View source for Alfred Hitchcock Presents

{{Short description|American anthology television series}}
{{for|the revival|Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985 TV series){{!}}''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' (1985 TV series)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox television
| alt_name             = ''The Alfred Hitchcock Hour'' (1962–1965)
| image                = Alfred-Hitchcock-Presents-Title.jpg
| caption              = Title card
| genre                = [[Anthology series|Anthology]], [[Mystery fiction|Mystery]], [[thriller (genre)|Thriller]], [[horror (genre)|Horror]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/alfred-hitchcock-presents-v184518|publisher=[[AllMovie]]|title=Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955)|accessdate=December 22, 2022|last=Erickson|first=Hal|author-link=Hal Erickson (author)}}</ref><ref name="rs" />
| creator              = [[Alfred Hitchcock]]
| presenter            = Alfred Hitchcock
| theme_music_composer = [[Charles Gounod]]
| opentheme            = "[[Funeral March of a Marionette]]" by Charles Gounod
| composer             = [[Stanley Wilson (musician)|Stanley Wilson]] (music supervisor)
| country              = United States
| language             = English
| num_seasons          = 10
| num_episodes         = {{Plainlist|
*  268 (''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'')
* 93 (''The Alfred Hitchcock Hour'')
* 361 (total)
}}
| list_episodes        = List of Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes
| executive_producer   = [[Alfred Hitchcock]]
| producer             = {{Plainlist|
*  [[Joan Harrison (screenwriter)|Joan Harrison]]
* [[Norman Lloyd]]
}}
| editor               = Edward W. Williams
| company              = {{Plainlist|
*  [[Revue Studios]]
* (1955–63)
* [[Universal Television]]
* (1963–65)
* Shamley Productions
}}
| camera               = [[Single-camera]]
| runtime              = {{Plainlist|
*  25–26 minutes (Seasons 1–7)
* 50 minutes (Seasons 8–10)
}}
| network              = {{Plainlist|
*  [[CBS]]
* (1955–60; 1962–64)
* [[NBC]]
* (1960–62; 1964–65)
}}
| first_aired          = {{Start date|1955|10|02}}
| last_aired           = {{End date|1965|05|10}}
| related              = ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985 TV series)|Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' (1985)
}}

'''''Alfred Hitchcock Presents''''' <!--do not replace with "was"-->is<!--per [[WP:MOSTV]] and [[MOS:TENSE]] --> an American television [[anthology series]] created, hosted and produced by [[Alfred Hitchcock]], airing on [[CBS]] and [[NBC]], alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965, it was renamed '''''The Alfred Hitchcock Hour'''''. Hitchcock directed only 17 episodes during its run.

By the time the show premiered on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades. In the 21st century, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine named ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' as one of "The 100 Best TV Shows of All Time".<ref>{{cite magazine| url =http://entertainment.time.com/2007/09/06/the-100-best-tv-shows-of-all-time/slide/alfred-hitchcock-presents/ | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20111022125548/http://entertainment.time.com/2007/09/06/the-100-best-tv-shows-of-all-time/slide/alfred-hitchcock-presents/ | url-status =dead | archive-date =October 22, 2011 | title = All-Time 100 TV Shows | first=James|last=Poniewozik|date=September 6, 2007|magazine= [[Time (magazine)|Time]] | access-date= December 23, 2012}}</ref> The [[Writers Guild of America, West|Writers Guild of America]] ranked it #79 on their list of the 101 Best-Written TV Series, tying it with ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'', ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' and ''[[Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series)|Upstairs, Downstairs]]''.<ref>[http://www.wga.org/content/default.aspx?id=4925 101 Best Written TV Series List] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110083226/http://www.wga.org/content/default.aspx?id=4925 |date=January 10, 2014 }}, Writers Guild of America, West website. Accessed February 16, 2015.</ref> In 2021, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ranked it 18th on its list of 30 Best Horror TV Shows of All Time.<ref name="rs">{{cite magazine|title=30 Best Horror TV Shows of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-lists/best-horror-tv-shows-of-all-time-164169/alfred-hitchcock-presents-1955-1962-165560/|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=12 June 2021}}</ref>

