Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV Series) Premonition (1955) User Reviews

Another quality episode!

[b_kite · 8/10 · 24 October 2016]

Episode 2 starts with Musician and Pianist Kim Stanger (John Forsythe) who returns home after a tour in Europe. Kim for some reason feels as if he's somehow being pulled there by mysterious circumstance. His main reason for being back is to see his father, who he hasn't had the best relationship with in the past. After his family acts strange around him, he is told that his father died four years earlier of a heart attack while playing tennis. However, Kim finds evidence that proves that his father was murdered and goes on a manhunt to find out the culprit, little does he know its someone he knows all to well...

This one was the first of 44 episodes to be directed by series veteran Robert Stevens, who was the only director on the series to win an Emmy for his work. Stevens does a great job building up the tension, and actor John Forsythe does a heck of a job as the protagonist. Cloris Leachman also appears here looking so young you cant hardly recognize her. Great actors Warren Stevens and George Macready also appear and do a fine job. The twist is nice and final scene is done very well, glad to see the series still going strong into episode 2.

"A sense of dread that came from nowhere, like thunder on a clear day"

[ackstasis · 7/10 · 7 December 2008]

* Please note that the first paragraph of this review contains a SPOILER for Hitchcock's 'Stage Fright (1950).' *

Unfortunately, the viewing of my second episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" was rudely interrupted by technical difficulties, during which I inadvertently stumbled upon the twist earlier than I was supposed to. Nevertheless, "Premonition" (Season 1, Episode 2) is a worthy mystery. Though it lacks the full-on dramatic intensity of "Revenge" (Season 1, Episode 1), it is a subtle tale of premonitions, paranoia and potential murder, culminating in an unexpected twist that challenges perceptions of reality and questions the reliability of memory. When 'Stage Fright (1950)' was released, Hitchcock received some rather heated criticism for staging a false-flashback, during which the audience is shown a completely-fabricated telling of past events. Here, director Robert Stevens uses a similar tactic, opening the episode with shots of a landing passenger plane, passing off his main character's premonition as fact. It's a clever feat of misdirection, and one that successfully keeps the suspicion focused completely on the supporting characters.

Kim Stranger (John Forsythe), having lived the past four years abroad, returns home to America on a vague hunch that something terrible has happened. He arrives in the small country town to learn that his father, with whom he'd had a long-running feud, had passed away years earlier, and that nobody had informed him. Shocked and angry, Kim begins to suspect that foul play is involved, and every inquiry he makes leads him closer to the conclusion that Greg Stranger was murdered. He eventually discovers that he had murdered his father himself, and that his family and friends loyally covered up the crime, while he was sent to a mental hospital in Arizona. This episode's performances are solid, not only from Forsythe but also Warren Stevens, Cloris Leachman and George Macready. Frequent use of voice-over can sometimes be put down to lazy screen writing, but here it works nicely, underlining the mental degradation of a man who is clearly at the end of his tether.

Foreboding

[callanvass · 7/10 · 2 December 2013]

A musician named Kim Stranger returns to his hometown with nothing but awkwardness and hostility from the town residents, and his family. He is troubled by a premonition that something is going to go horribly wrong. It ends up being correct as Kim learns that the person he wanted to visit the most, aka his Father has passed away from a heart attack on the tennis court four years ago. Kim finds out many inconsistencies from his family's story, and becomes obsessed with finding the truth. This is an above average psychological story. I wouldn't necessarily call it gripping or riveting, but it does manage to hold your attention for 25 minutes or so. John Forsythe is good as the vulnerable hero. I felt he conveyed his emotions excellently. It's also clever at times, and provocative. The most memorable thing about this episode is the fantastic twist ending. I probably should have seen it coming a mile away, but the fact is, I didn't. It's well worth a look for fans of the show

7.6/10

You Can't Go Home Again

[dougdoepke · 6 March 2007]

Suspenseful half-hour that remains one of the series' more memorable. John Forsythe returns home after a long stay in France, to reconcile with his aging father. Just what caused the father-son rupture, we can't be sure. However, people treat him oddly upon seeing him again. In the meantime, his father has died under uncertain circumstances. There's a dark undercurrent here that's being withheld. But what is it?

