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Reviews
The Twilight Zone: Printer's Devil (1963)
How Many Get to Watch a Relative Act in a Classic?
Yes, Robert Sterling was my cousin. I may be a bit biased, but I don't think so. I won't go through the new take on the oft used Faustian plot, because every review details it. I'll focus on acting.
Burgess Meredith is always good. He was a high quality actor. But let's also face the fact that his part was the easiest of the three. Like Tom Cruise, who had the tougher role in "Rain Man," (and no less than Helen Hayes agreed), the less flashy, more ordinary humans are the hardest to play. Robert Sterling gives a fine performance here (so does Crowley in a smaller role). He takes us through the nuances of change regarding his character, Doug Winter, and that's where the acting challenge comes. He was perhaps best known for TV's "Topper," with his talented wife, Anne Jeffreys. He also appeared in Greta Garbo's final film, "Two Faced Woman," among many other screen credits.
Robert Sterling was a handsome and competent actor. In fact, he gave his first wife, Anne Sothern, credit for increasing his acting knowledge and ability. Bob was not the greatest actor who ever lived (a la Olivier for example), but he was every bit as good as most and I am proud of his performance here.
Wagon Train: The Mary Beckett Story (1962)
Weak Storyline
Others have covered the plot, so I'll look at the production itself.
Disclosure: Anne Jeffreys was my cousin-in-law and she was a versatile, solid actress/singer (though she doesn't sing in this). That said, this plot is pretty weak, made weaker by the overuse of closeups. They in turn make the acting seem almost silent movie exaggerated at times. There was no need for all the closeups, and I can't even begin to discern the director's reason for them, especially since everyone in the cast is a competent actor.
The script is pretty weak, too. Some of the lines are almost laughable, made so in part because the camera is practically up the actor's nostrils. You know when you're focused on something other than the story and the action, something is wrong.
The cast deserved better.
Wagon Train: The Maud Frazer Story (1961)
Stanwyck, Stanwyk, Stanwyck!
This is what a real actress can do with an ordinary western script. You never take your eyes off Stanwyck as she effortlessly turns Maud Frazier into a memorable character. The story is immaterial. You watch this for the acting lesson she gives.
Her final scene (which I wish had been longer not only because everything was rectified mighty quickly, but so Stanwyck could go on with the scene) makes you cry. To cause one to cry watching a "Wagon Train" episode takes real acting talent and Stanwyck had that in spades. Her believability, her internalization of the Maud character, even though it was probably an easy acting turn for her, are remarkable.
Barbara Stanwyck shows exactly what a legend is and why we have to search long and hard for any today.
The Virginian: The Small Parade (1963)
Barbara Barrie's Read Worth Entire Episode
Others have given the plot, which is sappy, but watchable. However, this episode boasts an unusual segment -- Barbara Barrie reading (though her character knows it so well it's memorized) from "Oliver Twist." It's unusual because it's a full two or three minutes worth and in a western yet. She also does it so well, to me, it's the highlight of the 90 minutes. She shows how an interpretive reading is done. She's spot on with the rhythm, characterizations, diction, everything. A stand out job and anyone who aspires to Oral Interp or acting should study it.
Wagon Train: The Mary Halstead Story (1957)
Agnes Moorehead is Wonderful!
The plot is already covered, so let's concentrate on what fine acting can do for a run-of-the-mill "Wagon Train" episode. Agnes Moorehead shows why she was a great actress. She takes the role of Mrs. Halstead and takes it from ordinary to extraordinary. She shows the value of underplaying, for one thing. She delivers lines simply and believably, and we engage with her character. This is the essence of fine acting, but Agnes Moorehead went beyond reading lines intelligently and believably,. When we look at her career, we see her ability to make her characters different, and that is ultimately what separates good from great. Many could give a credible reading of Mrs. Halstead; Agnes Moorehead makes her memorable.
Gunsmoke: Bad Lady from Brookline (1965)
Really bad!
I agree with most of the other reviewers. Bette Hutton is terrible in this episode! Yes, she's treating this like it's Macbeth. Yes, she is way over the top, without internalizing the part at all. However, part of the problem is her breathless inability to fluently deliver the lines. She frequently delivers short lines in two sections, thus calling attention to the other flaws. Lung problems? Nerves? Dentures? All three?
Now her singing. Like her acting, Ms. Hutton forces her voice, and that's why it didn't hold up. Yes, her frenetic singing is also bad. I was never much of a Hutton fan. I saw all this coming, I guess. Energy is good, but it can't compensate when that's all there is. It should be PART of a total package, not all of it. I've looked at and listened to old vocal performances from Ms. Hutton. She had a nice voice, and she had the ability to deliver a song well, but she pushed and yelled until iher voice couldn't take it. No one's could. It's a shame. You'll never hear her hold a note very long in this episode, that's for sure. Did no one give her advice early on? Did no one explain that less is often more?
The Big Valley: A Stranger Everywhere (1968)
The GREAT Julie Harris
Julie Harris makes anything she's in well worth watching, and her charm and power as a truly great actress make even ordinary episodes of any series rise to the level of memorable. This episode is no exception. You can read the plot in other reviews. Just concentrate on what Harris does for not only this script, but for the other actors (possible exception, Stanwyck, though she's only in a couple of scenes with Harris).
