Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Roald Dahl's story is a sort of homage to James Thurber, and takes a mildly misogynist delight in describing a skirmish in "the war between men and women" that is, for once, won by the husband. The awful Mrs. Bixby, kissed off by her lover the Colonel, takes great delight in his farewell present, a fur coat, and the thought of losing this gift concerns her far more than the loss of her lover. She devises an elaborate scheme involving a pawn ticket to explain the coat to her husband, but he, clearly knowing the truth of the situation, teaches her a lesson. A very slight story, directed with quiet skill by Hitchcock himself - milder than usual for either director or writer, but pleasing.