The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (TV Series) A Home Away from Home (1963) User Reviews

"They're Just *Crazy* to Meet You!"

[henri sauvage · 8/10 · 8 December 2011]

While it's certainly true that the concept of inmates taking over the asylum is nothing new, it's hard to think of a better variation on the formula than this.

Ray Milland plays Dr. Howard Fennick, a former psychologist whose cool, polished exterior (almost) conceals the fact he's also a homicidal maniac who was committed for murdering his wife.

His current delusion is that he's "assisting" the real head of the asylum, Dr. Norton, whom he accuses of keeping him there out of sheer laziness, so Fennick can do his job for him. When Norton refuses to release him, Fennick murders the doctor and somehow manages to imprison the rest of the staff. With other inmates filling the roles of orderly, nurse and cook, Fennick is eager to put into practice his own notions of treatment for the mentally ill, when the unexpected arrival of Dr. Norton's niece Natalie (Claire Griswold) threatens to put a kink in his plans.

Relieved to find that Natalie has never met her uncle, Fennick pretends to be Dr. Norton, graciously inviting her to consider his asylum her "home away from home".

And from then on, of course, it's only a matter of how long it will take Natalie to realize the true nature of her predicament, as the only sane person trapped in a madhouse run by a madman. Along the way, we're treated to a satisfyingly sinister performance by Milland and a story tinged with black humor, containing some nasty twists for the increasingly desperate heroine, all propelled by a tense and evocative Bernard Herrmann score. An outstanding entry in this TV series.

While IMDB only credits Robert Bloch, it clearly was adapted from the famous Poe story.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 23 July 2018]

Back in the 19th century, Edgar Allen Poe wrote "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether". It's a story where the inmates from a mental institution take over and lock up the staff...and telling the difference between the staff and patients is very difficult!

The plot to this episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" is pretty much that of the Poe story. While the credited author, Robert Bloch, was very talented and wrote the script for "Psycho", the story clearly is the Poe story set in modern times. When the inmates take over, 'Dr. Howard Fenwick' (Ray Milland), is most convincing. So convincing, in fact, that when the REAL Dr. Fenwick's niece arrives, she thinks the fake one is the real thing! Is there any way this bizarre nightmare can come to a successful ending?

Claire Griswold (the future Mrs. Sidney Pollack) plays the niece of the real doctor very well, and, not surprisingly, Ray Milland is excellent and menacing. Overall, a very exciting episode...but one which should have credited the original source material as well.

Scream Of HItch

[drmark7 · 8/10 · 8 December 2013]

It could be a coincidence, but change the setting and this is 2/3rds a remake of the British Hammer movie SCREAM OF FEAR from 1961. (This Hitch episode is from 1963.) The lead actress even favors, wears a similar sheer dress and her hair just like that films star, Susan Strasberg! There are so many similar elements. The girl entering the scene by mistaken identity. (In a reverse sort of way from SCREAM.) The body popping up here and there. If you've seen both, you'll know what I mean. I couldn't stop thinking this was a covert SCREAM OF FEAR the whole time. That said, this was a VERY suspenseful episode. Recommended!

Great Episode, and Clearing up Misinformation

[whitesheik · 10/10 · 28 July 2017]

To the "reviewer" who said this could be just a coincidence that this might have been lifted from the 1961 film Scream of Fear - no. Robert Bloch's short story from which this is adapted was published several months PRIOR to the US release of Scream of Fear in 1961. Furthermore, the lead time for publishing in the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine was probably at least six months, so Bloch's story was probably written in 1960, so there's no probably about it - simply coincidence.

Now that that's cleared up, this is a wonderful episode and I was so taken with Claire Griswold that I could not understand why she had no career - so beautiful and a terrific actress. Well, she was under personal contract to Hitchcock, as was Tippi Hedren, and she was up for Marnie against Tippi (and how interesting would it be to see what she might have done with the role), and shortly after doing this and a couple of other jobs, she retired to raise her kids and be wife to - Sidney Pollack.

My Favorite!

[dweilermg-1 · 10/10 · 25 January 2020]

A HOME AWAY FROM HOME is my favorite among so many great Alfred Hitchcock Hour episodes. Ray Milland was brilliant having us fooled in early scenes of episode. The entire episode with acting of Milland and others and plot twists makes it indeed a must see.

