77 Sunset Strip / Hawaiian Eye, etc. (3 Viewers)

[Bob Goughan]

View attachment 63455

Interesting. Whoever issued the card, Dino, I presume, spelled Wayne's production company name wrong: It was "BatJac" as I recall.

 

[Bob Goughan]

Does that mean Wayne could have stiffed him??

 

[criblecoblis]

Interesting. Whoever issued the card, Dino, I presume, spelled Wayne's production company name wrong: It was "BatJac" as I recall.

Bob,

That name just kept getting misspelled! Wayne intended to call it "Batjak", but his secretary misspelled it on the corporation papers, and Wayne did not correct her.

 

[Rustifer]

Episode Revisit
Clay Pigeon (S2E3)

Before Howard Stern, Don Imus, or even Mott the Hoople, there was shock jock Sam Gurney (Dan Tobin), a nasty piece of work who's livelihood subsisted on digging up dirt. During one of his broadcasts, Stu Bailey is in the audience (an live audience for a radio program in 1960?) with Sam's agent, a pretty lady with the unfortunate name of Mildred (Paula Raymond). After Sam insults Stu, both walk out either offended or needing to empty their bladders.

Later, at Dino's, Mildred explains that she puts up with Sam only because he's in line for a big TV contract. Stu, realizing what that means to her monetarily, makes her buy the drinks. In addition, she has a list of names given to her by Sam for Stu to investigate. Stu is more inclined to 'investigate' her at his apartment, but takes her up on the offer. The first two on the list that he visits end up dead as squirrels on a well-traveled highway. As a result the law enforcement community begins to look at Stu rather suspiciously, so he's more than driven to get to the bottom of it come hell or high water.

Beach Blanket Bailey; Paula Raymond; Dan Tobin

Speaking of water--Stu, Kookie and Roscoe hang out on the beach discussing the caper--a thin premise to basically feature Suzanne in a bathing suit. Not that I'm complaining--even though the "beach" is so laughably a stage set. In the meantime, Mildred goes missing and Stan claims to know nothing about any "list". Hmmmm. Kookie and Suzanne follow up on the last two people on the list while Stu plays scarce with the cops. Eventually he catches up with Mildred and the facts finally come out.

Nice little whodunit with a catchy private detective music score, but you can guess way in advance the probable suspect.

Notes:
For no practical purpose to the storyline, Jeff Spencer makes an appearance in the last couple of minutes--interesting only by his ridiculously short haircut.

As Stu uses a public phone, there's a Smoky the Bear sign in the booth. I suppose to remind folks not to make any scorching phone calls.

In the "beach" scene, Roscoe asks Kookie if he'll "lend him his comb". Gee--never saw that coming...

I always thought Paula Raymond and Maureen O'Hara shared DNA:

Paula / Maureen

 

[MartinP.]

Bob,

That name just kept getting misspelled! Wayne intended to call it "Batjak", but his secretary misspelled it on the corporation papers, and Wayne did not correct her.

Either Batjak or Batjac, what does it mean or signify?

 

[criblecoblis]

Either Batjak or Batjac, what does it mean or signify?

I'm not precisely sure, but I know it's a reference to something in The Wake of The Red Witch. Hold on a sec. . . okay, here's the straight dope direct from Wikipedia:

Wayne and producer Robert Fellows founded Batjac in 1952 as Wayne/Fellows Productions. When Fellows left the company several years later, Wayne renamed the corporation after a fictitious trading company mentioned in the film Wake of the Red Witch (1948). The company name in Wake of the Red Witch was spelled Batjak, but Wayne's secretary misspelled it as Batjac on the corporation papers, and Wayne let it stand.

 

[criblecoblis]

Episode Revisit
Clay Pigeon (S2E3)

Russ, you're in fine form! This one had me laughing a lot.

(a live audience for a radio program in 1960?)

The last vestiges of old-style radio were still in existence at that time. Heck, Arthur Godfrey's live-audience morning show survived until 1968.

Stu, realizing what that means to her monetarily, makes her buy the drinks.

This is the money quote. I laughed out loud at this one!

