The Sorceror's Apprentice (Alfred Hitchcock Presents)
Encyclopedia
"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" is a seventh-season episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents
from 1961–1962, that was never broadcast on network television. The episode was scheduled to be episode #39 of the show's Season 7. The story and teleplay were written by Robert Bloch
, the author of Psycho, and was directed by Josef Leytes.
The four main characters are played by Diana Dors
(Irene Sadini), Brandon De Wilde
(Hugo), David J. Stewart
(Vincent Sadini) and Larry Kert
(George Morris).
Although once qualified as a lost episode
, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", has since been widely distributed in syndication and, due to public domain
, numerous Hitchcock home media releases and video on demand
.
, magician Sadini the Great spots an unconscious youth on the ground a short distance away. With the assistance of food vendor Milt they carry him into Sadini's trailer where, a short time later, Sadini's wife Irene enters. Not at all pleased with the youth's presence there, she finally succumbs to Sadini's request to go get the lad some food after he regains consciousness and equates her with an angel. He also compares Sadini's appearance to that of the devil.
Hugo, as the lad explains he was called at the "home", regains his strength and becomes infatuated with Irene following her around the carnival to the point of discovery that she is cheating on Sadini with George Morris, the high-wire artist. Hugo and George watch the magic act together and Hugo, at first terrified by this, becomes fascinated, especially when Sadini saws Irene in half and then "restores" her. Sadini offers Hugo a job at the carnival assisting with his props.
It is at that point that Irene comes up with a scheme to murder her husband and have Hugo "take the rap". Hugo cannot differentiate fact from fantasy, so his interpretation of Irene as an angel and Sadini as the devil is in reality reversed. Irene convinces Hugo that by killing Sadini he will inherit his magic wand and share in the powers the wand possesses.
Late at night in Sadini's trailer, while Irene is with George, Hugo waits for Sadini's arrival where he immediately stabs him to death with the knife from a nearby table. Hiding the body in a trunk, he leaves George in the trailer passed out drunk with the body after he arrives to warn Hugo of Irene's plot. Hugo arrives outside of George's trailer in Sadini's cape, wand in hand, to convince Irene that they can now run off together and that nothing can interfere with their plans.
Startled by Hugo's demeanor, Irene tries to escape, but slips and falls hitting her head rendering herself unconscious. Still trying to set Irene's mind at ease over the situation, Hugo scoops up Irene and carries her off to the performance tent. There, as a demonstration of his newly-acquired powers, he attempts to perform Sadini's "sawing a woman in half
" trick on Irene to her horror as she awakens screaming. Hugo shouts, "Smile, Irene! Smile! Smile!", as the picture fades to black.
. The following season, AHP switched to a 1-hour format and a new name (The Alfred Hitchcock Hour), thus rendering the half-hour episode unusable. The episode eventually was released in the program's syndication package to affiliate stations without a word of complaint.
"The Sorcerer's Apprentice", once denied network broadcast, is now the most widely distributed AHP episode of all those produced. Due to interpretation of the public domain
status of the copyright
for this piece, it thrives in numerous VHS
and DVD
releases attached to the Hitchcock name, usually as an addition to a Hitchcock set, often with his silent era pieces that have also lapsed on copyright. It can be viewed free on Internet Archive
.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
from 1961–1962, that was never broadcast on network television. The episode was scheduled to be episode #39 of the show's Season 7. The story and teleplay were written by Robert Bloch
Robert Bloch
Robert Albert Bloch was a prolific American writer, primarily of crime, horror and science fiction. He is best known as the writer of Psycho, the basis for the film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock...
, the author of Psycho, and was directed by Josef Leytes.
The four main characters are played by Diana Dors
Diana Dors
Diana Dors was an English actress, born Diana Mary Fluck in Swindon, Wiltshire. Considered the English equivalent of the blonde bombshells of Hollywood, Dors described herself as: "The only sex symbol Britain has produced since Lady Godiva."-Early life:Diana Mary Fluck was born in Swindon,...
(Irene Sadini), Brandon De Wilde
Brandon De Wilde
Andre Brandon deWilde was an American theatre and film actor. He was born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn. Debuting on Broadway at the age of 7, De Wilde became a national phenomenon by the time he completed his 492 performances for The Member of the Wedding and was considered a child...
