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

[criblecoblis]

One of you in the know can tell me what episode this is from!

Sure, Martin: S2E18 "Ten Cents A Death."

What a great post, Martin! More of the same, please!

 

[criblecoblis]

VIEWER’S GUIDE
S1E15 “The Secret of Adam Cain”

Stu is hired by a man and his sister to recover a stolen vase that belonged to their recently-deceased uncle. While the vase is of little monetary value, they are nevertheless willing to spend all they have to get it back—but they won’t tell Stu why they want it back so desperately.

Written and directed by Montgomery Pittman

Guest cast: Liliane Montevecchi, Tosca · Don Gordon, Iron Man Brown · Lisa Davis, Venice Cain · Barry Kroeger, Bernard Stagg · David Frankham, Fred Cain · Joan Elan, Jane Neddleton · Eugene Martin, Eencho.


CAST & CREW NOTES

Montgomery Pittman is a man whose unique talents as a storyteller I greatly admire, as longtime readers of this thread know. I will not repeat what I have already posted about him, except to say that my own research strongly indicates that Pittman was born not on 3-1-17 in Lousiana, as is generally stated, but rather on 3-1-20 in Oklahoma. Those interested can look to my post #1179 of 4-20-18 for more information.


EPISODE NOTES

Opening: preview.

Polyglottin’: Stu speaks Spanish and French.

Smokes: Stu smokes another pipe in the Liverpool style, this one with a silver band.

Missing in Action: IMDb lists Frank Cady as appearing uncredited as a Beverly Hills Hotel desk clerk, but in the Me-TV print we never see the front desk; we go from a stock establishing shot of the hotel from the driveway entrance right to Stu walking up to the Cain bungalow. While it is not altogether safe to assume that IMDb is accurate, if it is in this case then we’ve gotten a little window into the kind of details we’re missing with these lightly-mutilated prints.

Pittmanisms: This was Pittman’s first work for the show, and it is not typical of his work here, but it does sport a few of his characteristic touches:

· Oklahoma is involved in some way
· Two of the characters have idiosyncratic names: “Venice Cain” and “Eencho”
· The mythical Latin American country of San Dede makes its first appearance.

Other than these little things, Pittman confined himself simply to writing a masterfully-crafted story with a delightful, and utterly surprising, ending. I often say that irony is seldom funny, but in this case it’s hilarious.

Telephony: I hesitate to mention this possibly meaningless observation, but whereas in every previous episode Stu has on his desk a multi-line Western Electric 500 phone, usually accompanied by an older single-line 302, in this episode he has two single-line 302s, one without a dial—a setup that might have made sense in 1939, but certainly not in 1959.

As I said, this may be a meaningless distinction, but all the same, I’m going to start noting the phone deployment in these guides, at least for the time being. I can’t help but suspect I may have unearthed another Pittmanism.

From the horse’s mouth: Efrem Zimbalist Jr., in his charming autobiography, My Dinner of Herbs, discusses Montgomery Pittman at length, and with touching affection. He describes their first meeting thus:

“During the early days of 77 Sunset Strip, I was having lunch in the commissary at Warner’s when I looked up from my table to behold a blowsy, frowsy, tipsy, cigar-chewing frump descending on me. Unable to extricate myself, I was forced to listen while he informed me in hillbilly cadences that he was writing a script for me, which was giving him no end of trouble. With the arrival of my check I beat a hasty retreat, reflecting that every nut from the dark side of the moon ended up sooner or later in Hollywood.”

EZ next saw Pittman on the last day of shooting for an episode, when he showed up on the set with a script. He apologized for its flaws, saying that once they started working together on it the next morning, they would be able to fix them. EZ continues:

“Thinking he had departed from his senses, I inquired just how he envisioned the two of us working together.

“‘Oh,’ he said, ‘I’ll be directing it.’

“At home that night I opened the script, and, with dread, began to read. To my utter astonishment a carpet of gossamer unrolled before me, winging me to faraway climes of wonder and mystery, beckoning me to their perfumed palaces. It was still 77 Sunset Strip, but transfigured in a way that precluded its ever settling back in its old footprints.”

EZ was speaking of “The Secret of Adam Cain.” I’ll let him have the last word here.

“The Secret of Adam Cain” will air at 4 AM PDT on this coming Wednesday morning, 8-15-18.

 

[Gary16]

Sure, Martin: S2E18 "Ten Cents A Death."

But Bob Gu posted that it’s from S4E18 Penthouse on Skid Row. So who’s right?