Speaking of water--Stu, Kookie and Roscoe hang out on the beach discussing the caper--a thin premise to basically feature Suzanne in a bathing suit. Not that I'm complaining--even though the "beach" is so laughably a stage set.

Yes, but remember, few people saw this back in the day on any screen larger than 21 inches or so. And at least half of them were only looking at Suzanne.

I always thought Paula Raymond and Maureen O'Hara shared DNA:

I'd never noticed this, but you're right! Everything below the eyes is very similar. Paula Raymond seems to be to have gotten increasingly pretty as she grew older, and in her appearances on 77SS she was at her peak.

 

[Gary16]

Russ, you're in fine form! This one had me laughing a lot.



The last vestiges of old-style radio were still in existence at that time. Heck, Arthur Godfrey's live-audience morning show survived until 1968.



This is the money quote. I laughed out loud at this one!



Yes, but remember, few people saw this back in the day on any screen larger than 21 inches or so. And at least half of them were only looking at Suzanne.



I'd never noticed this, but you're right! Everything below the eyes is very similar. Paula Raymond seems to be to have gotten increasingly pretty as she grew older, and in her appearances on 77SS she was at her peak.

Don McNeils Breakfast Club with a live radio audience survived into the 60s as well. If you listen to Radio Classics on SiriusXM you will find that even the dramatic radio shows often had a live audience.
Paula Raymond was in a horrific car accident in 1962. Remarkably they were able to put her face back together and while there’s a difference in her look after the plastic surgery she emerged still amazingly beautiful.
According to IMDb “Clay Pigeon” was episode 4 of season two.

 

[Rustifer]

According to IMDb “Clay Pigeon” was episode 4 of season two.

As per usual, Gary, my fact-checking ability is as substantive as unicorns made of cotton candy.

 

[Flashgear]

I always thought Paula Raymond and Maureen O'Hara shared DNA:

Paula Raymond was in a horrific car accident in 1962. Remarkably they were able to put her face back together and while there’s a difference in her look after the plastic surgery she emerged still amazingly beautiful.

Great post about 77's Clay Pidgeon, Russ...I think I like this episode more than you do, but as always, my judgement might be influenced once again by having the luscious Suzanne, Jaqueline Beer, in a Swimsuit, even if need be on a soundstage beach. Just by chance, I watched an episode of One Step Beyond featuring Paula Raymond...she certainly was a knockout in this season one episode from 1959...Gary, I was totally unaware of her car accident and resulting facial injuries in 1962...I'll have to dig into my collection to view other appearances she made, both before and after...

Paula Raymond in One Step Beyond, Emergency Only (Feb. 3, 1959), Lin McCarthy and Jocelyne Brando are also in this excellent episode...screen caps from CBS season one set, we have been told by a member here who is in the know, that the entire 3 seasons are going to be released on DVD by Reel Vault under license from CBS...

 

[Gary16]

Great post about 77's Clay Pidgeon, Russ...I think I like this episode more than you do, but as always, my judgement might be influenced once again by having the luscious Suzanne, Jaqueline Beer, in a Swimsuit, even if need be on a soundstage beach. Just by chance, I watched an episode of One Step Beyond featuring Paula Raymond...she certainly was a knockout in this season one episode from 1959...Gary, I was totally unaware of her car accident and resulting facial injuries in 1962...I'll have to dig into my collection to view other appearances she made, both before and after...

Paula Raymond in One Step Beyond, Emergency Only (Feb. 3, 1959), Lin McCarthy and Jocelyne Brando are also in this excellent episode...screen caps from CBS season one set, we have been told by a member here who is in the know, that the entire 3 seasons are going to be released on DVD by Reel Vault under license from CBS...
View attachment 63567
View attachment 63568
View attachment 63569
View attachment 63570
View attachment 63571

I hope you’re right about the series being released under license which would mean CBS did the transfers as they did for season one. I refused to buy any if the other sets out there with the poor transfers.

 

[Rustifer]

I watched an episode of One Step Beyond featuring Paula Raymond...she certainly was a knockout in this season one episode from 1959.

