What did you watch this week in classic TV on DVD(or Blu)? (6 Viewers)

[The 1960's]

Perry Mason (1957–1966)
Stars Raymond Burr Barbara Hale William Hopper​

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Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a client being charged with murder, usually involving a preliminary hearing or jury trial. Typically, Mason establishes his client's innocence by finding the real murderer. The character was inspired by famed Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Earl Rogers. The character of Perry Mason was adapted for motion pictures and a long-running radio series. These were followed by the best known adaptation, the CBS television series Perry Mason (1957–1966) starring Raymond Burr… Continue @ Wikipedia​

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S09E21 The Case Of The Twice-Told Twist (Feb.27.1966) HD Stream
Stars Raymond Burr Barbara Hale William Hopper William Talman Richard Anderson Dan Tobin Victor Buono Kevin O'Neal Scott Graham Lisa Pera Lisa Seagram Nicolas Surovy Marc Rambeau Keg Johnson Judson Pratt Beverly Powers Harlan Warde Harry Holcombe Byron Morrow Helen Kleeb Will J. White Coby Denton James Farley Fred Aldrich​

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The Case of the Twice-Told Twist aired on February 27, 1966 during the ninth and final season of Perry Mason. CBS executives were mulling whether to renew the series and wanted to see what a color episode would look like. By the mid 1960s, the cost of color photography had decreased significantly and it was becoming standard practice to film in color. This was the the only color episode of this long running series. It looks absolutely fabulous while the digital sound is cutting edge with clarity that is equal to the very best motion pictures of any time period!​

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In this story Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) compares Ben Huggins (Victor Buono) to antagonist Fagin from the Charles Dickin’s novel, Oliver Twist. So it’s clear this is a contemporary variation of Oliver Twist written by series veteran Ernest Frankel. Guest star Victor Buono plays Ben Huggins, leader of a gang comprised of juvenile delinquent teenage boys who strip cars of their parts which Huggins then sells in Mexico. Perry gets involved when his convertible becomes one of the gangs' targets and a youth named Lennie (Kevin O'Neal) is caught by the police. The district attorney's office wants Perry to press charges against Lennie. However, Perry believes the teen can be rehabilitated. The rotund Victor Buono, had appeared in three earlier episodes of Perry Mason, and appeared as King Tut on Batman months earlier. Kevin O'Neal is the younger brother of Ryan O'Neal. Finally, one of the strippers at Femmes a Go Go is played by Beverly Powers. Also known as Miss Beverly Hills, she was a real-life stripper and later actress. When she retired from acting, she became a minister in Maui. I love juvenile delinquents and stories involving them, particularly classic tv stories. I have never cared for the Perry Mason series, but this was not the Perry Mason I’ve always disliked. One thing was certain, many of the principle actors in this episode were large men who ate well.​

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[The 1960's]

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You can stream it here in standard definition.

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[SuperClark]

Bonanza 'Thanks for everything Friend'.Its on youtube if u care to see it.As well as other episodes.The Adam years of the series are by far my favorites..I was browsing Rory Calhoun and saw this clip.I did not know he could sing..Mary Costa was the singing voice on the princess in sleeping beauty the disney movie.She is utterly charming!

 

[Purple Wig]

I didn’t buy either of these but it was interesting to run across them yesterday.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Sergeant Cork – 1.4 “The Case of the Knotted Scarf”
The strangulation murder of the much-younger wife – formerly an actress of perhaps less-than-salubrious repute in London’s theater district – of retired General Sir Gerald Langford (Brewster Mason) at his country estate brings the brilliant, acerbic Sergeant Cork and his right-hand man, Constable Bob Marriot (a moustachioed, pre-Champions William Gaunt), to the scene to investigate. Cork immediately notices the undercurrents of tension in the household and insists that the murder is an inside job. It seems that the dead woman was not well liked by all except, perhaps, her husband. Suspects include a shifty houseguest named Ducaine (Robert Arnold), who had been commissioned to paint the dead woman’s portrait; the General’s widowed neighbor, Mrs. Henderson (Valerie White), who knew the General from his days in India and carries a torch for him still; the General’s Hindu staff, high-caste ward Sorya (Edwina Carroll) and Dacoit manservant Kulil (David Spenser); and of course the General himself, who is currently a wheelchair-bound invalid recovering from a serious injury…or is he?

Another entertaining entry in this successful Victorian-era U.K. mystery series, produced by ATV for the ITV network and running for six seasons and a total of 66 episodes from 1963-1968. Larger than life in all senses of the word, the commanding John Barrie, with his booming, mellifluous voice, is simply wonderful in the lead, and William Gaunt comes across as far more dashing and handsome than he ever did on ITC's The Champions.

The Rat Patrol
1.1 “The Chase of Fire Raid”
The first episode of this Tom Gries-created WWII actioner, like many a pilot episode, seems to have received greater care and more lavish production values, as well as a more fleshed-out script, than would typically be the rule going forward. This one focuses on how veddy British toff Sgt. Jack Moffat (Gary Raymond) joins the squad, first having to prove himself to its skeptical, gruff leader, Sgt. Sam Troy (Christopher George), as the Patrol engages in a dangerous race across the desert to reach and destroy a buried Allied fuel dump before the Germans, led by recurring antagonist Captain Dietrich (Eric Braedon, at this stage in his career billed as Hans Gudegast). Some impressive aerial shots of the Patrol’s signature twin jeeps rolling across the endless dunes, not to mention a whole lot of slam-bang action filmed in striking Spanish locations. Nice to see The Dakotas’ Larry Ward pop up here as a stern commanding officer, his distinctively deep, grating voice barking out orders in an authentic manner. Seductive British blonde Janine Grey tops and tails the episode as Troy’s current squeeze, such romanctic flings being something else the writers would rarely make time for in the ensuing episodes. Justin Tarr’s Tully probably utters more lines in this single episode than in the entire rest of the series.

1.30 “Mask-a-Raid”
Even by this series’ frequently credibility-stretching standards, the Rat Patrol’s mission in this one is incredibly risky. Moffit, swaddled in facial bandages, poses as a seriously-burned Luftwaffe pilot at a German field hospital (while Troy loiters in the background disguised as a hospital orderly), in order to spread disinformation about an impending Allied air raid. But the mission is further complicated by a suspicious major (William Jordan), who brings in a woman who he claims to be the pilot’s wife (played by Swedish model turned actress - and absolute stunner - Ulla Stromstedt, a year after enjoying a 12-episode recurring stint on Flipper). A far cry from the comparative realism and hard-hitting drama of Combat!, this WWII series falls into what our esteemed fellow member Flashgear a.k.a Randall terms “yahoo” territory, but consistently delivers plenty of tense derring-do and explosive action. Love Dominic Frontiere’s stirring main theme music, too.

The above episode inspired me to check out a few more entries from Ms. Stromstedt’s sadly limited filmography, including:

Tarzan
2.4 & 2.5 “The Blue Stone of Heaven, Parts 1 and 2”
Tarzan (Ron Ely) accompanies an archaeological expedition headed by aging scientist Dr. Singleton (Sam Jaffe) and his daughter (Stromstedt) into an ancient ruined city considered taboo territory by local tribespeople. The Ape Man is suspicious of Col. Takakombi’s (William Marshall) interest in the site, and runs afoul of greedy American Miller (Harry Lauter). Turns out that the Colonel desires to take possession of the fabled “Blue Stone of Heaven,” a giant statue which is believed to give god-like powers to whomever possesses it.

Though the second part suffers from the usual “two-parter bloat,” there’s no shortage of action here, with fistfights, narrow escapes, and skullduggery sprinkled liberally throughout. Benefits greatly from being filmed on location at some unspecified ancient Mexican ruins (though there’s obviously nothing remotely African about them). Ely makes for a likably calm and confident jungle lord, his physical prowess on full display.

I Spy – 2.16 “Rome…Take Away Three”
Some serious, cold-blooded espionage stuff here, thankfully leavened at times by the effortless charisma and banter between Robert Culp and Bill Cosby as, respectively, special agents Kelly Robinson and Alexander Scott. Kelly and Scott are in Rome, debriefing U.S. state department official Dean Sherman (Alf Kjellan, pulling double duty as director of this episode), who is being blackmailed by ruthless, America-hating gangster Coly Collisi (Nehemiah Persoff) into betraying government secrets. When the guilt-ridden Sherman commits suicide, Scott and Kelly are tasked with “deactivating” Collisi, using whatever means possible. Our heroes track down the woman who Collisi paid to seduce the dead man, a model named Tilde (Stromstedt), as well as the photographer who took the incriminating blackmail photos (good ol’ Elisha Cook Jr.), setting in motion a deadly chain of events.

