Lonely Place was unbearable


Unbearable is the only word to describe it. I couldn't take it. I felt so sorry for Teresa Wright's character Stella. As she suffered the whole epsisode, I suffered. Teresa Wright's husband Emery in the episode, played by Pat Buttram was such an a******. He was a cheap ass too. He wanted some cheap labor on his farm, so he hires a guy who's clearly a psycho. He kills Teresa Wright's pet and scares his wife half to death. But Emery just sits back and let's it happen. He does nothing about it and actually doesn't even care. Then in the end when his wife is probably going to get raped, he lays there and pretends to be sleeping because he's too afraid to go outside and save his wife. I hated Bruce Dern's character Jesse, but I hated Pat Buttram's character even more. Not only was he a cheap bastard and a coward, but he was a male chauvinist. He didn't give a damn about his wife, didn't love her, and admit she was only there to serve him. The only satisfaction I got in the end was when Teresa Wright stabs him with Jesse's knife when she learns he hung her out to dry. Teresa Wright's character suffers the whole episode and it is all because of Buttram's character.

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This just shows all the brilliant talent that went into producing an Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode.

I agree with everything said. I DESPISED Emery and Jesse. Shows how Emery was an ultimate narcissist. It was all about HIM. He thought he was the only one who mattered. He used people, chewed them up, and spit them out. Despicable. Jesse was insane. He got his thrills by tormenting Stella and watching her terrified reactions.

Alfred Hitchcock really knew how to push our buttons, lol!

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This was probably the most realistic episode ... along with NIGHT CALLER ... still another episode which also stars Bruce Dern (Jessie) as a peeping Tom who torments another woman.

It was also a MAJOR SHOCK and interesting TWIST to discover how Stella's husband was even WORSE than Jessie.

If only Hitch didn't come back to tell us the authorities finally figured out who really kills her hubby, then this episode would have been perfect.

But for some reason the MORAL conscious of the 60's couldn't have a show without this constant preaching about how each evil deed is found out and appropriately dealt with???

The most appropriate outcome was for poor Stella to get away with what she's done to both of these CREEPS!!

The thought of Jessie being set FREE and Stella going to jail is definitely an INJUSTICE rather than Justice being served.

It's also enough to make one's skin crawl to consider he's still out there tormenting other women the way he did Stella.





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I saw Night Caller. That was a great twist. The way I saw Night Caller, Bruce Dern's character Roy Bullock appears to be a creep, but in the end he's really a good guy and the supposed damsel in distress is no good. Honestly, I saw the twist coming in the end before the phone even rang. I didn't think there was any justice with that episode. Miss Farr should have went to jail in the end. I was satisfied with the ending to Lonely Place. It was perfect. Emery got what he deserved and Jesse got what he deserved. Hitch talking about the police catching Stella was a copout. He had to say that. The episode was over when it ended as far as I'm concerned. It didn't matter what Hitch said happened. It wouldn't make any sense having the police catching her anyway. They would have no way of knowing what really happened. It was Jesse's knife, his prints were on it, and Stella had the perfect reason for why her prints were on it. She said she pulled the knife out. The ending was perfect.

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It was interesting how both husbands in both stories also take the side of the person who is harassing their wife (Bruce Dern's characters) rather paying attention to their wife.

Since The wife in Night CALLER was being harassed by the other person who was making phone calls, she also didn't deserve to have Bruce (as Roy) peeping over the fence at her, and refusing to GO AWAY when she asked him to after he enters her home uninvited.

And just because she reminds him of his step mother, that is also no reason to take it out on her either.

She may not have been the perfect wife, but she also didn't deserve to be treated the way she was, or abused by both Bruce's character and the other abusive phone caller. So apparently I also have more sympathy for her character than you do.

What she went through reminds me a lot of what Stella went through.