Good suspense as the mystery deepens. First-rate cast, including early Cloris Leachman and George Maceady in rare non-threatening role. If you have enough of a premonition, you might guess the solution. One question: it takes Forsythe 3 hours to hike to a remote mountain cabin, yet Leachman arrives a few minutes later in a dress with heels, no less! There's a real mystery here.

But why all the mystery surrounding Kim's father's death???

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 15 February 2021]

John Forsythe plays the oddly named 'Kim'. When the episode begins, he's returned home for the first time in four years. Apparently, he and his father had some falling out and Kim left town. But people around him are acting strangely....and he learns that his dad died around the time Kim left....and he claims no one told him! But it's not just that....all the details of the death have been kept from him and everyone is behaving oddly. So he vows to get to the bottom of this and sort out this mystery.

This is a very good episode of "Alfred Hitchcock"....eve better than the first. In fact, because it is better you wonder why "Premonition" is episode 2 and not 1. Regardless, it ha a nice atmosphere and is well worth your time....and it features a pretty amazing cast, with Warren Stevens, Cloris Leachman and George McCready in support.

pretty intriguing and want to know the end

[AvionPrince16 · 8/10 · 9 January 2022]

I enjoyed the investigations. The way that everybody lying want us to know all the truth and why people lied on his supposed dead of the guy's father. Its intriguing as it started and we make theories until the end and we just wait the end to know the truth. The twist at the end let us speechlees and that was pretty surprising and unexpected.

"Hamlet and the ghost on the battlements."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 8 July 2021]

Another good entry appearing as the second episode in Alfred Hitchcock's television series, although there's enough of a similarity to the first that you might wonder why they aired back to back. This story also deals with mental illness, a fact not discovered until the show is almost over, but then it leads the viewer to question why the players involved with Kim Stanger (John Forsythe) didn't take a different tack when they first saw him, purportedly returned from Europe on a strange premonition that he had to return home for some unknown reason. It's revealed near the end that he killed his estranged father and escaped from a hospital, with no knowledge of his behavior until his sister-on-law (Cloris Leachman) leveled with him. With all parties involved knowing what happened four years earlier, wouldn't the average person have summoned authorities to deal with a man who had killed someone, especially a member of his own family? I found that to be a major flaw in the story's plot, but have to admit, it had you wondering how it would turn out once the dust settled.

The return of the disinherited

[Cristi_Ciopron · 8/10 · 19 October 2009]

Kim Stanger, a young composer, just returned from Europe, where he had lived in Rome and Paris. A curios thing about this episode is that on the intro, daddy Hitchcock informs us that the main character is named Kim Stanger; then, we are often reminded that this guy is named Kim Stanger, his dad was Gregory Stanger, his brother is Perry Stanger …. Kim Stanger comes back to his native town; here, at home, he finds his brother Perry with Sue, Perry's wife and Kim's ex—girlfriend. Kim is told that his father, Greg, has died. They never went along very well; but Kim is shocked. The circumstances of Greg's death are murky. Did he die on a tennis lawn? Or did he go to a hunt? Kim Stanger becomes convinced that Greg was assassinated; Perry appears as the main beneficiary of Greg's death.

PREMONITION, with John Forsythe, Warren Stevens and Cloris Leachman, a Teleplay by Harold Swanton, was directed by Robert Stevens.

Forget The Past.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 22 February 2012]

An emblematic episode in which John Forsythe returns to his home town after four years, explains to his sister and his friends that he's been incommunicado in Paris studying music and doing a bit of conducting, and learns that his father has died in what everyone suspiciously refers to as an "heart attack on the tennis court." Something is fishy here. Forsythe's father's fortune has been left to his sister and his brother-in-law. The funeral director admits under threat that an empty coffin was buried, that Dad's body was interred near his hunting lodge up in Maine. Further investigation leads to Forsythe being involved in one of those ironic twists for which the series became so well known.

