As this blog proves of late, darlings, you just have to watch out for those killer nurses. Early Sunday morning, I finally saw, thanks to YouTube, the "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" segment, "One Of The Family," first aired, back in 1965.
This was the episode that was summarized in TV Guide most ominously--"The police are looking for a child killer--and her description fits the new nurse the Daileys have just hired to care for their new baby!"
It is also one of the hardest to find episodes. I recall looking for it, about a year ago, and it was nowhere to be found. But, since then, someone must have found it and placed it on YouTube. It is fascinating, well acted, but, to be honest, just a teeny bit contrived. For the story to work, you just have to sit back and go with it.
Here is how it goes. The Daileys (played by Jeremy Slate and Kathryn Hays) are this young, chic Sixties couple, who have just hired a woman named Frieda (played by veteran character actress Lila Skala, in a superbly understated performance!!!!!!!!!!) to care for their baby, Dexter. Wonder if this is the Dexter who grew up to be the serial killer known from cable TV???????? I wouldn't be a bit surprised!!!!!!!!!!!!
Frieda, as it turns out, used to be Mr. Dailey's nanny when he was a child, and he swears by her. She even makes tortes for them!!!!!!!!!! And kuggalah!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you believe it??????
And all everyone talks about (including Mrs. Dailey's mother, who drops in for a visit!!!!!!!) is how they have to stop eating this rich food, as they will put on weight, saying this as they chow down on more. I guess no one heard of the gym, back then!!!!!!!!!!!!
When Mrs. D hears a radio broadcast, then a newspaper story, telling of a baby in San Francisco, poisoned by arsenic by what is described as "a German nurse in her sixties," she immediately becomes suspicious, and terrified of Frieda. And here comes contrivance number one. All of a sudden, hubby has to go off on a business trip, leaving his spouse to deal with the whole thing. But we have seen that before, haven't we, loves???????? Remember "The Bad Seed?"
Tensions mount between Mrs. D and Frieda, and with good reason. The nurse will not reveal her Social Security number, or get a card; she begrudgingly gives out the name of her last employer, which turns to be false. Then, Mrs. D sees the name of the murdered child's family--Mr, and Mrs. George Callendar. She calls them up, but they are not in; instead she speaks to the child's aunt, Christine Callendar, (played by actress Olive Deering, so wonderful in another Hitchcock story, "The Kind Waitress!!!!!!") who says they are away, but speaks with her openly about her fears of the nurse. Christine says she has a photo of the woman that she can send to her directly, so that it arrives the next day--and sure enough, the camera pans down, and the photo reveals Frieda. Here is contrivance number two. This nanny seems to have worked for everyone in this story; who does she think she is, Mary Poppins???????????
If you think this is contrived, lambs, wait!!!!!!!!!! The next day, Mrs. Dailey answers her doorbell--and there, in person, is Christine Callendar!!!!!!!!! The minute I saw her, and I saw that Olive Deering was playing the role, I knew something was up. Maybe Lila (who by this time Mrs. Dailey has locked in the closet!!!!!!!!) is not the killer after all, maybe it is Christine. And this turns out to be true!!!!!!!!!!!!
You have GOT to see this segment, darlings; it really hinges closely to camp! Christine breaks down right before us, revealing she is George's sister, she was asked to leave his house (the spinster had been living with him and his family!!!) and she feels unwanted and unloved. She also resents Frieda, (who manages to get out of the closet) who was their nanny as child, and told bad things about her. See, girls, Frieda had Christine pegged as a psycho from the time she was a kid, and Christine did not like that. She also feels pathologically unloved, and needs a pathological amount of attention--meaning no matter how much she gets, it is not enough!!!!!!!!!! She ends up, pulling a gun on everyone, but what you have to see to believe, darlings, is how fast and lose Mrs. Dailey plays it, with the baby, twice putting it on a sofa by itself--BY ITSELF, darlings!!!!!!!!!--and covering it to conceal him with a chair cushion. Never mind psychos, dolls; this tot was in danger of either falling off the chair, or suffocating to death. I worried as much about the mother, as I did about the disturbed Christine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Christine delivers a long, rambling monologue--which Olive plays to a tee!!!!!!!!--about how Daddy never loved her, then George loved her less after the baby came, so she had to do something. It was she who poisoned the baby (bitch!!!!!!!!!!) but, to cover her tracks, she hid the bottle behind the bed in Frieda's room, implicating her. So, Frieda is forced to pack her bags, as the Callendars blame her, but sometime later, they find out abut Christine, and toss her out! Now they are minus both an aunt AND a nanny!!!!!!!!!!! The Callendars don't have good judgement! Neither does Mrs. Dailey.
As Christine breaks down into a blathering mess, Frieda tries to talk her into hugging her, and turning over the gun. While doing so, Mrs. Dailey, forgetting her endangered baby on the chair, moves in from behind, and takes the gun from Christine. She looks up, takes Frieda's hand, who clasps it back, both thanking her and apologizing for holding her in suspicion. It looks like Frieda will stay on, while Christine will be hauled off to the loony bin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was such fun, girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But, I am telling you, the minute Christine turned up on the front porch, I knew she was the one!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kudos to the cast, and to me who had the good sense not to have children, so I would never be placed in this mess in the first place. Not that I haven't been placed in enough messes of my own!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But I would never--NEVER--abandon a baby on a sofa or love seat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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