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77 Sunset Strip / Hawaiian Eye, etc. (4 Viewers)

Rustifer

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You know, they do give tours of the backlot. . . .
Boy! Don't I wish I was still a regular traveler to SoCal! I bet the tour doesn't let you wander through the buildings at will, though.

Yes, it won't be focused on a 77 Sunset Strip theme, but any time I've been able to be on a Hollywood backlot, I find it worthwhile.
Yeah, I bet the tour guides are of an age where 77 SS isn't even a distant memory. Although one would think they'd be somewhat versed in the series to at least make a mention or two...
 

criblecoblis

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Boy! Don't I wish I was still a regular traveler to SoCal! I bet the tour doesn't let you wander through the buildings at will, though.

Russ, I've watched a few cellphone videos of the tour, and they do bring you into selected buildings. I get the idea that the most pricey tour gives you a bit more unfettered access.

I am forced to admit, however, that as a child of the Sixties the houses on what they now seem to call the Warner Ranch, but is in fact the old Columbia Ranch, are far more recognizable to me as they stand. You know, Gidget's house, Maj. Nelson's house, the Stevens' house. . . .
 

Rustifer

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Russ, I've watched a few cellphone videos of the tour, and they do bring you into selected buildings. I get the idea that the most pricey tour gives you a bit more unfettered access.

I am forced to admit, however, that as a child of the Sixties the houses on what they now seem to call the Warner Ranch, but is in fact the old Columbia Ranch, are far more recognizable to me as they stand. You know, Gidget's house, Maj. Nelson's house, the Stevens' house. . . .
Interesting. Do you know if those houses have actual interiors or are they just shells? I would assume that, say, the "Bewitched" interiors were all shot on a sound stage in one of the WB studios.
 

MartinP.

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^^^

From my memory: I don't know about "all", but most of those houses are not used for interiors. I know from reading the Bewitched book that that particular house had an alley running behind it and was only a few feet wide! The Bewitched house was constructed in July of 1962, according to actual Columbia Pictures documentation, for the tv show "Our Man Higgins" with Stanley Holloway, and was often referred to as the Higgins House.

One house on the ranch is called the Deeds House and was built for the Capra film Mr. Deeds Goes to Town.
“The Three Stooges” serials from 1936 – 1942, the “Batman” & “Superman” serials, as well as almost any other serial of the time were filmed on this backlot.

The interiors for the backlot houses were filmed at Columbia's Hollywood studios at Sunset and Gower. (Columbia moved onto the Warner Bros. lot in the early 70's, if I'm correct, and now they are located as Sony Pictures Studios where MGM used to be.)

I also read once that each house on the Columbia ranch sets had corresponding interiors at the studio lot in Hollywood. Productions that used a certain house for the exteriors, also used the same interior set for said house in the Hollywood studio.

For example, if you watch Gidget and Hazel, they used the same exterior house, which was right next door to the Bewitched house. If you notice, too, their door entrance and living room set are the same interior sets located in Hollywood.

Some of the shows that used these exterior houses for their series, besides Bewitched, which also used the house across the street for the Kravitzes, were Blondie, Donna Reed, Dennis the Menace, Hazel, Gidget, I Dream of Jeannie (they used the Bewitched house, and interiors, for the Bellows place), The Partridge Family,
and Father Knows Best. Not just comedies, but some dramas used the lot, too, like The Scarecrow and Mrs. King. The Griswold's house from Christmas Vacation is here, too, and many commercials have been filmed on the lot. The most recent shows that used houses on the lot that I know of were Shameless, Suburgatory and The Middle, which I watched and it ended it's nine year run last year. You could often see the Bewitched house down the street when they were in the driveway of their place.

The Flying Nun and The Monkees also used the lot for filming. (One interior party scene in The Monkees was shot in the Bewitched living room!) This lot also had a couple city streets, a church, a place with a pool (Bewitched used it several times) and a park which they all seemed to use. A very recognizable fountain is in that park and most famously used in the opening of Friends!

