77 Sunset Strip / Hawaiian Eye, etc. (5 Viewers)

[Rustifer]

By no means am I disparaging your awesome and informative Viewer's Guides, Rob. I'm sorry if you misread my response. In all my own commentaries, I pick apart any aberrations that I observe in the series in what I hope is meant to be construed as witty or amusing versus a diminution. I'm well aware of the scant budget and filming limitations of the era and how that affected the production of the show. Consider those aspects to be the fuel of my playful approach to frame each episode. I find all of it charming, not cheap.
After nearly 800 posts on the subject, one could say I envelope 77 SS with an almost fanatic and nostalgic caress of affection.

 

[Gary16]

Well, Russ, the thing to remember is that the show was on a tight budget. I cussedly can't find the citation with the typical costs of production right now, but I do know that ABC paid $75,000 per episode, and the cost of each episode was in the low 60s.

Later on in TV history, it was typical for production companies to take a loss on the initial run in anticipation of a big payday in syndication. At the time of 77 Sunset Strip, that expectation did not yet exist, and the production was expected to make a profit.

Apparently, location shooting was not in the budget, other than sending a cameraman out in a car occasionally. But I don't think that in the context of the time you can accuse the show of looking cheap. And give the production credit for its faithful reproductions of both Dino's and Chez Paulette.



I'm sorry, Russ. I mean my guides to be an enhancement of the viewing experience, not a diminution.

All I can say is, try to remember that 77SS is a production of a Fifties film studio, and just embrace all the glamorous Hollywood movie magic that the period had to offer. I think that's how audiences of the time looked at the show.

Well said and couldn’t agree more. Warner Brothers deserves credit, along with Mr. Disney, for giving ABC a fighting chance to compete with the other networks with its limited assets and smaller/weaker affiliate lineup even in 1958. As far as location shooting goes I’ve seen more posts from people complaining about fake outdoor sets on such supposedly high budget shows like Bonanza — in color yet.

 

[MartinP.]

^^^

It's interesting that what you mention as "fake outdoor sets" on Bonanza do look fake a lot of time in the color episodes, but not so much in the b&w episodes.

 

[Gary16]

^^^

It's interesting that what you mention as "fake outdoor sets" on Bonanza do look fake a lot of time in the color episodes, but not so much in the b&w episodes.

Except that Bonanza was always in color.

 

[criblecoblis]

Except that Bonanza was always in color.

I got a different meaning from Martin's words. I think he meant that there are fake outdoor sets used on Bonanza that are used on other, black-and-white shows as well, and they look better in black-and-white than they do in color.

I say that because I have noticed this. There is one fake set in particular that I have seen in a number of shows (including 77SS, S5E30 "The Heartbeat Caper"). I think it is an outdoor set, but the rocks look suspiciously like cast concrete. The set is used a lot on Bonanza, and it always looks fake when seen in color.

 

[criblecoblis]

By no means am I disparaging your awesome and informative Viewer's Guides, Rob. [. . . ] Consider those aspects to be the fuel of my playful approach to frame each episode. I find all of it charming, not cheap.

It's a relief to hear it, Russ. I know you were not disparaging my efforts, but I would hate for my picking these episodes apart to ruin them for anyone.

BTW I definitely have the layout of the Bailey & Spencer offices in my head, but I can't draw a straight line freehand. Sometime I'll draft it and put it up. I think S3E4 "The Office Caper" gives us a good look at the north wall of the offices, facing Sunset.

In honor of Will Hutchins' appearance in two consecutive episodes, I'm working on an EG OF S2E3 "Six Superior Skirts," but there is a lot to say about that unique episode, so I hope I get it done in time.

 

[Gary16]

I got a different meaning from Martin's words. I think he meant that there are fake outdoor sets used on Bonanza that are used on other, black-and-white shows as well, and they look better in black-and-white than they do in color.

I say that because I have noticed this. There is one fake set in particular that I have seen in a number of shows (including 77SS, S5E30 "The Heartbeat Caper"). I think it is an outdoor set, but the rocks look suspiciously like cast concrete. The set is used a lot on Bonanza, and it always looks fake when seen in color.

Sorry if I misunderstood so we’re good.