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I don't think she went through what Stella went through. Stella was being mistreated by her husband and Bruce Dern's psycho character Jesse actually attacked her. Roy never attacked Miss Farr's character. Roy was a good guy. He probably should have went away sooner when he was looking at her. He was strange and it's later revealed that he had a troubled childhood, but he was nowhere near what Jesse was. Jesse was a sadist and a monster. But in the end Roy was a good guy. Roy saw that she was fooling around on her husband and she wasn't being a mother at all to the little boy. She wasn't being a good wife or a good mother. Roy even said how it killed his father when his stepmother cheated on him and made a fool out of him. It also did some job on him. She wasn't a mother to him and she fooled around with men right in front of Roy. Roy saw her doing the same thing. He knew her husband was a good guy. And in fact, Roy treated the little boy better than she did. She neglected him, yelled at him. Roy noticed that she was letting the little boy walk home alone. Roy made sure he got home okay and even gave his girlfriend the brush off to take care of the kid. He played with him, took him for a soda. Roy was more of a parent to the kid than she was. Her husband even told her at one point to be a mother to his son. She wasn't satisfied. She didn't want to be a mother and she had to go out with a bunch of men when her husband was away. Her husband did listen to Roy. He believed him. But what was wrong with that? Roy was a good guy and he wasn't making the phone calls. I think she killed Roy in the end partly because she knew he was going to tell her husband what she was up to. Remember when that neighbor of theirs was over the house and she tried to tell the husband what she was up to? Miss Farr's character was no good. Roy knew this and didn't want to see her destroy her husband and step-son.

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Roy was deliberately harassing this woman. First by peeking over the fense at her sunbathing in her swimsuit. Then by hanging around her step son, before literally breaking into and entering her home, etc.

In other words, due to the way he behaves he placed her under even more stress than the other guy who kept calling her on the phone.

So what was she like prior to the time when Roy begins harassing her? Was she still neglectful of the step son, or does the stress she's under lead up to her not being able to care for him properly, due to the stressful mental state she's placed under because of Roy and the other caller?

Instead of breaking into her home, why not tell her the way he felt prior to waiting until her husband was away, and then attacking her with the kind of verbal abuse he hurls at her?

Roy was definitely out of line. No one has the right to be a PEEPING TOM or to BREAK into someone's home and refuse to leave after they've been told to get out.

It makes no difference WHY Roy did what he did when what he did was still against the law.

And that's also why Hitchcock says the law didn't deal harshly with her for having killed him.

I agree Stella was under more stress, but in both situations both of these women were abused and mentally tormented by both of the characters Bruce plays.




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But everything Bruce was saying to her was true. She was neglecting her son and fooling around on her husband. She was going out with all men while her husband was away. Roy went about it the wrong way, but he was good. He really did care for the little boy. It was obvious by the end. He wasn't hanging around the kid to get to her. Roy wasn't the only one that knew what she was doing. That woman that stopped over in the beginning knew. Her husband knew that she wasn't taking care of the kid. Roy went in there in the end and told her off, but everything he said was true. She wasn't satisfied. Her husband was a good guy and she had to have all other men. She also had no interest in being a mother. Didn't you see the whole thing. In the end Roy's intentions were good and he really was trying to be good to the little boy. Remember when he said to her, "Let me finish," and then he went into how a kid needs a home and to feel loved? She wasn't being a mother to the little boy. This was all going on before Roy even came into the picture. Roy wasn't going to hurt her. He was a little off from what his stepmother did to him and his father, but he wasn't going to attack her or rape her. He just got tired of seeing her do what his stepmother did. He liked her husband and liked the kid. She just didn't want to hear what she was in the end. She didn't have to kill him. Part of the reason she shot him was because she thought he was the caller. Didn't you notice her reaction in the end when the call came through? Roy did wait until the husband was gone, but that was only because he wanted a chance to talk to her. He looks at her the way he does the whole episode because he's onto her. He shouldn't have been listening, but he heard her on the phone in the beginning with the other man and knew she was fooling around on her husband. Looking at her and knowing what she was doing must have brought back all the painful memories of his stepmother. Maybe that was why he looked at her like that. All Roy was telling her in the end was knock it off. Stop doing what you're doing. He only threatened to tell her husband, but not to hurt her. Remember when he almost told her husband? He wanted to when he came to ask him about the calls. The little boy also confided in Roy and told him how his stepmother treated him. Roy was kind of off and did break the law, but his heart was in the right place. The so-called heroine of the episode was bad. I'm not saying the caller was right or a good guy. He was some sicko. But she was bad. Roy turned out to be a good guy in the end.