This is one backlot, though, not open to the public so there are no tours you can take of it. :(
 

Mysto

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^^^

From my memory: I don't know about "all", but most of those houses are not used for interiors. I know from reading the Bewitched book that that particular house had an alley running behind it and was only a few feet wide! The Bewitched house was constructed in July of 1962, according to actual Columbia Pictures documentation, for the tv show "Our Man Higgins" with Stanley Holloway, and was often referred to as the Higgins House.

One house on the ranch is called the Deeds House and was built for the Capra film Mr. Deeds Goes to Town.
“The Three Stooges” serials from 1936 – 1942, the “Batman” & “Superman” serials, as well as almost any other serial of the time were filmed on this backlot.

The interiors for the backlot houses were filmed at Columbia's Hollywood studios at Sunset and Gower. (Columbia moved onto the Warner Bros. lot in the early 70's, if I'm correct, and now they are located as Sony Pictures Studios where MGM used to be.)

I also read once that each house on the Columbia ranch sets had corresponding interiors at the studio lot in Hollywood. Productions that used a certain house for the exteriors, also used the same interior set for said house in the Hollywood studio.

For example, if you watch Gidget and Hazel, they used the same exterior house, which was right next door to the Bewitched house. If you notice, too, their door entrance and living room set are the same interior sets located in Hollywood.

Some of the shows that used these exterior houses for their series, besides Bewitched, which also used the house across the street for the Kravitzes, were Blondie, Donna Reed, Dennis the Menace, Hazel, Gidget, I Dream of Jeannie (they used the Bewitched house, and interiors, for the Bellows place), The Partridge Family,
and Father Knows Best. Not just comedies, but some dramas used the lot, too, like The Scarecrow and Mrs. King. The Griswold's house from Christmas Vacation is here, too, and many commercials have been filmed on the lot. The most recent shows that used houses on the lot that I know of were Shameless, Suburgatory and The Middle, which I watched and it ended it's nine year run last year. You could often see the Bewitched house down the street when they were in the driveway of their place.

The Flying Nun and The Monkees also used the lot for filming. (One interior party scene in The Monkees was shot in the Bewitched living room!) This lot also had a couple city streets, a church, a place with a pool (Bewitched used it several times) and a park which they all seemed to use. A very recognizable fountain is in that park and most famously used in the opening of Friends!

This is one backlot, though, not open to the public so there are no tours you can take of it. :(
Good interesting stuff. Thanks
 

criblecoblis

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(Columbia moved onto the Warner Bros. lot in the early 70's, if I'm correct, and now they are located as Sony Pictures Studios where MGM used to be.)

Martin, In 1971 or thereabouts, Columbia and WB decided to share studio facilities to save money. They formed an entity called The Burbank Studios, which included the WB lot and the Columbia Ranch (and perhaps other locations as well).

Then Sony bought Columbia, and when they then bought the old M-G-M lot from Lorimar, they moved to that, selling their interest in The Burbank Studios back to WB.

By the way, the Columbia Ranch is now called the Warner Bros. Ranch. Columbia Pictures is now Sony Pictures, at M-G-M as I mentioned and who knows where M-G-M went.

The M-G-M offices are now in a showy building in Beverly Hills.
 

Rustifer

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From my memory: I don't know about "all", but most of those houses are not used for interiors. I know from reading the Bewitched book that that particular house had an alley running behind it and was only a few feet wide! The Bewitched house was constructed in July of 1962, according to actual Columbia Pictures documentation, for the tv show "Our Man Higgins" with Stanley Holloway, and was often referred to as the Higgins House.
Thanks for enlightening us on this issue, Martin. Most helpful.
 

Rustifer

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Episode Commentary
"Bullets For Santa" (S4E14)

I haven't seen this one for a long time and although one would think that February isn't the most appropriate time to roll out a review (considering the title of the episode), be assured there's very little to do with Christmas in this story.

