The idea for a Hitchcock television series came from his former agent, Lew Wasserman (then president of MCA), in early 1955 and was intended to be an extension of Hitchcock’s own appearances in his features. Though wary of the new medium, Hitchcock was soon persuaded that television would be the perfect showcase for all the stories he had wanted to do but which had been excluded from feature projects due to length or peculiarity. The prospect of enormous financial benefits to be accrued from a weekly television series was also persuasive.

He formed Shamley Productions (named after his summer home in England) to produce the series at Re- vue Studios, the television arm of Universal. The agreement with CBS and sponsor Bristol-Myers was for Hitchcock to act as host, executive producer (“An Alfred Hitchcock Production”), and occasional director. To run the television operation he brought on board longtime friend and associate Joan Harrison as producer, later joined by Norman Lloyd, and, for the hour-long series, Gordon Hessler. Although Hitchcock was head of the company his involvement was only peripheral and it was Joan Harrison who was ultimately responsible for selecting the stories for the series as well as hiring the writers and directors.

The anthology adapted stories by virtually every modern mystery writer in the genre, presenting macabre tales about ordinary people in extraordinary situations that usually resulted in an O. Henry type twist ending. The series was dark yet humorous, sometimes grim, often ironic, but never gruesome visually. The episodes were “situation tragedies,” as Hitchcock quipped. His preference for published material over “developed” stories brought in many source authors who were household names, including Eric Ambler, Robert Bloch, Roald Dahl, Evan Hunter, Ellery Queen, and Henry Slesar. What made these half-hour playlets so different from the other suspense anthology programs of the time (The Web, Suspense, Danger, Climax, The Vise, Rebound) was the offbeat quality of the individual productions, often exploring unusual cam- era angles and employing low-key lighting to enhance the mood of menace and danger. Among the notable directors with a penchant for the suspenseful were Robert Stevens, Herschel Daugherty, John Brahm, Robert Florey, and actor-turned-director Paul Henreid. Hitchcock himself directed 20 episodes in which he ghoulishly and irreverently parodied the conventions of the murder mystery. The suitably atmospheric black-and-white cinematography, mainly by John L. Russell, and the expedient film editing of Edward W. Williams and Richard G. Wray firmly established a production team working together with admirable precision.

Curiously enough, one of the most popular elements to surface from the series was Hitchcock’s own tongue-in-cheek introductions and closing comments as well as his sometimes mordant segues into the commercial breaks. At first the series’ sponsor Bristol- Myers was outraged at this irreverent attitude toward its product, but Hitchcock soon convinced them that “a knock is as good as a boost” when they noticed the positive commercial effects his subtle digs generated.

The writer responsible for these little on-camera comments by Hitchcock was screenwriter and playwright James B. Allardice, who was shown a rough cut of The Trouble with Harry (then in production) to get an idea of the cynical tone required. Allardice grasped the offbeat black comedy immediately and went on to write all of Hitchcock’s prologues and epilogues for the series’ ten-year run.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents received the Emmy nomination for Best Dramatic Anthology Series for 1957 and for 1958–59.

In 1957, prompted by the success of the CBS series, NBC developed its own mystery anthology, Suspicion (1957–58), consisting of 20 live episodes from New York and 20 episodes filmed in Hollywood, ten of the latter produced by Shamley. Joan Harrison served as associate producer, with Hitchcock credited as executive producer. Suspicion premiered with the Hitchcock- directed episode “Four O’Clock” (a Francis Cockrell teleplay from a Cornell Woolrich story).

Psycho (1960) has certain relevance here, produced and released midway through the series run. The film was financed by Hitchcock himself and produced through the facilities of Shamley. Psycho is a film that could only have come out of Hitchcock’s experience with filmed television (including the “stories they wouldn’t let me do on TV” factor). It was filmed at Revue with Hitchcock using his television crew (including cinematographer John L. Russell and assistant director Hilton A. Green) and applying the shortcut methods of his weekly television production. The famous Psycho Victorian house on the Universal backlot would also be seen in various episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (notably in the episode “An Unlocked Window”).

After moving from CBS to NBC for one season (1960–61), the series returned to CBS to end its run in June 1962, to be replaced by an hour-long format from 1962 to 1965. When the decision was made to expand the series, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour continued the familiar Presents format, only longer. Unfortunately, in expanding the type of stories that had characterized Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the programs developed a rather sedate quality, provoking the criticism of “padding-out.” As mystery author and series regular contributor Henry Slesar observed: “More was told about the same thing.”

In September 1985 Alfred Hitchcock Presents returned to network television. It had been two decades since the original had left the air, and five years since the death of Hitchcock. Films of his original monochrome introductions were computer colorized and reused to introduce the new episodes. Some episodes of the 1985 revival series presented new stories, while others were remakes of original episodes. Following a one-year network run, additional episodes were filmed for the USA Cable Network in 1987. The last of the additional episodes had its cable premiere early in 1988.