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Let's put it this way ...

What if YOU decided to be the self appointed JUDGE and JURY of your neighbor who was also cheating on their spouse.

Does that give you the right to SPY on them or to PEEP into their backyard at them while they're sunbathing and refuse to go away after they've asked you to?

And what if they'd also called the COPS on you, like this woman does Roy, and then the cops also also told your neighbor that you had a POLICE RECORD and had been in trouble several other times before?

This woman's husband is also AWARE of this fact, that Bruce or Roy is a trouble maker who's been in trouble with the law before, yet he still also let's his young son have a relationship with him???

That situation could also be seen as being neglecful and abusive by letting one's child keep company with an older person like ROY who has a history of being in trouble with the law. The father definitely doesn't use good judgment by letting Roy continue to see his son. What if Roy had also been a child molester?



Sorry, but Roy was NOT A GOOD person. Good people don't SPY on their neighbors, aren't PEEPING TOMS, and don't break into people's homes. That's also the reason why his aunt and uncle kept moving around so much, due to the trouble Roy kept getting into all the time.

It also doesn't matter if what Roy said was TRUE or not. He still had NO LEGAL RIGHT TO HARASS this woman the way he does, or to BREAK INTO and ENTER her home to tell her off.

And Yes I've also see the entire episode.

The road to hell is also paved with good intentions.

And no matter how good or noble his intentions were, one still doesn't have the right to BREAK the Law, by BREAKING into a person's home, to tell them your opinion of them the way Roy did.

What takes place between this woman and her husband is really also NONE of ROY'S BUSINESS.

It's a PRIVATE matter between the wife and husband, and Roy had no right to BUTT into the middle of their personal problems.

The bottom line is ROY was BREAKING the LAW not only by HARASSING a woman who'd already reported him to the police, but he also continued to keep harassing her after this by BREAKING into her HOME.

Good people definitely DO NOT behave this way.

Roy's room was also littered with lots of PRONO magazines as well (thus also part of the reason why when we first meet him we find him SPYING on this woman who's in her bathing suit).

Imo, Roy also got what he deserved. No one should BREAK into the home of someone and proceed to TORMENT them the way Roy did this woman,

She was TERRIFIED of him.

And for good reason, due to the way he also acts like a TERRORIST.


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With all due respect, I didn't see it that way at all. I agree that Roy did break the law. But I don't remember anything in there about him having a rap sheet. When did they mention that? I don't remember them saying that Roy had a history. Roy was a good person. Didn't you see how he really did care about the kid. Farr's character was running around with men and didn't give two cents about that kid. She let him walk home alone. Roy noticed this. Roy made sure the kid got home okay and even took him for soda instead of running off with his girlfriend. I know it's none of his business, but everything about her he was saying was true. I don't feel one bit sorry for her. She did cheat and she did neglect that little boy. She was no good. Roy did not get what he deserved in my opinion. What did he do that showed he deserved to die? Getting back to his magazines, lots of young guys read those magazines. That was put in there so we would start to judge him and say to ourselves that maybe he was a pervert. But he wasn't the sicko. That wasn't him calling. The magazines were red herrings. In the end Roy was just a troubled young man. Yes, he did move around a lot. He tells the little boy this. But there was no mention that he was always in trouble. His aunt said he was never in trouble and she was outraged the police wanted to see him. He wasn't spying on Miss Farr because he was a sicko that wanted to rape her. He heard her on the phone and I think she reminded him then and there of his horrible stepmother. Roy did break the law. Like I said, his intentions were good but he went about it the wrong way. She was wrong. She was running around with men and neglecting her son. Don't you remember the neighbor's conversation with the husband? And remember when her husband told her to be a mother to his son? She wanted nothing to do with the son and yelled at him. Roy was not the bad guy. The caller in the end was the bad guy. Roy was made to look bad until the twist ending. The heroine of the episode was no good and she got what she deserved. All she cared about was herself. She had a good guy for a husband, but that wasn't good enough for her. She had to go out with how many men. She was also "never" a mother to that kid. She even yelled at him. The kid told Roy. Roy sympathized with the kid because he saw the kind of stepmother he had. He saw she was just like his. It messed him up and messed up his father. His father commit suicide and apparently it had an effect on him. Roy was not a villain. He was a sympathetic character. The supposed heroine was not sympathetic and I explained why. There's no denying what she was doing. What she did was wrong and again, I don't think Roy deserved to die. It comes out in the end why Roy was doing what he was doing and why he acted the way he did. For "him" it was personal. He didn't want to see the little boy and her husband destroyed. Remember how he was telling her that the boy needed a home and to feel loved? How could you not have seen that he wasn't a bad guy after that. He was made to look bad the whole episode until we see his motives and learn he wasn't the caller.

