The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (TV Series) A Piece of the Action (1962) User Reviews

"A Piece of the Action" (1962) features a young Robert Redford

[chuck-reilly · 9/10 · 27 July 2009]

Before he became a household name, Robert Redford paid his dues with a lengthy television career and had some memorable performances. "A Piece of the Action" with Gig Young was one of them. Young plays Duke Marsden, a successful businessman with one bad habit: he's an addictive gambler. Like his father, Duke, can't pull himself away from a card game or a wager and his family life begins to suffer for it. His wife Alice, played by attractive Martha Hyer, is beginning to get fed up with him, but she hangs on to the hope that Duke will change. That scenario isn't "in the cards" because (like trying to give up cigarettes) Duke has "quit" many times, but always seems to go back. Enter his younger brother Chuck (Redford) who's straight out of college. He's already an addictive gambler himself and has spent more time with bookies and card-sharks than he ever did in a classroom. Duke's "do what I say and not what I do" advice falls on deaf ears as his brother continues the "family tradition" and gets himself involved with the wrong crowd with tragic results.

Directed by Hitchcock veteran Bernard Girard, "A Piece of the Action" is well-written (by Oliver Garrett and Alfred Hayes) and the acting is first-rate, particularly by its stars Young and Redford. Although there's really no "family resemblance," the two have a lot of chemistry between them and they're highly convincing as brothers. Gene Evans plays the heavy and is effective as a henchman/gambler who collects his earnings the old-fashioned way (i.e. at the point of a gun). Martha Hyer provides nice support as Young's put-upon wife who's running out of patience.

That fish you've sent us Dukie Boy is beginning to stink!

[sol1218 · 7/10 · 1 November 2011]

***SPOILERS*** it's when Duke Marsden's, Gig Young, kid brother Chuck, Robert Redford, showed up after finishing law school that he finally felt that the curse of the Marsden family was about to be broken. It was both Duke and Chuck's father, who being a sick and degenerate gambler, who ended up going broke and killing or drinking himself to death leaving the two brothers and their mom out in the cold,during the Great Depression, without a safety net.

Duke even though a successful investment counselor was also stung by the gambling bug but has now made up his mind to stop gambling when his long suffering wife Alice, Martha Hyer,threaten to leave him if he doesn't! It soon came as a shock to Duke in that his kid brother Chuck was just as sick and degenerate a gambler as him and his old man who behind Duke's back has also getting into gambling and has been extremely successfully at it!

Trying to teach Chuck a lesson and get him to stop gambling Duke arranges a game of poker with a number of top gamblers in town hoping that, in getting beating and beaten badly,in the end it would cure him of his gambling addiction. Duke could have never been more wrong in his life!

Instead of losing his shirt Chuck ends up almost wiping out the entire group of gamblers of their cash that in desperation,to keep Chuck from getting killed, Duke himself rushes over to the gambling table leaving his wife Alice, whom he promised he would quit gambling, alone in the house. With just Duke and Chuck going head to head, by then everyone else folded, in the what turned out to be the card game to end all card games the odds and winning hands started to slowly turn against him. It become evident that Chuck despite his inexperience is going to clobber his big brother who only wants to win the money back that Chuck had won,fair and square, from his fellow gamblers and give it back to them in order to prevent Chuck from getting murdered.

***SPOILERS**** Seeing that theirs no way that he could beat Chuck, who seems to have all the luck in the world, Duke resorts to trickery by sneaking in a marked deck of cards to finally put and end to Chuck's almost unbelievable winning streak. Wiped out by big brother Duke of his own as well as all the money that he won, which must have been well over $200,000.00, Chuck had finally leaned his lesson and quit the gambling racket for good. In the end it was Duke who had to pay the piper or the gamblers for his brother Chucks sins. Not that it's a sin to win in playing cards like Chuck did, which the sour loser gamblers were more then willing to murder him for, but even far worse in cheating at the card table. Something that Duke did in saving Chuck's life at the cost of his own! And even in Duke giving back all his winnings to the beaten gamblers still wasn't enough to prevent that from happening.

"All gamblers die broke."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 1 August 2022]

All of Robert Redford's early work was done in television series like this one; he also appeared in Hitchcock's half hour program prior to this appearance. He doesn't show up in the story until about halfway through as the younger brother of Gig Young's character, John 'Duke' Marsden. Duke is an investment counselor with a penchant for high stakes gambling, in fact, it appears that he runs a local betting club where the members win and lose against each other, though Duke's expertise allows him to stay ahead of the pack. Hot-headed Ed Krutcher (Gene Evans) is down a considerable sum to Duke and demands a chance to win some of his losses back, while Duke makes a half-hearted effort to quit lest he lose his wife (Martha Hyer), who's fed up with his being away from home days at a time. When Chuck Marsden (Redford) shows up fresh from graduating law school, his interest isn't so much in pursuing a legal career, but like Duke, figures the easier path to riches lies at the poker table. In an attempt to dissuade Chuck from going in that direction, Duke sets his brother up as a patsy for Ed Krutcher, but when he and his fellow gamblers start losing to Chuck big time, a call goes out to Duke in the middle of the night to help bail out the losers. Relying on a marked deck to clean out his younger brother, Duke sends up a big red flag to Krutcher and his associates as to how Duke might have come up a winner against them in the past. The finale is pretty well telegraphed and isn't much of a twist in this very first entry in the new and longer Hitchcock program, but Redford fans ought to be pleased with this early look at the future A-list celebrity.

