Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV Series) The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1962) User Reviews

Once banned, still entertaining

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 25 February 2015]

Originally banned from television as being too controversial/violent, THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE is today a perfectly serviceable TV horror episode. It's a low budget outing with a small cast, set in a fairground, following many of the same themes as feature-length movies like CIRCUS OF HORRORS and BERSERK. The most interesting thing is that the teleplay is adapted from a Robert Bloch short story by the author himself, so we know we're in for twists and turns, deliciously dark humour and plenty of ghoulish hijinks.

The story is familiar: an adulteress femme fatale decides to bump off her husband, only things go wrong. The acting isn't up to much. Diana Dors is perfect as the cold murderess, but Brandon De Wilde camps it up a lot as the guy escaped from a mental home. Everything hangs on the twist ending, which is gruesome without showing anything and reminds us of Bloch's black comedy. I also loved Hitchcock's closing remarks, which are the epitome of dark humour.

Goodnight, Irene

[wes-connors · 7/10 · 19 August 2009]

Carnival magician David J. Stewart (as Victor Sadini) finds dim-witted Brandon de Wilde (as Hugo) outside his Toledo trailer, and takes him in for some warm milk. When Mr. de Wilde awakens, he reveals he's run away from "the home", and is very hungry. De Wilde immediately takes a liking to Mr. Stewart's seductive blonde assistant, Diana Dors (as Irene), who is having an affair with trapeze artist Larry Kert (as George Morris). Gullible de Wilde sees Mr. Stewart saw Ms. Dors in half, and decides he'd like to be a magician, too. Meanwhile, Dors plots to do away her devilish husband, and run away with the muscular Mr. Kert…

This was produced in 1961, to air as a regular half hour episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" - but TV stations reportedly wouldn't run "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". And, it's easy to see why.

Robert Bloch's story is completely unacceptable for 1960s network television. The ending is particularly unairable. This, of course, makes it one of the episodes you must see (second to those episodes actually directed by Mr. Hitchcock). Hitchcock's bracketing comments are priceless. "Irene was beside herself," he surmises. She's a scream. De Wilde has fun with the lead role; the kid from "Shane", he was in the midst of some well-received young adult film roles. Writer Bloch was a Hitchcock favorite, contributing not only high quality teleplays, but also "Psycho".

******* The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1961) Alfred Hitchcock : Joseph Lejtes ~ Diana Dors, Brandon de Wilde, David J. Stewart, Larry Kert

"He waves it, and the magic happens!"

[classicsoncall · 8/10 · 24 August 2018]

Considering the stuff that makes it into films and TV these days, this story being censored by Alfred Hitchcock's sponsor Revlon back in the day seems oddly anachronistic, but then again, Lucy and Ricky couldn't use the word 'pregnant' on their show just a few years earlier. Today just about anything goes, so in that respect, watching this and knowing that it never aired is quite instructive about how TV progressed over the years. The story is pretty straightforward about an attractive carnival act assistant (Diana Dors) scheming to do away with her husband (David Stewart) to run off with the hunky trapeze artist (Larry Kert). You have to wonder how she would have pulled it off if Hugo (Brandon De Wilde) hadn't shown up, all malnourished and passed out outside their dressing room trailer. I don't think Hugo was all that simple minded or he wouldn't have caught himself stating that he escaped from 'The Home', just a minor hitch in the script that might have been an unforced error. I never got to see many of Hitchcock's TV programs when I was a kid, I was more of a Rod Serling fan, but I kind of regret that today because the ones I've seen have a lot of the old Twilight Zone twist to them, and not just a little bit of irony like this one. Which recommends that I'll have to get my hands on a few more episodes, or as in the words of Hitchcock himself describing Irene's unusual condition, I may wind up beside myself.

I've Got The Wand Now!

[Rainey-Dawn · 10/10 · 6 May 2016]

This is possibly the best Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode filmed. It's good to see this one again. I used to watch AF Presents as a teenager (reruns of course) - I feel in-love with the show. It's been years since I've seen it and acquired this episode in a film pack along with the episode "The Cheney Vase". Watched both of them and love them still. I will admit "Sorcerer's Apprentice" is the best of the two shows.

This one is very suspenseful and mysterious. It concerns a magician (Sadini), his assistant and lover (Irene), her boyfriend on the side (George) and a simple boy that does not know any better (Hugo). The boy, Hugo, is a good boy but he thinks that Sadini is the devil and finds Irene beautiful and an angel - so pretty that he would do things just for her. What happens at the end is quite fitting for ____ - I won't say who you will have to watch and find out for yourself.