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Look at the way the BUSY BODY neighbor, named LUCY, comes over with some COOKIES ... pretending as if the reason why she's there is to bring them over for the boy.

But what she's really after is the boy's father.

Now look at the way ROY also pretends to bring something over for the boy, but what he's really after is the boy's STEP MOTHER.

Roy and LUCY are the same.

They are both BAD PEOPLE who get their KICKS by doing and saying things to other people that upset them.

In LUCY'S case she EXAGERRATES and says the woman was sunbathing with NO CLOTHES.

In Roy's case he EXAGERRATES and tells the cop he wasn't doing anything wrong ... when his room is also FULL of EVIDENCE to the contrary ... showing us the REAL REASON why Roy is so OSBESSED with SPYING on this woman.

The purpose of LUCY is to show you what ROY is really like.

They are TWINS... CLONES... indentical TROUBLE makers ... who like making the lives of other people miserable (just like the other character does that
Bruce plays in the other Hitchcock story where he TORMENTS Stella).




If you go here you can WATCH the entire episode:

http://www.imdb.com/video/hulu/vi1233256473/

At the 3:30 TIME MARK you'll hear this woman telling who ever is flirting with her on the phone SHE'S MARRIED.

In other words, there's NO AFFAIR going on between them due to the way she reminds them of this.

Later on you also see the BUSY BODY neighbor FLIRTING with and coming on to her husband.

AT the 9 min TIME MARK you also see the cop inside Roy's room where he has PIN UP PICTURES all over the walls and other porno books.

You also hear the COP warn Roy not to bother this woman anymore and tell him its AGAINST the LAW to be a PEEPING TOM.

At this point NOTE the way ROY tells the cop that he wasn't ON HER PROPERTY, so he wasn't breaking the law.

If Roy hasn't done this before, how would he know this or that as long as he remains on the other side of the fense he's not breaking the law?

Please also note the way he leans over the fence with both arms hanging OVER the fense, thus also meaning he was ON HER PROPERTY and breaking the law.


Please also note how this FATHER is NEVER HOME. The lady who comes on to him reminds him of this.

Please also note how when he comes home and his son tells him he's had NO LUNCH, he does NOTHING about this, and instead of making him something to eat he hands him a TOY AIRPLANE and let's the boy fill up his stomach with COOKIES prior to sending him up to his room.

Please also note how the boy is ALL ALONE playing with this TOY PLANE when Roy finds him in the park.

So that also means this father isn't a GOOD FATHER, but NEGLECTS this boy as much as you say the mother does.


Please also note this boy is 12 YEARS old, and back at this time it was PERFECTLY NORMAL and ACCEPTABLE for kids to WALK to school and HOME from school, thus also not making his walking home alone an issue of abuse.

The impression one gets is Roy was USING the boy as a way to further TORMENT this woman.

After the Cop tells Roy to stay away from the woman, Roy deliberately DISOBEYS what he's been told to do, and WORMS his way back into the woman's life again by way of this boy. He's clearly USING this boy to get near the woman again.

There's NO EVIDENCE she CHEATS on her husband. She merely flirts back with someone coming on to her on the phone before reminding them she's a MARRIED WOMAN.