Good Gimmick

[dougdoepke · 22 July 2015]

About two-thirds into the story, the suspense really kicks in. That's when the asylum inmates start hunting down poor Natalie (Griswold), now that she's on to their ruse. Seems the inmates have taken over the nut-house and are pretending to be the staff. That's mainly because inmate Ray Milland puts on a really good act as Dr. Fennick who's murdered the real head doctor (Wright). Now the real doctor's niece Natalie has come by to visit, little knowing what's in store. But have the loonies replaced everyone? We can't always be sure-- is the stranger an inmate or a real staff person. That's a good gimmick that could have been played up even more than it is.

Good to see movie vet Milland picking up an easy payday. Also, Jack Webb favorite Virginia Gregg gets a different kind of role as a semi-comical nurse. And what about a bed-ridden Beatrice Kay as Sarah who gets to pile on the Cockney, in a somewhat padded time frame. Still, leading lady Griswold is easy on the eyes and does good job as woman in danger. Too bad she soon left the biz to become ace director Sidney Pollack's full time wife. All in all, however, it's an imaginative hour with Hitch, along with an appropriately ironical ending. So catch it if you can.

Very Well Done Inmates Literally Running the Asylum

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 17 May 2023]

We meet Ray Milland as the spiffy, articulate doctor, who is batty as can be. He puts on a good show. We know right away that there is going to be an uprising in the old house, once Milland does in the guy in charge. Who should show up but a sweet, pretty girl who is in constant danger because the rational thoughts of everyone are long gone. The nice thing about this one is that it is nicely paced and has many layers of interest for the viewer. Each of the loonies here is a distinct character, interesting and dangerous in some respect. The neat thing at the end is that even the patients can't trust the patients.

"It seems your patients are never ready to go home, are they doctor?"

[classicsoncall · 8/10 · 18 October 2022]

There must have been a point in Howard Fenwick's (Ray Milland) life when he was a well regarded psychiatrist, after all, the thick volume 'Permissive Therapy' prominently lists his name as the author on the cover. Apparently, his theories on treating the insane were not well regarded by Dr. Norton (Ben Wright), head of the Norton Sanatorium where Fenwick was committed for murdering his wife. There's a good deal of misdirection in the early going when we don't know the true status of Fenwick's position at the sanatorium, but that's cleared up quickly enough, especially after Norton's niece (Claire Griswold) arrives to meet the uncle she never knew before. There's a serio-comic nature to the episode with befuddled patient Sarah Sanders (Beatrice Kay), who at one point mentions to Natalie Rivers (Griswold) that she's 'strong as an ox' and 'weak as a kitten' within a sentence of each other. The only hitch in Fenwick's ruse occurred when one of the patients he assigned a permissive therapy role as a police inspector did his job only too well. The fellow Roberts (Brendan Dillon) contacted the authorities to arrive on the scene just in time to prevent another murder.

This second season episode began with a different opening segment compared to all the prior half hour and hour long episodes of Alfred Hitchcock's anthology series. There was a montage of floating objects similar to the way the 'Twilight Zone' series of the era opened with. I'll be curious to see if the shows maintained the same introduction as I move through the rest of the programs.

Good episode, and a great score!

[horton-raymond · 9/10 · 26 May 2023]

Excellent episode with good actors, including Ray Milland and a variety of character actors. Lovely Claire Griswold is the protagonist, eventually. And, to top it all off, the unmistakable music of Bernard Herrmann, the greatest movie composer, ever!

Excellent episode with good actors, including Ray Milland and a variety of character actors. Lovely Claire Griswold is the protagonist, eventually. And, to top it all off, the unmistakable music of Bernard Herrmann, the greatest movie composer, ever!

Excellent episode with good actors, including Ray Milland and a variety of character actors. Lovely Claire Griswold is the protagonist, eventually. And, to top it all off, the unmistakable music of Bernard Herrmann, the greatest movie composer, ever!

MILLAND AND HITCHCOCK.

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 25 May 2023]

Oscar winner Ray Milland was, perhaps, just as popular on tv as he was on the big screen. He also branched out into horror films, namely the PREMATURE BURIEL, which he had starred in about a year earlier. Undoubtedly, he caught Hitchcock's attention.