Pauline Grant (Marilyn Maxwell) is an aging movie star that's clinging to a rapidly shredding career. Filming her latest film, it's a make-or-break situation not only for her, but her agent Artie (Gerald Mohr), the studio boss (Ed Prentiss) and her Director (Victor Buono). For publicity purposes, Pauline is featured in the Rose Bowl parade, which employs some interesting archival parade footage used as the backdrop. Santa unfortunately takes a bullet supposedly meant for Pauline while riding on her float. The mystery begins.

images
images
images
upload_2019-2-25_12-6-9.jpeg

Marilyn Maxwell, Yvonne Craig, John Howard, Gerald Mohr

Jeff Spencer is hired by the studio to protect Pauline from the unknown assassin. Besides everyone mentioned above as would-be suspects, her ex-husband David Bonner (John Howard) is also thrown into the mix. David creepily keeps his house just the same as the day Pauline left, hoping she'd return. The guy is hanging by a thread in La La Land.

While Jeff is chasing down sketchy clues, Kookie is saddled with watching over the star and her nubile daughter Kristan (Yvonne Craig). Upon meeting Kookie, Kristan mixes him a martini--comprising of about 72 parts gin to a half eyedropper of vermouth. I like this girl a lot.
She then proceeds to put the moves on Kookie, who opposes--but only at first. C'mon, if Yvonne Craig wants to bo-de-oh-doh with you, tough to resist, no?
"A little girl disappears into the vanishing cream and comes up a disaster", Kookie inexplicably murmurs into the crook of her neck. I'm still working on the meaning of that.

While rehearsing a scene on set, Pauline gets shot at once again. She breaks down into fit of hysteria. It's the kind of day that could curdle even holy water. However, she's offered a ten picture deal when the studio realizes how valuable she is. Hysteria changes into a happy giggle, and her agent nearly has to change his underwear in joyful delirium. Especially since his ploy of "attempted" shootings is really only harmless squibs in order to gain more publicity for his meal ticket. But wait! In finishing Pauline's scene, her double actually does get shot and killed. Just when you think you know who dunnit. I won't spoil it for you.

Great episode that reminds me of season one's storylines that deftly utilize the iconic aura that made 77 SS so enjoyable. Directed by george waGGner and written by studio veteran James O'Hanlon--there's just enough tongue-in-cheek (literally in Kookie's kissing scenes with Yvonne) and actually mystery that makes this a really watchable hour. Unhappily, Victor Buono's talents are once again sorely underused.

Randoms:
Curvy Marilyn Maxwell relayed to columnist Earl Wilson in 1952 that she loved to wear strapless gowns. "If you got 'em, show 'em. I love to flaunt my figure". Apparently Bob Hope agreed, as she was rumored for years as Mrs. Bob Hope.
She held a lifelong grudge against Perry Como, of all people. As youthful co-singers touring with Ted Weem's band, she couldn't understood why Perry never invited her to be on his popular TV show later on. Writing him off, she proclaimed "TV lacks sex, anyway."

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"If you got 'em..."

One more thought. Nobody smoked a cigarette better than Gerald Mohr, no matter what show he was in. Made it look so natural.
 
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criblecoblis

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Deconstructing The Baker House Interior

After my Postscript on “Pasadena Caper,” I watched the episode again, looking for any inconsistencies such as those we have noticed in the Dino’s/77 Sunset Strip building set.

I considered the layout of the house as it is presented, then tried to confirm visually that each pair of adjacent rooms did communicate consistently in both directions. Then, I tried to confirm that each individual room is portrayed consistently in all its details throughout.

Any inconsistency in the relation between adjacent rooms or within a room, and any inability to confirm a proper relation, is a clue to the true nature of the Baker house interior. As it happens, I did find a number of such clues.

The following is what I found, separated into general categories.


Relationships between rooms

I can’t positively verify the connection between the second landing of the staircase and the landing on the second floor, but all the evidence indicates that the connection is genuine.

I can’t positively verify the location of the room behind the peephole portrait relative to St's bedroom, but only because we never see the position of their doors relative to each other. All other evidence supports the validity of the location as portrayed.

I can’t verify that the closet of Peter Baker’s bedroom as seen from inside is the same as the closet we see from inside the bedroom.

I can verify that Stu’s bedroom and the secret passage to Peter’s closet are not connected in the material world:

01 Stu exiting secret passage into his room.jpg


You can see that there is nothing beyond the entry to the passage but a white void and what looks like a safety railing running at an upward angle from left to right.