 

[criblecoblis]

But Bob Gu posted that it’s from S4E18 Penthouse on Skid Row. So who’s right?

Actually, he is.

 

[Rustifer]

VIEWER’S GUIDE
S1E15 “The Secret of Adam Cain”

Stu is hired by a man and his sister to recover a stolen vase that belonged to their recently-deceased uncle. While the vase is of little monetary value, they are nevertheless willing to spend all they have to get it back—but they won’t tell Stu why they want it back so desperately.

Written and directed by Montgomery Pittman

Guest cast: Liliane Montevecchi, Tosca · Don Gordon, Iron Man Brown · Lisa Davis, Venice Cain · Barry Kroeger, Bernard Stagg · David Frankham, Fred Cain · Joan Elan, Jane Neddleton · Eugene Martin, Eencho.


CAST & CREW NOTES

Montgomery Pittman is a man whose unique talents as a storyteller I greatly admire, as longtime readers of this thread know. I will not repeat what I have already posted about him, except to say that my own research strongly indicates that Pittman was born not on 3-1-17 in Lousiana, as is generally stated, but rather on 3-1-20 in Oklahoma. Those interested can look to my post #1179 of 4-20-18 for more information.


EPISODE NOTES

Opening: preview.

Polyglottin’: Stu speaks Spanish and French.

Smokes: Stu smokes another pipe in the Liverpool style, this one with a silver band.

Missing in Action: IMDb lists Frank Cady as appearing uncredited as a Beverly Hills Hotel desk clerk, but in the Me-TV print we never see the front desk; we go from a stock establishing shot of the hotel from the driveway entrance right to Stu walking up to the Cain bungalow. While it is not altogether safe to assume that IMDb is accurate, if it is in this case then we’ve gotten a little window into the kind of details we’re missing with these lightly-mutilated prints.

Pittmanisms: This was Pittman’s first work for the show, and it is not typical of his work here, but it does sport a few of his characteristic touches:

· Oklahoma is involved in some way
· Two of the characters have idiosyncratic names: “Venice Cain” and “Eencho”
· The mythical Latin American country of San Dede makes its first appearance.

Other than these little things, Pittman confined himself simply to writing a masterfully-crafted story with a delightful, and utterly surprising, ending. I often say that irony is seldom funny, but in this case it’s hilarious.

Telephony: I hesitate to mention this possibly meaningless observation, but whereas in every previous episode Stu has on his desk a multi-line Western Electric 500 phone, usually accompanied by an older single-line 302, in this episode he has two single-line 302s, one without a dial—a setup that might have made sense in 1939, but certainly not in 1959.

As I said, this may be a meaningless distinction, but all the same, I’m going to start noting the phone deployment in these guides, at least for the time being. I can’t help but suspect I may have unearthed another Pittmanism.

From the horse’s mouth: Efrem Zimbalist Jr., in his charming autobiography, My Dinner of Herbs, discusses Montgomery Pittman at length, and with touching affection. He describes their first meeting thus:

“During the early days of 77 Sunset Strip, I was having lunch in the commissary at Warner’s when I looked up from my table to behold a blowsy, frowsy, tipsy, cigar-chewing frump descending on me. Unable to extricate myself, I was forced to listen while he informed me in hillbilly cadences that he was writing a script for me, which was giving him no end of trouble. With the arrival of my check I beat a hasty retreat, reflecting that every nut from the dark side of the moon ended up sooner or later in Hollywood.”

EZ next saw Pittman on the last day of shooting for an episode, when he showed up on the set with a script. He apologized for its flaws, saying that once they started working together on it the next morning, they would be able to fix them. EZ continues:

“Thinking he had departed from his senses, I inquired just how he envisioned the two of us working together.

“‘Oh,’ he said, ‘I’ll be directing it.’

“At home that night I opened the script, and, with dread, began to read. To my utter astonishment a carpet of gossamer unrolled before me, winging me to faraway climes of wonder and mystery, beckoning me to their perfumed palaces. It was still 77 Sunset Strip, but transfigured in a way that precluded its ever settling back in its old footprints.”

EZ was speaking of “The Secret of Adam Cain.” I’ll let him have the last word here.

“The Secret of Adam Cain” will air at 4 AM PDT on this coming Wednesday morning, 8-15-18.

Again, Rob...Astounding and fascinating details in these viewer's guides--eminently readable. Your observations and research are spot on. Keep up the excellent work.

 

[Rustifer]

"The Kookie Caper", S2E2, with Sherry Jackson, King Donovan, and John Hubbard.