==History==
''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is well known for its [[title sequence]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Alfred Hitchcock Presents theme: Charles Gounod|url=http://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/periods-genres/film-tv/alfred-hitchcock-presents-theme/|website=Classic FM Digital Radio 100-102FM|access-date=November 21, 2017}}</ref> The camera fades in on a simple line-drawing caricature of Hitchcock's rotund profile (which Hitchcock drew), to the theme music of [[Charles Gounod]]'s "[[Funeral March of a Marionette]]" (suggested by Hitchcock's long-time musical collaborator [[Bernard Herrmann]]).<ref>[[Norman Lloyd]] in a radio interview on KUSC's "The Evening Program with Jim Svejda", June 22, 2012.</ref> Hitchcock appears in silhouette from the right edge of the screen, and then walks to center screen to eclipse the caricature. The caricature drawing and Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette" have become indelibly associated with Hitchcock in popular culture.<ref>{{cite book|title=Funeral March Of A Marionette (Alfred Hitchcock Theme)|date=March 26, 2011|publisher=JamesGilbertMusic.com|url=https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/funeral-march-of-a-marionette-james-gilbert/1101744651?type=eBook|language=en|access-date=November 22, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Huizenga|first1=Tom|title=Marches Madness: Puppets And A Funeral|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2013/03/04/173457955/funeral-march-of-a-marionette-puppet-music-promoted-by-hitchcock|website=NPRMusic|date=March 5, 2013 |publisher=NPR|access-date=November 22, 2017}}</ref><ref name="Muir">{{cite book|last1=Muir|first1=John Kenneth|title=Terror Television: American Series, 1970–1999|date=2013|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9781476604169|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yxpDUAFrwfwC&q=alfred+hitchcock+presents++popularity+in+syndication&pg=PT226|language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Alfred Hitchcock Presents.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Alfred Hitchcock]] introduces each episode]]
After the title sequence, Hitchcock almost always greets his audience with, "Good evening," before drolly introducing the story from an empty studio or from the set of the current episode; his usually comical monologues were written by [[James B. Allardice]].
<ref>Humphrey, Hal (May 4, 1965). [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56974565 "As Hitch Goes, So Goes a Ghost"], ''Los Angeles Times''. Retrieved August 8, 2020.</ref><ref>Moral, Tony Lee (2013). [https://books.google.com/books?id=2WFCQednbTMC&pg=PA137 ''Hitchcock and the Making of Marnie'']. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. p.&nbsp;137; {{ISBN|9780810891074 }}</ref> At least two versions of the opening were shot for every episode.{{specify|date=October 2025}}  A version intended for the American audience would often spoof a recent popular commercial or poke fun at the sponsor, leading into the commercial.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Henderson|first1=Odie|title=And Now a Word from Our Sponsor: Alfred Hitchcock Presents|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/house/article/and-now-a-word-from-our-sponsor-alfred-hitchcock-presents|website=Slant Magazine.com|date=August 10, 2006 |access-date=November 21, 2017}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=February 2025}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Alfred Hitchcock Presents|url=https://tv.xfinity.com/entity/6231083507338548112/info|website=xfinitystream|access-date=November 21, 2017}}</ref> {{Verify source|date=February 2025}}

Hitchcock closed the show in much the same way as it opened, but mainly to tie up loose ends rather than joke.<ref name=Schwartz>{{cite web|last1=Schwartz|first1=Shelly|title=A Closer Look at the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/alfred-hitchcock-1779814|website=ThoughtCo|access-date=November 22, 2017}}</ref> Frequently, a leading character in the story would have seemingly gotten away with a criminal activity. In the postscript, Hitchcock would briefly detail, usually unconvincingly, how fate (or the authorities) eventually brought the character to justice. Hitchcock told ''[[TV Guide]]'' that his reassurances that the criminal had been apprehended were "a necessary gesture to morality."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Allen|first1=Richard|last2=Ishii-Gonzales|first2=Sam|title=Hitchcock: Past and Future|date=2004|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=9781134477234|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zSSDAgAAQBAJ&q=the+criminal+had+been+apprehended+were+%22a+necessary+gesture+to+morality.%22&pg=PA33|access-date=November 21, 2017|language=en}}</ref>

