71 years ago today, Alfred Hitchcock Presents premiered on CBS.  Produced and hosted by Alfred Hitchcock, this series featured stories of suspense and real-life horror and set the standard for the anthology shows that followed.

Revenge, the first episode, was directed by Hitchcock himself.  Elsa Spann (Vera Miles) is a housewife who is recovering from a mental breakdown.  When a man breaks into her home and assaults her, the police struggle to come up with any leads.  Elsa’s husband, Carl (Ralph Meeker), takes Elsa on a vacation to try to help her heal.  While they’re driving through town, Elsa spots a man in a gray suit and says that he is the man who attacked her.  Carl stalks the man and then murders him, beating him to death in a motel room.  Later, while driving through another town, Elsa spots another man and says that he was the one who attacked her.  Carl realizes that he may have murdered an innocent man.  He turns himself in to the police and goes to jail while Elsa is sent to a mental asylum.

When I was a kid, one of the local stations used to air a nightly block of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone.  I think I was ten or eleven when I first saw Revenge and it made such an impression on me that I still haven’t forgotten it.  The scariest thing about this episode?  The man who attacked Elsa and started all of this was probably still out there, walking free.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ran for ten seasons.  It all started 71 years ago, on a night in October.

Previous Moments In Television History:

1. Planet of the Apes The TV Series
2. Lonely Water
3. Ghostwatch Traumatizes The UK
4. Frasier Meets The Candidate
5. The Autons Terrify The UK
6. Freedom’s Last Stand
7. Bing Crosby and David Bowie Share A Duet
8. Apaches Traumatizes the UK
9. Doctor Who Begins Its 100th Serial
10. First Night 2013 With Jamie Kennedy
11. Elvis Sings With Sinatra
12. NBC Airs Their First Football Game
13. The A-Team Premieres
14. The Birth of Dr. Johnny Fever
15. The Second NFL Pro Bowl Is Broadcast
16. Maude Flanders Gets Hit By A T-Shirt Cannon
17. Charles Rocket Nearly Ends SNL
18. Frank Sinatra Wins An Oscar
19. CHiPs Skates With The Stars
20. Eisenhower In Color
21. The Origin of Spider-Man
22. Steve Martin’s Saturday Night Live Holiday Wish List
23. Barnabas Collins Is Freed From His Coffin
24. Siskel and Ebert Recommend Horror Films
25. Vincent Price Meets The Muppets
26. Siskel and Ebert Discuss Horror
27. The Final Scene of Dark Shadows
28. The WKRP Turkey Drop
29. Barney Pops On National TV
30. The Greatest American Hero Premieres
31. Rodney Dangerfield On The Tonight Show
32. The Doors Are Open
33. The Thighmaster Commercial Premieres
34. The Hosts of Real People Say “Get High On Yourself”
35. The 33rd NFL Championship Game Is Broadcast In Color
36. The Sopranos Premieres on HBO
37. Eisenhower Hosts The First Televised Press Conference
38. The Twilight Zone Premieres On CBS
39. The Wolverines
40. Johnny Carson Talks To Vincent Price
41. Christopher Lee Introduced Meat Loaf
42. The 1983 Macy’s Fireworks Show