 

[Gary16]

In honor of Will Hutchins' appearance in two consecutive episodes, I'm working on an EG OF S2E3 "Six Superior Skirts," but there is a lot to say about that unique episode, so I hope I get it done in time.

Please do. It’s one of my favorite episodes.

 

[Rustifer]

In honor of Will Hutchins' appearance in two consecutive episodes, I'm working on an EG OF S2E3 "Six Superior Skirts," but there is a lot to say about that unique episode, so I hope I get it done in time.

I will be looking forward to your VG on that episode! Like Gary, it's one of my favorites since it promotes the entire cast as well as affords us rare views of Dino's and the B&S offices. It's also the ginchiest episode title of the entire series.

I did a commentary on "Six Superior Skirts" several pages back--but I'm too lazy to go search for it. Plus, I truly hate to re-read some of my posts after a period of time for wanting to feverishly rewrite the entire thing. What I think seems to be so ambitiously clever when I'm composing a commentary dissipates into a mishmash of glop to me upon later review.
A hearty attitude so often substitutes for general ability.

 

[MartinP.]

^^^

It's interesting that what you mention as "fake outdoor sets" on Bonanza do look fake a lot of time in the color episodes, but not so much in the b&w episodes.

Well, in the interest of accuracy and truth telling, heh, I guess I will explain my thoughts.

When I wrote that, I "was" actually thinking I'd seen color and b&w episodes of Bonanza. (When I was growing up that was true as we didn't have a color set!) Quite a few years ago in the afternoon, Me-TV was airing Bonanza and another western, maybe Gunsmoke, and I do recall one day thinking about the color episode outdoor scenes looked more realistic when in b&w and more noticeable as not in color. I must've been comparing two different westerns in my head with that thought. Or knowing me, I might've turned off the color to look at it, but I don't know that for a fact. But the idea still is accurate IMO!

 

[Mysto]

Well, in the interest of accuracy and truth telling, heh, I guess I will explain my thoughts.

When I wrote that, I "was" actually thinking I'd seen color and b&w episodes of Bonanza. (When I was growing up that was true as we didn't have a color set!) Quite a few years ago in the afternoon, Me-TV was airing Bonanza and another western, maybe Gunsmoke, and I do recall one day thinking about the color episode outdoor scenes looked more realistic when in b&w and more noticeable as not in color. I must've been comparing two different westerns in my head with that thought. Or knowing me, I might've turned off the color to look at it, but I don't know that for a fact. But the idea still is accurate IMO!

We watched a lot of B&W when I was younger because my dad was too cheap to buy a color set. Maybe that's why I'm still trying to catch up.

 

[Dolly8]

VIEWER’S GUIDE
S1E23 “Pasadena Caper”
March 13, 1959

Stu employs a Man Who Came to Dinner ruse in order to investigate a fishy life-insurance claim, and soon finds the actual situation to be more like Arsenic And Old Lace.

Directed by Montgomery Pittman · Written by N. B. Stone, Jr.

Guest cast: Hallene Hill, Rachel Baker · Elizabeth Patterson, Lavinia · Murvyn Vye, Peter Baker (Harry Diamond) · Carol Kelly, Kim Diamond · Pat Comiskey, Leo · Olan Soule, Mr. Garrett.


CAST & CREW NOTES

N. B. Stone, Jr. (real name Norris Briedwell Stone; his father was Norris Bywaters Stone) was born October 20, 1911 in Portland, Oregon, and remained there for at least the next twenty years. He made his way to Honolulu by the time of his draft registration in 1940, and served in the Merchant Marine for the next decade or so.

Not much more information is available on Stone, other than his writing credits, the earliest of which is in 1955. For the next decade, he was fairly active as a writer for television, most frequently for the series Zorro, for which he wrote nine teleplays, and additional music for one episode. He almost always worked in the Western genre.

His biggest credit is for the screenplay of the Sam Peckinpah film Ride The High Country, with which he reportedly ended up having little involvement, according to Garner Simmons, author of the biography Peckinpah.

A screenwriter friend of the film’s producer referred Stone because he knew he desperately needed a break. The problem was that Stone needed a break because he had become a chronic alcoholic who never left his apartment, and had lost his ability to write well.