The talented Persoff plays a right nasty piece of work here, and it’s pleasing to see Kelly and Scotty take him down in what was, for the time, fairly brutal fashion. Aside from the lovely Ms. Stromstedt (who cavorts on the beach in a bikini at one point), this episode also features a number of fine-looking ladies, whom Culp and Cosby flirt with while chilling at a streetside ristorante. Seamlessly blends plentiful Rome location footage with interiors and beach scenes shot back in Los Angeles.

Despite her beauty and solid acting chops, Ms. Stromstedt’s career was short-lived, and she unfortunately died of some undisclosed disease in 1986, at the tragically young age of 46.

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
Three good episodes here:

2.11 “The Ladder”
Ozzie and Thorny (Don DeFore) get a wild hair and decide to test Thorny’s new lightweight ladder out…but end up stranded on top of the roof of the Nelson house as a storm sweeps in. Meanwhile, Harriet and the boys are forced to listen politely to a guest’s endless poetry recitation in Ozzie’s stead. Fun if predictable coda to this one. Always enjoy the stupid antics Oz and “that gosh-darned Thornberry” get up to in these earlier seasons.

6.29 “The Code of Honor”
When various fraternity brothers, led by Wally (Skip Young), pressure bookish member Fred (James Stacy, later of Lancer) into inviting a date to an upcoming dance, he enlists his very attractive sister, Susan (Andra Martin), to pretend to be his long-distance girlfriend to get the guys off his back. Susan winds up staying at the Nelsons’ home for the weekend, and takes an immediate shine to David, much to his initial consternation…but soon she and Fred confess the fact that they’re siblings, and suddenly, and unsurprisingly, David is completely on board. At the dance, Fred arranges for David to “cut in” frequently as Susan’s partner, but this raises the ire of nosey Wally, who begins to suspect Dave of violating the unwritten code of the fraternity: "No Brother shall attempt to steal another guy's girl away from him." Of course, Wally’s very cute date, Ginger (Joyce Taylor), is not at all amused that he’s paying far more attention to what Dave is doing than on herself. This was Andra Martin’s first of three appearances on the show. Rick and his band perform “Believe What You Say” at the dance, and later back up cute female singer Judy Busch, who ends up as Fred's date later on.

7.8 “Rick’s Riding Lesson”
Wally’s taking some much-needed riding lessons at a ranch, and Dave and Rick, both experienced riders, decide to tag along. When Rick gets a gander at a foxy blonde instructor (Venetia Stevenson), he pretends to not know how to ride in order to get to know her better. Ray Teal, soon to be better known as Sheriff Coffee on Bonanza, plays the girl’s father. Culminates with a couple of songs from Rick, one ("Trying to Get to You") while on a hayride, and another one at a barbecue, where Rick croons the folk standard “Cindy, Cindy,” accompanied by several other members of the cast, including Ozzie, Harriet, brother David and “old coot” Emmett Lynn, in his fourth and final appearance on the show. Lynn, so memorable in S1's "Who's Walter," sadly passed away from a sudden heart attack a month or so before this episode aired.

 

[ScottRE]

The Rat Patrol
1.1 “The Chase of Fire Raid”
The first episode of this Tom Gries-created WWII actioner, like many a pilot episode, seems to have received greater care and more lavish production values, as well as a more fleshed-out script, than would typically be the rule going forward. This one focuses on how veddy British toff Sgt. Jack Moffat (Gary Raymond) joins the squad, first having to prove himself to its skeptical, gruff leader, Sgt. Sam Troy (Christopher George), as the Patrol engages in a dangerous race across the desert to reach and destroy a buried Allied fuel dump before the Germans, led by recurring antagonist Captain Dietrich (Eric Braedon, at this stage in his career billed as Hans Gudegast). Some impressive aerial shots of the Patrol’s signature twin jeeps rolling across the endless dunes, not to mention a whole lot of slam-bang action filmed in striking Spanish locations. Nice to see The Dakotas’ Larry Ward pop up here as a stern commanding officer, his distinctively deep, grating voice barking out orders in an authentic manner. Seductive British blonde Janine Grey tops and tails the episode as Troy’s current squeeze, such romanctic flings being something else the writers would rarely make time for in the ensuing episodes. Justin Tarr’s Tully probably utters more lines in this single episode than in the entire rest of the series.

View attachment 183615

1.30 “Mask-a-Raid”
Even by this series’ frequently credibility-stretching standards, the Rat Patrol’s mission in this one is incredibly risky. Moffit, swaddled in facial bandages, poses as a seriously-burned Luftwaffe pilot at a German field hospital (while Troy loiters in the background disguised as a hospital orderly), in order to spread disinformation about an impending Allied air raid. But the mission is further complicated by a suspicious major (William Jordan), who brings in a woman who he claims to be the pilot’s wife (played by Swedish model turned actress - and absolute stunner - Ulla Stromstedt, a year after enjoying a 12-episode recurring stint on Flipper). A far cry from the comparative realism and hard-hitting drama of Combat!, this WWII series falls into what our esteemed fellow member Flashgear a.k.a Randall terms “yahoo” territory, but consistently delivers plenty of tense derring-do and explosive action. Love Dominic Frontiere’s stirring main theme music, too.

Spot on observations about The Rat Patrol, @Jeff Flugel. I did a full rewatch of this series just a few months ago and the emphasis is on "action" and that's pretty much it. You can pop in nearly any episode of the early days and follow it with one of the last episodes and you'd never be able to tell they were nearly two years apart. But taken on a "once in a while" basis, the series is a great "turn off your brain and enjoy" kinda show, much like the 80's The A-Team.

They dialed back the "veddy British" aspect of Moffit almost immediately, which was a relief. They pushed it pretty hard in the pilot ("mind if I brew up?"). The ending, when Troy and Moffit share the girl, is one of those "yeah I don't wanna know what happens next" sort of situations.

And other two guys get a little bit of focus here and there, but even Moffit gets sidelined a lot. Chris George gets the lion's share of the action, which gets really ludicrous when he's undercover as a German and he can't speak the language.

The first portion of the series was shot in Spain and those episode look great. Once they moved back to LA, the show felt stagebound and domestic. But the Spain locations took their toll on the actors and you can see how thin Chris George was. Later, he began to fill out. Those early episodes also employed a very bland narrator to fill in some blanks, but the guy was distracting and none of the plots were particularly complex to need one. The three-part episode is great though, the it was edited into a feature film overseas.

Dietrich was a great character, but damn, after a few failures at the hands of the Rat Patrol, he would have been sent to the Russian front!

I'm being hard on it, but really, it's great fun. There were plenty of exciting episodes and those directed by Sutton Roley were really dynamic and thrilling.

 

[Flashgear]

Tremendous post with rich detail and wonderful screen caps, Jeff!
And, as usual, a wide variety of shows!

Scott, great analysis, history and appreciation for Rat Patrol as the entertainment it is!

Jeff, your praise here and in the past for Network's Sergeant Cork tells me that I'll eventually need to get that great old series. Same for Warner Archive's two seasons of Ron Ely's Tarzan, which I remember watching first-run.

I have seasons' 1 to 10 of the fine MPI Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet now, but am far behind in watching the series in chronological order. I'm still finishing up season 4, but have jumped ahead to watch several of the most celebrated episodes of the later seasons. Such a wonderful show, I'm convinced that you can drop-in at random anywhere in the run and discover lesser-known gems! I fully agree about Don DeFore's wonderful 'Thorny', hilarious aggravation for Oz all the way! Great screen caps of Andra Martin, Venetia Stevenson, Judy Busch, Susan Oliver in this and other recent posts, as well as all those other background babes...the lovely Andra Martin is featured in many of the great WB western and detective shows of the late '50s-early '60s...and nice caps, of course, of the wonderful Nelsons themselves! Gawd, I wanna go back to the '50s!

A far cry from the comparative realism and hard-hitting drama of Combat!, this WWII series falls into what our esteemed fellow member Flashgear a.k.a Randall terms “yahoo” territory, but consistently delivers plenty of tense derring-do and explosive action. Love Dominic Frontiere’s stirring main theme music, too.