''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' finished at number 6 in the [[Nielsen ratings]] for the 1956–57 season, number 12 in 1957–58, number 24 in 1958–59, and number 25 in 1959–60.<ref>[https://classictvguide.com/tvratings/  "TV Ratings: Top 30 Shows for each year, from 1950 to 2000!"], Classic TV Hits. Accessed February 16, 2015.</ref> The series was originally 25 minutes per episode, but it was expanded to 50 minutes in 1962 and retitled ''The Alfred Hitchcock Hour''. Hitchcock directed 17 of the 267 filmed episodes of ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' — four during the first season and one or two per season thereafter. He directed only the fourth of the 93 50-minute episodes, entitled "I Saw the Whole Thing" with [[John Forsythe]].<ref>[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents#Directors]]</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0394051/|title=I Saw the Whole Thing|date=October 11, 1962|access-date=March 15, 2018|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref> The last new episode aired on June 26, 1965, but the series has continued to be popular in [[television syndication]] for decades,<ref>{{cite web|title=8 reasons why 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' might be the greatest TV show ever|url=http://www.metv.com/lists/8-reasons-why-alfred-hitchcock-presents-might-be-the-greatest-tv-show-ever|website=Me-TV Network|access-date=November 22, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Sickels|first1=Robert C.|title=100 Entertainers Who Changed America: An Encyclopedia of Pop Culture Luminaries [2 volumes]: An Encyclopedia of Pop Culture Luminaries|date=2013|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781598848311|pages=264|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kXCjAQAAQBAJ&q=alfred+hitchcock+presents++popularity+in+syndication&pg=PA264|access-date=November 22, 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Muir"/><ref>{{cite web|last1=Roysdon|first1=Keith|title=Hitchcock Presents: A Brief History of The Weird, Wild Hitchcock Shows that Once Dominated TV|url=https://crimereads.com/hitchcock-presents-a-brief-history/|website=Crime Reads|date=24 March 2021}}</ref> including in the UK, where it is currently being shown on [[Sky Arts]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tv24.co.uk/b/rf2lu0-j87|website=TV24|access-date=October 24, 2024 |title=Alfred Hitchcock Presents, 5:30pm on Sky Arts }}</ref>

==Guest stars and other actors==
Actors appearing in the most episodes include [[Patricia Hitchcock]] (Hitchcock's daughter), [[Dick York]], [[Robert Horton (actor)|Robert Horton]], [[James Gleason]], [[John Williams (actor)|John Williams]], [[Robert H. Harris]], [[Russell Collins]], [[Barbara Baxley]], [[Ray Teal]], [[Percy Helton]], [[Phyllis Thaxter]], [[Carmen Mathews]], [[Mildred Dunnock]], [[Alan Napier]], [[Robert Vaughn]] and [[Vincent Price]]. Such notables as [[Clint Eastwood]],<ref>[https://www.decades.com/lists/8-reasons-why-alfred-hitchcock-presents-might-be-the-greatest-tv-show-ever 8 reasons why 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' might be the greatest TV show ever] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224012326/https://www.decades.com/lists/8-reasons-why-alfred-hitchcock-presents-might-be-the-greatest-tv-show-ever |date=December 24, 2020 }} Decades. May 2, 2017</ref> [[Peter Lawford]], [[Robert Redford]], [[Inger Stevens]], [[Cedric Hardwicke]],  [[Steve McQueen]], [[Audrey Meadows]], [[Bruce Dern]], [[Robert Duvall]], [[Walter Matthau]], [[Robert Loggia]], [[George Segal]], [[Laurence Harvey]], [[Claude Rains]], [[Joan Fontaine]], [[Thelma Ritter]], [[Dennis Morgan]], [[Joseph Cotten]], [[Burt Reynolds]], [[Vera Miles]], [[Tom Ewell]], [[Peter Lorre]], [[Bette Davis]], [[Dean Stockwell]], [[Jessica Tandy]], [[John Gavin]], [[Charles Bronson]], [[Michael Rennie]], [[Phyllis Thaxter]], [[Roger Moore]], [[John Cassavetes]], [[Peter Falk]], [[Teresa Wright]], [[Leslie Nielsen]], [[Ricardo Montalbán]], [[Harry Dean Stanton]], [[John Forsythe]], [[Cloris Leachman]] and [[Barbara Bel Geddes]], among many others, appeared on the series.

