Original subtitles

("Alfred Hitchcock" theme music)

- Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,

and welcome to the Alfred Hitchcock Hour.

(dog barks) I suppose you are wondering

what kind of dog this is.

It's an invisible one.

(cat meows) And this,

as you can see, is an invisible cat.

None of this is very remarkable

until you realize they're not fighting.

Peaceful coexistence seems to be

a natural side effect of invisibility.

We are now thinking of trying it on human beings

and television commercials.

After all, if my sponsor's messages were invisible,

I suspect I might not be as critical as I am.

I might even grow to love them.

Death and the Joyful Woman

is the name of tonight's hour of charm.

But do not be deceived.

The story is very American, very contemporary,

and just a little bit homicidal.

And now, in a highly visible state, the sponsor's message.

(suspenseful music)

(laid back band music)

- [Kitty] Let's see your ID, buddy.

- Kitty Norris, hi.

- You're not old enough to be drinking, Dominic Felse.

What will you pay me not to tell?

- Hmm, Aguilar?

Private stock.

- It's hardly enough.

- A comparable Norris champagne is infinitely better.

- I agree.

Has Mr. Aguilar made his entrance yet?

- He's still upstairs with his,

uh, secretary or whatever she is.

Oh, boy, those two are really a pair.

Hey, what are you doing coming in the backdoor?

I hardly think that's proper.

- Well, I thought I'd case the joint first.

Anybody good here?

- Everybody Aguilar hates, you know, the usual guests,

except Al's here.

- Al Aguilar is here?

- [Dominic] Brought His Wife Too.

- Those poor kids.

They must be desperate.

Where are they?

- You see, sitting on the couch behind the piano.

They've been sitting there for almost an hour,

haven't moved.

Nobody's even talked to him except me, and all I said was,

"Hi, will you hand me that glass, please?"

- Hey, Dominic.

- Hey, Kitty.

- Now, listen, buddy.

Watch yourself at all times.

- Oh, yes, ma'am.

- And do exactly as I say.

- Yes, ma'am.

- Run out and ask Al and Jean

if they would join me in the kitchen.

Tell them I'm hiding out here.

I wanna talk to them.

- Say please.

- Please, please, please, please.

Jean, take him home.

- I can't do anything.

Look at him, Kitty.

- We got an invitation, Kitty.

It's my big A invitation.

- Of course you got an invitation.

You got one last year too,

but you had sense enough not to come.

- Yeah.

Last year, I didn't have to come.

I could still pay the rent.

This year, I can't.

I've come to beg.

Who knows, he may have changed.

I haven't seen him since he kicked me out.

That heart may have a soft center.

It may have melted just a bit in the last two years.

- I wouldn't count on it.

- That's what I told him, Kitty.

But in some ways, he's like his father.

- She means stubborn.

Hey, Dominic.

What are you doing working here?

- Oh, just trying to make enough money

to be able to propose to Kitty Norris.

Will you marry me, Kitty?

- Ask me again in a couple of years.

Dominic's my buddy.

- Oh, yeah, buddy, and tennis partner, and attorney.

- It's true.

He talked his mean old policeman father

out of giving me a traffic ticket last week, didn't you?

- And I'm in love with her.

- You tell him, tiger.

How is that mean old policeman father of yours?

- He got promoted up to the homicide squad.

It's dead though.

No business.

- (chuckles) You'll have to tell Luis.

Hello, Al.

- Hello, Ruth.

Thanks for the invitation.

- Oh, it wasn't from me.

I wouldn't have sent it.

Your father put your name at the head of the list.

How are you, Kitty?

- Hello, Ruth.

- Hi, Jean.

Your father watched you drive up while he was tying his tie.

He's in a mean mood, Al.

Oh, take a bottle of wine

up to Mr. Aguilar's bedroom immediately.

He's waiting for it.

- Red or white, please.

- The white wine.

- It's called a Joyful Woman, Dominic.

- Oh, he's always in a mean mood right before harvest.

But tonight, something nice is going to happen.

- Which is Mr. Aguilar's room?

- Second floor.

It's the first door on the right.

Now, don't be afraid.

He's not gonna bite you.

- Mr. Aguilar is waiting.

- Come on, I'll give you a push.

Straight up.

- You know what Jack found

at the top of the beanstalk, don't you?

- Go on, you big coward.

Go on, go on.

(ominous music)

(knocking on door)

- [Luis] Who is it?

- [Dominic] The wine, sir.

- [Luis] Come in.

Put it down on the desk.

Open it, boy.

Show me the label.

- Oh, excuse me, sir.

- [Luis] Good.

Did my guests arrive?

- Well, there's a lot of people downstairs, sir.

- [Luis] They are downstairs,

wolves,

jackals,

snakes,

and dogs.

Thank you.

