Alfred Hitchcock Presents1955

[introduction]

Alfred Hitchcock:
Good evening.

[reacts to shrill humming]

Alfred Hitchcock:
Some of our late viewers tuning in. One of the commonest questions that people ask of a producer of mystery motion pictures is, "Which is written first, the words or the music?" In our case, the background music always comes first. After it is written, we sprinkle the score liberally with sound effects, and then hire an author to write appropriate scenes to accompany the music, quiet scenes to coincide with the somber passages, and scenes of violence to synchronize with the noisier sections. Finally, we garnish this potpourri with a title composed of from one to four words, selected because they are eye-catching and provocative. And we arrange them in a manner designed to titillate and confuse. Let me show you what one of our stories sounds like before it is written.

[Hitchcock waves a baton as we hear women screaming, gunfire, burglar alarms, police sirens, crashes, etc.]

Alfred Hitchcock:
How fortissimo can you get? I trust this has been educational. I deliberately cut that number short because it was the music for tonight's story, "Alibi Me," and I didn't want you to know how it comes out. If you haven't already guessed, here is the way it begins.