==Directors==
The directors who helmed the most episodes included [[Robert Stevens (director)|Robert Stevens]] (44 episodes),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Robert_Stevens|title=Robert Stevens|website=Alfred Hitchcock Wiki|access-date=April 2, 2018}}</ref> [[Paul Henreid]] (28 episodes),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Paul_Henreid|title=Paul Henreid|website=Alfred Hitchcock Wiki|access-date=April 2, 2018}}</ref> [[Herschel Daugherty]] (24 episodes),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Herschel_Daugherty|title=Herschel Daugherty|website=Alfred Hitchcock Wiki|access-date=April 2, 2018}}</ref> [[Norman Lloyd]] (19 episodes),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Norman_Lloyd|title=Norman Lloyd|website=Alfred Hitchcock Wiki|access-date=April 2, 2018}}</ref> [[Alfred Hitchcock]] (17 episodes),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Alfred_Hitchcock|title=Alfred Hitchcock|website=Alfred Hitchcock Wiki|access-date=April 2, 2018}}</ref> [[Arthur Hiller]] (17 episodes),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Arthur_Hiller|title=Arthur Hiller|website=Alfred Hitchcock Wiki|access-date=April 2, 2018}}</ref> [[James Neilson (director)|James Neilson]] (12 episodes),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/James_Neilson|title=James Neilson|website=Alfred Hitchcock Wiki|access-date=April 2, 2018}}</ref> Justus Addiss (10 episodes),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Jus_Addiss|title=Jus Addiss|website=Alfred Hitchcock Wiki|access-date=April 2, 2018}}</ref> and [[John Brahm]] (10 episodes).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/John_Brahm|title=John Brahm|website=Alfred Hitchcock Wiki|access-date=April 2, 2018}}</ref> Other notable directors included [[Robert Altman]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Robert_Altman|title=Robert Altman|website=Alfred Hitchcock Wiki|access-date=April 2, 2018}}</ref> [[Ida Lupino]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Ida_Lupino|title=Ida Lupino|website=Alfred Hitchcock Wiki|access-date=April 2, 2018}}</ref> [[Stuart Rosenberg]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Stuart_Rosenberg|title=Stuart Rosenberg|website=Alfred Hitchcock Wiki|access-date=April 2, 2018}}</ref> [[Robert Stevenson (director)|Robert Stevenson]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Robert_Stevenson|title=Robert Stevenson|website=Alfred Hitchcock Wiki|access-date=April 2, 2018}}</ref> [[David Swift (director)|David Swift]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/David_Swift|title=David Swift|website=Alfred Hitchcock Wiki|access-date=April 2, 2018}}</ref> and [[William Friedkin]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/William_Friedkin|title=William Friedkin|website=Alfred Hitchcock Wiki|access-date=April 2, 2018}}</ref> who directed the last episode of the show.

==Broadcast history==
{{main|List of Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes}}
{{:List of Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes}}
The broadcast history was as follows:<ref name="Brooks and Marsh">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8KztFy6QYwC&dq=%22Alfred+Hitchcock+Presents+Suspense+Anthology%22&pg=PA29 |first1=Tim |last1=Brooks |author-link1=Tim Brooks (historian) |first2=Earle |last2=Marsh |year=2007 |edition=9 |title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present |page=29 |publisher=[[Ballantine Books]] |location=New York |isbn=978-0-345-49773-4 |access-date=2024-07-10 }}</ref>
* Sunday at 9:30–10 p.m. on CBS: October 2, 1955 – September 1960
* Tuesday at 8:30–9 p.m. on NBC: September 1960 – September 1962
* Thursday at 10–11 p.m. on CBS: September 1962 – December 1962
* Friday at 9:30–10:30&nbsp;p.m.on CBS: January 1963 – September 1963
* Friday at 10–11 p.m. on CBS: September 1963 – September 1964
* Monday at 10–11 p.m. on NBC: October 1964 – September 1965