Wagon Train: The Julie Gage Story (1957)
Very Proud
Full disclosure: Robert Sterling is my cousin. That said, I find the episode above average if not perfect. The story is, as others have said, somewhat familiar with the "half marriage" angle. Whether it works out is the basic plot premise.
The casting was excellent, since Bob and Anne, married in real life (and contrary to most Hollywood couplings, stayed married for the duration) have a real chemistry. Those who saw "Topper" know the charm they exude.
One of my concerns, not leveled at this episode alone, is that Anne's makeup looked more suited to a night club act than for a woman supposedly traveling west by wagon train.
The acting is fine all around. Ward Bond always gives a quality performance and Bob and Anne make ordinary roles into much better than expected ones. All this, plus they are both easy on the eyes.
Especually since they are both now dead, Anne having died only recently at 94, it's always a pleasure for me to be able to watch them any time. As a child, I was puffed up because I had "stars" in my family, but now, as an adult, I appreciate them for their talents, and recognize them for what they accomplished. This Wagon Train episode encapsulates both their skill and their charm.
Wagon Train: The Felizia Kingdom Story (1959)
Judith Anderson Raises Ordinary Episode to Regal Heights
This is Wagon Train, not Broadway, but with Judith Anderson it almost achieves that status. You can ALWAYS tell a great actor. Before I realized it was Anderson, with her back to the camera, only her voice in control, I looked hard because I knew this was an ACTRESS. Then I recognized the voice and I knew I was right.
The plot is immaterial here, but involves a domineering octogenarian ranch owner who refuses to let the wagon train cross her property. Flint who is the wagon train star in this episode, holds firm after Anderson's many attempts, including offering him the ranch when she dies, to thwart him. The bottom line is that Anderson is worth watching reading a phone book.
Keeping Up Appearances (1990)
Absolutely Wonderful
I won't go into the plot basics. Everyone knows what they are. I will say this is one of the funniest, well written and well acted sitcoms I've ever seen. Patricia Routledge as Hyacinth is marvelous -- split second timing, COMPLETE character, and her slapstick is among the best. Though Hyacinth is annoying to all, Patricia Routledge makes you actually like Hyacinth (at least feel sorry for her) and feel deprived when she's not in the scene. The supporting cast does just that -- supports to the hilt, and all are fine in their roles. When you can produce a sitcom that is LAUGH-OUT-LOUD funny every single episode, you have one of the all time greats, and all with no in your face sex, no lewd one liners, just plain FUNNY. Those who find this series "annoying" are in another world. I wonder what they find funny. Some put "As Time Goes By" above this -- not for comedy it isn't. No way. When I can put a sitcom in the same league with "I Love Lucy," that says it all. Those who complain about the same situations and/or jokes every episode do not understand this is completely character driven, and as such, the comedy has to arise from the personalities and foibles of the characters, like Lucy or "The Golden Girls" (did anyone tire of St. Olaf jokes and stories? No. They were FUNNY, and though sex played a part in "Golden Girls" humor, it wasn't the overriding factor in the comedy). The comedy in KUA and other great sitcoms does not arise from which character can toss the most sarcastic one liner or the most outrageous sex joke. That's easy to produce. Real comedy that's consistently hysterical week after week is not easy to produce. These characters are thoroughly consistent, and just as Lucy's trying to get into show business without the requisite talent was a constant plot theme, so here is Hyacinth's trying to rise in the social scene without the requisite breeding and background. She's someone who has studied it and has a home library to consult, but doesn't have any of it inbred.
In short, this show will never die because it does in spades what it set out to do -- be hysterically funny.
The Virginian: The Secret of Brynmar Hall (1964)
Pretty Bad
Even though this episode has a noted director in Robert Totten, even he couldn't do much with this script. I don't even know how it ends because it is so campy bad that I don't care. Jane Wyatt probably wanted to have cosmetic surgery after this episode. She is forced to act like a vaudevillian villain. Victor French with eyebrows the size of Abe Vigoda's, looks like he was pulled from a Poe parody. There's even a raven, by the way -- maybe he did it. Two good things: the guitar strings are cut (Randy was no Segovia) and I got to hear Jane Wyatt's unique pronunciation of "girl" again (and she looks good a decade or so after "Father Knows Best").
The Big Valley: Alias Nellie Handley (1969)
Really Subpar
This is one of my favorite "Big Valleys" because it's so bad. I am surprised Barbara Stanwyck let this go to air. The plot is old (Stanwyck goes to a women's prison under cover to expose mistreatment and horrible conditions). The plot then thickens.
Don't get me wrong. I love Barbara Stanwyck and I love Susan Oliver, but this plot is so contrived and the dialogue is so lame, it's funny. The mistreatment isn't so bad, either -- not by today's standards anyway. You have to love both Stanwyck's and Oliver's mascara and eye shadow. How bad can the conditions be when you get to wear Revlon inside the big house? And do we really believe Oliver "washes in the trough with the others" when her face and hair (if not her prison clothes) look like she's ready to walk the ramp in a beauty pageant? Stanwyck's Irish brogue isn't consistent (maybe she thought after reading the script, "Why bother?"); Gavin McCleod does a cartoonish "Snidely Whiplash" type; the list goes on.
"Do you think Kate traveled miles with a bullet in her leg just to tell that ridiculous story?" Just one of many memorable lines that will keep you in stitches.