Top Ten Posts of 2017

As the year draws to a close, the Classic Film & TV Cafe traditionally ends it with a countdown of our ten most viewed posts. We published a total of 104 in 2017. Naturally, the countdown is a little skewed, since those posts that came out at the start of the year will have more views. But that won't stop us...we love year-end lists!

We included only posts that were originally published during 2017. If we had not, The Five Best "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" Episodes would have crushed the competition (as always). We also omitted our monthly quizzes. To build a little suspense, we'll begin at No. 10 and work our way to No. 1.

But before we get started, we want to thank each of you who visited this blog this year and send some extra love to those who took the time to leave comments.

10. Cloris Leachman Channels Garfield; Peter Graves Arm Wrestles Clint Walker

9.  Seven Things to Know About Raymond Burr

8.  Working with Steve McQueen on "Le Mans": An Interview with Don Nunley

7.  Seven Things to Know About Lloyd Bridges

6.  Logan's Run: What Lies Beyond the Dome

5.  The Five Best Jack Lemmon Performances

4.  The Case of the Color "Perry Mason" Episode

3.  Nighthawks Made Me a Winner!

2.  Celebrate National Classic Movie Day with the Five Stars Blogathon!

1.  Seven Things to Know About William Smith--Actor, Bodybuilder, Poet (and more!)

Heather Menzies Urich & Dick Gautier.

Finally, we want to pay homage to two very special celebrities who passed away in 2017. Dick Gautier and Heather Menzies Urich were kind enough to share their time with us and discuss their amazing careers in television and film (click on their names to read the interviews). They helped make Get Smart and The Sound of Music, respectively, the classics that they are!

Jane Powell and Howard Keel (But No Seven Brothers)

Jane Powell and Vic Damone.

Big, splashy Broadway-style musicals had peaked in popularity when MGM released Hit the Deck in 1955. So, kudos to the studio for putting together an incredibly talented cast headlined by Jane Powell, Debbie Reynolds, and Ann Miller. Their male co-stars, though not as well as known on the silver screen, were famous in their right. Crooners Tony Martin and Vic Damone produced records that sold millions and Russ Tamblyn had a key role in the previous year's Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Debbie Reynolds and Russ Tamblyn.

Martin, Damone, and Tamblyn play three sailors on leave for two days in San Francisco. Martin hopes to reunite with his fiancée, showgirl Ann Miller. She gives him the cold shoulder, though, after a six-year engagement with no marriage proposal in sight. Meanwhile, Tamblyn learns that his sister (Jane Powell) is involved with a womanizing musical star. He and his chums "rescue" her, but then face disciplinary actions for unacceptable conduct. They spend most of the movie trying to avoid capture by the Navy's shore patrol.

Ann Miller.

Loosely based on a 1927 stage musical with the same title, Hit the Deck is a thinly-plotted excuse for some great musical numbers. Ann Miller dances up a storm in "Keepin' Myself for You" and in the reprise of "Hallelujah" in the finale. Jane Powell warbles the funny "Lucky Bird" to a toy penguin. The three male leads harmonize nicely on "Why, Oh Why?" (my favorite song in the score) and later the ladies reprise it. Finally, Tamblyn and Debbie Reynolds perform some nifty acrobatic feats in an elaborate funhouse sequence.

With its colorful costumes, bright sets, and catchy tunes, Hit the Deck is a pleasant diversion for those who enjoy Broadway musicals. It will also make you wonder why Ann Miller didn't become a bigger film star.

Along with Tamblyn, Jane Powell also appeared in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, which brings us to their Brides co-star Howard Keel. We recently watched him in Callaway Went Thataway (1951), a non-musical comedy that spoofs the popularity of Hopalong Cassidy in the early 1950s.

Dorothy McGuire and Fred MacMurray.

Fred MacMurray and Dorothy McGuire star as Mike and Debbie, a pair of marketing executives who get caught in a bind when cowboy star Smoky Calloway suddenly becomes popular with the nation's kiddies. A food company wants to launch a cereal (Calla-Cracklys) and invest $10 million in a new series of Smoky television films. That's a big problem because Calloway's "B" Westerns were made ten years earlier and Smoky was "a washed-up, beat-up drunk" when last seen--and no one knows where he is now.

Not long after Mike and Debbie launch a desperate search for Smoky, they receive a letter from Stretch Barnes (Howard Keel), a real-life cowboy who is mighty tired of people mistaking him for Smoky Calloway. Sure enough, Stretch is the splitting image of the cowboy star and it's not long before Mike and Debbie convince him to "become" Smoky. Their plan seems to going pretty well when--you guessed it--the real Smoky Calloway is found.

The writing team of Melvin Frank and Norman Panama was responsible for some of the funniest films of the 1940s and 1950s (e.g., The Court Jester, Road to Utopia, White Christmas, etc.). Callaway Went Thataway doesn't rank with their best work, but it's still a reasonably amusing farce with some pointed jabs at corporate America. My favorite is when the "host" of Smoky's films reminds his young audience: "Have your Mom stock up on crispy, crunchy, Crackly Corkies." (Actually, it reminded me of a similar scene in Disney's 101 Dalmatians in which the puppies are watching TV.)

Howard Keel and Howard Keel.