His finished script was reportedly so unusable that the screenwriter who had referred Stone ended up substantially rewriting it without credit, along with the producer. Peckinpah himself then re-wrote much of the dialogue, leaving Stone with little to show for his effort but the credit, and the payment.

Stone eventually returned to Oregon, where he passed away on September 27, 1967.

Hallene Hill and Elizabeth Patterson make a delightfully dark pair here, and are perfectly cast. Victorians themselves, both had been making a career of playing older ladies since the mid-Thirties. Patterson, of course, will forever be remembered as the dear Mrs. Trumbull, the perfect babysitter, in I Love Lucy.

Murvyn Vye is perhaps not as well-known nowadays as he deserves to be. His career began on Broadway, where in 1945 he got his big break, originating the role of Jigger Craigin in Carousel. He rode that wave all the way to Hollywood, where he made his debut in 1947, third-billed after Ray Milland and Marlene Dietrich, in Golden Earrings as Zoltan, a gypsy king who sings the haunting title song.

While his career cooled down after that, he continued to work steadily in films and television, usually as a heavy; but when given a chance at it, he could bring a subtle comic touch to such roles, as is evident here.


EPISODE NOTES

Opening: preview.

Smokes: Stu smokes a Barling 3599 straight bulldog, a classic design that Bing Crosby also smoked. I have a bent version of this model (and so does Stu). Later, Stu and Kookie share a cigar. Jeff smokes his usual unfiltered cigarettes (upon which the Kim Diamond character comments in the first Cedars bar scene).

Pittmanisms: Where do I start? While Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. cites Pittman’s first episode, S1E15 “The Secret of Adam Cain,” as the one that irrevocably transformed 77 Sunset Strip from a straight detective drama into what it so gloriously became, I humbly submit that, at least from this side of the screen, it is evident that this is the transformative episode.

“Pasadena Caper” is the first truly comedic episode of the series, the first where the danger and action take a back seat to the laughs. In fact, most of the danger and action are part of the laughs. And while we certainly must give credit to Stone for the plot, we nevertheless see the action through Pittman’s bemused eyes.

It was after this episode that comedy began to be included as a substantial element of the show, and not just as a device to leaven the drama.

Often, when watching a Pittman-influenced episode, I find myself wondering which came first: the plot, or its main location.

According to EZ, Pittman loved to explore—both the world at large, and the WB lot—and I suspect that he found inspiration in some of the places and sets he discovered.

Either he would write an episode around a location, or he would choose a story (e.g., S4E12 “Reserved for Mr. Bailey”) based upon his knowledge of a perfect location for it.

While I of course can’t reverse-engineer the creative process behind “Pasadena Caper,” it’s safe to say that it was at least guided by the settings used for the Baker house. Stone’s script was either modified to take advantage of the distinctive features of the interior, or it was written with these features in mind.

I could write thousands of words on these settings alone, but I’ll spare you the architectural details and simply state my conclusions:

· The exterior is on the backlot, although I can’t find it now in the Googlemobile
· The interior is a real house, not a backlot structure nor an interior set.

A minute examination of the filmed evidence proves conclusively that all of the interior rooms shown communicate with each other, but the windows seen in the interior shots are conspicuously different from the windows of the exterior. The exterior windows have a twelve-light pattern with wood separators, and those of the interior mostly have a arts-and-crafts leaded pattern. It is true that the front doors of both aspects match remarkably well, but that may be why this particular house, among the several Victorians on the back lot, was chosen.

I am as sure as I can be that the interior is not simply a standing set in one of the lesser-used sound stages, because there is one exterior shot of the house used for the interior, looking in through the bay window of Stu’s room, in which the interior of the room can clearly be seen; it is daytime, and the shadows indicate only one elevated source of light.

View attachment 48876

View attachment 48877

In the first photo above, the recognizable interior of Stu’s bedroom is visible; the second photo shows the uniform angle of the shadows clearly. As has been pointed out here previously, fake exterior scenes shot on a sound stage are almost always easily detectable by the multiple shadows that come from the multiple sources that are characteristic of interior lighting. Note also the windows, and compare them to the establishing shots of the house’s exterior.

Based upon this evidence, I can only conclude that the interior is a real house, and that the distinctive features of this real house shape the script. I strive to avoid spoilers, so I won’t be specific, but I will point out that the plot depends upon Stu’s ability to enter the locked downstairs bedroom undetected by the other occupants of the house.