==Episodes==
<!-- do not rename section without fixed section reference in lists -->
{{multiple image
<!-- Essential parameters -->
| align     = right
| direction = vertical
| width     = 170
| header    = Actors and actresses in episodes of the series
<!-- Image 1 -->
 | image1            = Bette Davis Alfred Hitchcock Presents 1959.jpg
 | width1            = 170
 | caption1          = James Congdon and [[Bette Davis]] in "Out There – Darkness" (1959)
<!-- Image 2 -->
 | image2            = Steve McQueen Neile Adams 1960.JPG
 | width2            = 170
 | caption2          = [[Steve McQueen]] and wife [[Neile Adams]] in "Man from the South" (1960)
<!-- Image 3 -->
 | image3            = Pina Pellicer and Larry Domasin in The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1964) (cropped).jpg
 | width3            = 170
 | caption3          = [[Pina Pellicer]] and Larry Domasin in "The Life Work of Juan Diaz" (1964)
}}
''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'', 25 minutes long, aired weekly at 9:30 on CBS on Sunday nights from 1955 to 1960, and then at 8:30 on NBC on Tuesday nights from 1960 to 1962.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.broadcastpioneers.com/hitchcock.html|title=Alfred Hitchcock & Ed Harvey|website=The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia|access-date=April 2, 2018}}</ref> It was followed by ''The Alfred Hitchcock Hour'', which lasted for three seasons, September 1962 to June 1965, adding another 93 episodes to the 268 already produced for ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://thelastdrivein.com/2014/06/03/the-women-of-alfred-hitchocks-hour-1962-1965/|title=The Women of Alfred Hitchcock's Hour (1962–1965)|website=The Last Drive In|date=June 3, 2014 |access-date=April 2, 2018}}</ref>

Two episodes that were directed by Hitchcock were nominated for [[Emmy Award]]s. The first episode was "[[The Case of Mr. Pelham]]" in 1955 that starred [[Tom Ewell]] while the second was "[[Lamb to the Slaughter]]" in 1958 that starred [[Barbara Bel Geddes]] and [[Harold J. Stone]]. In 2009 ''TV Guide''{{'}}s list of "100 Greatest Episodes of All Time" ranked "Lamb to the Slaughter" at #59.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/list/mDwYpIpc8m8/|title=TV Guide's Top 100 Episodes|publisher=IMDb|access-date=November 21, 2017|url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120520034436/http://www.imdb.com/list/mDwYpIpc8m8/|archive-date=May 20, 2012}}</ref> The third season opener "The Glass Eye" (1957) won an [[Emmy Award]] for director [[Robert Stevens (director)|Robert Stevens]]. An episode of ''The Alfred Hitchcock Hour'' titled "An Unlocked Window" (1965) earned an [[Edgar Award]] for writer [[James Bridges]] in 1966.

Among the most famous episodes remains writer [[Roald Dahl]]'s "[[Man from the South]]" (1960)<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jones|first1=Josh|title=Alfred Hitchcock Presents a Chilling Tale by Roald Dahl (1960)|url=http://www.openculture.com/2012/06/ialfred_hitchcock_presentsi_a_chilling_tale_by_roald_dahl_1960.html|website=Open Culture}}</ref> starring [[Steve McQueen]] and [[Peter Lorre]], in which a man bets his finger that he can start his lighter 10 times in a row. This episode was ranked #41 on ''TV Guide''{{'}}s 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.<ref>{{cite journal|year=1997|title=Special Collectors' Issue: 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time|journal=[[TV Guide]]|issue=June 28 – July 4}}</ref> The episode was later referenced and remade in the film ''[[Four Rooms]]'', with [[Quentin Tarantino]] directing a segment called "The Man from Hollywood".

The 1962 episode "[[The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Alfred Hitchcock Presents)|The Sorcerer's Apprentice]]" was not aired by NBC because the sponsor felt that the ending was too gruesome.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Sorcerer's Apprentice|url=https://www.snopes.com/radiotv/suppressed/sorcerer.asp|website=Snopes.com|access-date=November 22, 2017|date=August 16, 2013}}</ref> The plot has a magician's helper performing a "[[sawing a woman in half]]" trick. Not knowing that the performance is meant to be an illusion, the helper actually cuts an unconscious woman in half.  The episode was included in the syndication package for the series  and is now considered to be in the public domain.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Seabrook |first1=Jack |title=Robert Bloch on TV Part Eight-Alfred Hitchcock Presents: "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" |url=http://barebonesez.blogspot.com/2012/02/robert-bloch-on-tv-part-eight-alfred.html |website=are•bones e-zine |date=February 2, 2012 |access-date=21 August 2023}}</ref>

==Home media==
[[Universal Pictures Home Entertainment|Universal Studios]] released the first five seasons of ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' on DVD in Region 1. Season 6 was released on November 12, 2013 via Amazon.com's CreateSpace program. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release on DVD-R, available exclusively through Amazon.com.<ref>Lambert, David. [http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Alfred-Hitchcock-Presents-Season-6/19162 "Alfred Hitchcock Presents – What's the Release Date for 'Season 6' DVDs? How About...TODAY!,"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109021816/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Alfred-Hitchcock-Presents-Season-6/19162 |date=November 9, 2013 }} TVShowsOnDVD.com (November 8, 2013).</ref>