10/10

It's All in the Wand

[dougdoepke · 17 June 2007]

Writer Robert Bloch may not have had much artistic finesse, but he sure knew how to compose good gimmicky horror stories. This is one of them. Slow-witted Brandon de Wilde hooks on with a traveling carnival show, where trollopy Diana Dors and her magician husband take advantage of his trusting nature. Trouble is that Dors is two-timing her husband with acrobat Larry Kirt, and decides to use de Wilde to get rid of the inconvenient husband. That would be fine for them, except mentally-challenged de Wilde really does believe in magic. The ending is deliciously appropriate.

Dors appears to be bursting out of her bodice and is perfectly cast as the husband's buxom stage prop. De Wilde spreads it on pretty thick, looking as if he's having a good time playing the exaggerated Hugo. At the same time, Kirt shows why he needed to stick to Broadway dancing. Production does a nice job of suggesting tacky carnival atmosphere. But all this is really beside the point, since the story here is the thing, and a good ironical one it is.

Whiplash ending (but nothing much else)

[Goingbegging · 6/10 · 23 April 2022]

An unconvincing plot, and three hammy performances out of four, up to the brilliant final twist, which we can't reveal.

It is the ending alone that seems to have caused this episode to be named so often as the best of the whole series, all seven years of it. But the other 24 minutes you might as well miss. David J. Stewart makes a fair fist of playing the magician in a travelling show, taking-in a starving and mentally-deficient runaway from a boys' home (Brandon deWilde), and allowing him to watch the act where his glamorous wife (Diana Dors) gets sawn in half, in the time-honoured way. The besotted boy thinks she is being murdered for real, and wants to kill the magician - which gives the wife an idea, since she is wanting to elope with one of the other performers (Larry Kert).

For once, Dors looks every bit as evil and scheming as she really was, and deWilde is just his usual pretty-boy self, while Kert is no more than ballast. It was, however, a word from their sponsor that kept the episode from the small screen for at least forty years - Revlon deciding at the last moment that its beauty-creams would not mix too well with blood.

Smile, Irene, Smile!

[jadedalex · 9/10 · 12 February 2012]

This episode of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' was a revelation to me. I had it tucked away on a Hitchcock collection DVD. Just one of many releases that features all of Sir Alfred's works that have fallen into 'public domain'.

This has to be about as gruesome as television could get back in 1962. Unfortunately, the show's sponsor, Revlon, felt the same way and so the show was never aired. (This was to have been the last 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' as the show went to an hour-long format in 1963.)

At first, the character of 'Hugo' seems comical. But kudos to the long-departed Brandon De Wilde, a fine actor that always gave a sincere performance. And Diana Dors is quite wretched as the scheming, unfaithful wife. She's good looking, too, as this was years before the 'british Marilyn Monroe' struggled with her weight.

What I really like about this episode is its subtlety. Back in the old days, people had imaginations; there was no need to saturate the screen with blood. The show's ending left me with my mouth (at least mentally) agape; I couldn't believe what I had just seen.

Then it occurred to me that I had heard about one episode not ever being aired. I immediately suspected the sponsor's intervention, and sure enough, Revlon balked on this one. They didn't want their name attached to this bit of gruesomeness.

If you enjoy 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents', this is definitely one to hunt up. As I said, it is easily found on Hitchcock's 'public domain' collections.

And of course this particularly nasty tale was scripted by none other than Robert Bloch.

Additional note: I recently viewed this episode on television. For some odd reason, they deleted Brandon de Wilde's last line: 'Smile, Irene, smile!' So this long unseen episode apparently STILL has to be censored as of 2018. The line does underline the gruesomeness of Irene's situation. I don't know the particular politically correct jackass who felt the need to scrub Brandon's dialog here. The scene is still what it is...a tad violent. Having always seen this drama uncensored, this latest censored version takes away from the episode's horrific climax.

Maybe if I'm still alive in 2050, they'll be showing the uncensored version of 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' on television.

Gruesome for the times and maybe even now

[safenoe · 7/10 · 18 October 2023]

Thankfully The Sorcerer's Apprentice is on social media, and I'm able to see what the fuss was all about with the gruesome ending. It was gruesome by the standards of 1962 (over 60 years ago!) and the thought of it is gruesome now, and I'm sure Freddy Krueger on Nightmare on Elm Street (the TV series) would have picked this up where Alfred Hitchcock left off.