I was looking for a picture of Kookie with Sherry Jackson and this picture with Kookie and Cheyenne came up: View attachment 48474

Just a few years later...

 

[Bob Gu]

2014 in fact.

The white haired gent on the left is Robert Colbert who is best known for THE TIME TUNNEL, and being restless on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. At Warner Bros. he appeared in many classic WB series, including many 77s and was Brent Maverick for only two episodes of MAVERICK, but did plenty of publicity photos. Top, a still of one of his 77SS guest spots, (the one where he is stalking Jeff, "The Man in the Crowd"-S4E3), and others, below with Nina Shipman, Lisa Montell, Jack Kelly and Roger Moore for MAVERICK.

 

[criblecoblis]

Again, Rob...Astounding and fascinating details in these viewer's guides--eminently readable. Your observations and research are spot on. Keep up the excellent work.

Thanks, Russ! I am greatly enjoying the work. And I want to say that I welcome discussion on the points I raise, especially if I have made an error.

 

[criblecoblis]

The white haired gent on the left is Robert Colbert who is best known for THE TIME TUNNEL, and being restless on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS.

Thanks for the great photo set of Robert Colbert, Bob! I've always liked Colbert; I never missed The Time Tunnel as a boy, and he's one of my favorite guests on 77 Sunset Strip.

 

[Rustifer]

Quirk: Jeff does not say “Washington.” He says “Warshington.” Just like my Dad did, and I sometimes do. It must be a Spencer trait.

Rob: I meant to note in my commentary from "The Bel Air Hermit" that--as you pointed out in your viewer's guide of "Two and Two Make Six"--Jeff once again pronounces Washingon as Warshington.
I had always though this as being lexicon indigenous only to the Midwest, particularly Southern Indiana where folks warsh their clothes, go fishin' in the crick and reshingle the ruff.

 

[Rustifer]

Funny how I missed this 77 SS episode from all the past seasons, so I was glad to finally catch it last night. “Double Identity” is one of the more unique stories scripted by Sam Weisner that fits the character of Jeff Spencer like a glove.

The story opens as Jeff, Stu and Kookie are playing wastecan basketball in what I guess is a slow day at the office. Suzanne comes in with a package for Jeff that he shoves off to the side in an effort to sink a swish and win the game. Upon opening the parcel, a wallet is revealed—it looks like Jeff’s, and has all his IDs in place—but it’s not his wallet. Further inspection reveals a photo of him with what seems to be his wife—a pretty lady named Margaret (Barbara Payton)—who is completely unknown to Jeff. I half expected to hear the theme song to “The Twilight Zone” fire up in the background to add to the eeriness. Jeff passes it off as a practical joke concocted by his office colleagues who swear up and down of having no knowledge of it.

Barbara Payne, Robert Webber, a gas-o-meter

The following morning a letter arrives containing a photo of Jeff’s “wife” tied up and gagged with the daily newspaper on her lap verifying the date, along with a ransom note demanding $150,000 for her release or suffer the consequences. More intrigued than alarmed, Spencer begins a search to see if there is such a person as ‘Margaret’. The only clue to follow is a faint logo on her jacket from the photo that appears to be the name of a travel agency. Assuming it’s a local firm, Jeff--with help of Roscoe--begin to scour all the agencies for a travel agent named Margaret something. They uncover three Margarets, but only one fits the picture--Margaret Jennings, who has been missing from the agency for the past 48 hours—with no word from her.

Jeff contacts Lt. Gilmore to see if any missing person reports have been filed on the lady, as he's now fearful for her life. Further digging reveals Margaret was once a companion to Harry Olivetti (Robert Webber), a clever forger that Jeff put away in jail 5 years earlier but has recently escaped and is on the loose. Was this some kind of bizarre trick by Harry to get Jeff into the open for revenge? Even more bizarre, to force a pay off and to rescue a woman Jeff doesn’t even know? What’s the meaning of the fake wallet? Gilmore and Jeff hatch a scheme to turn the tables on Harry to get him into the open, but Harry devises an incredibly complicated and brilliant ransom drop-off process that virtually assures he cannot be caught. Using recovered stolen money from the police evidence storage, Jeff embarks on the payoff instructions under a tight timeframe with the hopes of somehow cornering Harry and saving Margaret—if she actually needs saving. Therein lies the clue to the whole story.

I won’t reveal the surprise ending if you haven’t seen the episode. I will say that what follows are some great on-location noirish scenes of various LA locations of the 1960’s, a grindingly tense music score, some astounding physicality from Roger Smith and a remarkably frightening sequence on top of a giant creepy gas-o-meter. One of the ten best episodes in the whole series.

