(To be fair, we do see a cracked windshield later on.) Still, it seems like what Hitchcock could show of the carnage car crash itself was restricted – whether by the budget of the show or by standards of decency. In fact, it looks like the majority of the damage to the car was to the steering wheel of all things, snapping his neck and pinning him on the seat.
Naturally, the camera lingers on our lead character’s face for an extended period, but it’s hard to avoid the fact that his car crash doesn’t look especially serious. Part of the problem is one of suspension of disbelief. It just feels a bit clunky for a television adaptation. Still, the idea is solid, and Joseph Cotton gives a nice central performance. Cockrell and Louis Pollock from the latter’s short story, I can’t help but feel the concept might have worked better as a radio play than in television. We are treated to his inner monologue as various people come along and interact with him. Most of the story centres around an executive who survives a car crash, paralysed. It’s a very worthwhile cause and you can donate here.īreakdown is an interesting concept, but one that feels like it has been adapted into the wrong medium. The “For the Love of Film” blogathon this year is raising money to keep one of Hitchcock’s earlier works, The White Shadow (which he wrote, edited, designed and assistant-directed), available on-line and streaming for free. I’ll be looking at some of the episodes of the classic show that he directed. As part of the “For the Love of Film” blogathon, I’ll be taking a look at Alfred Hitchcock’s contributions to his celebrated anthology series Alfred Hitchcock Presents.