"The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" Completely Foolproof (TV Episode 1965) Poster

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6/10
Your wife sends her regrets
sol-kay9 June 2012
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** Sleazy land developer Joe Brisson played by J.D Cannon you know the guy who let "The Fugitive" Dr.Richard Kimble, by not coming forward with the fact of seeing the one armed man murder Mrs. Kimble, take the rap for a murder that he didn't commit has a problem with his equally sleazy wife Lisa, Patricia Barry. Patrica has got the goods on her cheating husband who's been having a hot and heavy affair with Anna, Joyce Meadows, behind her back. With the help of private detective Foyle,Myron Healey, who intercepted Anna's love letters to Joe and well as bugging his and her phones Patricia has all the evidence she needs to not only divorce Joe but end up getting the majority share of his land developing business that's worth in the millions of dollars!

Not one to lay down and play dead Joe's got an ace up his sleeve in Patricia's young lover boy, in that he's a good ten years younger then her, suitor Bobby Davenport, Geoffrey Horne, who's desperate to have this land, that he uses as collateral to pay off his gambling debts, to be grabbed up by Joe with him not being able to come up in time with the monthly payment! Bobby is so desperate to keep his property that he's more then willing to marry Patricia to do it. The thing is that Patricia knows what Bobby, who's just as low down and sleazy as her husband Joe, is up to and just strings him along like a pet poodle.

***SPOILERS*** It's when Bobby and Joe finally get together in dealing with Patricia that they come up with a fool proof plan to knock her off hit-man style and thus solve the problems, Joe getting total control of the land development company and Booby having his loan forgiven, that she giving them. There's only one fact that both Joe & Bobby overlooked in that Lisa has plans of her own in dealing with them that have already been set into motion! And even if they succeed in icing her she'll end up getting the last laugh on the both of them even if it's from beyond the grave!
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7/10
"I don't ask you, and you don't ask me."
classicsoncall18 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
There's probably no more unsavory couple in all of Hitchcock land than Joe (J. D. Cannon) and Lisa (Patricia Berry) Brisson. You'll wonder how they ever got married in the first place. He needs a course in anger management, while she could out-shrew a shrew. Lisa's paramour on the side, Bobby Davenport (Geoffrey Horne), is no prize either, all depending on which way the wind is blowing. The only guy with any integrity in the story is Lisa's private investigator George Foyle (Myron Healey), but only because he's unwilling to accept a better offer from her husband. However, he's not a good guy either, as evidenced by his role at the conclusion of the story that would have settled a land deal and a loan payment owed Joe, if only old Joe hadn't had the same thing on his mind when he talked Bobby into doing his dirty work to eliminate Lisa. This all could have been handled in one of Hitchcock's half hour formats, but instead we got the hour-long treatment here, proving that neither Mr. Nor Mrs. Brisson had a plan that was completely foolproof.
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Circling Sharks
dougdoepke3 December 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Those two human sharks Joe (Cannon) and Lisa (Barry) keep taking bites out of each other, sometimes big, sometimes small, but ever bloody with torn bits of psychic flesh. Hard to believe they were ever nice enough to marry. Now each has a lover on the side and is looking to divorce. But how to settle the property dispute, especially when Joe can ruin Bobby's (Horne) and Lisa's plans if Joe gets it. It's not exactly a marriage made in heaven, but a perfect one for a macabre Hitchcock.

In my little book, this last season of Hitch is the best of the three. The scripts seldom sag, a real problem for 60-minute weekly dramas. Here interest holds up throughout, even though the result is mostly talk. Still, we keep wondering how the battle's going to end, which it does and in superbly ironical fashion. Fortunately, the drama's perfectly cast. Barry's so good at being a coy vixen, while Cannon's one sour bully. Poor Horne appears too soft and handsome to compete, but is he. Together they put a whole new meaning on battle of the sexes. So don't miss it.

(In passing—IMDb needs to remind Storyline contributors to use Spoiler Alerts, as is needed here.)
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10/10
WHO'S GONNA GET THE MONY, MONY?
tcchelsey27 July 2023
I agree with the last reviewer that the third and final season of the AH Hour was the best of the lot. There was something about that particular lot of stories. Robert Arthur wrote this captivating episode, and certainly had the experience, writing for Boris Karloff's tv show, THRILLER, which was a macabre version of Hitchcock's own show. And you have to admit, next to Hitch, Karloff made a pretty darn good host.

Two of the best actors on tv literally go head to head in this one, and its fascinating stuff to watch them pull each other's strings. I remember this as a kid and never forgot it, perhaps because of all the dagger one liners. Icy cold, yet beautiful Patricia Barry plays the bitter wife of real etate tycoon JD Cannon. She wants a divorce, plus a heavy settlement, including most of his land. What to do?

