I love Alfred Hitchock movies, so of course after I watched them I had to watch his TV show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents. They were told as an anthology, each episode its own separate story featuring drama, mysteries, thrillers, suspense, etc.
They all had this amazing intro:
My favorite episode came from from Season 3 episode 28. This story and episode is called Lamb to Slaughter and was written by Roald Dahl.
I know you are all thinking, this Roald Dahl?
The Rold Dahl who wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Witches, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, George’s Marvelous Medicine, and more? This Roald Dahl?
Yes.
I know, it blew my mind too. It’s like when you were a kid and you found out your teacher actually went home and had a life outside of school. I felt the same way when I found out tht Dahl wrote other books besides kids books.
Yes, so this was the first of six that were actually adapted to Alfred Hitchcock Presents. So I couldn’t find a way to watch this with my streaming services and online-I’m going off memory.
So on to the episode. It starts off with the very pregnant wife of Police Chief Patrick Maloney calling her friend to say they won’t be joining them after all. Her name is Mary Maloney (Barbara Bel Geddes), and for Hitchcock fans you’ll recognize her as Midge Woods in Vertigo, (the artist who liked Scotty).
Anyways, her husband comes home grumpy, aloof, mean, and cruel. He’s been drinking and starts drinking more.
That’s not good.
Mary is the kindest soul, and says that she will head to the store and get some veggies while the lamb shank is cooking.
Patrick tells her to stop, stop everything. It’s over. They are over. He fell for someone else and he’s leaving Mary.
WHAT??!!!!!!!
Yes, he is leaving his very pregnant wife. He promises she’ll be take care of, but she doesn’t want to be taken care of! She wants her husband!!!!!!
She pleads with him! But he refuses and pushes her. She becomes so angry!!
She grabs he lamb shank and smacks him over the head-killing him.
You jerk!
She becomes distraught, heartbroken, and in shock! She sits and cries.
But then she gets an idea. An wonderful idea, A wonderfully awful idea.
She dries herself off and sticks the lamb in the oven, puts on her coat and heads out to the store. She comes home, drops her groceries, screams and calls 911.
All the the police come. They console her and are intent at finding out who killed their chief! Their brother in blue. They question Mary who tells the story (minus her husband wanting to leave her and killing him). This is great as they search everywhere for the weapon and all the while it is cooking in the oven.
They don’t suspect Mary at all as there is no way she could have done anything, she’s pregnant. And they weren’t even supposed to be home-they were going to be out that night, of course it must have been a burglar.
The best part is the end when she feeds them the lamb-and one guy even takes the bone home. And little Mary gets away scot free.
I can’t help but feel good as her husband was a serious jerk. Screwing around with another girl while your wife is PREGNANT!! And planning on leaving her as she is going to have a baby!!! JERK!
He had it coming!
To start Horrorfest VIII from the beginning, go to Count Dracula the Propagator of This Unspeakable Evil Has Disappeared. He Must Be Found and Destroyed!: Horror of Dracula (1958)
For more Alfred Hitchcock, go to It’s the End of the World: The Birds (1963)
For more Roald Dahl, go to For All You Know, A Witch Might Be Living Next Door to You: The Witches (1990)
For more husbands who cheat on their wives and get what’s coming to them, go to It’s Mrs. Archer. She’s on a Rampage!: Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958)
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