It's a little sluggish, but it has a fine cast -- Forsythe, George McReady, Warren Stevens (whose face, if not whose name, you'll recognize), and Cloris Leachmen wearing one of those pointed conical brassieres more salacious than no bra at all. The ending seems pasted on, rather like one of those "It was all a dream" denouements, but the story keeps the viewer involved. We all want to find out if our worst fears are justified.

Out of the past

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 19 January 2022]

After a great first episode in "Revenge", expectations were high for the second episode "Premonition". How can one resist such an inviting and ominous sounding title for instance? This episode may not have the extra advantage of being directed by Hitchcock, but it is directed by the most prolific director of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' Robert Stevens in his debut episode. The series had many talented actors involved, in "Premonition's" case we have John Forsythe and a young Cloris Leachman.

"Premonition" is another great episode. It is not quite one of the very finest hours from 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents', but as far as the promising Season 1 goes it's another episode that is in the better half. While it's not my definition of flawless, not many episodes fit that distinction, there is so much to admire here and "Premonition" is also proof that there is very good reason as to why Stevens directed so frequently (the most prolific director) on the series.

There is not much to fault "Premonition" actually. Do still think that the bookending rambles a little, which was not the first or last time that was the case and it's not among the worst either.

Everything else is excellent, with Forsythe's searingly intense and touchingly vulnerable performance and the unpredictable twist, that still shocks, particularly standing out. It's directed with a great feel for atmosphere and efficiency by Stevens, even if he did even better in some of his other episodes at the suspense factor. Leachman is barely recognisable from the later roles she is best known for (her amazing performance in 'Last Picture Show'), and does a fine job as the sister in law. The acting is all fine, George Macready particularly strong.

Furthermore, the production values are suitably moody and professional looking. Have always loved the series' theme tune, with Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette" being for me one of the best uses of pre-existing classical music on television (bravo to Bernard Hermmann for suggesting it).

It is tautly scripted and avoids being too melodramatic, which was a danger with this type of story. The story is crisply paced and there is a lot going on without feeling too over-crowded. The atmosphere is suitably suspenseful.

Concluding, great. 9/10.

Premonition

[coltras35 · 6/10 · 10 May 2022]

A man (John Forsythe) returning to his home town finds his father has died, and suspects his friends are covering up the true details of that death. A strong performance from John Forsythe ( he's quite intense and desperate) and some atmosphere lifts this entry above average, and the twist is good, but some of the revelation regarding Forsythe can be unsatisfactory, lacking detail.

Very Nice Entry

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 2 October 2008]

The omnipresent John Forsyth comes home. He has been in Europe studying music and performing. Nevertheless, some force has driven him back to his roots, to visit his estranged father. When people see him, they become unsettled. He soon finds out that his father has been dead for four years. Putting two and two together, he suspects that his brother in law and the family lawyer are responsible for his dad's death. He begins a haphazard quest to find evidence, violently threatening people, wandering around the countryside. His premonition has an interesting "Alfred Hitchcock" conclusion. I would have never recognized Cloris Leachman, but she plays his suffering sister. This is a very well done episode, although I wonder if people first watching the series thought each episode was going to be about an unbalanced protagonist.

Watching all episodes in order

[sdot8787 · 7/10 · 21 March 2021]

Good episode throughout. Doesn't exactly drawl you in but doesn't bore either.