Anyway, if there was a reboot then perhaps we can get Danny Dyer to play the young man, and Joan Collins or Dame Judy Dench could play the magician's wife.

Anyway, Diana Dors was amazing in the role with her buxom reputation and all for the spice.

The Angel and Devil!

[Sylviastel · 9/10 · 15 August 2013]

Diana Dors was England's answer to America's Marilyn Monroe. With the exception of their similar appearances, they were two very different actresses. Diana Dors was classically trained and her plans to succeed in Hollywood never transpired. Although if you watch this episode, you will wonder why it never happened. Diana Dors was a terrific actress whether stage, film or television. In this episode, her Irene is brilliantly portrayed by her. When a young man is found by their carnival trailer, her husband the evil looking magician helps the young man out. His wife and assistant is Irene. The young man is bewildered by the magician's evil appearance and is magic act. When he saws his wife in half, he believes that she is being harmed. The young man is clueless and naive. Irene is not the angel she appears. We learn her true motives behind her manipulations. You have to wonder who is the angel and devil in this story. I was also troubled by the ending. I would have liked to have seen what happened to the characters. It's hard to believe that this was controversial in 1962.

Holy Toledo! This one never was aired because TV stations apparently found it unacceptable.

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 22 April 2021]

The story is set at some sort of traveling circus. Nice-guy and magician Sadini finds a teen (Brandon De Wilde) unconscious and brings him back to his trailer to nurse him back to health. When the young man awakens, he tells Sadini and his wife (Diana Dors) that his name is Hugo and he ran away from 'the home'. He seems to be developmentally impaired and Sadini feels sorry for the kid and lets him stay. As for Hugo, he is a nice kid and wants to do anything he can to please Sadini and his wife. And, when Sadini's wife is caught by Hugo with another man, she concocts a lie to make her infidelity seem okay...as she convinces Hugo that Sadini is really a devil and needs to die!

I am pretty sure the biggest reason the network balked at showing this one is its insensitive way it portrays a person with a severe intellectual deficit. It's also pretty grisly for early 1960s TV. It did finally get released when it came out as an extra on DVD sets as well as on various Roku channels. Regardless, it's only a fair episode (at best) and the folks back in 1962 didn't miss all that much.

The times are changing

[glitterrose · 10/10 · 6 July 2022]

It's hilarious seeing the trivia for this episode and seeing how this episode was deemed unsuitable/was banned. There's nothing wrong with this episode. If I had seen it in the 60s I still would've said there wasn't anything graphic happening in this episode. It's not like you have Hugo looking at Irene as blood splurts everywhere as Irene's sawed into two. Compare this episode to how graphic things can be on current series and you'll probably laugh even harder!

So here goes. Our characters for this episode are Hugo, Irene and Sandini. Hugo's found passed out and he's very hungry. Sandini is the nice character between him and his wife. He's married to Irene and she's the opposite of what Hugo thinks of her. Likewise Sandini is the opposite of what Hugo thinks of him. Hugo comes to and he's frightened of how Sandini looks. Hugo thinks he looks like the devil! As for Irene, Hugo's got stars in his eyes for her. Hugo thinks she looks like an angel.

Sandini does a lot of nice things for Hugo but it doesn't matter because he's so blinded by Irene. I should mention that Hugo's on the slow side so it's really easy to manipulate Hugo. Hugo sees a magic trick that Sandini's doing and he believes Sandini is hurting Irene. It is explained to Hugo that it's a trick, Irene isn't being hurt and she's even smiling during the trick.

Irene goes full throttle in Hugo. She lies to him and says Sandini is the devil and she's so afraid of him. Irene tells Hugo that Sandini's magic comes from his magic wand he uses during his magic acts. Irene really lays it on thick and unfortunately Hugo believes her. Sandini ends up getting killed and Hugo takes his wand. Everything's about to blow up for Irene because Hugo thinks he can do the magic tricks Sandini could do. Irene's about to be cut into and this time it's no magic trick! Irene honestly got what she deserved.

Loved the episode and thought it was a good way to end AHP. I must say I'm glad the series extended to an hour long format because it gave the writers more time to tell well written stories. Both series deserve more recognition than what they get imo.