Yes what Roy does means he deserves to die. He BROKE into this WOMAN'S HOME and begins hurling accusations at her and accusing her of being like his STEP MOTHER.

At this point any woman ALONE would be TERRIFIED of him and afraid that he's about to ATTACK her physically, because he also exhibits the behavior of someone who is MENTALLY INSANE (by making the connection between her being like his step mother).

GOOD people DO NOT SPY on other people, BREAK into their HOME, and VERBALLY HARASS and attack them the way Roy does.

Good people who are WARNED by an OFFICER of the LAW to stay away from someone who's filed a FORMAL COMPLAINT AGAINST them also don't continue to keep BOTHERING them the way ROY does.

He was ASKING for TROUBLE by the way he behaves, which is also the reason why the JUDGE takes the side of this woman that he's TERRORIZED.

The neighbor also doesn't accuse his wife of CHEATING. What she does is tell the husband he is GUILTY of leaving his wife ALONE too much. In other words, this man NEGLECTS both his WIFE and his son.

At NO TIME do we hear any PROOF that she's cheating or has CHEATED on her husband. Look at the way she greets him, puts her arms around him, is HAPPY he's home.



Let's put it this way ...

What if someone 6 FEET TALL who has REPEATEDLY HARASSED YOU (even after you report them to the police) BREAKS into YOUR HOME, and begins YELLING at you, and telling you that YOU remind them of someone they feel is responsible for the death of their father.

How would you feel?

Not very comfortable.

Right?

ROY was a NUT JOB.

Play the clip starting from the 45 MIN TIME FRAME.

Because of the way he behaves (as if he's about to RAPE her), the woman was also right to feel AFRAID of him and do whatever she could do to PROTECT herself from him.

Thus the reason why ROY also got what he deserved. That way he also won't be BREAKING into the homes of any more women and also accusing them of being like his STEP MOTHER.








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Sorry, but I didn't see it that way. I didn't like the supposed heroine. I think she was no good and I think there's a twist in the end with not only the phone call, but with Roy's intentions. This wasn't about terrorizing her. It was about Roy not wanting to see a good guy and an innocent kid ruined by her acting like a floozy. Maybe we didn't see her cheating, but she was. Well at least I think she was. She didn't give a **** about her step-son. She was going out and fooling around. Do we see her actually fooling around with the men? No, but it's obvious. You don't know what the man is saying to her on the phone in the beginning, but she was up to no good. If she really did care about being married she wouldn't be on the phone with that guy. In my opinion, she was fooling around. I don't go for that. I don't go for a man doing it either. I think she was bored with her husband always being away and she had no interest in being a mother to the little boy. I strongly disagree with you on Roy's intentions with the kid. I believe he saw himself in the little boy and really did want to take care of him. Roy was like a big brother. The husband believes Roy and honestly, I wasn't sure what Roy was up to until the end. When he tells her off in the end, I knew Roy really did care about the little boy and didn't want him to get hurt like he did. Then the phone call in the end was like the icing on the cake. That's the way I saw it. Roy wasn't going to hurt her. He just wanted her to stop what she was doing. The neighbor tried to tell the husband not to leave his wife alone because she was getting bored. Roy was disturbed, but I don't think he was dangerous or going to hurt anyone. The magazines were a red herring. They were put in there to make us think he is the pervert making the calls. I'm sorry if we don't see eye to eye. But actually I'm glad there's someone on here to discuss episodes with :). The Twilight Zone board is always filled with fans. Do you like the Twilight Zone? I got into The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, but Twilight Zone will always be better in my opinion.

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Please Go to the 43 MIN TIME MARK and watch the LAST 5 MIN of this story:

http://www.imdb.com/video/hulu/vi1233256473/


You'll see ROY OPEN UP the KITCHEN DOOR and ENTER her home without being INVITED inside.

That's BREAKING the LAW. It's called BREAKING and ENTERING.

After she tells him to LEAVE he refuses ... same way as he refused to leave when he was being a PEEPING TOM.



