Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: “Beta Delta Gamma”

Wait! There was an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents that managed to include both classic horror actress Barbara Steele and the late Barbara Harris among its cast members? Why doesn't anyone tell me these things?

Of course, the roles Harris and Steele were relatively minor compared to the roles both actresses would later become famous for. Indeed, if you did not already know they were in this episode, you might not have guessed that the characters they were playing were played by them. (I certainly didn't.)

Anyway, the plot involved a party in a beach house involving various members of the Beta Delta Gamma fraternity and their girlfriends. (Hence the title of the episode.) During the party, one of the frat boys drank so much alcohol that he literally passed out. One of the girls suggested that the other members play a nasty prank on him by arranging to have him believe that he killed another frat member while he was drunk. His best friend then volunteered to be shot up with a drug that reduced his breathing to nearly undetectable levels so that he could play the role of said corpse. The remaining frat members then fled to another residence to await the results of their prank, only to eventually find out...

Ah! To say more would be telling. Suffice it to say that the ending of this episode might end up haunting your dreams. It certainly did mine the first time I saw it in my twenties. And yet it has lingered in my memory far longer than more famous episodes even though I first saw it in media res and never knew the title of this episode until just this past week.