To tell you the truth, they deserved each other, no better pair to appear in a Hitchcock production. Barry is a user and a cheat and her husband is a jealous money-grubber. This is about as good as it gets for a duel of the titans, trying to figure out how to bring the other one down. Of course, brash Cannon has murder on his mind, no surprise, putting the proverbial cherry on the very top.

One you have to let play itself out, kind of like a cut-throat chess game and JD Cannon has some great scenes. In fact, Cannon was at his best in this type of scowling role, long remembered as Dennis Weaver's cigar chimping boss on MCCLOUD, who we all loved to hate. As for Patricia Barry, she was the perfect fit for similar shows, such as the TWILIGHT ZONE, playing your all around devious lady of leisure.

Look for veteranBritish actor Lester Matthews in a supporting role, perhaps thrown in for old times sake by Hitchcock himself. Matthews was a staple in several classic horror films back in the day. SEASON 3 remastered dvd CBS box set.
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4/10
Not bad but overlong.
planktonrules28 June 2021
The Brissons (JD Cannon and Patricia Barry) are a godawful couple. Neither loves the other and both have their affairs. But Mrs. Brisson is also smart and has had a private detective following her husband and gathering evidence for a divorce....and she's planning on using this to get a huge settlement. What's going to come of this?

Well, you have to wade through a LOT of talking to find out as the episode progresses. In fact, it's a shame as the basic plot is quite good and the ending quite satisfying. Had it been a half hour instead, it would have worked so much better.
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4/10
J. D. Cannon and Patricia Barry
kevinolzak28 January 2012
"Completely Foolproof" is fairly routine Hitchcock, its climactic twist proving quite predictable. A simple battle of wills between a bickering couple headed for divorce; Lisa Brisson (Patricia Barry) is just as loathsome and selfish as husband Joe (J. D. Cannon), demanding 75 percent of his crooked real estate business. Both have been unfaithful, with Lisa using her wiles to lure a gambler (Geoffrey Horne) into virtually giving away his valuable property to her husband's company, while employing a private detective (Myron Healey) to gather evidence on Joe's infidelities and unscrupulous political transactions. Joe's only concern is for his reputation, quickly dumping his lover (Joyce Meadows) in anticipation of a journey to London, expecting to find the answer to his problems en route. Joyce Meadows co-starred with John Agar in the sci fi cheapie "The Brain from Planet Arous," while veteran Lester Matthews began his Hollywood career with "WereWolf of London" and "The Raven," both in 1935. J. D. Cannon is best remembered as Chief Clifford opposite Dennis Weaver in the popular 1970s series MCCLOUD (his scowl reminded me of Barry Atwater).
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3/10
OK if you can stand J.D. Cannon
lbkrahn22 October 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This is one of Patricia Barry's best performances. She is evil, cunning, offensive and very good at her role. This episode is worth watching simply for her great performance. Particularly enjoyable are her scenes with Geoffrey Horne. Joyce Meadows also has a nice small role as the heartbroken, dumped girlfriend.

However, I question J.D. Cannon's acting ability. In his scenes with Patricia Barry, his sour face and scowls don't add to the character and after awhile they just became tedious. The storyline got a little too unbelievable. J.D. Cannon's character, if he were such a savvy and smart businessman, would have protected himself from Patricia Barry's wiles. The fact that he was a complete victim made the story too unbelievable. Also unbelievable was his ability to talk Geoffrey Horne's character into committing a murder.

Not one of the best in these hour-long episodes.
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4/10
I Think Four Is the Best I Can Do
Hitchcoc1 June 2023
This episode seemed about three hours long. There is no suspense. No question needing to b e answered. Just a set of rich amoral people who cut into each other over and over. The woman has the upper hand and is banking on her power (through information attained through a high priced private detective) to take her horrid husband for everything he has. She prances around, enjoying this power, failing to recognize that she is mortal. We don't care about any of the four principle figures so we don't care what happens to them. At no point do we think there will be any sort of reconciliation. It's a case where they all could have come out decently, but greed is a great motivator.
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Mediocre
Ripshin16 April 2024
The plot in this entry is a tad convoluted at times - at least initially.

The performances of both Cannon and Barry are one-note, and grating. I am curious as to why Patricia Barry received a "Special Guest Star" credit, considering the number of A-list actors who have guested on the show, without that title. She is basically just an Ice Queen for the entire episode. Cannon is an acquired taste. His comical frown can be quite distracting.

The dinner (?) guests in an early scene are pointless additions. There are quite a few scenes which are totally unnecessary. As many have said, these hour-long episodes would be much better, edited to thirty minutes.
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