Starting at the 43 min TIME MARK:

Mrs F says: Get out of here

Roy LIES saying: I didn't BREAK IN

YOU LET ME IN

bought a present for Stevie (as a way to prove to the police he didn't break in)
had it since I was Stevie's age ...

Mrs. F says:

Get out of here ...
You're crazy
Stop this ...

Roy says: He and Stevie will find out about you
Telling them won't help ... I'm telling you

She slaps him grabs the gun

Mrs. F:
Now will you get out (she says as she points the gun at him)
Get away from me
you're OUT of your mind

Roy's LAST WORDS:

It's TIME that your husband found out about you ...

he says this as he moves towards the woman who's holding the gun pointed at him.


****************************************

Note the way it's only after she calls the cops that he goes away and stops SPYING on her in her backyard at the beginning of the story.

Look at the way he also BRAGS about how NO ONE IS GOING to think he's done anything WRONG to her at the end of the story, because of the way he has that TOY AIRPLANE in his hand.

That TOY that he says he's had since he was a boy is AN EXCUSE he's USING to be there. If he really CARED about the boy he'd have purchased a NEW TOY for him instead of giving him this OLD TOY he use to have as a boy.


In other words,

ROY is THERE to RAPE this woman that he's been LUSTING for since the show began.

This has been his PLAN all along. He's just been setting up the situation where he thinks he can GET AWAY with it.

And by bringing that TOY with him, he's also letting us KNOW he's only been USING her STEP SON as a way to GET to her and RAPE HER... SAME WAY as we saw the neighbor LUCY USE the COOKIES as a way to try to seduce this woman's huband.

RAPE is definitely an act of TERROR.

ROY'S also a SADISTIC NUT JOB.

ROY was definitely also GETTING OFF on TORMENTING this woman.

Anyone who watches that scene beginning at the 45 MIN TIME MARK can also see this.


When she suggests he call her husband and step son, Roy also lets her know he has NO INTEREST in speaking to them, because he is there to PUNISH her for being like what he perceives to be his step mother.

It's amazing how you BUY into the LIES of a PSYCHOPATH like ROY.

But if you chose to keep your EYES WIDE SHUT about him, that's also your choice.

And there's also not much one can do to OPEN THEM UP to what Roy is really like or how he USED that BOY as a way to GET TO THAT WOMAN and RAPE her.

And ROY also knew that because he'd been friendly to that boy and to her husband, that both of them would probably also believe HIS SIDE of the story after he RAPES her and tells the police that she's the one who MADE SEXUAL ADVANCES to him.

So that's also the reason why this woman was JUSTIFIED in KILLING THIS CREEP.





Yes I'm also a fan of the TWILIGHT ZONE which is also a better show due to the way we don't have to deal with the constant MORAL MESSAGE Hitchcock gives us after each eppy of his show has ended.



Although in this case it was also NICE to hear HITCH tells us how the JUDGE shows MERCY to this woman who was TERRORIZED by ROY.



This woman CAN'T HELP being ATTRACTIVE. If she also LOOKED like STELLA in the other story, then you wouldn't take ROY'S SIDE and BELIEVE all his LIES.

If Roy is such a GOOD PERSON, then WHY does he BRAG about how no one will BELIEVE he's BROKEN INTO her home, because he's also brought that TOY AIRPLANE with him???

GOOD PEOPLE don't LIE and PLAN AHEAD of time how to BREAK the LAW by BREAKING into someone's home, and then GET AWAY with it by using that TOY an EXCUSE.

WHY can't you see he's only been NICE to the boy and to her husband as a way to TRICK them into seeing things HIS WAY (same way as Bruce behaves in the other story when he TORMENTS poor Stella).

ROY definitely got what was coming to him.

But according to HITCHCOCK, that other character Bruce plays also GOT AWAY with what he'd done to Stella, because Hitch also tells us how Stella's the one who goes to jail for killing her husband.