 

[MartinP.]

^^^

You kidder you! I got roped in.

I would like to know where you found the photo of the gasometer, though. I tried google picture search and it says no other photos of that one found anywhere!

 

[criblecoblis]

Rob: I meant to note in my commentary from "The Bel Air Hermit" that--as you pointed out in your viewer's guide of "Two and Two Make Six"--Jeff once again pronounces Washingon as Warshington.
I had always though this as being lexicon indigenous only to the Midwest, particularly Southern Indiana where folks warsh their clothes, go fishin' in the crick and reshingle the ruff.

My folks on my Dad's side were in Oregon for several generations, and in Illinois before that (for a little while). So it's kinda Midwest. We don't say "crick" (although, come to think of it, my maternal grandmother did), but we do pronounce "roof" with as little vowel as possible. Or at least, I do. I'm not sure whether any of my brothers picked up Dad's pronunciation quirks.

But it's interesting that Roger Smith picked up that quirk. He was born right here in South Gate, and moved to Nogales, AZ. So he probably got it from his dad.

 

[Rustifer]

^^^

You kidder you! I got roped in.

I would like to know where you found the photo of the gasometer, though. I tried google picture search and it says no other photos of that one found anywhere!

Martin, Martin, Martin...I taxed my vodka-marinated brain to create an entire bogus 77 SS episode just to show off, and the best I get from you is where did I find a pic of a gasometer?? Kidding aside, I'm not sure where I found that pic. I keep a file of photos I might use on this thread that I find from a variety of different resources, so it could have come from anywhere. I've always been fascinated by the ugly creepiness of those monstrous storage tanks in the same manner that wind turbines give me bad dreams. For reasons I can't explain, I search for photos of both as a reminder of how much they disturb me. Crazy, yes? Let us never speak of this evil again.

 

[criblecoblis]

Funny how I missed this 77 SS episode from all the past seasons, so I was glad to finally catch it last night. “Double Identity” is one of the more unique stories scripted by Sam Weisner that fits the character of Jeff Spencer like a glove.

Russ, this is brilliant! I love how you set the climax on a gasometer, that beloved Noirish L.A. icon. Perfect. Plus, it's a pretty good story line!

For some reason, I'm thinking that the surprise ending somehow involves the Goodyear blimp.

 

[Rustifer]

Russ, this is brilliant! I love how you set the climax on a gasometer, that beloved Noirish L.A. icon. Perfect. Plus, it's a pretty good story line!

For some reason, I'm thinking that the surprise ending somehow involves the Goodyear blimp.

The blimp is a great idea! I actually had three different storylines to develop, but decided to save two of them for later. However, now that I think about it--this sort of post is really a one-and-done kind of thing. The other ideas were:
1.Roscoe as an inadvertent jockey in a race on a stolen horse
2. An international caper (you know how I love those) that has Stu locked up in the Tower of London with a snooty baroness and a ticking bomb

 

[Lutz Koch]

The blimp is a great idea! I actually had three different storylines to develop, but decided to save two of them for later. However, now that I think about it--this sort of post is really a one-and-done kind of thing. The other ideas were:
1.Roscoe as an inadvertent jockey in a race on a stolen horse
2. An international caper (you know how I love those) that has Stu locked up in the Tower of London with a snooty baroness and a ticking bomb

Russ, I am speechless. I guess Hollywood will never realize what an enormous loss they have suffered by not having you as a screenwriter all these years. The tragedy!

 

[Bob Gu]

Russ, you should have let that "Double Identity" review simmer for at least a day, without the Edit reveal.

I was about to post about how great it is for old TV mystery fans to have short term memory loss, these days. Not only don't I remember "Who done it"?, but I don't even remember if I watched it in the first place!

 

[Rustifer]

Russ, you should have let that "Double Identity" review simmer for at least a day, without the Edit reveal.

I was about to post about how great it is for old TV mystery fans to have short term memory loss, these days. Not only don't I remember "Who done it"?, but I don't even remember if I watched it in the first place!

Yeah, I toyed with that idea. It would have been fun to see the responses from all who've seen every episode and get stumped by this one, and then frantically try to find it on IMDb. I went ahead and deleted the note edit in case we have any late comers to the scene.

 

[Rustifer]

Russ, I am speechless. I guess Hollywood will never realize what an enormous loss they have suffered by not having you as a screenwriter all these years. The tragedy!

I'll need to set up an appointment to get fitted for a neck brace to support my big head if you guys keep up with your kind words. Thanks, Lutz.