Thanks Jeff! Ha, ha, yes, I consider the storylines of the action-packed Rat Patrol to represent far-fetched but good-natured and exciting 'Yahoo' entertainment, and I love it naturally as a fellow Yahoo. I have many history books on the North African desert war and have read extensively on the actual death-defying raids behind enemy lines in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia conducted by the legendary elite British Empire troops and special-forces pioneers, the SAS and LRDG...

A grim war fought under inhuman heat and desert deprivation against a dangerous, first-class enemy...some of which is also conveyed in the current BBC/HBO WW2 action series Rogue Heroes....I even knew personally two of these famous veterans (one was my high school teacher! Colonel Roy Farran, who is featured prominently in the great best-seller history book Rogue Heroes by Ben McIntyre, and who will appear, played by an actor, in the coming seasons of the BBC/HBO TV series of the same title)...the true story of these real-life heroes is astonishing and mind-bending...as to the raids of Rat Patrol, many but not all are outlandish...but only because any high-risk military operation is endangered in the planning stages by too many 'moving parts' needing to slip into place at the right time and place...a planned operation had to be designed for the greatest possible simplicity...but even then, many raids fell into a bloody disaster...including the epic and large-scale real life raid on Tobruk that was partially fictionalized in the great 1967 Universal movie Tobruk with Rock Hudson, George Peppard and Nigel Green...a small force of SAS/LRDG British and Commonwealth troops masquerading as 'prisoners of war', guarded by German-speaking Jewish Commandos (the 'Special Identification Group' the SIG) wearing Afrika Korps uniforms...driving into the German/Italian controlled port city of Tobruk...awaiting another amphibious landing in the harbor, the 'prisoners' and 'guards' ready to spring into action with their hidden weapons...and, incredibly, this actually happened! Naturally, in the movie, it was a daring success...in real history, a brave failure that ended in bloody disaster...

I know that British viewers were a little upset by the heavy American fictionalized angle on the SAS/LRDG inspired method of small-scale raids behind enemy lines seen on the Rat Patrol, what with the 'Rats' themselves inspired by the defending British troops in the long siege of Tobruk earlier in the war...but real-life American army forces were later involved in the brilliant seizure of an active Luftwaffe air base in Tunisia, and a stunning battle over another German airfield where both American, British and German airbourne forces arrived by air simultaneously to battle over the same air field! Both sides parachuting into action against each other at the same time! That kind of hair-raising thing is unique in history...Incredible but true!

Rat Patrol is still one of the absolute best action shows of any era, and a lot of fun too! A very likable cast that apparently were a harmonious gang of friends in real life. Rat Patrol is just what you'd expect from Tom Gries and two other production guys credited as 'Brick' (Marquard) and 'Dink' (Templeton) Ha, Ha!!!!

Then, there's also another episode with popular gold record singer Jack Jones singing a lovely top 40 hit of his, 1967's That Tiny World, before slaughtering a bunch of Champagne swilling German officers with his machine gun! Jack Jones is probably best remembered for singing the theme song for The Love Boat...And another episode with Steve Franken (Dobie Gillis, Mr. Novak) playing a traitorous gun-runner wearing a pristine white suit and fedora, dying his last while crying out "Mommy!", with girlfriend Fay Spain wailing away...love the absurdity!

And I believe that the single most interesting supporting actor to have appeared in Rat Patrol by far was the jovial British character actor (and multi-lingual international adventurer, and Hollywood script writer and best selling author) Allan Caillou (real name Allan Lyle-Smythe), who actually served as an undercover spy in the desert war...in Ben McIntyre's best-selling book Rogue Heroes, he recounts a legendary night time encounter that the legendary SAS soldiers had with Allan Caillou in the desert outside of Benghazi, as the SAS prepared to attack that target...Allan Caillou, a complete stranger to the commandos, actually snuck up on these elite soldiers, on guard with their weapons at the ready....without being discovered, and presented himself as an Arab Bedouin, but with a flawless upper-crust Oxford accented English! He startled SAS surgeon captain Malcolm Plaisdell by asking him "I see old chap, where can I find Colonel Stirling?" (David Stirling, commander of the SAS)...Alan Caillou was on a very dangerous and desperate mission to warn the commandos that the Germans were expecting their attack on Benghazi and were waiting in ambush for them! The warning unfortunately came too late, as the attacking force led by Stirling was already near the target, and thus more good men died that night.

But among the SAS, this almost unbelievable encounter with an unknown mystery man in the night became yet another legend...they could hardly believe that such a brave man existed...Alan Caillou disappeared back into the night and was not seen again until he was taken prisoner by the Germans...on other operations, he had dressed in Arab, German and Italian clothes and uniforms, being fluently multilingual in all those languages...if you watch any of his many appearances on American TV in the 50s to the 70s, you see a guy who's just happy to be there, jovial and full of stereotypical bluster...often enough acting in an episode that he himself wrote...for my money, his greatest achievement was in writing and acting in Boris Karloff's Thriller's Hay Fork and Bill Hook...a beautifully realized mystical and supernatural tale with one of Jerry Goldsmith's absolute best scores...in a tale of Irish folklore and an ancient curse, complete with witches and their animal 'familiars'...IMO one of that series greatest episodes that just sticks with you for a long time...and of course, being completely without pretense, Allan Caillou also delighted in playing the 'great galactic floating head' who bossed around Richard Benjamin in the 1977 short-lived SF comedy TV series Quark...here's a pretty nice obituary that I found online for Allan Caillou...I wonder if Christopher George and cast knew just how ironic Allan Caillou's guest appearance in Rat Patrol's The Hide and Go Seek Raid really was....it's often the last action star or character actor you would ever expect that proves to have been an authentic James Bond secret agent in real life!

Obit below...
Alan Caillou
d. October 1, 2006

Alan Caillou, top to bottom:
in “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.”
(1965); in “Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo” (1977); as The Head in “Quark” (1978). Left, with Albert Paulsen in “U.N.C.L.E.” episode “The Terbuf Affair” (1964).

Alan Caillou, entertainment industry veteran known to spy fans for both writing and performing work, died Oct. 1 at his home in Sedona, Ariz. He was 91.

He was born Alan Lyle-Smythe in Surrey, England, and reportedly adopted Alan Caillou as an alias while serving in the British Army’s intelligence corps during World War II. He worked behind enemy lines in North Africa and with the partisans in Yugoslavia. He trained as an actor in the 1930s, then served four years with the British police force in Palestine. After the war, he worked as a police chief in Ethiopia, a district officer in Somalia and founded a Shakespearian theatrical company in Tanganyika before moving to Canada, where he worked in theater, radio and television.

He and his wife moved to Hollywood in the late 1950s, where Caillou immediately found work as both a writer and actor in the growing television business. He appeared in episodes of Cheyenne, Maverick, Flipper, The Third Man, Combat, Burke’s Law, Jericho, The Rat Patrol, The Name of the Game, McMillan and Wife, Mannix, The Six Million Dollar Man and others. He once made a non-acting appearance as a contestant on Groucho Marx’s comic quiz show You Bet Your Life.

He also got small parts in such movies as “The List of Adrian Messenger,” “Five Weeks in a Balloon,” “Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion” and “The Devil’s Brigade.” His roles seemed to reflect his background as he was often cast as British army officers, policemen and spies in both movies and television. He played Inspector Lestrade in the 1972 ABC Movie of the Week version of “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” with Stewart Granger as Sherlock Holmes.


His only two regular TV series roles were brief and soon forgotten. In 1966, Caillou was cast in NBC’s new Tarzan series as Jason Flood, tutor to the orphan boy Jai, whose normal function in the series was to hang around Tarzan and get into trouble. The tutor character was extraneous and eventually disappeared. In Quark, the short-lived 1978 sci-fi comedy starring Richard Benjamin, Caillou portrayed “The Head,” who was head of the galactic government and appeared only as a gigantic disembodied head.

Caillou’s first television writing included several episodes of Behind Closed Doors, the 1958 spy anthology, and he continued in the espionage and thriller vein with scripts for 77 Sunset Strip, Thriller, The Fugitive, The Rogues, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Rat Patrol, Garrison’s Gorillas and The Six Million Dollar Man. In 1961 he had an acting role in an episode of Thriller that he also wrote, and repeated the trick on The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Caillou wrote five popular U.N.C.L.E. episodes in that show’s first season and appeared in one of them, “The Terbuf Affair,” as the secret-police chief of a tiny Balkan nation. He wrote two second-season U.N.C.L.E. scripts and acted in one of those, “The Tigers Are Coming Affair.”

