Alfred Hitchcock Presents

This adaptation of Stanley Ellin's famous story could hardly be bettered, and Robert Morley is perfectly cast as the selfish, greedy gourmet who finally gets his wish to see the kitchen of his favourite eatery - not noticing, as the doors close on him, that the chef is holding a rather large meat-cleaver. The notion that "civilised man" is not very far from the feral hunter-gatherers of ancient times is insinuated with the greatest deftness, and the wit of Ellin's original is nicely retained. It's a surprise to find that the story's elegant Mr. Sbirro has changed sex for this adaptation (as well as changing, very slightly, the spelling of the surname), but there's no denying that the former jazz singer Madame Spivy makes the most of the role. One might even say she makes a meal of it.