in the end a woman scorned and she will take matters into her own hands as this farm lady deals with both guys her own way as it's a goodbye to both the husband and evil drifter! Overall good episode with suspense and it has a surprise twist ending!

A-Grade Hitch

[dougdoepke · 13 May 2015]

No wonder this entry has drawn more reviews than average. It's a suspenseful chiller that also manages to inject meaningful drama. Stella and Emery (Wright & Buttram) are hardscabble peach farmers out in the middle of nowhere. Her only relief from dawn to dusk drudgery is a pet squirrel, while he cares only about his peaches (never realizing that his wife's a "peach"). Then one day a drifter Jesse (Dern) appears, and is willing to work hard at harvesting for only $3-per day. Trouble is he's got several screws loose as Stella soon finds out. But just how loony is he, and how will things play out between the three on this isolated scrap of land.

It's an uncommonly well acted hour. Kudoes to the producers for realizing that there was more to Buttram than Gene Autry's clownish sidekick, most notably in The Jar (1964). Here his pudgy adding machine is just right. It's still early in Dern's career and he's making his chops with sinister roles like this. No telling what his leering Jesse is capable of, as Stella fears. It's also an extremely deglamorized Wright, befitting a neglected household drudge. Hard to see any of her 1940's ingénue sparkle here, and appropriately so.

Often the best Hitchcocks get us to see the sometimes gap between justice and law. That's because Hitch splits his wrap-up from the on-screen ending. That way his wrap-up can comply with TV's Standards and Practices requiring triumphant endings. On the other hand, the on-screen ending can now be unpredictable in contrast to the wrap-up, as in the shattering The Unlocked Window (1965). Happily, this same concession to reality is on display here. As Lonely Place suggests, there can be a clear tension between poetic justice and what the law requires.

All The Lonely People

[telegonus · 10/10 · 22 April 2011]

Lonely Place is an extremely well acted and directed late episode in the Hitchcock hour. The story is simple: a peach farmer hires a strange, moody itinerant to help him pick his crop and his wife is immediately suspicious of the man, who behaves weirdly toward her (but not her husband, with whom he bonds rather well), going so far as to kill her pet squirrel. The husband is only interested in the work his hired hand can do, refuses to acknowledge the man's bizarre behavior. Indeed, he doesn't appear too concerned for his wife's well being, physically or mentally. Is the husband is cahoots with the odd hobo? Or maybe the wife is making a mountain out of a molehill. This episode, which features only three characters, is expertly directed by Harvey Hart, with fine performances from Teresa Wright, as the nervous wife, Pat Buttram, as her callous husband and Bruce Dern as the tramp who appears to have a few screws loose. Life on this farm is far from idyllic. I don't know why this is but some of the best Hitchcock hours are set in country places. This is one of them. Strong stuff.

Just desserts

[joclmct · 10/10 · 28 May 2020]

Excellent episode. Theresa Wright gives a superb performance as the lonely unappreciated wife and as the husband, Pat Buttrum is not Mr. Haney. Bruce Dern is a psychopath and chews up the scenery and spits it out. Both of the men deserve what they get in the end and Hitchcock's epilogue should be discarded. It was the network's mandatory moral requirement. I'm sure Hitchcock hated doing it. I was most effected by the pet squirrel's fate. I knew it was coming, as it inhumanly always did for pets, but still, for me, it was the emotional peak of the episode. Everything spiraled downward from there. A sad frightening episode with a just finale, minus the dumb epilogue.

Trapped & Alone

[glitterrose · 10/10 · 17 December 2021]

I sit here writing this review and I must admit to thinking this before about the Alfred Hitchcock shows (Presents and Hour) and not understanding why these anthology series don't get as much love or attention as "The Twilight Zone". Both AH series had excellent episodes and this is definitely the best of the bunch.

I'm gonna admit something. I cried when I first watched this episode. Everything just went so hand in hand with each other that you could feel the "I'm trapped" vibe that Stella was experiencing. The writing, acting and musical score were just top notch and emphasized the trapped and lonely feelings Stella's going through. And the crazy thing is that this is a tv episode so we're talking about cramming a lot of material into probably a 42 minute slot. But it works. Everything works. I can't say enough positive things about Bruce Dern's insane performance of Jesse. I feel like if you're watching something with Bruce Dern that you're gonna say "That man is truly one hell of an actor."

