"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" is a seventh-season episode of ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was r ...

'' made in the summer of 1961 that has never been broadcast on network television. The episode was scheduled to be episode 39 of the season. The story and teleplay were written by

Robert Bloch Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small ...

, the author of '' Psycho'', and the episode was directed by Josef Leytes. The four main characters are played by

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was p ...

(Irene Sadini),

Brandon deWilde Andre Brandon deWilde (April 9, 1942 – July 6, 1972) was an American theater, film, and television actor. Born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn, he debuted on Broadway at the age of seven and became a national phenomenon by the time he com ...

(Hugo), David J. Stewart (Vincent Sadini), and

Larry Kert Lawrence Frederick "Larry" Kert (December 5, 1930 – June 5, 1991) was an American actor, singer, and dancer. He is best known for his role of Tony in the original Broadway production of the musical ''West Side Story''. Early life Kert was ...

(George Morris). Although formerly considered a lost episode, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" has since been widely distributed in syndication and due to its status in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired ...

in numerous Hitchcock home media releases and

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.allmovie.com
/ref>Internet Archive
/ref>

Plot

Exiting his trailer on a cold windy night in Toledo for a smoke, carnival magician Sadini the Great spots an unconscious youth on the ground. Sadini and food vendor Milt carry the boy into Sadini's trailer. A short time later, Sadini's wife Irene enters. Displeased by the youth's presence, Irene finally accedes to Sadini's request to get food for the lad after the boy describes her as an angel. The boy also compares Sadini's appearance to that of the devil. The boy, Hugo, regains his strength and becomes infatuated with Irene. He follows her around the carnival, inadvertently discovering that she is cheating on Sadini with George Morris, the high-wire artist. Hugo and George watch Sadini's magic act together. Hugo becomes fascinated, especially when Sadini saws Irene in half and then "restores" her. Sadini offers Hugo a job with the Keeley's Carnival assisting with his props. Irene plans to murder her husband and frame Hugo for the crime. Irene uses Hugo's inability to distinguish fantasy from reality to convince the boy that by killing Sadini, he will inherit Sadini's

magic wand A wand is a thin, light-weight rod that is held with one hand, and is traditionally made of wood, but may also be made of other materials, such as metal or plastic. Long versions of wands are often styled in forms of staves or sceptres, which c ...

and gain its powers. Late at night while Irene is with George, Hugo waits in Sadini's trailer. When Sadini arrives, Hugo stabs him to death and hides the body in a trunk. George arrives in a drunken state to warn Hugo of Irene's intentions, but he passes out. Hugo leaves him in the trailer with the body, and goes to George's trailer in Sadini's cape, wand in hand. He tries to convince Irene to run away with him. Startled by Hugo's demeanor, Irene tries to escape but she slips and falls, hitting her head and falling unconscious. Hugo scoops up Irene and carries her off to the performance tent. There, as a demonstration of his newly acquired magical 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. In his closing monologue, Hitchcock explains, "I don't quite know how to put this, however, I must tell you the truth. The saw worked excellently, but the wand didn't. Hugo was terribly upset, and Irene was beside herself. As for the police, they misunderstood the whole thing and arrested Hugo for murder."

Background

The script was based on a short story by Robert Bloch which had appeared in the January 1949 edition of ''Weird Tales''. It was the only half hour episode of ''Presents'' to be refused to be broadcast. Bloch said "When the network censors viewed the teleplay there was thunder from on high. This show was simply ‘too gruesome’ to be aired. Nobody called me on the carpet because of this capricious decision - as a matter of fact, when the series went into syndication, my show was duly televised without a word from the powers that be.”

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

Revlon Revlon, Inc. is an American multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care. The headquarters of Revlon was established in New York City on March 1, 1932, where it still remains. Revlon was founded by brother ...

. The following season, ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' 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 from anyone.Snopes.com
/ref> "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", once denied network broadcast, is now the most widely distributed ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' episode of all those produced. Because of the

status of this episode, 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 A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

pieces that also have lapsed copyrights. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" can be viewed free on the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

References

External links

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Watch "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" The Sorcerer's Apprentice
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorcerer's Apprentice 1961 American television episodes Works by Robert Bloch American television series finales Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes

Plot

Background

Lost episode and public domain

See also

References

External links