ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR: THE BLACK CURTAIN (TV)

Summary

One in this series of macabre dramas presided over by the "master of suspense," film director Alfred Hitchcock.

A man is mugged on a street corner late at night, only to be saved by a passing taxi driver. The taxi driver brings him into a nearby pharmacy to help the man recover. He seems disoriented and confused, claiming that he was on his way to city hall to marry his fiancée Virginia Morrison, and that his name is Phil Townshend, despite the initials on his hat reading “D.W.” He has the taxi driver bring him to Virginia’s apartment, only to find that she has moved away. He eventually finds her, but she is married and has a child now. A distraught Virginia claims that she hasn’t seen Phil for three years, and he realizes that she is right after looking at a newspaper. She claims that she conducted a thorough search for him, even spending a great deal on a private investigator, who could not find any trace of Phil. Later he and the taxi driver determine that he somehow got amnesia, and then had its effects reversed when he suffered a blow to the head from one of the muggers. They try to piece together his identity from the few clues available, including his watch, which has an engraving reading “To David, with Love: Ruth.” The taxi driver advises against going to the police, suspecting that “David” may have been in trouble with the law, and advises him to sleep in a hotel that night.

The next day, Phil goes for a walk in a park and runs into a frightened woman, possibly Ruth, who tells him he has to go into hiding. They are soon attacked by a man who opens fire on Phil; he narrowly escapes and runs out of the park. Following her advice, Phil finds what appears to be an apartment belonging to him, but has an encounter on the way with a man named Bernie, who unbeknownst to him is one of the muggers. Bernie takes a photograph of Phil and plans to use it as some form of blackmail. He also gives Phil a recent newspaper clipping detailing the murder of Janice Burke, wife of Bob Burke, a famous high-profile attorney. The article specifies that a “David Webber,” Mr. Burke’s bodyguard, is the prime suspect in Janice’s murder, leading him to wonder if he could have perpetrated the crime.

The woman Phil encountered earlier comes to visit him, confirming that she is Ruth. Phil does not remember her, owing to his memory loss, and he believes she is the key to discovering his true identity. The man who shot at Phil and Ruth searches for Phil, identifying himself as Carlin, a private investigator. Ruth fills Phil in on his time as “Dave Webber:” they met at the beginning of his three-year period as “Dave,” and that she is Mr. Burke’s niece. She informs Phil of Carlin’s identity, and Phil realizes that Carlin is the same investigator that Virginia hired, and that he is also her husband. Phil believes Carlin stole Virginia from him by not informing her that he had found him, making him furious. Ruth explains more about Phil’s time as a bodyguard for her father: she and “David” fell in love and so she persuaded her uncle to keep him on even after his services were no longer required. She notes that “David” had frequent headaches and would occasionally suffer from random blackouts. The two of them got into a quarrel after Mr. Burke remarried the much-younger Janice; Ruth feared that “David” might be having an affair with her. Janice was later found dead in “David’s” room, although she indicates that “David” was suffering from one of his blackouts at the time and thus did not kill her.

Bernie eavesdrops on their conversation and plans to somehow use Phil to earn a fortune. Phil has Ruth lure Carlin back to the apartment, and a struggle between the two ensues. Phil gains the upper hand and violently extracts the truth from Carlin. Carlin reveals that he fell in love with Virginia after she hired him, and that he concealed his knowledge of Phil’s whereabouts. Carlin was also employed by Mr. Burke to find evidence for his cases, and was also instructed by Mr. Burke to keep an eye on Janice. Eventually Carlin confesses that it was Mr. Burke who killed Janice out of jealousy, and that he helped Mr. Burke cover up the whole thing and lay the blame on “David.” Ruth goes to the police, and Phil plans to check himself into a hospital to help him restore his memories and put an end to any further mysteries surrounding his identity. Commercials deleted.

Details

NETWORK: CBS
DATE: November 15, 1962 10:00 PM
RUNNING TIME: 0:49:09
COLOR/B&W: B&W
CATALOG ID: B:05743
GENRE: Drama, mystery/suspense
SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, mystery/suspense
SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1962-1964; NBC, 1964-1965
COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

Norman Lloyd … Producer
Gordon Hessler … Associate Producer
Sydney Pollack … Director
Joel Murcott … Writer
Cornell Woolrich … Based on the story by
Lyn Murray … Music by
Alfred Hitchcock … Host
Richard Basehart … Cast, Phillip Townshend
Lola Albright … Cast, Ruth Burke
Harold J. Stone … Cast, The Taxi Driver
Gail Kobe … Cast, Virginia
James Farentino … Cast, Bernie
Neil Nephew … Cast, Chuck
Celia Lovsky … Cast, Mrs. Fisher
George Mitchell … Cast, The Druggist
Andy Romano … Cast, The P.A.L. Officer
William Sharon … Cast, The Man
Joe Trapaso … Cast, The Motorcycle Policeman
Frank Sully … Cast, The Drunk
Lee Philips … Cast, Frank Carlin