"Alfred Hitchcock Presents"
Human Interest Story (1959)

Director:

Norman Lloyd

Writer:

Fredric Brown (story) (teleplay)

TV Series:

"Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1955)

Original Air Date:

24 May 1959 (Season 4, Episode 32)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Newspaperman Bill Everett is told by his editor to go to the bar across the street and interview a man who claims to be a Martian...

Plot Keywords:

Twist | Black Humor | Murder | Anthology | Cult TV

Cast

Alfred Hitchcock	...	Himself - Host
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
William Challee	...	Bartender
Arthur Hill	...	Howard Wilcox
Steve McQueen	...	Bill Everett
Tyler McVey	...	News Editor

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Hey, Does This Bar Serve Martians?

In 1959, Steve McQueen signed for two episodes with the series. Each is a superior entry. This one seems better suited for the Twilight Zone since it features a guy in a bar (Arthur Hill) who thinks he's a Martian-- hey, buddy, had one too many! Reporter McQueen is sent over to check the guy out for human interest material.

Considering that the time is mostly spent standing around and talking, audience involvement is kept up with a good script and effective acting. McQueen does an excellent job being a sympathetic skeptic as he listens to Hill's fanciful tale of life on Mars before his soul migrated to human form-- and keep those drinks coming since McQueen's publisher is paying for them. Good reactions from bar patrons as they catch snatches of Hill's wild story (then too, who is that bald fat guy whose caricature so prominently adorns the wall).

Ending is rather startling, and appropriate for Hitchcock. McQueen shows why he was on the verge of bigger and better things, while Hill makes an oddly convincing Martian. All in all, this is a faintly humorous and offbeat episode, one you're likely to remember, as I have even after all these years.