Stella went through so many heartbreaking things in this episode. I truly believe the poor woman only had her pet squirrel to really keep her company and Jesse ended up killing her squirrel. Her husband is absolutely useless in every way possible. Stella's constantly telling her husband how she's afraid of Jesse. She wants to go to a hotel and stay until Jesse gets out of there. Her husband's only concern is his peaches. He truly doesn't care about his wife or her fears. And they are VALID fears because Jesse is off his rocker. Husband guilt trips her into staying at the house. She's finally had enough and she's trying to sneak out the window when Jesse grabs her and really goes crazy on her*.

*I do realize there probably would've been a graphic rape scene between Jesse and Stella if this episode was being made in modern times. Modern times cares more about pushing the envelope instead of telling an interesting story. So that's probably why I'm more interested in older tv series instead of current stuff.

Worst part of all is when Stella catches on to the fact that her "dear hubby" was hearing all this ruckus outside with Jesse flipping out on Stella and her husband continued to sit on his butt and do nothing. As for Stella's actions at the end...I don't blame her. And this is one time I ignore Alfred's tacked on ending about wrong doers being caught and punished. Stella wasn't the bad person imo. People might say that Stella could've left years ago. In a crazy way I think Jesse was holding a mirror up to Stella for her to examine her life. She probably had a life time of "just dealing with it" or not truly seeing how bad her married life was until the chips are down on the table and her pathetic husband lets her down in the worst way possible and she finally sees it, understands and then snaps.

This is truly a wonderful episode and I'd recommend it to anybody.

Dern, Wright, Buttram

[alydar21 · 10/10 · 28 November 2020]

No waste of words in this episode. Everything built to a climax that we nearly couldn't watch. Horror cinema at its delicate finest.

Vintage movies present Teresa Wright mostly as an innocent youngster. And it starts similarly here. Bruce Dern showing acting chops and big dingy choppers as he eats and...

Pat Buttram cannot be ignored here. Interestingly, he performs in two of my favorite episodes in this series. The other being "The Jar", which is a must watch.

But "The Jar" is fantasy, this episode could be non fiction.

My take...

[jgcarrig · 10/10 · 15 October 2018]

It's hard to say to whether Hitchcock arrived here by decision or divine intervention. This episode is so many things, all of them priceless.

Bruce Dern is the obvious gem. His performance is disturbing, and given the year, decidedly out of character for TV of that era. The most menacing of villains found in western serials at the time...his own appearances included...didn't shake our faith in humanity as much as this role. The implications of his evil intentions are far too clear and manifold.

In a time of black and white television, he displayed in full color the horrors of being the target of an intelligent and ultimately unstoppable sexual predator. At 28 years of age, Bruce Dern showed immense range and capacity, achieving a level of performance most never reach at any age.

Additionally, this episode arguably provides what me be seen as a possibility of the dust bowl era. It's not hard to imagine the Joad family in their jalopy passing by the peach orchard as they search for opportunity and safe harbor in Steinbeck's dustbowl era.

My only complaint. She should have left in the light of day.

Lonely Place is Excellent Hitchcock Hour Episode

[philip-47230 · 10/10 · 7 December 2020]

I just saw the show last night 12/6/2020. It is profound in some ways about love and marriage. Teresa Wright, Pat Butrum and Bruce Dern give outstanding performances. Surprised how good Pat Butrum is in this story. Pat is very subtle and you can see his profile face in a few scenes. Ultimately he is a pathetic man who shows little concern for his wife (Teresa Wright). During the episode Teresa opens her eyes and ears and sees her sham marriage for what it has become.

She learns that her marriage to Pat has no basis in love. He says to Bruce Dern, the farm hand, I just wanted someone who could cook. The wife overhears this comment and questions everything about her life and marriage. And she confronts her husband (Butrum) about what he said. She sees the her husband is afraid of the hired farm hand too. He agrees with everything that Bruce Dern says in the show. The storm and lighting bring more than rain to the farm. There are several confrontations and some end dangerously. A good episode from beginning to end.

The imperfect husband

[sol-kay · 6/10 · 9 March 2012]

***SPOILERS*** It wasn't until this unkempt and scuzzy looking drifter Jesse, Bruce Dern, showed up looking for work at Emery & Stella's, Pat Buttram & Teresa Wright, peach orchard that things instead of getting better got a lot worse for the childless couple.

Jesse who acted like a first class jerk in the presence of Stella had her husband Emery put up with all his abuse towards her. Even when Jesse kills Stella's pet squirrel accusing it of attacking him Emery just let the incident go and even ended up agreeing with him in that the squirrel was eating up most of the nuts in the household. Why Emery put up with Jesse's antics is that he was paying him half the price he would pay any other peach picker in the area and Jesse made no complaints about it! Jesse for his part soon realized what a gutless wimp Emery was and started to push his luck with him. That's by abusing the woman of the house Stella so brutally where she just about wanted to leave the place and stay at a local hotel until the peach picking on Jesse's part or job was finally over.