This was perfect material for Milland, playing a diabolically clever patient at an institution for the criminally insane who murders the head doctor and assumes his identity. He's also a pretty good actor for a gent who lost his marbles! Horror master Robert Bloch (PSYCHO) wrote this clever story, loosely based on the British chiller SCREAM OF FEAR, only with a woman as the murderer. More over, the scene where Milland kills the doctor, and done in a blurry, nightmarish sequence, was quite similar to scenes from the MAN WITH THE X RAY EYES, which he also starred in.

Note co-star Claire Griswold (as Natalie) was originally considered by Hitch to play the lead the following year in MARNIE. Intsead it went to Tippi Hedren.

Look for some memorable supporting actors, such as Virginia Gregg playing a nurse and veteran Beatrice Kay as a patient. First episode of SEASON 2. Remastered Universal dvd box set.

The Dramaturgical Approach to Therapy.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 14 January 2013]

Rather an amusing and suspenseful episode. Ray Milland is a mad psychiatrist committed to a high-end asylum with only a handful of patients. He murders the Director, puts the legitimate staff behind bars, and replaces them with other patients. Each patient is assigned a role that they might play in real life. One becomes "the cook," another "the assistant," another plays "the detective", and so forth.

Actually, things seem to be running fairly smoothly except for the director's dead body in the dumbwaiter and the jailed assistant in the attic who keeps pounding on the walls. Milland himself strolls through his role as "the director" with aplomb. After all, he's been here before.

The smoothness is interrupted by the arrival of the real director's niece, Claire Griswold, who has never seen her uncle. Milland assumes the role of uncle but little by little the scam is revealed for what it is. Just as Milland is about to strangle Griswold and bury her in the garden, real police officers arrive, having been called to the scene by the patient who was designated a "detective." He played his role to the hilt and called his "superiors." "Isn't that what I was supposed to do, doctor?", he asks plaintively, as the cops cuff Milland? Milland is fine in the role -- very suave and reasonable, you know. He was a splendid villain in Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder" too. Outstanding is Claire Griswold as the young niece. If you took a portrait artist, sat him down, and asked him to paint a picture of a very beautiful woman -- not a glossy glamour girl but the prettiest girl in your high school class -- he'd come up with an image of Claire Griswold. She acts as well as anyone else, though not much is demanded of her, but is infinitely appealing because she's not just conventionally attractive but has such a fragile frame. That lengthy C spine alone invites biting.

It was the right thing to do wasn't it?

[kapelusznik18 · 6/10 · 19 June 2015]

****SPOILERS*** The criminally insane Howard Fennick, Ray Malland, goes off the deep end and murders the man in charge of the sanitarium that he's a patient in Doctor Norton, Ben Wight, when he refuses to give him a positive evaluation on his being fit to live in the outside world. Taking over the late Dr, Norton's job as head men or doctor of the sanitarium Fennick has all those , who are sane, working there drugged and locked up in the attic as the loonies like himself replace them. It's Dr. Norton's niece Natalie Rivers,Claire Griswold, who unexpectedly shows up at the sanitarium to pay her uncle a visit who soon become a hostage of Fennick's who plans to have her either murdered or driven insane to keep her from exposing him to the police.

Insane and a murderer, he was committed for murdering his wife, Fennick is also very intelligence in making those mental patients in the place think that their what he want's them to be perfectly sane people working there which soon becomes his undoing. That in Fennick not realizing that his plan has a major screw in it in it working far better then he ever expected it to. That in him using the delusional Brendan Dillion as police inspector Roberts to cover up his murder of Dr. Norton. Fennick's plan worked so good that it convinced Dillion that he was a real police inspector and did his job not for Fennick but the local police to both solve and report the crime, Dr. Norton's murder, that Fennick had assigned him to!

***SPOILERS*** Ray Mallan played it real cool as the crazed and murderous Howard Fennick who was sane enough to know what he was doing in impersonating his victim Dr. Norton but not realizing how open to suggestion the people, mental patients, that he was manipulating were. So good that he tricked Natalie into believing that he in fact was Dr. Norton but it was his both arrogance and hair trigger temper and possessive personality that was to give him away. That's what lead to Natalie to suspect that he wasn't who he said he was and at the same time tricked Inspector Roberts/Brendan Dillion into believing that he, a man committed to a mental clinic, was an actual policeman! Who in the end in just doing his job exposed Fennick for what he really was!