I believe that this episode is a clear example of how Pittman was inspired by locations he encountered in real life.

Moving on to other Pittmanisms: The Rachel Baker character uses the term “apple-pie order.” This is decidedly not a common phrase hereabouts; I’d never heard it in my life until this episode, and Pittman uses it again, in S2E16 “Switchburg.”

I have noticed, in the Pittman-involved episodes featuring Stu, that Stu talks with his hands conspicuously, to great comedic effect. I have not noticed this as a typical Stu character trait, so I am citing it provisionally as a Pittmanism.

Occasionally, one sees actors in Pittman episodes who are seldom if ever seen anywhere else. In this episode, we have the lovely, anonymous “Erin O’Day” (that’s Irish!), whose voice is so awful that it strains credulity, considering that it is mostly in tune. Get that girl a voice teacher!

In any event, I’ve never seen this actress in anything else, and more significantly, neither has my wife, who has an eerily infallible memory for faces. If anyone can identify her, please do!

Telephony: Phones are for once front and center in this episode, and for a Victorian that doesn’t even have electricity, the Baker house is well-provisioned in this regard, having 302s upstairs and down. I would have expected this house to have 202s with F1 handsets, the kind with a bell box on the wall.

View attachment 48878

This is what my grandparents had well into the Seventies. It’s a very user-friendly setup, easy to carry around with one hand. Plus, the dial purrs like a kitten.

Product placement: Kim Diamond has a Zenith Consol-Tone radio, clearly and lingeringly shown, in her apartment.

Not product placement: Rachel Baker has a Victrola XVI, with the lovely inside-lid decal covered up or (shudder) removed.

View attachment 48879

After all, at the time of the show, RCA Victor owned NBC; why advertise the competition, however tangentially?

Credit where credit is due: Jacqueline Beer appears uncredited in this episode. Also, my wife and I believe, although I won’t swear to it, that the uncredited role of the wharf rat Stu speaks to in the first scene is played by Jack Carr, who definitely plays the uncredited bartender in the bar fight scene in S1E20 “Lovely Alibi.” I’ll stake my reputation on that.

One more observation upon the opening scene: no doubt many if not all of you recognize the shots of the car being pulled out of the ocean as being taken from The Big Sleep.

Backstory: Jeff has a sister in Ojai, a scant 90 minutes away. You’d think she’d visit once in a while.

Address watch: Two addresses are given: 468 Sherwood Street, Pasadena for the Baker house, and 1648 Beachwood Blvd., Hollywood 28 for Kim Diamond’s apartment. I rate both as fake but accurate.

The street number of the Pasadena address would indicate that the house is in the fifth block either east or west of Fair Oaks Ave., where the east-west street numbering starts at zero. Of course, we don’t know how far north or south of Colorado Blvd. it is, but in any event the address is quite plausible, because a Victorian may be found anywhere in that corridor. Then again, maybe the number was chosen because it’s what was on the back-lot house already.

There is a 1648 North Beachwood Drive in Hollywood, near Sunset and Gower, but is in the 90026 ZIP code, and it is inside the campus of Sunset Gower Studios. In any event, it is not far from Kim Diamond’s job at The Cedars Bar (as far as I can tell, a fictitious location, but within easy walking distance of the Bailey & Spencer offices), and that is likely what the writers wanted to convey.

* * *

On a personal note, I dig this episode the most because it literally hits close to home. Not only is it set in my town, it is set in an unelectrified Victorian occupied by an elderly lady who has obviously lived in it for a very long time. Our own home was occupied by one lady from 1900 until her passing, at age 104, in 1969, and it was not electrified—and then just barely—until 1950. It didn’t even have any heating besides coal-burning fireplaces until 1943. I can’t help but get a kick out of the parallels.

Then again, our lady had a much better relationship with her children, and theirs, and theirs.

“Pasadena Caper” next airs at 4 AM PDT Saturday morning, 4-25-18, on Me-TV.

I think Erin O'Day is Marianna Hill. I went into IMdB to see her picture, but she can appear very different than she appears in "Pasadena Caper", S1/Ep 23. Also, I believe she has been in these other 77 Sunset Strip episodes: 1. "The Lovely American", (1962), as Silviana Mello, 2. "The Negotiable Blonde, (1960), as Latin Girl, 3. "Return to San Dede", (1960), as Juanita, 4. "Return to San Dede" (1960), as Juanita.