***SPOILERS*** It's later when a knife wielding Jesse came on full tilt with Stella that she finally realized what or who she was married to and worked her fingers to the bone, in cooking and cleaning up the house, for the last 12 years! A gutless piece of crap who wouldn't lift as much as a finger to protect her! Even when she was screaming for help with him faking to be fast asleep less then 10 feet from her! The happy ending to this very depressing story was spoiled by "The Master" Alfred Hitchcock himself in his epilogue telling us in the audience that Stella didn't get away with her "crime"! Which was just about the only decent justifiable as well as heart lifting thing that happened in this Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode.

Easily the Most Suspenseful Hitchock Episode

[pnolname · 10/10 · 25 March 2022]

The story is both terrifying and heart wrenching. After her pet is pointlessly killed, you can't help but empathize with Stella and seeing what her cowardly husband and psycho farm had put her through is agonizing. If this were shown in a theater, I suspect there would be spontaneous applause at the ending twist.

A great episode RUINED by Hitchcock's epilogue...once again!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 9 June 2021]

"Lonely Place" was a great episode of "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour". But, like too many episodes of this and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", it was pretty much ruined by Hitchcock's epilogue.... I'll explain more in a big.

The episode stars Teresa Wright and Pat Buttram as husband and wife farmers, Stella and Emery. One day, a scary drifter arrives looking for work. However, Jesse (Bruce Dern) is obviously a psycho and soon kills Stella's pet squirrel just for kicks. Not only this, but many times through the episode, Jesse behaves like a serial killer and Emery seems oblivious to this. He also refuses to listen to his wife when she begs him to fire Jesse. And, as a result, Jesse's behaviors become crazier and crazier as the show progresses. Near the end, he even is about to kill the couple for kicks...and it's only thanks to Stella that they aren't killed. This leads to a GREAT ending....completely ruined by Hitchcock's speech at the end.

Now let me explain. Through the course of both Hitchcock shows, whenever there was a perfect murder with no clues and often, a very sympathetic killer, Hitchcock nearly always gives a little speech at the end to say that the killers were caught and punished. This is, dramatically speaking, crap. It completely deflates the dramatic impact and leaves the viewer frustrated. And, the killing at the end of this episode IS perfect...and the killer should have gotten away with it AND you want this to be the case. Surely, the victim had it coming....which I why I felt so angry when Hitchcock gave his little speech.

I think that either the network or the sponsors were afraid not to punish a crime...even a justifiable one. It really is amazing, as movies of the day didn't follow this convention and the show WAS generally about murder!!! This is why, even with some great episodes, I often felt cheated when Hitchcock gave his little speech that essentially says "crime doesn't pay"...when in his movies this wasn't always the case!

Normally, I knock off a point or so for these moralistic endings, but here it was much worse than usual...knocking it from 9 or even 10 to 7.

Peaches of Wrath.

[rmax304823 · 5/10 · 11 May 2012]

Pat Buttram is a peach farmer and Theresa Wright is his drab and servile wife. Buttram needs help to get in the crop of ripe peaches and hires Dern at three dollars a day, when everyone else is paying six. Dern agrees readily to the deal.

But, although he obeys all of Buttram's commands, there is something definitely screwy about Bruce Dern. He makes mysterious remarks to Wright, for instance, and he kills her pet squirrel. Buttram ignores her complaints because, after all, three dollars a day is only three dollars a day.

Things come to a head when Buttram pretends to be asleep while Dern is about to kill his screaming wife. (Those three dollars.) Wright manages to wrest the knife from Dern and he takes off in a stolen truck. Buttram reveals that he only pretended to be asleep, that Wright never meant anything more to him than a cook and housekeeper.

I found the story a little flat and depressing. It seemed as if it might have made a good half-hour program but had been stretched out to fill the time slot. The elliptical and ominous exchanges between Dern and Wright could easily have been cut to half their length and number.

It's a downer to see the winsome Wright in middle age and without noticeable make up but she handles the part well enough. Buttram was generally unconvincing. Dern is a hoax of a different color. There are several types of maniacs in film and he's got the giggling, cackling, knife-wielding kind down pretty pat. When he smiles, the gleam of all those big teeth light up the room. But there's nothing subtle about his interpretation. We know from the moment he's alone with Wright that he's got a screw loose. I'm not certain it would have been much of an improvement but had he played the twitchy, unpredictable madman, something like Tony Perkins in "Psycho," it might have been more interesting.