He appeared in an episode of the 1959 spy series Five Fingers, and in Amos Burke Secret Agent, Jericho and two episodes of The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., but did not write for those shows. He wrote one episode of It Takes a Thief and acted in three, but didn’t appear in the one he wrote.

Caillou also wrote dozens of mystery and adventure novels, many featuring series characters such as Cabot Cain and Colonel Matthew Tobin.

Casual photos of Rat Patrol's cast...these guys just seemed to enjoy each other's company and it shows...

Combat! is to me an epic of great 1960s war drama, and most of the time, an exceptionally hard-hitting and grim drama that stands equal to other prestige urban contemporary TV dramas of that era, and earlier. A cast of TV immortals and fine ensemble players led by Vic Morrow and Rick Jason...and the biggest name guest stars of any show on the air in the '60s...Combat! is for me, a top five show in my collection...an exquisite example of how great a weekly television show could be in those days.

I Spy – 2.16 “Rome…Take Away Three”
Some serious, cold-blooded espionage stuff here, thankfully leavened at times by the effortless charisma and banter between Robert Culp and Bill Cosby as, respectively, special agents Kelly Robinson and Alexander Scott. Kelly and Scott are in Rome, debriefing U.S. state department official Dean Sherman (Alf Kjellan, pulling double duty as director of this episode), who is being blackmailed by ruthless, America-hating gangster Coly Collisi (Nehemiah Persoff) into betraying government secrets. When the guilt-ridden Sherman commits suicide, Scott and Kelly are tasked with “deactivating” Collisi, using whatever means possible. Our heroes track down the woman who Collisi paid to seduce the dead man, a model named Tilde (Stromstedt), as well as the photographer who took the incriminating blackmail photos (good ol’ Elisha Cook Jr.), setting in motion a deadly chain of events.

Wow, great I-Spy write-up (another superb show!) and screen caps, Jeff! I'm pretty sure that Nehemiah Persoff's character was possibly modeled on notorious deported Sicilian-American gangster 'Lucky' Luciano. He had a villa in the Rome region during this period (Sinatra visited him there multiple times) , but was still (reportedly from reliable sources) secretly slipping in and out of South Florida from Cuba during the entire post-war era! He was always looking to compromise Government and police (both Italian and American) for his advantage. Nehemiah Persoff is as usual, great.

The talented Persoff plays a right nasty piece of work here, and it’s pleasing to see Kelly and Scotty take him down in what was, for the time, fairly brutal fashion. Aside from the lovely Ms. Stromstedt (who cavorts on the beach in a bikini at one point), this episode also features a number of fine-looking ladies, whom Culp and Cosby flirt with while chilling at a streetside ristorante. Seamlessly blends plentiful Rome location footage with interiors and beach scenes shot back in Los Angeles.

Despite her beauty and solid acting chops, Ms. Stromstedt’s career was short-lived, and she unfortunately died of some undisclosed disease in 1986, at the tragically young age of 46.

Wow! Wonderful tribute to the Swedish knock-out Ulla Stromstedt, Jeff! What a doll! I pretty-much purchased season two of Flipper just to see more of her, though the show as a whole is enjoyable fare on it's own, and a nostalgic blast-from-the-past from my childhood. I was unaware of her foreshortened life, passing away at only 46, tragic!

I should take some screen caps of 24 year old Ulla Stromstedt in season two of Flipper, including one episode where she's kidnapped by Burt Reynolds!

 

[Jeff Flugel]

I did a full rewatch of this series just a few months ago and the emphasis is on "action" and that's pretty much it. You can pop in nearly any episode of the early days and follow it with one of the last episodes and you'd never be able to tell they were nearly two years apart. But taken on a "once in a while" basis, the series is a great "turn off your brain and enjoy" kinda show, much like the 80's The A-Team.

A grim war fought under inhuman heat and desert deprivation against a dangerous, first-class enemy...some of which is also conveyed in the current BBC/HBO WW2 action series Rogue Heroes....I even knew personally two of these famous veterans (one was my high school teacher! Colonel Roy Farran, who is featured prominently in the great best-seller history book Rogue Heroes by Ben McIntyre, and who will appear, played by an actor, in the coming seasons of the BBC/HBO TV series of the same title)...the true story of these real-life heroes is astonishing and mind-bending...as to the raids of Rat Patrol, many but not all are outlandish...but only because any high-risk military operation is endangered in the planning stages by too many 'moving parts' needing to slip into place at the right time and place...a planned operation had to be designed for the greatest possible simplicity...but even then, many raids fell into a bloody disaster...including the epic and large-scale real life raid on Tobruk that was partially fictionalized in the great 1967 Universal movie Tobruk with Rock Hudson, George Peppard and Nigel Green...a small force of SAS/LRDG British and Commonwealth troops masquerading as 'prisoners of war', guarded by German-speaking Jewish Commandos (the 'Special Identification Group' the SIG) wearing Afrika Korps uniforms...driving into the German/Italian controlled port city of Tobruk...awaiting another amphibious landing in the harbor, the 'prisoners' and 'guards' ready to spring into action with their hidden weapons...and, incredibly, this actually happened! Naturally, in the movie, it was a daring success...in real history, a brave failure that ended in bloody disaster...

Thank you Scott and Randall, for your detailed and interesting comments! Much appreciated.

I agree with pretty much everything you said about The Rat Patrol, Scott. The plots often don't bear close scrutiny...and yes, despite being a great, principled recurring villain, Capt. Dietrich (nicely played by smooth Eric Braeden a.k.a "Hans Gudegast"), would not have been allowed to remain in command of his tank squadron after so many failed attempts to capture and squash the "Rats." But following "TV logic," it works, as he remains a fine foil for Christopher George and company. I had a good laugh at your mentioning Sgt. Troy's complete lack of any ability to Sprechen sie Deutsch...something you'd think would be a requirement for the sort of behind enemy lines missions in which he regularly engages. Guess that's why he needs Moffitt around.

I haven't yet watched that three-part episode you mention (S1's "The Last Harbor Raid"), mainly due to generally finding three-part episodes of half-hour classic TV shows too drawn out...but since you've given it a "thumbs up," I'll be sure to check it out at some point. It seems to be the same set of episodes co-starring the lovely Claudine Longet (seen ruffling Chris George's hair in the final publicity photo Randall posted above.)

I've read elsewhere that George suffered a chest injury when his jeep rolled during a stunt sequence while filming on the series, the resulting trauma to his heart perhaps leading to his premature death from a heart attack in the early '80s. I've always liked George as an actor and screen presence. His thespic skills are rarely challenged in no-nonsense action fare like The Rat Patrol or The Immortal, but he's incredibly good as honorable hired gun Nelse McCloud, facing off against John Wayne in Howard Hawks' El Dorado.

And I believe that the single most interesting supporting actor to have appeared in Rat Patrol by far was the jovial British character actor (and multi-lingual international adventurer, and Hollywood script writer and best selling author) Allan Caillou (real name Allan Lyle-Smythe), who actually served as an undercover spy in the desert war...in Ben McIntyre's best-selling book Rogue Heroes, he recounts a legendary night time encounter that the legendary SAS soldiers had with Allan Caillou in the desert outside of Benghazi, as the SAS prepared to attack that target...ame yet another legend...they could hardly believe that such a brave man existed...

Thanks for once again providing such terrific and fascinating historical context and detail, Randall! You are definitely our resident 20th century history expert! How amazing it was that you met and knew two WWII SAS veterans...one even being your high school shop teacher, if I recall correctly. I still have yet to catch up with last year's BBC drama SAS: Rogue Heroes...need to remedy that situation soon.

I see you came back to edit your post and add some further great information about Alan Caillou...thank you for reminding us of some of his unique and frequently incredible personal background details. Whoever wrote that obituary for him did a fine job detailing his Hollywood career. BTW, that Rat Patrol episode he guest-starred in ("The Hide and Go Seek Raid") is, as you know, a real rip-snorter, just wall-to-wall action directed by Sutton Roley.

Casual photos of Rat Patrol's cast...these guys just seemed to enjoy each other's company and it shows...
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Love those publicity photos of the Rat Patrol boys, especially the ones where they're posed with some of their sexy female co-stars. Recognize Claudine Longet but not that gorgeous bikini blonde...who is she? Further research is required, methinks...