Poker Isn't A Game

[dougdoepke · 7 November 2015]

A professional poker player in a tough crowd tries to discourage his younger brother from taking up the pursuit. At the same time, his wife threatens to leave if he doesn't quit.

Rather spotty episode. Suspense doesn't really kick in until the showdown poker game that ends on an unforeseeable note of Hitchcock irony. Where the story's going isn't indicated by the first half hour, so it's up to the strong cast to carry interest. Also it looks like there's some padding in this first part with Duke (Young) and wife Alice (Hyer) trying to get along, though the pool scene remains a novelty. I expect the chief interest now is a young Robert Redford just starting out in the business. And who at the time could have predicted he would expand and prosper for 50-years in such a cutthroat industry. Anyway, it must have been a cheap episode to produce since the action's basically indoors except for the pool scene. The cast also features an underrated Gene Evans, whose poker-playing Ed proves nobody to mess with. Overall, what the 60-minutes lacks in general suspense is made up for in good character interest and a worthwhile payoff.

THE ODDS ARE ALWAYS WITH HITCH

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 18 April 2023]

Outstanding episode in the debut of the one hour version of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS. The series expanded to an hour in the fall of 1962, probably due to the fact that the half hour stories were so intriguing, so why not double the fun? This one has its moments, and chalk it up to an excellent cast. Versatile Gig Young literally sweats its out as a compulsive gambler who has a younger brother (played by Robert Redford), ready to fill his shoes. Lovely Martha Hyer plays Young's wife, who threatens to walk if he doesn't give it all up. What a mess this guy is in and, of course, it snowballs out of control in typical Hitchcock fashion. The real star of the show is the trippy music score, a trumpet hitting quirky high notes to raise the tension. There's also a "classic" poker game (a must see) as Young and his old buds play one for the road. Burly Gene Evans is also on hand as one of the bug eyed players. Recommended late night stuff.

A sacrifice for little brother!

[blanbrn · 8/10 · 24 October 2023]

This the first ever episode of "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" called "A Piece of the Action" which first aired on 9-20-62 was a memorable one and it was one of Robert Redford's earliest appearances and works. You have a wealthy man named Duke(Gig Young) who's an investment adviser and he has a trophy wife and on the side he has the vice of being a gambler. And for sure he brushes shoulders with a rough and not so trusting crowd, so he's had enough and wants to vacation and spend more time with the wife only when his little brother Chuck(Redford) visits his life of being a young hot lawyer is found to be no more, it's like he's following the path of Duke. So things twist and change when Chuck gets in over his head and Duke is to the rescue only to have it in debt for all, it's like he bailed his brother out and payed a fine! Overall good memorable and well done and written episode that entertained.

This one never really captured my interest very much.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 25 April 2021]

"A Piece of the Action" is the first hour-long episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents"....which was renamed "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" starting with this show and running for the next three seasons.

Duke (Gig Young) is a compulsive poker player. It's gotten so bad that his lovely wife (Martha Hyer) is ready to leave him. In desperation, he promises to stop gambling....though you can't help but think it's just an empty promise. This is especially tough for Duke because a guy who just lost big to him, Ed (Gene Evans), isn't about to just let him go. At about this same time, Duke's brother (Robert Redford) arrives in town to see him...and it seems the brother also has a gambling problem. Duke doesn't like to see his brother is a gambler...though it's hardly like he has any reason to look down on the guy! So, he decides to help out Ed and teach his brother a lesson...though it ends up backfiring and now Ed is angrier than ever.

Apart from being an interesting character study, there isn't a lot of suspense here and the twist is pretty limp. Additionally, the episode really could have been done quite well in an hour...trimming a few unnecessary story elements (such as Raymond Bailey's portion at the beginning). Watchable and well made but disappointing as it seemed to lack what you'd expect from this series.

A Rather Ordinary Offering

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 3 May 2023]

Gig Young is a professional gambler, although people assume he is in real estate investment (maybe it's both). He has a beautiful wife who comes from prime stock and she is getting tired of his not being home. He plays cards with some really dangerous guys and usually wins. Enter his brother, played by a very young Robert Redford. He wants in on the gambling world but doesn't know about his brother. It is a fifth anniversary and it is decided that the gambling will cease and he will spend time with his wife, but sonny boy works his way into a game. It's a harsh ending where a man tries to do what's right and pays for it.

Good Episode!

[skarylarry-93400 · 7/10 · 26 September 2021]

I am surprised how Robert Redford ends many sentences with the wrong tones. This director stinks! He should have corrected this; what is a director for? Redford not very good either!