Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV Series)

TV Series (1955-1965). 10 seasons. 363 episodes. Running time: 30 minutes (seasons 1-7); 60 minutes (seasons 8-10). Broadcast: CBS (1955-1964) - NBC (1964-1965). Alfred Hitchcock Presents is well known for its title sequence. The camera fades in on a simple line-drawing caricature of Hitchcock's rotund profile. As the program's theme music, Charles Gounod's Funeral March of a Marionette, plays, Hitchcock himself appears in silhouette from the right edge of the screen, and then walks to center screen to eclipse the caricature. He then turns to face the viewers, and says "Good evening." Hitchcock appears after the title sequence and drolly introduces the story. At least two versions of the opening were shot for every episode. Hitchcock would close the show in much the same way as it was opened, but now to tie up loose ends rather than joke. Originally 30 minutes per episode, in 1962 the show was extended to a full hour and retitled The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. Hitchcock himself only directed 17 of the 270 filmed episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and only one of the hour-long episodes, "I Saw the Whole Thing" with John Forsythe.