Good to hear that the main cast all got along well while filming the show. Eric Braedon can come across a bit curt and sniffy in some of his later-in-life interviews, so it's nice to see him letting his hair down, so to speak, relaxed and hanging out with Christopher George and the other guys.

I'm pretty sure that Nehemiah Persoff's character was possibly modeled on notorious deported Sicilian-American gangster 'Lucky' Luciano. He had a villa in the Rome region during this period (Sinatra visited him there multiple times) , but was still (reportedly from reliable sources) secretly slipping in and out of South Florida from Cuba during the entire post-war era! He was always looking to compromise Government and police (both Italian and American) for his advantage. Nehemiah Persoff is as usual, great.

Persoff is indeed always good; thanks for mentioning that likely nod by the scriptwriter(s) to "Lucky" Luciano. That makes complete sense, as the character is written and played. Persoff was adept at nice guys, too, but he really excelled at portraying truly evil scumbags like this episode's Coli Collisi, a real conscienceless worm who gets a well-deserved comeuppance courtesy of the I Spy duo.

Wonderful tribute to the Swedish knock-out Ulla Stromstedt, Jeff! What a doll! I pretty-much purchased season two of Flipper just to see more of her, though the show as a whole is enjoyable fare on it's own, and a nostalgic blast-from-the-past from my childhood. I was unaware of her foreshortened life, passing away at only 46, tragic!

Thank you for the kind words, Randall! Yes, another instance of looking a little further into an actor or actress' life and discovering that they came to a sad and/or tragically early end.

I should take some screen caps of 24 year old Ulla Stromstedt in season two of Flipper, including one episode where she's kidnapped by Burt Reynolds!

Oh, yes, please do! I don't have Flipper S2, so would welcome more screencaps of the knock-out Ms. Stromstedt.

I still have a few more episodes of her work to check out, including what is likely a very brief cameo in the Route 66 S1 episode "Effigy in Snow," plus much larger parts on two episodes of Hogan's Heroes. She also appeared in an episode of Surfside 6 (as, appropriately enough, "Miss Scandia"), The Tab Hunter Show (good luck tracking that one down), Mr. Terrific...and some flick from 1967 called Catalina Caper (which is probably pretty bad, as it received the patented MST3000 treatment). Notice that one of the stars listed on the poster below is Peter Duryea...unfortunately not Dan, his far more talented father. Here's a link to a fun blog article about this dopey-sounding "Beach party" type movie. The producers of this thing had the bad taste to put Ulla in a black wig, too.

 

[Rustifer]

Episode Commentary
The Twilight Zone
"One More Pallbearer" (S3E17)

This is a story about a rich businessman whose pettiness leads him to plot revenge against those he feels have grievously wronged him. It's a concept dreamt up by Rod Serling and fantasized repeatedly by nerds, jilted lovers, convicts and an ex-President. Single-minded Paul Radin (Joseph Wiseman) has a well-appointed, very secure bomb shelter--because in 1962 we were all convinced that atom bombs would rain down on us like confetti at a Macy's Day parade.

Radin's shelter appears to be carved out of solid rock and reinforced with lead and steel, seemingly designed by Batman's personal bat cave contractor. Mr. Radin has invited three of his past acquaintances to pay him a visit in the shelter--his school teacher Mrs. Langsford (Katherine Squire), his former Army commander Col. Hawthorne (Trevor Bardette) and his church minister, Rev. Hughes (Gage Clarke). All three were not invited for a fun underground rave, but rather to scare the livin' bejesus out of each with the threat of non-existent nuclear war that Radin has carefully choreographed to appear imminent. His rancor against all three visitors is completely subjective based on perceived slights--Col. Hawthorne had him court-martialed, Mrs. Langsford humiliated him for cheating in class and Rev. Hughes had accused him of causing the unnecessary suicide of a young girl.

Revenge is MINE; Day of Atonement; Didn't see THAT happening...

The three are given the option of protection from the atomic blast if they simply profess an apology to Radin, otherwise he'll push them out the door like garbage on trash day. Despite each plainly explaining their justified actions against him, Radin's niggling holds no bounds--he has been wronged and atonement must be adjudicated. Given the choice of sheltered protection, each choose the alternative of individual destruction over apologizing to such a diaper bucket as Radin.

As with all TZ episodes, there's always a final plot twist designed to surprise the viewer into thinking, "Gee, I sure didn't see that coming..." In this instance, Radin's carefully manufactured holocaust actually happens--but only in his own tortured mind. Left believing he's the only human left on Earth, Paul Radin is actually laying face down on a city sidewalk as passersby casually walk by him.

I had a day like that as a college Sophomore after an unusually drawn-out game of beer pong.

 

[JohnHopper]

Episode Commentary
The Twilight Zone
"One More Pallbearer" (S3E17)

This is a story about a rich businessman whose pettiness leads him to plot revenge against those he feels have grievously wronged him. It's a concept dreamt up by Rod Serling and fantasized repeatedly by nerds, jilted lovers, convicts and an ex-President. Single-minded Paul Radin (Joseph Wiseman) has a well-appointed, very secure bomb shelter--because in 1962 we were all convinced that atom bombs would rain down on us like confetti at a Macy's Day parade.

Radin's shelter appears to be carved out of solid rock and reinforced with lead and steel, seemingly designed by Batman's personal bat cave contractor. Mr. Radin has invited three of his past acquaintances to pay him a visit in the shelter--his school teacher Mrs. Langsford (Katherine Squire), his former Army commander Col. Hawthorne (Trevor Bardette) and his church minister, Rev. Hughes (Gage Clarke). All three were not invited for a fun underground rave, but rather to scare the livin' bejesus out of each with the threat of non-existent nuclear war that Radin has carefully choreographed to appear imminent. His rancor against all three visitors is completely subjective based on perceived slights--Col. Hawthorne had him court-martialed, Mrs. Langsford humiliated him for cheating in class and Rev. Hughes had accused him of causing the unnecessary suicide of a young girl.

View attachment 183820 View attachment 183821 View attachment 183822
Revenge is MINE; Day of Atonement; Didn't see THAT happening...

The three are given the option of protection from the atomic blast if they simply profess an apology to Radin, otherwise he'll push them out the door like garbage on trash day. Despite each plainly explaining their justified actions against him, Radin's niggling holds no bounds--he has been wronged and atonement must be adjudicated. Given the choice of sheltered protection, each choose the alternative of individual destruction over apologizing to such a diaper bucket as Radin.

As with all TZ episodes, there's always a final plot twist designed to surprise the viewer into thinking, "Gee, I sure didn't see that coming..." In this instance, Radin's carefully manufactured holocaust actually happens--but only in his own tortured mind. Left believing he's the only human left on Earth, Paul Radin is actually laying face down on a city sidewalk as passersby casually walk by him.

I had a day like that as a college Sophomore after an unusually drawn-out game of beer pong.

This one is the companion piece to the season 1 “Time Enough at Last” in terms of end of the world thematic.

 

[SuperClark]

I have the complete dvd set of Rawhide.This is from season 1 with my favorite brunette of all time.

Here is the beautiful LInda from 1980 so charming

This is a new stereo mix of Shebs big hit

 

[bmasters9]

All Creatures Great and Small (original 1978 series), second-series premiere (second-season here in America), "Cats and Dogs" (OAD 23 Sept. 1978 on BBC1)

Main story here (in about three scenes, despite the episode title; these scenes are all on film [the series was made on both film and videotape]) is about a young farmer named Harry Sumner, who acquired a bull calf for £100 that is named Monty (real name being Newton Montmorency VI).

First scene: Monty is introduced, moving his head around in a steel bucket, while Harry tells James all about him.























Second: James finds out from Harry that Monty has something wrong with him, but can't determine yet what it is; James then goes out to examine the calf.









Third: James, having determined what it was that was the trouble with Monty (it was a hairball), goes to operate on him the next day; he eventually removes the offending blockage, and Harry is quite pleased.











Note: not all shots here have the captioning, because it's very difficult to capture all the lines as they are displayed.

 

[SuperClark]

Here is the full episode of Rawhide I posted a clip from earlier today in fairly good quality

 

[Jeff Flugel]

All Creatures Great and Small (original 1978 series), second-series premiere (second-season here in America), "Cats and Dogs" (OAD 23 Sept. 1978 on BBC1)

Glad that you've decided to check out the original All Creatures Great and Small series, Ben! "Cats and Dogs" is a good choice to spotlight, yet another terrific episode of this wonderful, warm-hearted show. It's been too long since I last watched an episode...have to dig back into my DVD sets of the first three seasons (i.e., the best ones) sometime soon.