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The one thing I notice about the Hitchcock stories is that women are almost always to blame for everything! I'm not sure if it was just the times or Hitchcock himself was very sexes! The woman is always portrayed as the bad guy even if she's the one being tortured! It seems justice is never done. Case in point 'Night Caller' yes, she was a cheater but didn't deserve to be harassed to the point of killing Roy. She wouldn't have killed him had he not broken into her house! Plain and simple! In the eyes of the law she had every right to defend herself especially due to countless attempts to get him to leave her alone! She killed him out of fear!

Something people should be mindful of when they want to go and harass someone, you never know what the person will do out of fear that your going to hurt them! 'Dial M for Murder' comes to mind.. another Hitchcock film! The would be killer got exactly what he deserved!

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Strangers on a Train (1951) would be an odd variant as Guy Haines' unfaithful wife becomes the victim of Guy-Bruno's meeting, Barbara (Patricia Hitchcock) as the sister of Guy's near finance Anne expresses the emotional horror of a murderer, but the male Guy is the one who is bedeviled and harassed.

In contrast, in Night Caller, Marcia Fowler makes a formal complaint of being harassed against Roy, but the men in her life draw sympathy to Roy. Her husband Jack downplays any wrongheadedness on Roy's part, and her son Stevey plays with him like a trusted older brother.

For most of this episode, the script may have intended to be unclear about whether Marcia or Roy is more of 'the bad guy', but from postings of women, it is clear women take Roy's intrusion MUCH more seriously and this guessing game of blame does not exist for them.

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Yes, Roy spoke the truth much of the time. He seemed, in this sense, like a young man with good moral judgment. Yet he's a voyeur, a stalker, a man who can't mind his own business or leave well enough alone and let people lead their own lives. He was a nuisance in the neighborhood. This isn't a "good guy". He was a troublemaker. Indeed, in his confrontation with the married woman Roy appears to be doing the right thing according to his way of seeing the world. For all that, he was a home invader, and physically he was moving in on this older and still attractive married woman. Roy was much taller than she was, and there was a menacing, unstable quality to him that made him look and sound dangerous. This is the brilliance of the episode. It's sort of "on the one hand", then "on the other hand". Roy couldn't have it both ways; act like a kook, talk like a concerned citizen. He was disturbing the peace and quiet of other people.

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First of all, Jesse didn't do any harm to Stella until the very end. She was overreacting and was simply scared of him even though he hasn't done anything yet. Emery had every right to "sit back" because Jesse wasn't doing anything. Yes, he killed the squirrel, but his excuse that it attacked him sounded legitimate so Emery understood.

Just goes to show how brilliant these stories are. The writing was so strong that it got you to feel sorry for Stella even though there's really nothing to feel sorry about.

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The funny thing about the episode "Lonely Place" is Teresa Wright loved working with Bruce Dern although her character Stella hates Jesse (Played by Bruce Dern).

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[deleted]

Agreed. That was one of the most uncomfortable experiences watching this particular story.

(that poor squirrel)

"You unlock this door with the key of imagination..."

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I just saw this episode and the acting was excellent. The guy seemed like such a psycho - Bruce Dern was perfect. The husband was such a jerk and I felt so sorry for Teresa Wright's character. She should have left right after he killed the squirrel.

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[deleted]

This episode is also on my favorite's list. Both actors and actress did such an amazing job with the storyline! I think of how heartbreaking it is to think you're with somebody that does care for you or so you think. You find out the cruel truth that you wasted your life on somebody that doesn't give a damn or only views you as being a maid or second mother in order to take care.

Does anybody know where this episode can be watched online? They played it recently on METV and something came up so I couldn't watch it all the way through. I tried youtube and daily motion's websites and nothing came up.

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I just recently finished watching Lonely Place, and it's a heartbreaking episode. This time around,--I've seen it two or three times before--I felt that Bruce Dern was overacting outrageously as Jesse. Director Harvey Hart, who did a good job on this and other episodes of the series, and who was a fine director generally, had a way of letting actors ham it up when in psycho mode. Dern's overdoing it hurt the dramatic credibility of just about every scene he was in. That I was very familiar with the actor's work and have seen him give variations on psycho types many times didn't help matters.