Inconsistencies within Stu’s bedroom

The most notable inconsistency is that the peephole portrait couldn’t possibly be where it is shown to be in Stu’s bedroom, for the following reasons:
  • Based upon where we are shown the room behind the peephole portrait is, the portrait would have to be on the wall opposite the bed, not the wall adjacent to it
  • The wall behind where the portrait is shown is an exterior wall (it’s just to the right of the bay window)
  • The portrait is shown hanging above a fireplace:
02 Portrait above Stu's bed.jpg


There are also a few inconsistencies regarding the bay window in the room. Before I list these, let me remind you that we have previously proven that the bay window we see Stu and Jeff look out of is connected to the room used as Stu’s bedroom. Let’s take a fresh look at this angle before they get to the window:

03 outside of Stu's bay window looking in.jpg


Not only can the interior of the room be clearly seen, but we can also see that this bay window has only the two double-hung windows we see here. In other words, the bay comes to a point in the middle. The panes carry an Arts and Crafts leaded design.

The first inconsistency involving the bay window occurs in the scene where Stu awakens to discover that the sconce in his room is spewing forth raw gas. He gets up, turns off the valve, then heads towards the bay window. The scene then cuts to this:

04 Stu approaches closed bay window at night.jpg


Here it is evident that the windowpanes are just plain, unadorned glass. Stu then throws up two of the sashes, and we see this:

05 Stu gasping for fresh air from open bay window.jpg


Three things are notable here:

  • There is absolutely nothing but a black void outside the windows
  • To the right of the open window on the right, partially obscured by the Me-TV bug, is a sheer panel clearly belonging to a third window
  • The sill and molding continue under this third window.
This is obviously not the bay window belonging to the room.

Let’s now return to the scene where Stu and Jeff are looking out the bay window upon Erin O’Day (that’s Irish!) sitting in Jeff’s car in front of the house. They then come back into the room and speak to each other, still standing in the bay:

06 Stu and Jeff inside bay from inside.jpg


You can see the leaded pattern in the right window, just below the window shade. Note also that behind Jeff is a heavy drape with a frilled edge, and behind Stu the frills of the other drape are just peeking into the frame. All we can see through the open windows is a gray void.

Then, the scene cuts to a shot of Stu over Jeff’s shoulder:

07 Stu over Jeff's shoulder in bay.jpg


No heavy frilled drape behind Stu, just a sheer panel. The shade is now drawn all the way down to the edge of the window frame, and through the open window we see only a gray void.

This does not match up with the two-window bay of the previous shot, but it does match up nicely with the three-window bay of the attempted-gassing scene, except in that scene the frilled drapes are present. The scene then cuts to the opposite angle:

08 Jeff over Stu's shoulder in bay.jpg


We’re now back in Stu’s bedroom in front of the two-window bay with the frilled drape.


Other issues

Let’s return to Stu in the secret passage. He uncovers the hatch in the floor, then descends through it into Peter’s closet, with the camera tracking him right through the floor:

09 Stu through hatch 1.jpg


10 Stu through hatch 2.jpg


011 Stu through hatch 3.jpg


There is an open hole in the second floor between the secret passage and Peter’s closet, right next to a covered hatch leading to the same place.

Moving to the bedroom behind the peephole portrait, there is one issue with it that, while plausible, is not supported by any corroborating evidence. Let’s take a look at the recessed area where the peephole is:

12 Peephole recess.jpg


This indicates that the wall between this bedroom and Stu’s is about three times as thick as a Victorian interior wall should be. This could easily be explained by the presence of flush built-in cabinetry in Stu’s side of the wall, but we never see more than a tiny sliver of that wall along its left edge, so we can’t verify that.

There is one remaining item I found: we get two glimpses of what is outside the front door. The first comes when Kookie arrives at the house the first time with Stu’s meal:

13 Kookie enters house, angle from inside.jpg


I don’t know exactly what we’re seeing outside the door, but I am sure that it is not what’s outside the house used for the exterior in this direction: an open square with a row of Victorian-era storefronts behind it (extra credit: watch S5E3 “Terror in A Small Town” to see the entire neighborhood of the Baker house exterior in detail).