 

[bmasters9]

Glad that you've decided to check out the original All Creatures Great and Small series, Ben! "Cats and Dogs" is a good choice to spotlight, yet another terrific episode of this wonderful, warm-hearted show. It's been too long since I last watched an episode...have to dig back into my DVD sets of the first three seasons (i.e., the best ones) sometime soon.

View attachment 184220

Actually, I have had the first three series releases for quite a while, and decided on a whim to try to reacquaint myself-- I tried that current one, but it's quite lackluster compared to this one that celebrated the 45th anniversary of its premiere in January of this year (I may get the all-in-one sometime soon).

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Hogan’s Heroes – 2.4 “Diamonds in the Rough”
Carrying over from last week’s Ulla Stromstedt mini-marathon, I checked out this, the first (and perhaps lesser) of her two appearances on this hit WWII-set sitcom. Ms. Stromstedt only gets a few scenes here, as a fetching fraulein who is actually an agent working for corrupt SS officer Major Hegel (Paul Lambert), who alarmingly seems to know every facet of Hogan and co.’s underground operations, and threatens to expose them if they don’t arrange shipment of a million dollars in diamonds to fund his getaway far from the machinations of the Third Reich. Needless to say, Hogan’s got to put this guy out of commission, pronto. Contrary to the norm, star Bob Crane doesn’t make out with beautiful guest star Ms. Stromstedt...but otherwise, this is typically fast, amusing fare, with John Banner’s genial Sgt. Schultz the comic V.I.P. I’m guessing Ms. Stromstedt enjoys a bigger, albeit similar, role in S3’s “Sticky Wicket Newkirk,” but I can’t say for sure, as I only have the first two seasons of the show in my collection. Here’s a promo photo from that later episode, anyway, which shows Richard Dawson enjoying himself draped in the arms of the winsome Ulla.

Paging Randall...hey, Randall, good buddy, how about kindly gracing us with some Flipper S2 reviews? We need some further Ulla Stromstedt screencap goodness!

The Master – 1.8 “The Good, the Bad and the Priceless”
Master ninja John Peter McAllister (Lee Van Cleef, still cool and charismatic despite looking a good decade older than his actual age of 59), hotheaded but bighearted protégé Max (Timothy Van Patten) and third-wheel Cat (busty Tara Buckman, tagging along after the previous episode, “Juggernaut”) are in the NYC, trying to locate McAllister’s daughter, Teri, who has become a much-sought-after fashion model in the Big Apple. An ambitious insurance investigator who closely resembles Teri (a fresh-faced and very pretty Janine Turner, several years before Northern Exposure) poses as the daughter to get McAllister’s help in nailing crooked designer and international art thief Simon Garrett (George Maharis, sporting an impressive, bouffant toupee). In an entertainingly ridiculous plot turn, Garrett kidnaps the girl, threatening to kill her if McAllister doesn’t use his ninja skills to maneuver past a high-tech security system and steal a portion of Britain's Crown Jewels currently on display. Culminates in a mano-y-mano martial arts smackdown between Van Cleef and Maharis... or should I say, their very obvious stunt doubles. Earnestly goofy cheese from the ninja-obsessed ‘80s, but it's still a whole lot of nostalgic fun for this formerly ninja- and martial arts movie-obsessed, middle-aged fan.

Simon & Simon – 1.13 “Tanks for the Memories”
It’s been a while since I gave this show a spin, and I greatly enjoyed it. In this, the final episode of the abbreviated first season, the San Diego-based private investigator Simon brothers, preppy A.J. (Jameson Parker) and rough-and-tumble Rick (Gerald McRaney), are hired by Rick’s old high school teacher, Mrs. Bartlett (Lucille Benson), to track down a missing classmate for an upcoming class reunion. The case grows hairy quickly, as the trail ends up leading the pair to a remote outpost of survivalists run by a psychopathic colonel (Lance LeGault). Parker and McRaney have great, bantering chemistry as the chalk-and-cheese brothers. Also with Burr DeBenning and familiar ‘80s face Clyde Kusatsu (as a martial artist pal of the Simons). The transfers on Shout Factory’s DVD set look quite nice; guess I’m going to have to pick up a few more seasons of the show, which was a staple of my late teens back in the ‘80s.

Riptide – 2.1 “Where the Girls Are”
Another fondly-remembered blast from the past, and yet another typically breezy, sunny SoCal lighthearted adventure show centered on three Vietnam vet pals, studly beach bums Cody (Perry King) and Nick (Joe Penny) and their computer whiz geek friend Murray “Boz” Bozinski (Thom Bray), who live on a sailboat and operate the Riptide Detective Agency in Los Angeles. The Riptide boys go through quite a runaround in this one, tasked with protecting three vacationing Midwestern co-eds, none of whom are best pleased with being kept under close guard by what they deem to be "gross" old guys in their mid-30s . But when the girls are targeted by a trio of kidnappers (which include a young, pre-stardom George Clooney) looking to score a half mil in ransom money from their wealthy parents, it’s up to Cody, Nick and Boz to save the day. King, Penny and Bray are easygoing, likable company and have a great buddy rapport, and the viewer can rely on producer Stephen J. Cannell to deliver the kind of bruising, car-chase and stunt-filled action goods that you just don't see on television these days. The troublesome co-eds are played by Juliana McDonald, Daphne Ashbrook (who would later appear as one-time companion to 8th Doctor Who Paul McGann in the 1996 Fox TV movie attempt to re-vamp the series), and Claudia Christian (of Babylon 5 fame). Jack Ging shows up briefly in his recurring role as our heroes’ requisite grumpy police lieutenant contact.

The Restless Gun
1.24 “The Woman from Sacramento”
2.17 “The Lady and the Gun”
A couple of episodes of this successful Revue western from producer David Dotort, starring John Payne as wandering cowpoke, Vint Bonner, both of which promise some gun-slinging action but actually stay in straight drama territory. “The Girl from Sacramento” is the more engaging, as Vint tries to suss out whether the long-unseen daughter (Kathleen Crowley) of Vint’s elderly, dying friend (Will Wright) is really who she says she is, or is instead a duplicitous stranger out to get her hands on the old man’s property. A fine performance from pert blonde Ms. Crowley is the standout. H.M. Wynant co-stars as her gunslinger beau.

“The Lady and the Gun” is a straight-up, rather sweet love story, chronicling perpetually marriage-shy Vint gradually falling for a young woman (Mala Powers), who's equally resistant to romance...but both eventually realize that Vint's inevitably danger and violence-filled lifestyle doom their chance at future happiness. Frankly, I prefer more rousing shoot-'em-up style storytelling in my westerns, especially the 30-minute variety, but these were solid little episodes overall.

Lovejoy – 1.3 “The Sting”
Lovable rogue and antiques "divvy" Lovejoy (Ian McShane, born to play the part) tries to help a former drug addict (Kika Miryless) reclaim some Meissen figures which she stole from her family and sold in the past to support her smack habit. Lovejoy’s nemesis, Charlie Gimbert (played with oily relish by Malcolm Tierney), buys the figures at an auction just to get one over on him, so Lovejoy and his cronies, including posh “will they or won’t they?” gal pal, Lady Jane Felsham (Phyllis Logan), as well as an old master forger named Cuthie (Leslie French), pull off an elaborate sting to get the statuettes back from Charlie while simultaneously bilking him out of a cool thousand pounds cash. Along the way, the incorrigible Lovejoy enjoys an unexpected (but not unwelcome) midnight romp with Charlie’s hot-to-trot younger sister, Amanda (Cassie Stewart) and dispenses some of his canny wisdom about the antiques biz to doltish employee, Eric (Chris Jury). Very enjoyable episode.

Peter Gunn
A nice variety of plots on offer here in this jazzy, stylish private eye noir series from Blake Edwards.