* For he's a jolly good fellow *

* For he's a jolly good fellow *

* For he's a jolly good fellow *

* Which nobody can deny *

(guests applaud and chatter)

- Thank you, Lorraine.

How do you do, Miss Applewhite?

How do you do?

How are you?

Oh, thank you.

- Fantastic party, Luis.

It's great, great.

- Thank you.

Thank you.

(people chatter)

Hello, Wesley, how are you?

How beautiful you always are, Kitty.

- Thank you, Mr. Aguilar.

- Hello, father.

- I wanna talk to you.

- I wanna talk to you too, alone.

- Good.

It's been a long time since we chatted together.

Come on.

I want you to see my new tasting room.

- Luis, your guests.

- You play hostess, Ruth.

Follow us.

Bring two magnums of the Joyful Woman and follow us.

- Yes, sir.

- I'm going up to the tasting house.

I don't wanna be disturbed.

- Yes, sir. - Come on, Al.

(laid back piano music)

- Come on, silly.

Everything's all right.

- A little bitter.

Understandable.

Bottled the year you disobeyed me.

- You know I don't drink.

- Oh, yes.

I forgot.

I forgot.

So,

you said you wanted to talk to me.

Well?

- I have to have some money.

- You do, huh?

This has been a very bad year, Al.

I've had a lot of expenses.

I bought myself five new suits at $300 a piece,

a car, $8,000,

$10,000 for a trip to Europe and--

- I just-- - Don't interrupt me!

Beautiful pair of cuff links, $1,000,

four or five new paintings,

and oh, yes, I bought Ruth a necklace

and a fur coat.

A secretary must have a fur coat.

$14,000.

Al, I won't give you a cent.

And if you care, you are no longer in my will.

My only son, I only asked him to do one thing.

One thing was all I ever asked.

It was all set up.

I could have doubled this empire.

- I didn't love Kitty.

- I didn't ask you to love.

I asked only one thing.

- She didn't love me either.

- Stop talking about love!

It was a business arrangement, a merger,

a merger of the Norris-Aguilar wines.

But the only son of Luis Aguilar,

the only one who could have carried it off,

the thing I'd been working on for years,

that only son, to spite his father,

eloped with the harvester that worked in the fields.

- Father, I have to have some money.

- I am no longer your father, Mister, uh, Mister X.

You are no longer an Aguilar.

- [Al] You're going to be a grandfather.

Jean's going to have a baby.

- The thought of it makes me sick.

- Al, come on.

- [Al] Please, please.

- You'd like to kill me, wouldn't you?

- [Al] Oh, stop it!

- I saw it in your eyes.

I saw you wanted to murder me.

You want to kill me, don't you?

- Yes.

Yes!

- Are you man enough?

(ominous music)

Are you man enough, Mister X?

(ominous music)

Now, Mister X.

You're not leaving, are you?

- Did you call me, father?

- [Luis] How much money do you need for this,

this blessed event?

- A thousand dollars.

I tried to borrow it at the bank

but they're all friends of yours.

- I knew about that, but I didn't know what it was for.

How would you like to leave here tonight with say $5,000?

- I'm not up to this.

- Al.

How old are you now, boy?

- 26.

- 26, my, my.

Time certainly flies fast, doesn't it?

When I was 26, my father and I had a little contest

and I won $5,000.

- I know about that.

- You see, it's a tradition in the Aguilar family

that when a son can outdrink his father, he becomes a man.

I was 26 before I could do it.

The mother of Al didn't approve of such contests.

She didn't approve of her son drinking, so he didn't drink.

But now that she's no longer here,

now that you can no longer hide behind her,

I offer you the same terms my father offered me,

$5,000 against what money you have in your pocket,

drink for drink, and the first one who passes out loses.

We even have a witness here who is both referee and pourer.

I'm already a few drinks ahead of you, boy,

so you have a running start.

I, Luis Aguilar,

agree to pay Alfred Aguilar,

hereafter known as Mister X,

the sum of $5,000

if he can drink me under the table.

Come on, Mister X.

$5,000 will buy a lovely bassinet, lots of baby food,

pay doctor bills, and I offer you the best of all the wines,

the Joyful Woman.

Prove something to me, boy.

Prove something!

How much money do you have in your pocket?

- $2.40.

- $2.40 against 5,000.

Bring me a glass from over there.

Now, bring two glasses exactly alike.

Sit down, Mister X.

Put your money on the table.

Pour.

Pour.

So much like your mother.

So much.

Is that empty?

- Yes, sir.

- The end of a magnum of a Joyful Woman is a very sad thing.

Come on, drink.

Drink.

This is no contest.

This is no Aguilar tradition.

Are you finished?

- No.

- Let's try some nice red wine.

No need to waste another magnum

when we only have a couple of more glasses to go

before it's finished.

Open it.

A rather special wine this, bottled the year you were born.

However, it was not a vintage year.