To put a finer point on the matter, let’s take a fresh look at that exterior:

14 Jeff approaches house, outside angle.jpg


Comparing the two views, we can see that the fill of the veranda balustrade and of the windows on either side of the door do not match, and there is no iron fence anywhere in the exterior view. Also note that the side windows of the interior shot have an Arts and Crafts leaded design of the same geometrical style as that seen in the bay window of Stu’s room (and in the parlor, for that matter).

The second glimpse outside the front door comes when Peter enters it later on:

15 Peter enters house, angle from inside.jpg


Nothing outside now but a black void.

That’s every clue I could find. I’m eager to hear your thoughts regarding what they may mean. I’m especially eager to hear from those with a good working knowledge of film production, who are likely to be able to see much more in the evidence than the rest of us.
 
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criblecoblis

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Russ,

EXCELLENT write-up of this elusive episode! Such a great guest cast. We're huge fans of Gerald Mohr here at the Farm House, and are always happy to see him.

She held a lifelong grudge against Perry Como, of all people. As youthful co-singers touring with Ted Weem's band, she never understood why Perry never invited her to be on his popular TV show later on.

I didn't know Marilyn Maxwell sang with Weems, and I should, because I have dozens of the band's records. Just my luck none feature Marilyn.
 

criblecoblis

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No problem, Rob. I must say, you are now the unopposed expert on the interior layout of The Pasadena Caper house. There's no denying your argument!

Thanks, Russ, although I hasten to point out that I make no argument in that post--or at least I don't intend to. I'm just trying to put what I found out there, without coming to any particular conclusions.

I'm hoping we all can arrive at a conclusion together.
 

Rustifer

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Thanks, Russ, although I hasten to point out that I make no argument in that post--or at least I don't intend to. I'm just trying to put what I found out there, without coming to any particular conclusions.

I'm hoping we all can arrive at a conclusion together.
You're right, I guess "argument" is the wrong word. Probably "synopsis" of your interior vs. exterior layout is more apropos. I'm struck by the level of detail you've manged to accumulate.
 

criblecoblis

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You're right, I guess "argument" is the wrong word. Probably "synopsis" of your interior vs. exterior layout is more apropos. I'm struck by the level of detail you've manged to accumulate.

Thanks, Russ! And I don't mean to be pedantic; I just want to make my intention clear. I'm not making a case for any particular conclusion, just entering the evidence into the public record for discussion purposes.
 

Rustifer

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I think this is the building you're referring to on New York St., and you're right---we've seen it many many times on 77 SS as a hotel, Broadway theater, government building, department store, etc. etc.

View attachment 55458

Sure would love to be able to take a golf cart tour of the entire back lot.
Rob--I was surprised to see this very street scene while watching a rerun of the Big Bang Theory episode "The 21 Second Excitation". It even had the theater alleyway that you showed in your link. I excitedly pointed it out to wifey, and was rewarded with a uh-huh.
No idea what I was talking about.
 

Rustifer

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Cool! Just out of curiosity, was it standing in for somewhere in Pasadena?
Yeah, I assume it was to represent the local theater. The entire gang was there to catch the opening of Raiders of the Lost Ark, but were cut off from getting into the full theater. As a result, Sheldon enters through the alleyway to swipe the film reels and subsequently gets chased by the mob of movie goers through the street.

upload_2019-2-28_7-15-19.jpeg
 

criblecoblis

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Yeah, I assume it was to represent the local theater. The entire gang was there to catch the opening of Raiders of the Lost Ark, but were cut off from getting into the full theater. As a result, Sheldon enters through the alleyway to swipe the film reels and subsequently gets chased by the mob of movie goers through the street.

You know, I really should have been watching that show all along, seeing as how it's situated just a few neighborhoods away from us and steeped in local culture. Maybe when it comes to Me-TV I'll catch up with it. . . .

I really love that they use the WB backlot. See, Russ, this is what I was trying to say some time back. As much as I share your wish that 77SS had done a lot more location shooting around town, for me the backlot itself has become a location that is fun to spot, and to see how it evolved over time.

In fact, it actually made "Terror in A Small Town" enjoyable this time around, because the town scenes were all filmed right where the house used for the exterior of the Baker house in "Pasadena Caper" is. It was instructive to get a good look at that area the way it looked back then.
 

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