May be far too intense for sensitive viewers

[kapelusznik18 · 5/10 · 7 April 2016]

****SPOILERS**** Given shelter at the carnival young homeless and a bit nutty young Hugo, Brendon De Wilde, falls madly in love with the woman who gets cut in two Irene, Diana Dors, by her partner the "Magnificent Sanini", David J. Stewart, and tries to impress her by doing, cutting her in half, the same to her with Irene coming out of it in one piece. The not too bright Hugo has no idea that it's all a trick on both Irene & Sanini's part and feels that it's Sanini's magic wane or baton that does the trick.

Irene who's been having an affair with acrobat George known as "The Flying Cannonball" on the side talks the weak minded Hugo to do her partner Sanini in by stabbing him in the back and garbing his "Magic Baton" that has him preform his magic tricks like sawing Irene in two and putting her back together again without any damage on her part.

***SPOILERS*** With Hugo now confident that he'll impress Irene with his magical powers he gets a drunk and asleep Irene to be cut in half by him without her knowing about it. It's just when Irene wakes up that she realizes that her new found lover Hugo is a certified nut case and is about to murder her! Feeling that he's on the right track Hugo gleefully runs the power-saw right through Irene's body thinking that she'll be all right when its, the act, all over!

P.S This "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" episode was kept from public viewing for over 20 years in that it was considered to be too gruesome to be shown and may cause people to pass out, from fright, watching it. Seeing it now shows just how overrated it was compared to all the other gruesome TV series, like the "Keeping Up with the Kardashians"" and "American Idol" as well as "Dancing with the Stars", that have been shown on the TV networks since then.

She's Beside Herself!

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 6 June 2021]

Hitchcock's line. A young guy who has no sense of right or wrong and child's view of the world, is taken in by a magician. He is immediately attracted to the beautiful blonde assistant. He watches the act where she is sawed in half and believes what he sees is real. Soon, he is used to commit a murder. DeWilde really overacts and the episode is quite violent. By the way, this appears to be the last episode in the seven year half hour series.

Half and half episode

[Lejink · 5/10 · 26 January 2023]

This well-known episode from Hitchcock's half-hour TV series was pulled from the U. S. schedules of the day because the ending was considered too grisly, but is now widely available for viewing after years when it was considered lost.

I was particularly interested to see British actress Diana Dors in a prominent part when I guess she must have been hopeful of a Hollywood career after breaking through in her home country as a so-called "blonde bombshell" in the considerable wake of Marilyn Monroe, but sadly it didn't come to pass, although she eventually settled into British character parts as she grew older. Of course, there was a much sadder future outcome for her young co-star Brandon De Wilde who'd come to fame as a child actor years before, as the hero-worshipping youngster in "Shane", but who sadly perished in a car crash less than ten years after completing this role.

De Wilde plays the slow-witted youngster who's kindly taken in by carnival magic act The Great Sadini and his less enthusiastic glamorous assistant and wife Dors. She's not too keen on her husband either who couldn't have been too gifted with the old magic as he doesn't see her having an affair behind his back with the handsome young trapeze artist. However she sees an opportunity to use the newly-arrived doting young man to her advantage as she plots hubby's demise but she doesn't count on the boy's fixation with the old sawing-a-woman-in-half trick...

Written by Robert Bloch who wrote "Psycho", it's a pity that Hitchcock couldn't spare the time to direct this shorter, equally horrific tale of another emotionally disturbed young man. I somehow think he'd have wrung a few more shocks out of the scenario than episode director Joseph Lejtes manages here.

Still, it's an entertaining episode, suitably macabre and soaked in black humour as it is. I guess she wasn't half glad to encounter her adoring young fan after all.

Pretty Awful

[bbmtwist · 1/10 · 6 November 2016]

I watched this following another episode of Alfed Hitchcock Presents, THE CHENEY VASE, which is infinitely superior in writing and acting.

The double cross ending of this little horror is at least enjoyable in its pay back for the evil plotter.

Acting of both DeWilde and Kert are pretty deplorable. Hard to believe Kert originated the role of Tony on Broadway with WEST SIDE STORY and took over from Dean Jones for most of the original run of Sondheim's COMPANY. DeWilde was a cute little boy, but as a young adult he was often either bland or downright bad, as he is here. Diana Dors is merely acceptable. With better actors this might have been really interesting.

For me, however, as it is exists, it's practically unwatchable.