Come on, drink.

Red wine.

Drink.

Drink.

You're losing, Mister X.

You are losing.

Drink!

- I can't drink anymore.

(ominous music)

- I won.

Wake up!

Wake up.

I want you to see that I won.

(glass shatters)

(laid back piano music)

- Are they still out there?

- [Jean] Yes.

- Mr. Aguilar's guests are getting impatient.

I will see what's happening.

(knocking on door)

Luis.

- Al.

Al!

Al.

- Get him outta here.

Are you the little thing he found to spite me with?

So you are.

Take Mister X home.

- Someone help me.

- [Luis] Help her.

- [Al] No!

No!

- [Luis] Don't you cry.

(Al sobs)

Don't you cry!

Get him outta here!

Don't you cry!

- Luis.

You have a house full of guests.

- [Luis] Kitty.

- I'll get you a coffee.

- I don't want any coffee.

Do you like my tasting room, Kitty?

- Well, yes, it's very nice.

- Have you ever seen the Aguilar cellars and cave?

- Al and I used to play there when we were kids.

Mr. Aguilar, Al loves his wife very much.

- I wanted him to marry you.

- I know, but you can't, you can't force that on someone.

- He should have listened to me.

Look what he ended up with, a mouse.

Would you have married him, Kitty?

- Mr. Aguilar--

- Don't call me Mr. Aguilar.

My name is Luis.

What a lovely vision I had, Kitty.

The two greatest vineyards, one vineyard.

It would take days to see it in the car.

Oh, Kitty.

You are very beautiful.

The girl who has everything.

What could I possibly offer?

- I don't understand.

- You know, Kitty, that vision can still be realized.

I am going to make you fall in love with me.

- Mr. Aguilar.

- Kitty.

Leave us alone.

- Ruth.

Ruth.

- Let her go.

Let her go.

I offer you the consideration of an empire.

Will you marry me, Kitty?

I think your father, if he were alive, would approve.

Don't you, Kitty?

- Let me go!

- Kitty, would you?

Would you, Kitty?

Would you?

(suspenseful music)

Mr. Aguilar?

Mr. Aguilar.

Dominic!

(Luis grunts)

- Get outta here.

Get out.

- It's almost 12, Luis.

- Go away.

- At 12, you were going to make the announcement

- I am not making any announcement at 12,

or three,

or four.

- I heard what you said to Kitty about marrying her.

- Good.

Now go away.

- You didn't mean it.

- Yes, I did.

I meant every word I said, every word.

- Every word?

(suspenseful music)

- Old Al's gonna have quite a...

Kitty?

- Dominic.

Mr. Aguilar.

I think he's dead.

- What?

- I pushed him away from me and he fell down the stairs.

And I went down to him and he didn't move.

He's lying on the tasting room floor.

I think he's dead.

- Are you sure?

- Oh, what am I gonna do, Dominic?

What am I gonna do?

Where are you going?

- I'll go take a look.

- Well, I better call your father.

- All right, but don't tell anyone else.

Now, relax.

I'll be back in a minute.

(knocking on door)

Mr. Aguilar.

Mr. Aguilar.

(knocking on door)

Mr. Aguilar!

(suspenseful music)

- For the next moment, ladies and gentlemen,

we cut your wire to the world

and abandon you to the tender mercies of your local station.

Good evening and welcome to the second half

of the Alfred Hitchcock Hour.

As you know, our sponsor is not exactly the type of person

who has streets named for him.

He has never even had an hour named in his honor.

All he gets is one minute.

We give it to him now.

(suspenseful music)

- He's,

he's dead.

- Yes.

The king is dead.

It was an accident.

He fell down the stairs.

- That, that didn't happen falling down the stairs.

- No.

You're too bright a boy

to waste time on such a simple arithmetic.

Two and two are still the same.

Do you have the answer, young man?

- Yes.

- Too bad, too bad, too bad.

- But why?

- Why?

Because I was the only one who loved him.

After 20 years of being patient, waiting for his wife to die

and then still waiting after she was dead,

"I'm going to marry you, Ruth.

"Just be patient."

Then last week, he said he would marry me this fall.

After 20 years of being a secretary,

a letter opener, a letter typer,

he said to make all the arrangements

and he would make the enhancement tonight,

tonight, at the stroke of 12.

Right now, this moment. (sobs)

It took someone who loved him

to hate him enough to finally do it.

But he's just as guilty as I am.

He wasn't planning on marrying me.

And there's an end of patience.

No.

You can't go just yet, not just yet.

(laid back band music)

- Dominic!

- Open the door.

- Dominic!

(knocking on door)

Dominic!

- Keep going.

Go ahead.

Up the stairs.

Get on there.

Stop.

Right here.

(gun clicks)

(Dominic laughs)

- You're sure the door is locked?

- I'm positive.

- It's one of these, I think.