Premonition

[bombersflyup · 3/10 · 1 February 2020]

Kim Stanger seems a lot more sane than most, I'm buying that he killed him, but not this plot. It's engaging, but it doesn't resonate.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents - Premonition

[Scarecrow-88 · 4 November 2013]

A pianist returns to his hometown after a period of four years away in Europe. With no answer to his letters from his estranged father, this pianist (played by John Forsythe; Hitchcock's The Trouble with Harry; the voice of Charley in Charley's Angels) fears his father will never forgive him for following his musical dream…but when his brother and sister-in-law (Warren Stevens & a young Chloris Leachman) greet him hesitantly, elusive about questions regarding his father (even Leachman's father seems to cautiously advise him to not pursue a meeting with his father). There's a secret that could very well recall a horrifying truth this pianist might have wished not to address; however, this feeling, as if a type of premonition haunting him, seems to will him towards this secret.

This episode is about the inability to escape the past and how such a traumatic event from said past has a way of returning to surface no matter how carefully buried it might have been (whether voluntary or involuntary). The mind is a funny thing and memories can sometimes be suppressed because of how traumatic an experience is. Forsythe imbues his character with enough confusion, distrust, anguish, and misery due to the "loss of his father's love, life, and inheritance". Also established is the loss of Leachman to Stevens (a tennis pro), and this tension that exists among all three. But the episode also illustrates that Leachman and Stevens are holding onto something significant as to spare Forsythe the painful memory of the past regarding his father. There are subtle references to hunting. Like the father's hunting cap and license, Forsythe's attention towards a hunting rifle, and a hunting trip that soon raises questions about what exactly happened at that particular time four years ago. Told it is a heart attack that took "Greg" (Forsythe refers to his father by name), this soon doesn't quite correspond with the hunting trip date his father took. That revelation will not be sweet news to his ears; if anything, this will once and for all leave him in regret.

I liked how this was designed as a mystery, with the hint that perhaps Greg was met with foul play, as the twist doesn't exactly provide Forsythe with the closure he'd want. He's so adamant about learning the truth, that once he does, Forsythe will never be the same. With George Macready as Leachman's daughter and the first to meet Forsythe before he finds out about Greg (he has that obvious concern about Forsythe learning the truth, doing what he can to halt him from encountering it).

Cloris Leachman played Forsythe's sister-in-law

[LesFilm · 10/10 · 22 July 2009]

A minor correction to one post.

Cloris Leachman played Kim Stanger's sister-in-law, not his sister.

* * *

The number of still famous actors in early roles makes this episode a standout. There are also recognizable character actors here as well.

Forsythe gave an outstanding performance at the end of the story. * * * Cloris Leachman later was on "Lassie". She was the boy who owned Lassie's mom. She quit that role because she wanted to do more than be a farm wife who smiled and brought out cookies and wanted to be a serious actress. Those were pretty much the words she used. She was replaced by June Lockhart.

An M. Night Shyamalan Story

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 7 March 2016]

Musician Kim Stanger returns to his hometown, but is troubled by a vague premonition that something is wrong. Indeed, his friends and family seem quite uncomfortable to see him. He particularly wants to see his father, but he learns that his father is dead. His family tells him that his father died of a heart attack while playing tennis four years ago, but Kim finds a number of discrepancies in the details they give him. He insists on finding out what really happened, even when everyone seems determined to stop him from learning the truth.

This episode kept me thinking it was an M. Night Shyamalan story, like there was going to be a twit or a hook but I did not know what it was. Was the main character dead? No, of course not. But something similar, and I have to think that Shyamalan was a big fan of this show growing up.

Premonition

[Prismark10 · 5/10 · 15 August 2022]

John Forsythe who appeared in Hitchcock's The Trouble with Harry in 1955. Also took time to appear in this episode.

He plays Kim who has been in Europe for four years. After his return, the locals seem surprised to see him. His family appear to have something to hide.

Kim's father died and no one told him about it. His brother has inherited everything and it seems there was no actual body in the coffin that was buried.

Kim is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and is sure that everybody is hiding something.

There is a twist but certainly no premonition.

The story was about mental illness. The denouement being that Kim was not abroad but in an asylum where he has escaped from. He had something to do with his father's death.

There seemed to be no clues regarding this so it does come as a jolt.