Damn nice screen caps, Randy!

Yeah, you're wondering why there's a couple of file pics from Adam-12 sitting here. I accidentally posed a Classic TV commentary in the wrong thread before moving it to the proper area. The photos remain as a mute reminder of my stupidity...

 

[Bob Goughan]

I have not seen Adam 12 for a long time but Sunday night I watched a season 5 episode that I had not seen since I had originally seen in it while I was in 8th grade. I know, a long, long time ago.

This was an episode that eluded me during collection efforts thru the years and I just got a mint copy sent to me from a recent TV airing. The episode was , "The Checkmate Caper". The "Checkmate" in the title was referenced by William Windom's character in the teleplay as "you know that Private Eye agency on TV, you know, Checkmate." He later sold Stu, much to Stu's regret, that if Stu helped him pull off this caper he would be just like the guys on Checkmate, helping to stop a crime before it happened. Needless to say I did not remember this dialog much less the rather strange premise of promoting a rival network's PI show.

Windom needed our hero to plan a fake heist at a jewelry store to placate his grandmother who though living in luxury longed for the good days of crime and mayhem. Windom needed to pull such a caper, his first, to vindicate family honor.

The show is light, stacked with mid-fifties crime jargon and studded with a cast that includes the always interesting Nancy Kulp (I'll leave it as interesting), Windom, Robert Cornwaite and Kathryn Givney as the fast talking, over the top matriarch.

Roscoe gets to talk horses while getting soused and Gilmore is seriously pissed at Stu for taking on this lame-brained job.

 

[Rustifer]

The show is light, stacked with mid-fifties crime jargon and studded with a cast that includes the always interesting Nancy Kulp (I'll leave it as interesting), Windom, Robert Cornwaite and Kathryn Givney as the fast talking, over the top matriarch.

Bob--this 77 SS episode has been often rated in the top 10 of the entire series by several of us in this thread. I did a commentary on it in here many pages ago.

By the time "The Checkmate Caper" aired in 1963, the TV series "Checkmate" with Anthony George, Sebastian Cabot and Doug McClure had already run its course and was gone.

 

[MartinP.]

By the time "The Checkmate Caper" aired in 1963, the TV series "Checkmate" with Anthony George, Sebastian Cabot and Doug McClure had already run its course and was gone.

But...the complete series of Checkmate is available on DVD, we should be so lucky with Warners detective shows! Before they released the complete series, they had released a "Best of" set that I watched and was amused that the actress who voiced Cruella DeVil, Betty Lou Gerson, was in it.

 

[Gary16]

But...the complete series of Checkmate is available on DVD, we should be so lucky with Warners detective shows! Before they released the complete series, they had released a "Best of" set that I watched and was amused that the actress who voiced Cruella DeVil, Betty Lou Gerson, was in it.

The transfers in that Checkmate set leave a lot to be desired. Better than nothing I guess.

 

[Bob Goughan]

Bob--this 77 SS episode has been often rated in the top 10 of the entire series by several of us in this thread. I did a commentary on it in here many pages ago.

By the time "The Checkmate Caper" aired in 1963, the TV series "Checkmate" with Anthony George, Sebastian Cabot and Doug McClure had already run its course and was gone.

Even a cursory examination of the dates involved would have shown that Checkmate was finished by the time 77 was in series 5 but still... finished or not, I was still surprised that Warner's ever promoted even a defunct network rival PI show.

 

[Bob Goughan]

The transfers in that Checkmate set leave a lot to be desired. Better than nothing I guess.

They do. I bit and bought it quite some time ago I enjoy the show and it is better than not having it at all. I agree.

 

[Gary16]

Even a cursory examination of the dates involved would have shown that Checkmate was finished by the time 77 was in series 5 but still... finished or not, I was still surprised that Warner's ever promoted even a defunct network rival PI show.

But knowing Warner, would they have “promoted” one of their own defunct PI shows?

 

[Bob Goughan]

But knowing Warner, would they have “promoted” one of their own defunct PI shows?

Hell no, not if it was off air.