(Hugo), David J. Stewart
David J. Stewart
David J. Stewart was an American Broadway, film, and television actor.Born Abe J. Siegel in Omaha, Nebraska, Stewart was known primarily as a New York stage actor...
(Vincent Sadini) and Larry Kert
Larry Kert
Larry Kert was an American actor, singer, and dancer. He is best known for creating the role of Tony in the original Broadway version of West Side Story.-Early life:...
(George Morris).
Although once qualified as a lost episode
Lost episode
A lost episode of a television series or radio series is one which is, or was at one point, not available for rerun or release on home video or DVD. In some cases, the term is something of a misnomer, used to describe an episode that for any number of reasons was not aired in its original...
, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", has since been widely distributed in syndication and, due to public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
, numerous Hitchcock home media releases and video on demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
.
Plot
Exiting from his Keeley's Carnival trailer on a cold windy night for a smoke while playing in Toledo, OhioToledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
, magician Sadini the Great spots an unconscious youth on the ground a short distance away. With the assistance of food vendor Milt they carry him into Sadini's trailer where, a short time later, Sadini's wife Irene enters. Not at all pleased with the youth's presence there, she finally succumbs to Sadini's request to go get the lad some food after he regains consciousness and equates her with an angel. He also compares Sadini's appearance to that of the devil.
Hugo, as the lad explains he was called at the "home", regains his strength and becomes infatuated with Irene following her around the carnival to the point of discovery that she is cheating on Sadini with George Morris, the high-wire artist. Hugo and George watch the magic act together and Hugo, at first terrified by this, becomes fascinated, especially when Sadini saws Irene in half and then "restores" her. Sadini offers Hugo a job at the carnival assisting with his props.
It is at that point that Irene comes up with a scheme to murder her husband and have Hugo "take the rap". Hugo cannot differentiate fact from fantasy, so his interpretation of Irene as an angel and Sadini as the devil is in reality reversed. Irene convinces Hugo that by killing Sadini he will inherit his magic wand and share in the powers the wand possesses.
Late at night in Sadini's trailer, while Irene is with George, Hugo waits for Sadini's arrival where he immediately stabs him to death with the knife from a nearby table. Hiding the body in a trunk, he leaves George in the trailer passed out drunk with the body after he arrives to warn Hugo of Irene's plot. Hugo arrives outside of George's trailer in Sadini's cape, wand in hand, to convince Irene that they can now run off together and that nothing can interfere with their plans.
Startled by Hugo's demeanor, Irene tries to escape, but slips and falls hitting her head rendering herself unconscious. Still trying to set Irene's mind at ease over the situation, Hugo scoops up Irene and carries her off to the performance tent. There, as a demonstration of his newly-acquired powers, he attempts to perform Sadini's "sawing a woman in half
Sawing a woman in half
Sawing a woman in half is a generic name for a number of different stage magic tricks in which a person is apparently sawn or divided into two or more pieces.-History:...
" trick on Irene to her horror as she awakens screaming. Hugo shouts, "Smile, Irene! Smile! Smile!", as the picture fades to black.
Lost episode and public domain
"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents never aired on the NBC Television network because the finale, by 1960s standards, was deemed "too gruesome" by sponsor RevlonRevlon
Revlon is an American cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care company founded in 1932.-History:Revlon was founded in the midst of the Great Depression, 1932, by Charles Revson and his brother Joseph, along with a chemist, Charles Lachman, who contributed the "L" in the Revlon name...
. The following season, AHP switched to a 1-hour format and a new name (The Alfred Hitchcock Hour), thus rendering the half-hour episode unusable. The episode eventually was released in the program's syndication package to affiliate stations without a word of complaint.
"The Sorcerer's Apprentice", once denied network broadcast, is now the most widely distributed AHP episode of all those produced. Due to interpretation of the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
status of the copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
for this piece, it thrives in numerous VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
releases attached to the Hitchcock name, usually as an addition to a Hitchcock set, often with his silent era pieces that have also lapsed on copyright. It can be viewed free on Internet Archive
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
.
Home media
Due to the public domain status of this episode, numerous VHS and DVD releases of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" have been released over the years, some with digital restoration, as well as video on demand.See also
- Alfred Hitchcock PresentsAlfred Hitchcock PresentsAlfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
- List of Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes
- Alfred HitchcockAlfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
External links
- http://www.archive.org/details/AlfredHitchcockPresentsTheSorcerersApprenticeWatch "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" The Sorcerer's Apprentice at the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
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