1.7 “Lynn’s Blues”
Gunn helps a beautiful but despondent, suicidal lounge singer (Linda Lawson) extricate herself from the clutches of nasty gangster Kreuger (Guy Prescott) and his murderous henchman (David Tomack). Ms. Lawson, in her second-ever TV appearance, looks smashing, and it appears that she actually did her own singing; if that was indeed the case, then she was a damn good at it, better and more full-voiced than regular Lola Albright, in point of fact …though the slinky Ms. Albright was no slouch herself, in both the singing and looks department. A bit more melodramatic than the norm for this show, but still an interesting and effective episode. Here's a down-rezzed but still decent-looking clip from YouTube:



1.20 “Pecos Pete”
Gunn heads on down to Texas to investigate the suspicious death of a wealthy rancher’s brother. The very urban P.I. at first seems to stick out like the proverbial sore thumb, not at all home on the range...but as usual, he handles himself with calm, measured sangfroid and soon gets to the bottom of the sordid business. A well-staged final fight and some nice, tongue-in-cheek humor in this one, especially at the coda, when Gunn ($7,000 richer from a job well done), shows up at Mother’s place in full cowboy regalia. With Jeff York, Steve Gravers, Peggy Stewart, and as two old coot prospectors, Ralph Moody and Tom Fadden.

1.21 “Scuba”
Randall covered this episode in another one of his fantastic photo essays a few years back. Can’t add much more to his review about this playful entry - which finds Gunn investigating a string of thefts and a murder (by speargun!) down on the waterfront – other than a few trivia tidbits about a couple of the guest actresses in the tiki bar scene. First, we see voluptuous brunette Diane Webber sashay across the screen. Ms. Webber is probably better known to our resident Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea uberfans as the titular character in that series' S3 episode, “The Mermaid.”

And blonde Georgine Darcy's most high-profile role was as one of Jimmy Stewart’s neighbors, “Miss Torso,” in the Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece Rear Window (1954).

Here's a clip of the tiki bar scene. It's wild, man, wild...



As always, star Craig Stevens saunters through the series with his customary unflappable cool, while Lola Albright sizzles as his torch singer squeeze, Edie. The transfers on Timeless' DVD sets look fantastic, preserving the silky black-and-white cinematography with crystal clarity.

 

[Flashgear]

1.21 “Scuba”
Randall covered this episode in another one of his fantastic photo essays a few years back. Can’t add much more to his review about this playful entry - which finds Gunn investigating a string of thefts and a murder (by speargun!) down on the waterfront – other than a few trivia tidbits about a couple of the guest actresses in the tiki bar scene. First, we see voluptuous brunette Diane Webber sashay across the screen. Ms. Webber is probably better known to our resident Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea uberfans as the titular character in that series' S3 episode, “The Mermaid.”

And blonde Georgine Darcy's most high-profile role was as one of Jimmy Stewart’s neighbors, “Miss Torso,” in the Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece Rear Window (1954).

Thanks Jeff for another great line-up of engaging reviews for a remarkably diverse selection of very fun shows! Fascinating details about those Peter Gunn lovelies! I had no idea that Jimmy Stewart actually had a chance to paw 'Miss Torso', and not just ogle her workouts from across the courtyard in Rear Window, but the dude also got to lock lips with Grace Kelly, which could have been an overload for the happily married Jimmy Stewart!

Strange coincidence that I myself have a couple reviews (with caps) for third season Peter Gunn episodes that also feature a couple of beauties imminent here! Two nicely framed 'Noir' episodes by impressive actor-turned-director Robert Gist, given the chance to direct Peter Gunn by his friend Blake Edwards while they worked on the 1959 box office hit Operation Petticoat.

As a teaser, I can say that one of those sexy lovelies has one of classic TV's most famous phrases delivered in one of Twilight Zone's most memorable episodes! Stay tuned, as I also need to turn some attention on the 'Tributes' thread first.

Paging Randall...hey, Randall, good buddy, how about kindly gracing us with some Flipper S2 reviews? We need some further Ulla Stromstedt screencap goodness!

Wow! What a beauty she was! Fantastic photos, Jeff! Despite her brief career in acting, Ulla Stromstedt definitely deserved a tribute, which with your two recent posts here, has gone a long way in accomplishing. I should do a binge watch of her Flipper season two episodes (and S3 of Hogan's Heroes) , and screen cap some of her lovely adventures with that adorable dolphin, and her cute yellow submarine! And leering beefcake Brian Kelly, Burt Reynolds and Ron Hayes et al!

Thanks for a very enjoyable read, and eye-popping cheesecake!

 

[Doug Wallen]

Ironside
Rundown On A Bum Rap (2.17) James Gregory, Janet MacLachlan, Clifton James, Leonard Stone, Ken Lynch, June Dayton, Jason Wingreen, Richard Bull. A local drunk, Bakey (Gregory), is seen hovering over a dead man and arrested. Turns out, Bakey is a friend of Mark's, a boxer by trade. Since Mark was brought into the case, he is convinced of Bakey's innocence. Mark attempts to enlist his law school teacher to practice what she teaches even though she is reluctant. As things turn out, there is more going on especially when Bakey changes his mind and is now overly ready to plead his guilt and accept his sentence. This causes Mark and the rest of the team to thoroughly investigate the circumstances of the death. Strong episode with a well developed storyline for Mark. Shout out to the strong guest cast in this episode.

The Prophecy (2.18) Martha Scott, Paul Stewart, Gene Lyons, William Bramley, Charles Macaulay, Richard Angarola. A friend of the chief's, Francine Miller (Scott), seems to have the ability sense things. She gets a very ominous feeling concerning Ironside and his crew. Soon after her feelings, a robbery is committed and it seems that Miller's predictions are coming true. They do if you interpret those predictions in a certain way. Tracking the portrait attempting to capture the thieves when they receive the ransom leads to a very tense final scene involving a houseboat and a raft.

A World Of Jackals (2.19) William Smithers, Ena Hartman, Charles Dierkop, Lynn Borden, Jonathan Goldsmith, Gene Lyons, James McEachin, Lynn Hamilton. A once prominent movie star, Gloria James (Borden) is missing and there are many potential suspects who could have been responsible. It seems she may have taken her life or maybe she just ran away. Sightings have placed her in Europe. Her best friend Janet (Hartman), again a friend of Mark claims that she is being hidden somewhere. So, Mark brings the problem to Ironside. Seems that the actress's former boyfriend, Frank Rich (Smithers) has mob ties, he is now a “legitimate” businessman. Enjoying any appearance by Smithers, I enjoyed this episode. The ending was predictable.

And Be My Love (2.20) Chad Everett, Gene Lyons, Amzie Strickland, J. Edward McKinley, Paul Smith, Eldon Quick. After the focus on Mark, we finally have an episode focusing on Officer Whitfield. Romance comes to Eve as she meets a writer, Larry (Everett), who is a potential target for burglary. Seems there is a theft ring operating on homes that use an answering service while they are away. The writer seems to be living above his means and makes Eve's friends worried that she could be making a mistake. She seems to be falling for him an is weighing her options with the SFPD. Is he the mastermind? What will Eve decide? Another good episode.

The Waltons
The Secret (4.16) Nora Marlowe, Adrienne Marden. This episode is very emotional featuring Jim-Bob. As brothers and sisters often do, one child seems to be on the receiving end of teasing. Also the nature of teasing can be harsh. Jim-Bob is told he does not look like the rest of the family, there are very few baby pictures of him in the family album and every time he asks about his birth, he is met with silence. He finds out that he was not born at home but at the hospital in Rockfish. He finds out that his brothers/sisters were left at a neighbor's home during his birth. He finally uncovers the truth at the Birth Registrar's office. His final confrontation with his Mother and Father is heart rending. Excellent episode.

The Fox (4.17) Merie Earle, Frank Ferguson, George Chandler, Arline Anderson. Two stories are presented here. Ben is hoping to catch animals and sell the fur and a potential reunion of the Rough Riders that Grandpa has no interest in. Ben becomes attached to the fox he captured and is unable to kill it. Grandpa and Grandma have the emotional heart of this story involving the fact that Grandpa manufactured his participation in the charge up San Juan Hill. A visiting couple tell the true story of Zeb's involvement in Cuba and a family heirloom returns to Esther. Another strong story highlighting how veterans are reluctant to tell of their heroism.

The Burn Out Part 1, Part 2 (4.18) Dee Carroll, Mariclare Costello, Robert Donner, Victor Izay, John Ritter. Tensions are getting to everyone. John-boy wants to look more like a writer and has affected a pipe, much to his families amusement and his mother's disgust. Grandpa is using a room heater that he does not watch carefully. John-boy lost his mostly completed manuscript and Grandpa is feeling guilty. Olivia wants to keep the children together after the house fire. She is adamant about that, but the slow progress on rebuilding as well as weather issues cause Olivia and John to parcel out the entire family. Mary Ellen over organizes the Doctor's office, Ben learns how to be sneaky living with Yancey, Elizabeth becomes withdrawn, Grandpa flirts shamelessly, Jason is pampered by the Baldwin sisters, what a contrast from their regular lives. The house begins to take shape and soon all of the family has worked through their issues are are ready to bid everyone a good night.

