Paul Henreid was the second most prolific director for 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents', the most being Robert Stevens. None of the regular directors for the series were consistent, with pretty much all of them having a mix of very good and more and not particularly good episodes. As well as the second most prolific director, Henreid was also one of the more variable in terms of episode quality. He didn't really direct any real misfires, but not many of his episodes were great at the same time (instead ranging between average and very good).
"A Personal Matter" is one of the a little above average episodes. Also absolutely agree about it being more like an episode of an adventure series, which is not necessarily a bad thing taking it on its own terms but there is not much 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' here. It's decent enough escapism, though there is a personal preference for the darker, creepier, more suspenseful episodes that 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' often did so wonderfully. Changes of pace have been done well many times though on the show, and "A Personal Matter" fares fairly decently here.
The best aspects are the special effects and the acting. The effects are some of the series' most elaborate and are pretty impressive for 50s television and for a series where the budget was not massive. They were also well used, not excessive or gimmicky. The acting is very good, with Wayne Morris and Joe Maross giving engaging performances and their rapport has a good amount of tension and at times playfulness. Henreid does keep things moving quite well and fares more than competently.
Furthermore, the production values are slick and atmospheric, neither overblown or cheap, with good use of the suitably claustrophobic mine setting. The theme music is still a classic. The dialogue mostly entertains and probes thought. The story is fun on the most part and has some well staged mishaps.
However, the second half isn't always as strong, where the story loses excitement and becomes a little thin on the ground. Did find some of the quarrelling overdone and overwritten and some of the episode a little too talk heavy.
Weakest aspect of "A Personal Matter" is the ending, which comes too out of nowhere and staged rather indifferently, so it all comes over as tepid. It is another episode where this reviewer forgot how it ended, that's how bland the ending was. Shame because an episode that started off so intriguingly did deserve a much stronger finish.
Overall, pretty decent but not great. 6/10.
"A Personal Matter" is one of the a little above average episodes. Also absolutely agree about it being more like an episode of an adventure series, which is not necessarily a bad thing taking it on its own terms but there is not much 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' here. It's decent enough escapism, though there is a personal preference for the darker, creepier, more suspenseful episodes that 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' often did so wonderfully. Changes of pace have been done well many times though on the show, and "A Personal Matter" fares fairly decently here.
The best aspects are the special effects and the acting. The effects are some of the series' most elaborate and are pretty impressive for 50s television and for a series where the budget was not massive. They were also well used, not excessive or gimmicky. The acting is very good, with Wayne Morris and Joe Maross giving engaging performances and their rapport has a good amount of tension and at times playfulness. Henreid does keep things moving quite well and fares more than competently.
Furthermore, the production values are slick and atmospheric, neither overblown or cheap, with good use of the suitably claustrophobic mine setting. The theme music is still a classic. The dialogue mostly entertains and probes thought. The story is fun on the most part and has some well staged mishaps.
However, the second half isn't always as strong, where the story loses excitement and becomes a little thin on the ground. Did find some of the quarrelling overdone and overwritten and some of the episode a little too talk heavy.
Weakest aspect of "A Personal Matter" is the ending, which comes too out of nowhere and staged rather indifferently, so it all comes over as tepid. It is another episode where this reviewer forgot how it ended, that's how bland the ending was. Shame because an episode that started off so intriguingly did deserve a much stronger finish.
Overall, pretty decent but not great. 6/10.