top of page
Mr. Blanchard's Secret

WEBISODE 10 - LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER BLOTTER

 

Sept 4, 2015 -  What criteria did Hitchcock have for his stories?  This special webisode examines "Lamb to the Slaughter" from its camera movements to its suspense model, as well as a special commentary from Dr. Susan Smith on food imagery.

Guest commentary by:

Jan Olsson

John P. Hess

Michael Winokur

Forris Day, Jr.

Jordan Stone
Dr. Susan Smith
 

Sponsored by:

Glidecam Industries

 

NOTES:

 

This webisode examines the tenth of the Hitch20, "Lamb to the Slaughter."  In Hitchcock's most popular television episode, a housewife is devastated when her husband wants a divorce.  Her spontaneous reaction leads her to wield a frozen leg of lamb - a clue that has melted when the police arrive.  This episode received an Emmy nomination for Best Directing in 1959.

 

  • Moving camera - Hitchcock uses the depth of the set as Mary walks from one side of the house to another.  The camera dollies with her, creating emotion.

  • Wide shot - The oven is framed in the background of the scene so that when the police walk near it, Mary gets tense in the foreground.

  • Twists - Hitchcock had this directive for all of his TV episodes: "The ending should have a twist almost to the point of a shock either in the last line or last situation."

  • Comic Logline - the logline for "Lamb to the Slaughter" reads like a newspaper headline from The Onion: Police Accidentally Eat Evidence of Crime for Dinner.

  • Sam Suspense Model - To generate suspense in the audience, Hitchcock

    1. Withholds information briefly from the viewer to pique interest.

    2. Protagonist does wrong - the audience is shocked by witnessing a crime that is secret within the story world.

    3. Cover up - the protagonist spends a lot of screen time covering up the crime.  The audience is lured in by the sequencial logic of hiding evidence.

    4. Getting caught - suspense is then heightened by various comedic chances for the protagonist to get caught. See One More Mile to Know.

  • Close-ups on Mary's face generate tension as she darts her eyes back and forth and blinks while she listens to the police discuss their theories.

  • Food imagery appears in many of Hitchcock's work, and this episode is no exception. The leg of lamb represents the domestic household and gender rebellion.

  • Norman Lloyd was brought in during this year as Associate Producer to pick up the extra workload created by the new Suspicion spinoff series.  He would remain with Alfred Hitchcock Presents from here out.

 

The full episode of "Lamb to the Slaughter" (1958) can be found on DVD, Hulu, and IMDB.

<< PREVIOUS | NEXT >>

bottom of page