For me, Teresa Wright's brilliant playing of Stella kept the episode in check. Pat Buttram, who tended to play comedy, was effectively ambiguous as her apathetic husband Emory. That he's a familiar face to many of us from his Mr. Haney days on Green Acres does sort of throw a seasoned viewer off a bit. I think that this is an above average episode but that it didn't play quite as well this time as before. The mixture of drama and melodrama wasn't well integrated, as there was a realistic and serious subtext in the Stella-Emory relationship evident in the ep's first scene, which is beautifully written, acted and directed, and then wacko hobo Jesse turns up and it begins to move toward (at the end literally) blood and thunder melodrama.


Still, I'm glad I watched it. At an emotional level it's a tough one, for sure, and it resonates effectively in the few scenes in which the abused and neglected wife steps up to the plate.

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resonates effectively in the few scenes in which the abused and neglected wife steps up to the plate.
Wow! I just watched it for the first time (DVR of MeTV). I just couldn't tell where it was going and then the ending hit me like a jackhammer! There must be count somewhere of the number of Hitchcock episodes that end with a character killing his/her spouse. Off the top of my head I can think of 5 and there must be many more.

If I hadn't seen the credits I wouldn't have recognized it was Teresa Wright. In the last film I'd seen that featured her, she was much younger. But it was a terrific performance-- very understated, which made the ending so astonishing.

I had less of a problem with Bruce Dern's performance than you did. He was a maniac, but the fact that he was so over the top made her husband's actions all the more despicable.

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Never say never...

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That's one way to look at it, Jennie: Jesse sort of as Emory's cruel, wild unconscious emerging from the dusty main road. In other words, he was always there, the "figurative Jesse". That he got on fairly well with Emory suggests that in spite of their outward differences, in their misogyny and apathy, these two were at some level two of a kind. I rather wish that Mr. Hitchcock had not delivered his final remarks, allowing the viewer to speculate on the fate of Teresa Wright's much put upon wife.

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I rather wish that Mr. Hitchcock had not delivered his final remarks, allowing the viewer to speculate on the fate of Teresa Wright's much put upon wife.
I wrote this on one of the sites before, but I forgot which one. Due to TV standards and practices back then-- which was an even stricter version of the Motion Picture Production Code-- a story could not end with a criminal getting away with a crime. So the way around this restriction was that they filmed the story exactly with the ending Hitchcock and the writers wanted. But then....Hitchcock gave his little postscript to tie things up with the "and then the criminal was punished." Some of the most memorable episodes--- like Lamb to the Slaughter,the Paragon, and A Nice Touch ended this way.

Frankly, I have always found Hitchcock to have physically repulsive screen presence. I feel bad for saying that, but it is true. I watch his show, but I don't watch his intro and postscripts. I don't find them remotely entertaining.

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Never say never...

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😍
I always have a difficult time watching this particular episode. She seems so alone and trapped, not only in her situation, but in her mind. Bruce Dern is so evil and manipulative. Pat Buttram is such a cheap disloyal ass! While this is a good episode, It is one that makes me uncomfortable.

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But uncomfortable is what Hitchcock was after.

At least it isn't boring. I sat through "Bonfire" tonight (dailymotion). What a snooze-fest. Like "See the Monkey Dance", it's
just an hour of two good actors (here, Peter Falk and Dina Merrill) tediously pontificating until the boring finale takes
place. Absolutely terrible.

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I don't disagree with you. I also didn't say that I disliked Lonely Place. I was describing how I feel while watching it. You are right. This certainly isn't what you would call a snooze-fest. It's excellent Hitchcock because of the suspense.
As for Bonfire, to each their own. It may seem dull, but as a fan of Peter Falk, I find it fun to see this episode start out the same way in which an episode of Columbo would begin. This time, with Falk on the wrong side of the law.
I like both episodes. The good thing about an anthology series is that you get a variety of episodes and a variety of emotions.

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Falk's character was totally unattractive and unlikable, and it's hard to believe that Merrill's character would
fall under his "spell." The endless talking (and preaching!) was awful, and the twist ending is predictable and
dull. To each his own.

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