The Big Brother (4.19) Bert Conway, John Crawford, Vicki Schreck. The weakest episode on this disc concerns a runaway/con girl who has her sights set on John-boy and his trusting family. Not an appealing episode to me. At least Grandpa knew the score.

M Squad
Dead Parrots Don't Talk (3.32) Arthur Batanides, Elaine Edwards, Robert Ellis, Warren J. Kemmerling. An arcade owner is murdered for a minor amount of money and the only available suspect is a deaf mute. The arcade owner had a pet parrot who infected one of the perpetrators with deadly parrot fever. Ballinger was playing catch up on this one.

A Grenade For A Summer's Evening (3.33) Jeanne Cooper, Terry Becker, Patty Ann Gerrity, Wesley Lau. Mrs. Haskell's (Cooper) ex-husband is killed by a wayward grenade. The investigation turns up too many suspects and Ballinger keeps circling back to the ex-wife and one of her male friends. Predictable but well acted story.

Two Days For Willy (3.34) Alan Hale Jr., Peggy Webber, Harry Lauter, Mark Tapscott, Bob Hoy. A cloistered witness (Hale) is going stir crazy sitting in a hotel waiting for his opportunity to testify. He always speaks with his wife every evening. His latest phone call finds that his wife is not available and if he testifies she will be harmed. He escapes protective custody and Ballinger is combing the streets trying to find him.

Frontier Circus
Journey From Hannibal (1.7) Thelma Ritter, Arte Johnson, Bill Zuckert, Clem Bevans, James Flavin. The trials and tribulations of moving an elephant cross country with no money and just Col. Thompson's charm as currency. Bertha Beecher (Ritter) and the Col. Make for a great team-up. A very enjoyable episode.

Winter Quarters (1.8) Alex Viespi, Robert J. Wilke, Walter Sande, Roy Barcroft, Lane Bradford. Col. Thompson wants to winter in California and hires drovers in order to cross the mountains before the snow arrives. As usual, nothing goes as planned. They run afoul of horse thieves and an angry drover (Wilke). Another interesting episode.

The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet
The Reading Room (5.21) When Ozzie states he wants to spend time reading, he begins to feel unwanted. He is moved to a refurbished room in the house that is only designed for reading, no music, no tv, just solitude and quiet.

The Disbelievers (5.22) Don DeFore, Frank Cady, Hal Smith. Ozzie catches a prize trout, but no one was around. He makes a hole in one golfing with Thorny (nice to see him in this season), picks his ball out of the hole with no witness to his actual accomplishment. His friends appear to be skeptical. He even accidentally foils a robbery and no one believes Oz that it was all an accident. When the news media show up to cover the “hero”, then all of his friends start to speak out about his latest deeds.

The Clubhouse (5.23) Fun with the neighborhood kids. Ozzie and Harriet are nostalgic for activity in the back yard and allow the neighborhood kids to build a clubhouse in the backyard. They are even made honorary members.

The Jet Pilot (5.24) Frank Cady, Vinton Hayworth, Richard Crane. Ozzie ends up getting a ride in a jet and overdoses on oxygen. Funny.

Ozzie & Harriet Go To Washington (5.25) Nancy Kulp, Sally Hughes, Henry Hunter. In order to get the OK to pursue a recreation area, Ozzie and Harriet travel to the capitol to meet with their representative. Only one problem, they keep missing the representative. Turns out the rep was actually at Lake Murphy with David and Ricky.

The Editor (5.26) Frank Cady, Parley Baer, William H. McLean, Dorothy Ford. Harriet becomes editor of the Ladies Club local newspaper and christens Ozzie as Ace Reporter. Its a wonder any edition ever was delivered.

The Hawaiian Party (5.27) Harry Owens, Lyle Talbot, Perry Botkin, Mary Jane Croft. The family must choose a vacation destination; Hawaii or Lake Murphy. A luau is even hosted to try and convince Ozzie to make a bold decision. The Nelsons are asked to perform a traditional song.

Ricky, The Drummer (5.28) Frank Cady, Pete Candoli. A sitcom staple, Harriet misinterprets a request for Ricky's help at a big dance. The episode spotlights Ricky's drum ability as well as allowing him to sing “I'm Walkin'” along with an Elvis impersonation.

The Tommy Brannigan Story (5.29) Frank Cady, Lloyd Corrigan, Chubby Johnson, Jack Wagner. A hubbub ensues when Ozzie by some named golf clubs. The ending was clever.

The Sculpturing Class (2.30) Lloyd Corrigan, Frank Cady, Steve Reeves, Hal Smith, Sally Hughes, Phil Arnold, Raymond Greenleaf. Who do the Ladies Club women sculpt when the have “Hercules” as a model. Amazingly enough, they sculpt their spouse. Ozzie finds a unique way to mess the sculpture up before he “repairs” it.

 

[Rustifer]

Episode Commentary
My Three Sons
"The Sunday Drive" (S1E35)

It's a beautiful Spring Sunday in Bryant Park, the kind of day that just begs one to get outside and kick up their heels in rapturous joy. Or so thinks the Douglas' neighbor Henry Pearson (Robert Lieb), who convinces his wife Flo (Florence MacMichael) to consider a drive into the countryside to "pick wildflowers"--perhaps Henry's euphemism for something a bit more titillating. The concept of a Sunday drive reminds me of our family's annual trip to Chicago to visit grandparents, aunts, uncles and a dearth of cousins. Without access back then to a super highway, the drive north had to meander over a spiderweb of dusty roads past farm houses, small towns and roadside motels. Although seemingly taking forever to reach our destination, I found it exhilarating. There was so much stuff to eyeball along the way. That's all lost today on interstates that bypass any obstacles that might be of interest but represent obstruction to rapid forward motion.

Henry begins to lay plans for his family Sunday drive, only to elicit interest from various members of the Douglas family: Robby (Don Grady) who wants to escape the clutches of an overheated girl classmate, Mike (Tim Considine) wanting to ditch English Lit homework, noisy Chip (Stanley Livingston) being encouraged by his annoyed father (Fred MacMurray) to get the heck outta Dodge and family pet Tramp, who's looking forward to a satisfying dump in the countryside. The trip is amusingly delayed even before leaving the driveway due to the sudden and various needs of the participants to retrieve personal items required for the trip--sweaters, nail polish, sandwiches, bathroom facilities and an extra pair of socks.
Henry, however, is hardly amused of picking up extra human mass like an avalanche rolling down a public ski run. Try as he might to move the procession along, it's a thankless task of disarray and confusion. So much for a quiet drive in the country.

Henry's plan begins to dissolve; Extra passengers on board; The everyman Dad

I generally rate this series on an equal plane inhabited by the likes of some of the era's best family sitcoms like Leave It To Beaver, The Andy Griffith Show and Father Knows Best. All these shows would feature a moral undertone overlayed with humorous (but not clownish) situations that would draw out warmhearted and credible emotions. You couldn't find a better embodiment of that than Fred MacMurray as the Douglas family father figure which few of us would ever grow up to emulate in real life. As far as I know, Mr. MacMurray never played against his character in his actual world, having melded his acting vocation with a highly successful business career of real estate purchased in Northern California, all the while raising a family of four adopted children with his wife of 37 years, actress June Haver.

Now that I think about it, I don't recall ever taking my own family on a Sunday country drive. Shame on me. Bad Dad.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Episode Commentary
My Three Sons
"The Sunday Drive" (S1E35)

I generally rate this series on an equal plane inhabited by the likes of some of the era's best family sitcoms like Leave It To Beaver, The Andy Griffith Show and Father Knows Best. All these shows would feature a moral undertone overlayed with humorous (but not clownish) situations that would draw out warmhearted and credible emotions. You couldn't find a better embodiment of that than Fred MacMurray as the Douglas family father figure which few of us would ever grow up to emulate in real life.

Love this episode, with its wonderful guest performance by Robert P. Lieb as the put-upon Henry, whose dreams of a quiet Sunday drive are thoroughly dashed. That Peter Tewksbury-directed first season of My Three Sons is so good, nearly every episode is a gem.

Great write-up, Russ!