In Region 2, [[Universal Pictures UK]] has released the first three seasons on DVD, and Fabulous Films has released all seven seasons on DVD, including all three seasons of ''The Alfred Hitchcock Hour''.<ref>[http://www.fabulousfilms.com/products/248 "Alfred Hitchcock Presents"] fabulousfilms.com (December 27, 2016).</ref><ref>[http://www.fabulousfilms.com/products/271 "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour"] fabulousfilms.com (December 27, 2016).</ref>

In Region 4, [[Madman Entertainment]] has released all seven seasons on DVD in Australia. They have also released all three seasons of ''The Alfred Hitchcock Hour''.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="2"|DVD title
! rowspan="2"|Episodes
! colspan="3"|Release dates
|-
! Region 1
! Region 2
! Region 4
|-
| '''''Season One'''''
| align="center"|39
| October 4, 2005<br />{{small|March 13, 2018 (re-release)}}
| February 20, 2006
| July 15, 2009
|-
| '''''Season Two'''''
| align="center"|39
| October 17, 2006
| March 26, 2007
| November 17, 2009
|-
| '''''Season Three'''''
| align="center"|39
| October 9, 2007
| April 14, 2008
| May 17, 2010
|-
| '''''Season Four'''''
| align="center"|36
| November 24, 2009
| October 26, 2015
| September 29, 2010
|-
| '''''Season Five'''''
| align="center"|38
| January 3, 2012
| October 26, 2015
| May 18, 2011
|-
| '''''Season Six'''''
| align="center"|38
| November 12, 2013 (DVD-R)
| October 26, 2015
| November 16, 2011
|-
| '''''Season Seven'''''
| align="center"|38
| October 24, 2025
| October 26, 2015
| February 20, 2013
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! DVD title
! Episodes
! Region 2
! Region 4
|-
| '''''The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: The Complete First Season'''''
| align="center"|32
| January 11, 2016
| May 22, 2013
|-
| '''''The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: The Complete Second Season'''''
| align="center"|32
| January 11, 2016
| May 22, 2013
|-
| '''''The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: The Complete Third Season'''''
| align="center"|29
| January 11, 2016
| May 22, 2013
|}

==1985 revival==
{{Main|Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985 TV series)}}
In 1985, [[NBC]] aired a new TV movie pilot based upon the series, combining four newly filmed stories with [[colorized]] footage of Hitchcock from the original series to introduce each segment. The movie was a huge [[Nielsen ratings|ratings]] success. The ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985 TV series)|Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' revival series debuted in the fall of 1985 and retained the same format as the pilot: newly filmed stories (a mixture of original works and updated remakes of original series episodes) with colorized introductions by Hitchcock. The new series lasted only one season before NBC cancelled it, but it was then produced for three more years by the [[USA Network]].

==In other media==
''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' used [[Charles Gounod]]'s "[[Funeral March of a Marionette]]" (1872) as its theme song. Hitchcock heard it first in [[F. W. Murnau]]'s 1927 film ''[[Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans]]''. When he was choosing music for his TV show, he remembered the effect Gounod's piece had on him. It was through Hitchcock's program that the music achieved its widest audience.

===Books===
A series of literary anthologies with the running title ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' were issued to capitalize on the success of the television series. One volume, devoted to stories that censors would not allow to be adapted for broadcast, was entitled ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories They Wouldn't Let Me Do on TV''—though eventually several of the stories collected therein ''were'' adapted.
* ''[https://archive.org/details/alfredhitchcockp00hitc Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories They Wouldn't Let Me Do on TV]''. Dell, 1958.
* ''[https://archive.org/details/alfredhitchcockp0000unse_t5v5/page/n5/mode/2up Alfred Hitchcock Presents: My Favorites in Suspense]''. Random House, 1959.
* ''[https://archive.org/details/alfredhitchcockp1963hitc Alfred Hitchcock Presents: A Baker's Dozen of Suspense Stories]''. Dell, 1963.
* ''[https://archive.org/details/storiesnotforthe00hitc Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories Not for the Nervous]''. Random House, 1965.
* ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents: 12 Stories for Late at Night''. Dell, 1966.
* ''[https://archive.org/details/alfredhitc00hitc Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories That Scared Even Me]''. Random House, 1967.
* ''[https://archive.org/details/alfredhitchcockp0000alfr Alfred Hitchcock Presents: A Month of Mysteries]''. Random House, 1969.
* ''[https://archive.org/details/alfredhitchcockm00hitc Alfred Hitchcock Presents: More Stories Not for the Nervous]''. Dell, 1970.

