Alfred Hitchcock and Christmas. They go together like… like… actually, they don’t really go together at all, do they? Unless Santa has a body in his sleigh, hundreds of reindeer descend on Bodega Bay, or an elf dresses up as Mrs. Claus and stabs an unsuspecting woman in a shower at the North Pole Motel. But as strange as it may seem, the “Master of Suspense” is pretty masterful with the Christmas spirit as well, and in Season 1 of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, he delivers a true Christmas classic with “Santa Claus and the Tenth Avenue Kid.”
Alfred Hitchcock Sets Up a Very Unconventional Christmas Tale
“Santa Claus and the Tenth Avenue Kid” begins with one of Hitchcock’s standard episode introductions, a brief, wryly comical segment that begins with his iconic, “Good evening.” In this episode, he sits in front of a fireplace, bedecked with the festive trappings of the holiday, and a large “Merry Christmas” sign on the mantle. “Santa Claus is always bringing surprises to others. I thought it would be interesting if someone surprised him for a change,” Hitchcock explained. “I’m rather tired of his tracking soot in here every year. There. Let him ‘Ho ho ho’ himself out of that.”
It certainly sounds like it’s setting up a truly unconventional Christmas episode, and it certainly begins that way, with Harold “Stretch” Sears (Barry Fitzgerald), a man with a long history of petty theft and multiple prison sentences to show for it, out on parole. His caseworker, Miss Clementine Webster (Virginia Gregg, who provided the voice of Norma Bates in Psycho), is a chipper, optimistic woman, a stark contrast to Sears’ bitter and cynical ex-con. She’s landed him a job as a department store Santa Claus, not easy to do for a man with his… shall we say, history. He’s not happy about it, but there’s little in the way of options, so he shows up and meets the store manager, Mr. Shaw (Justice Watson), who says he looks perfect for the part, he just needs to get a “twinkle in his eye.” The sooner, the better.
He’s a surly, cynical Santa, and the privileged children that rifle through certainly don’t help, with long lists of extravagant gift demands. But one child shows up that’s not like the others; a mouthy, bad-tempered, streetwise boy (Bobby Clark) with a Brooklyn accent and a healthy cynicism about the holidays that matches Sears’ own. He doesn’t believe in Santa, and doesn’t believe that he’ll get any toys — especially the expensive toy plane hanging from the ceiling above. The “Tenth Avenue” boy walks away, presumably not to be seen again, but there’s something about him that piques Sears’ interest.
‘Alfred Hitchcock Presents’ Subverts Expectations with “Santa Claus and the Tenth Avenue Kid”
Finally, there’s an end in sight to the parade of pretentious tots and the ceaseless, irritating encouragement from Miss Webster: Christmas Eve. But much to Sears’ surprise, there’s one child that stays behind: the Tenth Avenue boy. He’s still as cynical as he was the first time, but now, without anyone else around, Sears has a chance to really talk to the boy and make a connection. As they talk, Sears begins to realize that the boy is growing up as he did, with a future as a career criminal nigh. But the boy is starting to believe that this Santa just might be real, that he’s being straight with him. He opens up to Santa Sears, telling him about his hope to be a pilot one day, pointing to the toy plane. Sears tells him that if he truly wants to be a pilot, he needs to turn his life around, beginning by surrendering the small items he’s pilfered from the store.
He then makes his wish to Santa, for the toy plane, excitedly giving Santa his address as he runs home. Sears has a tough decision to make. He can go about his business, ignore the boy’s plea, disappointing him and likely sending him on a path that Sears knows only too well. Or, he can jeopardize his own freedom by breaking the conditions of his parole, take the plane and bring it to the boy for Christmas, affirming the boy’s faith in the Christmas spirit and setting him up for a better tomorrow. He opts for the latter, keeping the Santa suit and bringing the plane to the boy.
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Alfred Hitchcock’s Christmas detour turns out to be far sweeter than one might anticipate from the man behind Psycho. The episode completely subverts all of our expectations to become a heartwarming and truly conventional Christmas special after all. It’s brilliantly pulled off, with Fitzgerald and Gregg in particular absolutely excellent in the enjoyable episode, and its message of redemption and hope is timeless. It’s truly fascinating, too, in how it pairs the characters. Shaw is just as much a thief as Sears, asking him to push the “musical teddy bears” they’re having trouble selling. Sears is the boy, years earlier, but with a chance to take a different path in life. And Webster and Sears find a mutual understanding and friendship, each learning from the other to become alike themselves. It’s so heartwarming that even Hitchcock is moved, and upon hearing old Saint Nick tumble into the chimney, he ends the episode, saying to the audience: “You know, he [Santa] ain’t such a bad chap after all.”
- Release Date
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1955 – 1962-00-00
- Directors
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Robert Stevens, Paul Henreid, Herschel Daugherty, Arthur Hiller, Jus Addiss, John Brahm, Robert Stevenson, Don Taylor, Stuart Rosenberg, Don Weis, Robert Florey, John Newland, Bernard Girard, Jules Munshin, James Neilson, Boris Sagal, John Meredyth Lucas, Tristram Powell, Ida Lupino, Tim Kirby, Leonard Horn, Don Medford, Paul Almond, Bretaigne Windust
- Writers
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James P. Cavanagh, Henry Slesar, Robert C. Dennis, Francis M. Cockrell, Bernard C. Schoenfeld, Stirling Silliphant, Robert Bloch, Marian B. Cockrell, Bill S. Ballinger, Ray Bradbury, Jerry Sohl, Kathleen Hite, John Collier, Richard Levinson, Frank Gabrielson, William Link, Burt Styler, Calvin Clements Sr., Meade Roberts, Nicholas Monsarrat, Stanley Ellin, Gordon Russell, Charles Beaumont, George F. Slavin
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Harry ‘Snub’ Pollard
Bar Patron (uncredited)
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Al Jolson
Jakie Rabinowitz (archive footage) (uncredited)
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Alan Marshal
William Pryor