It really did need some additional voltage. How about this? Buttram and Dern find that they make a splendid complementary couple. They fall in love and get married after they dispose of Theresa Wright and use her body for fertilizer in the peach orchard. Dern does all the cooking and house cleaning and gets into a snit when he realizes he's only taken Wright's place and that Buttram really cares nothing for him. The story ends on a climactic note with Buttram and Dern screaming and throwing focaccia at one another.

It's not a failure but neither is it a taut and suspenseful story.

One of the best of the series

[searchanddestroy-1 · 20 August 2015]

I admit that this episode is absolutely not a crime nor a terror story. But it is far better than the previous tale in the series. This story is a pure drama carried by terrific performances and a tension that never falls all long the episode. Bruce Dern's character is outstanding as an evil one. I won't add much to what have already said the other users. But I literally loved the ending. And don't miss the Alfred Hitchcock's wrap-up ending, after the story seemingly ends. You expect (SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER)the poor wife getting away with her crime and the evil drifter be arrested and accused of a crime for which he was not guilty of, but which he would deserve to be accused of anyway. And the poor wife, according to AH, is finally arrested BUT that means that the evil one gets eventually away... I have rarely seen such a bitter ending, whilst being in a sort of moral line. After all, the true murderess is arrested, but the true evil of the story, the disgusting guy gets away... Bitter isn't it? I also loved the detail in which Teresa Wright tells the sheriff that she took the knife off her husband's corpse, to anticipate her fingerprints on the knife, for the investigation...She told him she did this in a careless moment...And despite of that...

Anything featuring Bruce Dern...

[brabryant · 10/10 · 6 December 2020]

Has got to be good!!! One of the very best character actors, and a Hitchcock favorite, for good reason! Dern was lead character in Alfred Hitchcock's final film, "Family Plot", and as usual, Bruce Dern played his role perfectly.

Ignore Hitchcock and the Network

[Hitchcoc · 10/10 · 10 May 2023]

Once again Hitchcock cottoned to the network censors and threw in his crime doesn't pay crap. If you want to enjoy all these Hitchcock tales, don't bother watching him; get right to the play itself. This one is really good. It involves a long suffering woman and her fat, insensitive husband. She does everything for him and all he can do is blame and complain. Enter Bruce Dern, about as nutty as anything he has ever done. He is psychotic. I know we throw that term around a lot, but this is really a fact. He taunts and threatens the poor woman. He kills a pet of hers without provocation. He makes sexual advances and has a hunting knife he shows around. Pat Buttram, the old Western sidekick is the husband. Both men do a great job portraying the scum of the earth.

Delicate, Beauty Teresa Wright + Usually Comic Relief Pat Buttram + Perennial Psycho Bruce Dern = Super Shocker and HITCHCOCK TV at its Best!

[redryan64 · 10/10 · 15 October 2007]

In a relaxed, informal interview session on THE TONIGHT SHOW,With Johnny Carson, Jackie Gleason admitted publicly how he absolutely loved acting. In a further introspection of "The Great One", Mr. Carson asked about doing Comedy vs. doing Drama.

Without as much as even a tiny little pause, Jackie stated that, "You have a lot of Comedians who became great Dramatic Actors; but you never see a Dramatic Actor turning to Comedy and doing it well!* "This "ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR"Episode, Lonely Place, is a good example of just what Mr. Herbert John Gleason meant.

In the proverbial nutshell, the story has three characters hold up in a Farm House, a bad storm coming their way. We have the Farmer, Emery (Pat Buttram), the Farmer' Wife, Stella (Teresa Wright) and Itinerant Farm Hand, Jesse (Bruce Dern). Mr. Dern is cast in usual sickie psycho role, but Pat a fine and well known comic relief/stand up comedian has an unusual dramatic part.

Bulletins on the Radio keep them informed of any changes in the immediate weather picture. All the while they are awaiting any good news, Jesse talks and behaves in such a manner as to make Stella frightened and apprehensive about having him around. Emery continually assures her that there is nothing to fear and that he can surely protect his own wife from any harm. This line of talk continues, even when Jesse kills Stella's dog with his pocket knife. The Farmer states that "Jesse said the Dog attacked him." , dismissing the whole incident.

In the finale, Jesse makes hideous, torturous remarks threatening the wife, while Emery lies sleeping in an Easy Chair, Radio playing. A bulletin on the Radio warns of an impending Hail Storm coming their way and Jese continues to torture the wife; when she gets him by surprise, and he flees the Farm, leaving his knife there.