 

[Dolly8]

I think Erin O'Day is Marianna Hill. I went into IMdB to see her picture, but she can appear very different than she appears in "Pasadena Caper", S1/Ep 23. Also, I believe she has been in these other 77 Sunset Strip episodes: 1. "The Lovely American", (1962), as Silviana Mello, 2. "The Negotiable Blonde, (1960), as Latin Girl, 3. "Return to San Dede", (1960), as Juanita, 4. "Return to San Dede" (1960), as Juanita.

 

[ponset]

77 Sunset Strip make the Thursday edition of the New York Times Crossword puzzle, #0809.
Or at least it was the Thursday paper of the Des Monies Register.

44 Across. "Night that 77 Sunset Strip aired for most of its run"?
Abbr. the answer. 3 letters.

 

[MartinP.]

^^^

So I guess it wasn't Thur.

 

[Dolly8]

https://waterandpower.org

Click on Search Index
Click on Sunset and Doheny; look at pictures; then
Click on Sunset and _______

Very interesting pictures of Sunset Strip ranging from 1916 -2018.

P.S,: there's a picture of the gas-o-meter.

 

[Rustifer]

I apologize for not having any insights or contributions lately. It has not been a particularly 'feel good' week. Kinda like being on a towrope with an uphill pull. Hopefully the proverbial winds of change will blow favorably in my direction forthwith.
Life can suddenly tickle you in the ribs when it's not digging its thumb in.

Productivity will soon return.

 

[cadavra]

^^^

It's interesting that what you mention as "fake outdoor sets" on Bonanza do look fake a lot of time in the color episodes, but not so much in the b&w episodes.

This is not unique to BONANZA. Because black-and-white is inherently somewhat unrealistic, it hides a multitude of sins that become readily apparent in color. Watch a B&W episode of DARK SHADOWS and then a color one, and you'll suddenly see how shabby and cheap the sets look.

A favorite anecdote involves SOME LIKE IT HOT. Marilyn Monroe's standard contract said that all her movies must be in color. Wilder explained to her that if the movie were in color, it would be instantly obvious that Lemmon and Curtis were men in drag, whereas B&W was just unreal enough to preserve the illusion. She saw the wisdom of this and signed a waiver.

Mike S.

 

[MartinP.]

^^^

I have read that Wilder did want/plan to film Some Like It Hot in color, but that the color makeup tests for Lemmon and Curtis kept looking greenish so that is why they did not, but, yes, that's also true about Marilyn's contract specifying all her movies were to be in color, so he would've had to convince her.

I actually would like to have it been shot in color, what with the great Orry-Kelly costume designs and great location shooting at the Coronado Hotel. I'd always thought it would be nice to have done a Wizard of Oz type thing and filmed the cold, snowy Chicago scenes in b&w and transfer to color when they arrive in Florida. I wouldn't mind seeing a colorized version, either. In lieu of that, there are quite a few behind the scenes photos of the filming in color as well as film footage. And in the film footage the makeup doesn't look greenish, so...?

I know colorizing is blasphemous to some people, but I ask in all seriousness, would any of you like to see a few 77 Sunset Strip episodes in color?

 

[Gary16]

^^^

I have read that Wilder did want/plan to film Some Like It Hot in color, but that the color makeup tests for Lemmon and Curtis kept looking greenish so that is why they did not, but, yes, that's also true about Marilyn's contract specifying all her movies were to be in color, so he would've had to convince her.

I actually would like to have it been shot in color, what with the great Orry-Kelly costume designs and great location shooting at the Coronado Hotel. I'd always thought it would be nice to have done a Wizard of Oz type thing and filmed the cold, snowy Chicago scenes in b&w and transfer to color when they arrive in Florida. I wouldn't mind seeing a colorized version, either. In lieu of that, there are quite a few behind the scenes photos of the filming in color as well as film footage. And in the film footage the makeup doesn't look greenish, so...?

I know colorizing is blasphemous to some people, but I ask in all seriousness, would any of you like to see a few 77 Sunset Strip episodes in color?

No