I'm never really sure.

I rarely go into the tasting house myself.

(laid back band music)

(suspenseful music)

(Ruth sobs)

(footsteps approach)

- Mr. Felse, there's still no sign of Dominic.

I should have called you sooner

but Dominic wanted to go down there

and I was so upset that I didn't know what I was doing.

And then I saw Mr. Aguilar like that.

Mr. Felse, what do you think happened to Dominic?

- Get the addresses and phone numbers

of everyone at the party.

You go back in the house.

I'm going down to the tasting room.

- Kitty.

Is it true?

- Yes, he's dead.

- Dead.

He,

he's dead.

(Ruth sobs)

- Just a couple more questions, Miss Hamilton.

You interviewed and hired the help that came here

just for the party tonight, didn't you?

- Yes.

- Do you remember hiring a boy named Dominic Felse?

- Felse?

- Yes, my son.

- Yes.

I remember hiring him, but what is he to do with it?

- I don't know.

He's disappeared.

- Disappeared?

- Well, his car's still here but nobody's seen him.

I'm a little worried.

Both father and policeman are pretty hard to play.

- I'm sorry.

I've had a terrible, terrible experience.

- You try and get some rest.

- Yes, yes.

But I don't think I can.

I don't think I can.

I don't think I can.

(door closes)

(suspenseful music)

- You can let them all go except the maid and the butler.

- All right.

- You examined the body?

How many blows?

- Several, George.

I can't be sure yet, but six or seven at least.

- Hello, Susan.

He's not home?

Now, Susan, don't get hysterical.

Just keep your head.

We'll find him.

Now, please.

Look, you have the number here.

If you hear from Dominic or need me, you just call me.

Now, calm down, Susan.

You hear me?

Yeah, I'll call you the minute I know anything.

- I wish there was something I could do to help.

- (scoffs) He would get mixed up in something like this.

He's one of these I'll play detective kinda kids.

And the three of you can go on home.

You'll hear from me tomorrow.

- If you don't mind, I'd like to stay.

Dominic is a friend of mine.

- I know.

He's a friend of mine too.

- How's your wife?

- Not too good.

She's suffering pretty much.

Excuse me.

- Poor Ruth.

She really loved him.

She put up with a lot but she really loved him.

- They were going to be married.

- What?

- She told me during the party.

They were going to be married this fall.

He was supposed to announce it at midnight.

The dress she had was part of Tusso.

She was so sure that once she became your stepmother,

she could patch everything up between you and your father.

- They were going to be married?

Did you tell Mr. Felse?

- Should I?

Kitty?

- What time was that?

- Well, I would say about 12:30 or so.

I don't wear a watch, so I can't say exactly.

- Excuse me.

- I never heard about any marriage plans

between Ruth and Mr. Aguilar.

Jean just told me about it a few moments ago.

Ruth must have been terribly upset

when she heard the way Mr. Aguilar was talking to me.

She left without saying a word,

and I don't remember seeing her at the party

after Dominic went down there.

(Ruth laughs)

- Have you seen my son, Miss Hamilton?

Where is my son?

- Don't worry.

I'll take good care of him.

Luis and I will take good care of him.

Everything happens in threes.

Threes.

- Ruth.

Ruth.

- Go get some coffee.

Come on now, Miss Hamilton.

Wake up, wake up, wake up!

Wake up, wake up, wake up! - No, no.

- Come on now, walk, walk, walk.

Where's Dominic?

Where's the boy? - No, no!

- Where is the boy?

Where is my son?

- Luis, Luis.

No, I want to die.

- Where is my son?

Where is my son?

- In the caves.

- Dominic!

- [George] Dominic!

- Dominic!

- Dominic!

- Dominic!

Dominic!

Dominic!

- [George] Dominic!

- [Kitty] Dominic!

Dominic!

That water.

That water shouldn't be there, Mister Felse.

It shouldn't be there.

- Lay him out there.

Tilt his head to one side.

Go get the doctor.

Send for a respirator.

- [Officer] All right.

- All right, come on, Dominic.

Breathe.

Come on, son.

Breathe.

Breathe.

Come on now, breathe.

Come on.

Come on.

Son, come on.

Breathe.

Breathe, son.

(Dominic breathes)

That's my boy.

That's my boy.

- Dad?

- [Kitty] Hey, Dominic.

- Hey, Kitty.

- Now listen, buddy.

You watch it, you understand?

- Yes, ma'am.

- And do everything I say.

- Oh, yes, ma'am.

- And if you do, I'll give you a great big gold star.

- Yes, ma'am.

- Sorry to be late, but I've been arguing with my sponsor

and he has now been convinced that invisibility

will help my attitude toward the commercial.

After all, if I can't see it, how can,

my sponsor seems to have missed the point.

Needless to say, next on view is a commercial.

(mysterious music)

(dramatic music)