Death on Television: The Best of Henry Slesar's Alfred Hitchcock Stories

by Henry Slesar, Francis M. Nevins Jr. (Editor), Martin H. Greenberg (Editor)

Henry Slesar wrote more than 40 stories that were chosen for the classic television show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Irony, not suspense, is the key ingredient in the nineteen stories by Slesar offered in this collection. While irony often seems a by-product of cynicism, Anatole France called it "the last phase of disillusion." For Hitchcock and his writers, irony, not just suspense, was the basis of storytelling, along with its two constant companions: humor and pity.

Hitchcock first spotted Slesar’s work in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. The story, entitled "M Is for the Many," became an episode called "Heart of Gold." A lonely, orphaned young man just out of prison calls on the family of his cellmate. They "adopt" him and he is happy for the first time in his life—until he learns that their kindness is directed toward finding out where his cellmate hid the money he stole.

In his introduction Henry Slesar says, "Hitchcock always appreciated a good joke. He also appreciated a good story. I have never needed a more gratifying commendation than the fact that he liked the ones in this book."

1. Introduction
2. Night of the Execution (1957) [The Day of the Execution]
3. The Right Kind of House (1957) [The Right Kind of a House]
4. One Grave Too Many (1960)
5. Party Line (1960) [The Deadly Telephone]
6. The Money (1960) [Trust Me, Mr. Paschetti]
7. A Crime for Mothers (1961)
8. The Last Escape (1961)
9. A Woman's Help (1961)
10. Coming Home (1961) [You Can't Blame Me]
11. Cop for a Day (1957)
12. The Case of M.J.H. (1962)
13. The Test (1962) [Thicker than Water]
14. Burglar Proof (1962)
15. Most Likely to Succeed (1962) [Beggars Can be Chosen]
16. Final Vow (1962) [Hiding Out]
17. Blood Bargain (1963)
18. Starring the Defense (1963)
19. Behind the Locked Door (1964) - with Joel Murcott
20. Second Verdict (1964) - with Alfred Hayes

Genres: Short Stories

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_S...

alternate names:
- Clyde Mitchell
- O.H. Leslie
- Ivar Jorgensen
- E.K. Jarvis
- Lawrence Chandler
- Sley Harson
- Gerald Vance
- Jeff Heller
- Eli Jerome

Reviews

[Nilo0 · Rating 4 out of 5]

اتاق مرموز
مجموعه 16 داستان از هنری اسلزر به انتخاب آلفرد هیچکاک
به جز داستان، بقیه خیلی قشنگ بود و برای من که اولین بار بود که مجموعه داستان کوتاه جنایی می‌خوندم کشش و هیجان لازم رو داشت و خیلی دوست داشتم

[Abbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

BOTTOM LINE: Edited and arranged by Francis M. Nevins Jr. & Martin H. Greenberg, this is a superb suspense/horror short story anthology.

A really terrific grouping of short stories written by Henry Slesar from which were filmed some of the most memorable Alfred Hitchcock TV shows that aired from 1957 through 1964. Not quite horror stories, most of them are quite ironic and sly, with very tasty twists at the ends, quite suiting Hitchcock's - and my own - preferences in short stories. It's difficult for me to pick a few bests, they're all so beautifully sharp and still effective, even after almost sixty years, but certainly among that number are "The Right Kind of House" and "Party Line".

Night of the Execution
— young D.A. gets his comeuppance, very sly

The Right Kind of House
— classic, edgy, tale of retribution

One Grave too Many
— pickpockets and the nature of guilt

Party Line
— gorgeously brutal, classic tale of suspicious neighbors and so-called friends

The Money
—

A Crime for Mothers
—

The Last Escape
—

A Woman's Help
—

Coming Home
—

Cop for a Day
—

The Case of M. J. H.
—

The Test
—

Burglar Proof
—

Most Likely to Succeed
— nice little bit about a shady entrepreneur and an old friend

Final Vow
—

Blood Bargain
—

Starring the Defense
—

Behind the Locked Door
—

Second Verdict
—

[Angshuman Chatterjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The underlying feature of Hitchcock's ouvre was irony, and that was the dominant aspect in most of Henry Slesar's stories. Slesar and Stanley Ellin are undoubtedly the two authors who captured Hitchcock's soul most accurately in their stories.

[Roger Pettit · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of nineteen short crime stories that were adapted by the author to feature in the classic American television series of the 1960s ‘Alfred Hitchcock Presents’. Henry Slesar is by no means a well-known writer. He died in 2002 and produced hundreds of short stories, mostly of the crime genre, that are easy to read and which generally end with an ironic twist or surprise. His output is workmanlike and diverting. It’s not serious or thought-provoking literature, merely simple, throwaway entertainment. And there’s nothing wrong with that. His stories lack the psychological depth and intelligence and the often memorably macabre backdrop we associate with the work of the better known Roald Dahl. (I compare Slesar with him because Dahl also wrote a great many short stories suffused with irony). This volume reminds me much more of the work of another talented but largely unsung American writer of entertaining short crime fiction, Jack Ritchie.

Most of the stories in ‘Death on Television’ are very short indeed (usually no more than fifteen pages and sometimes fewer than ten). They can each be dashed off in around a quarter of an hour or so and are therefore ideal for whiling away the time waiting for a bus or a delayed train. Some are better than others (that almost goes without saying) but all are engrossing. Typical of the collection is ‘The Right Kind of House’. In this, a real estate agent in a quiet town where business is slack is approached by a customer who is inexplicably interested in an overpriced house that is apparently in very poor condition and which has been unsold for five years. The estate agent cannot understand why the house owner refuses to lower the price of the property to facilitate a sale or why the customer has any interest in it at all when there are many much more suitable properties on the agency’s books. All is eventually revealed. I did not foresee the conclusion. It’s a tale that demonstrates to perfection Slesar’s ability to craft entertaining and mildly ingenious short stories in an economical style. None of those in this collection is likely to linger long in the memory but they all provide a few minutes of pleasant diversion.

[Jawahar Surti · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5
A collection of short stories written from the TV show. Each story gives the date when the show was aired and the cast. The stories vary between okayish to sheer brilliance. The ends have a twist which many a times you don't see coming. At times you can guess. But it's nice to have such books around. You can read a story in a few minutes in between you your work or regular reading.

[Macel Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ending of that last story, man. I was mad!

[Hyde · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2