After that time, with the two married Farm Folk left there all by themselves, The Husband (Buttram) "awakens", stating that he had better get out to cultivate his alfalfa crop** before the Hail Storm hits! The bulletin having been given out on the Radio Bulletin while the Farmer supposedly slept, she becomes shocked and disgusted by her husband's dishonesty and cowardice in leaving her in harm's way, she stabs him with Jesse's Knife. Upon telephoning the Police, she puts the killing on Jesse and states that she did handle the knife herself! Under the circumstances, we applaud her and hope that she will get away with it. The Husband was no damn good and Jesse is Human excrement and we all would be better off without him and his kind .

So once again, we have here a good example of a comedian doing a yeoman's job in th realm of Drama. Pat Buttram, long time stand-up comedian (even before we called them 'Stand-Up' guys!), character comedian and long time comic relief for Gene Autry, proved the point once again.

You should make this a 'Must See', if you never had before. You might even consider a purchase of a "TWILIGHT ZONE" DVD's. Just stop, watch and listen.

We aren't saying that Mr. Buttram, was a Lawrence Olivier, but neither was Sir Lawrence any 'Rodney Dangerfield'.

NOTE: * On another occasion, the interviewer asked Jackie what he would do he weren't an Actor. Without any hesitation he replied, "Then I'd shine Actors' shoes!"

NOTE: ** This story touches on many psychological and philosophic points. It makes the right vs. wrong in the choices that we make less and less clear; and forgives some otherwise totally unacceptable behaviour, depending on circumstances, of course.

ITS TOUGH TO GET GOOD HELP THESE DAYS?

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 7 July 2023]

Harvey Hart, who went on to direct PEYTON PLACE, headed this intriguing episode, which is basically a three actor play. And what a story. Tight-fisted farmer Pat Buttram and has wife (played by Teresa Wright) need a hired hand -- fast and cheap. In walks the atypical Hitchcock "man with a problem," memorably played by young Bruce Dern. He accepts the $3 dollars a day job. Both get what they deserve. Only Dern, even at an early age, could have handled this role as he had the talent right off the bat. Dern would next play the "victim" in the cult Bette Davis film HUSH, HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE.

This is as much an exercise in suspense as it is a character study, particularly Buttram (as Emery), who is strictly business, and as long as Dern gets the job done and his frightened wife keeps quiet its all in a days work. Right? And, after all, there are people like this who somehow make it through the day... but this is Hitchcock.

Wright (fondly remembered for Hitchcock's SHADOW OF A DOUBT), is a bit older here, but just as convincing as a woman scared out of her wits, and what to do about it? There is more to this outstanding story, so let's leave it at that. Let's just say that the conclusion is well worth the price of admission. Wright at the time was doing work on Broadway, but had time for some tv roles and chose wisely with this. She would return to the wide screen in the late 60s.

Pat Buttram, long a western side-kick, of course would go onto tv fame as the cheap, hilariously crooked Mr. Haney on GREEN ACRES, and to tell you the truth, this part may have been instrumental in his securing the role the following year.

One thing though, some reviewers seem to be insulted by Hitch's comments between scenes and at the close. Remember, it's just a tv show, and if you made as many iconic movies as he did, you are most welcome to do as you please! It is always an honor to laugh at the learned gentleman, and he loved the attention. Should you ever have a chance to take the Universal City tour, Alfred Hitchcock is so fondly remembered, who actually was their best PR man when the attraction began in the mid 60s. There is a fun short film narrated by Hitch announcing the tour package also, and you probably could find it on YOUTUBE.

Sit back and enjoy the insanity. SEASON 3 EPISODE 6 CBS restored dvd box set.

"It takes a woman though, to let out a real scream."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 1 January 2023]

You couldn't ask for a scarier looking actor than Bruce Dern for the role he played here as aimless drifter Jesse, who was even creepier when he smiled that ruthless smile and displayed his evil grin. I knew he was going to kill Stella's (Teresa Wright) pet squirrel just as soon as he became aware of it, knowing it would intimidate the poor woman, while her husband Emery feigned justification, agreeing with Jesse that the animal attacked him. This was an out of character role for Pat Buttram, who usually played the amiable sidekick in dozens of Western movies and TV programs, so it was appalling to see the way he treated his wife in the story. Dern's character turns up the heat in the latter part of the episode as he terrorizes Stella with his ubiquitous knife, virtually challenging Emery to come out and defend her, which as we regretfully find out, he never intended to do out of fear for his own life. I can't defend Stella for using the discarded knife on her own husband, but it was one of those endings that I think most viewers of the time probably appreciated for the crime of passion it was. Until Hitchcock spoiled it in his epilog, which was a matter of course for any show that ended with a murder or some other tragedy. But the cruelest stroke of all was that Jesse got away scot-free!