===Board game===
* ''[https://archive.org/details/alfred-hitchcock-presents-why-milton-bradley-4845-1958-original-printing Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Why]''. Milton Bradley, 1958.

===LPs===
In 1958, [[Imperial Records]] released ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Music to Be Murdered By''.<ref>''Reassessing the Hitchcock Touch: Industry, Collaboration, and Filmmaking''. Edited by Wieland Schwanebeck. Springer International Publishing, 2017. 114.</ref>

[[File:AHP-Ghost-Stories-for-Young-People.jpg|thumbnail|right|Cover of ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents Ghost Stories for Young People'' (Golden Records 1962)]]In 1962, [[Golden Records]] released a [[record album]] of six [[ghost stories]] for children titled ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Ghost Stories for Young People''. The album opens with [[Charles Gounod]]'s theme music and is hosted by Hitchcock himself. He begins, "How do you do, boys and girls? I'm delighted to find that you believe in ghosts, too. After all, they believe in you, so it is only common courtesy to return the favor."<ref name=Maltin>[[Maltin, Leonard]]. [http://blogs.indiewire.com/leonardmaltin/alfred_hitchcock_presents_ghost_stories_for_young_people_famous_monsters_sp "Alfred Hitchcock Presents Ghost Stories For Young People/Famous Monsters Speak,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216053307/http://blogs.indiewire.com/leonardmaltin/alfred_hitchcock_presents_ghost_stories_for_young_people_famous_monsters_sp |date=February 16, 2015 }} IndieWire (December 13, 2009).</ref>

Hitchcock introduces each of the stories, all the while recounting a droll story of his own failed attempts to deal with a leaky faucet (which at the conclusion of the album leads to Hitchcock "drowning" in his flooded home). The ghost stories are read by actor [[John Allen (actor)|John Allen]] with minimal sound effects and music. Allen wrote four of the stories:<ref name=Maltin />

# "The Haunted and the Haunters (The Pirate's Curse)"
# "The Magician ('Til Death Do Us Part)"
# "Johnny Takes a Dare (The More the Merrier)"
# [[Saki]]'s "The Open Window" (special adaptation)
# "The Helpful Hitchhiker"
# [[Walter R. Brooks]]' "Jimmy Takes Vanishing Lessons"

=== Stage musical adaptation ===
{{main|Alfred Hitchcock Presents (musical)}}
On 1 August 2024, it was announced that a stage musical adaptation of the series would have its world premiere at the [[Theatre Royal, Bath]] in March 2025, featuring music and lyrics by [[Steven Lutvak]], book by Jay Dyer and directed by [[John Doyle (director)|John Doyle]].

==Legacy==
American rapper [[Eminem]] used the theme song in his song "Alfred's Theme" from his album ''[[Music to Be Murdered By – Side B]]'' (2020), which itself is one of two albums inspired by Hitchcock's 1958 spoken-word record of the same name.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alfred's Theme by Eminem |url=https://www.songfacts.com/facts/eminem/alfreds-theme |access-date=2022-06-30 |website=[[Songfacts]] |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Grams, Martin, Jr. and Patrik Wikstrom, ''The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion''. OTR Pub. 2001 (paperback: {{ISBN|0-9703310-1-0}})
* McCarty, John and Brian Kelleher, ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents: An Illustrated Guide to the Ten-Year Television Career of the Master of Suspense''. St Martin's Press 1985 (paperback: {{ISBN|0-3120171-1-1}})

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{portal|Television}}
* {{IMDb title|id=0047708|title=Alfred Hitchcock Presents}}
* {{TV Guide show | 1030036985 }}
* [http://ctva.biz/US/Anthology/AlfredHitchcockPresents.htm ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' at CVTA with episode list]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051125173220/http://hitchcockpresentsdvd.com/ Universal Studios' ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' DVD site] archived at the [[Wayback Machine]]

{{Alfred Hitchcock}}

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