Despite the presence of bigger stars, Howard Keel steals the film with his dual performance as the sincere, naive Stretch and the hard-drinking disreputable Smoky. Esther Williams, Clark Gable, and Elizabeth Taylor have cameos as themselves. Plus, look quickly and you'll see Hugh Beaumont pass Fred MacMurray in a hotel hallway. By 1960, they would be two of the best-known fathers on American television.

Clu Gulager as a Detective in the Old West

Star Clu Gulager.

Charlie Cobb's business card states that he's the Operational Vice President, Western Territory, for Chicago-based Hearthside Security, Inc. In reality, he's a poorly-paid private detective stationed in the Old West. He augments his salary by padding his expense account at every opportunity. While that may seem ethically questionable, Charlie feels it's fully justified. He claims that a man named J.J. Gideon tricked him into signing a contract with Hearthside after framing him for a crime.

Gideon (whom we never meet) assigns Charlie to protect a woman who alleges to be Charity McVea, an heiress kidnapped as a young girl. Five previous women have claimed to be Charity, but all were exposed as impostors. The stakes are high as the real Charity will inherit a $2.5 million ranch from her father.

But what initially seems like a routine job becomes more complex when there are two attempts on Charity's life. Who is trying to kill her? Is she truly the rightful heiress or just another impostor? And why is there a Pinkerton detective disguised as an upscale brothel madam?

Pernell Roberts as the sheriff.

Made in 1977, Charlie Cobb: Nice Night for a Hanging was a made-for-television movie that doubled as a TV series pilot for Clu Gulager. It boasts a strong pedigree both behind and in front of the camera. The screenplay was written by Peter Fischer, whose name may be unfamiliar. However, he was a prolific writer on some of the best TV shows of the 1970s and 1980s, to include Columbo, Ellery Queen, and Marcus Welby, M.D. His claim to fame, though, is that he later created Murder, She Wrote for Angela Lansbury in 1984.

Charlie Cobb was produced by Richard Levinson and William Link, who also contributed to the story (they worked with Fischer on several earlier shows). Levinson and Link may be best remembered for creating Columbo, but they were famous long before that. The duo met in junior high school and went on to write for classic TV shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Fugitive before becoming producers.

Blair Brown and her radiant smile.

Although Charlie Cobb boasts an impressive cast for a made-for-TV movie, veteran performers like Stella Stevens, Ralph Bellamy, and Pernell Roberts have little to do. The script relies on Clu Gulager as Charlie and a young Blair Brown as Charity to carry the load. They're up to the task, with Brown exhibiting the vitality that catapulted her to brief theatrical stardom in films like Altered States and One Trick Pony (both 1980). She later garnered critical praise for her TV series The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (1987-91).

Clu Gulager (right) as Charlie Cobb.

Clu Gulager began working in television in the mid-1950s. He co-starred as Billy the Kid opposite Barry Sullivan's Pat Garrett in The Tall Man (1960-62). In 1964, Gulager joined The Virginian during its third season for a four-year run as Deputy Emmett Ryker (he later became sheriff). Always an ingratiating performer, Gulager is a perfect choice as the snappily-dressed Charlie Cobb, who can turn on the charm but is tougher than he looks. (The character's background is that he was a "Waco boy" in Texas before moving to Chicago and getting a taste of high-class living.)

If made in the early 1970s, when Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid briefly sparked interest in lighthearted Westerns, I think Charlie Cobb: Nice Night for a Hanging would have resulted in a TV series. It's still an entertaining diversion and, surprisingly, it recently popped up on Movieplex--which is good news for Clu Gulager fans.

Kirk Douglas Discovers a Lovely Way to Die

Italian actress Sylva Koscina.

Beautiful Italian actresses hit the peak of their popularity in Hollywood in the 1960s. Call it the "Sophia Loren effect," since it was spurred largely by her boxoffice hits in the 1950s opposite the likes of Cary Grant and William Holden. Thus, Hollywood studios welcomed Claudia Cardinale, Luciana Paluzzi, and--one of my favorites--Sylva Koscina.

In 1968, Universal tried to turn Ms. Koscina into a big star by pairing her with two popular leading men: Paul Newman in The Secret War of Harry Frigg and Kirk Douglas in A Lovely Way to Die. The latter is one of those movies I saw in the 1970s on television, but seemed to have disappeared. To my delight, it showed up in a 2016 boxed set called Kirk Douglas: The Centennial Collection.

Kirk Douglas looking concerned.

Kirk plays Jim Schuyler, a tough detective who quits the force after getting too aggressive with some bad guys. He has barely turned in his badge when he receives a call from attorney Tennessee Fredericks (Eli Wallach), who wants him to provide protection for his latest client. That client is Rena Westabrook (Sylva Koscina), who is accused with her lover of murdering her wealthy husband. Schuyler has no interest in the gig until he meets Mrs. Westabrook, whose stunning beauty sets his hormones racing.

Rena's innocence is based solely on one key witness, who has unfortunately gone missing. As Jim delves into the mystery surrounding the death of Rena's husband, he can't decide if she's a falsely accused victim or a cold, calculating killer. Either way, he can't overcome his attraction to her, especially since it appears to be reciprocated.

From its peppy title song warbled by Jackie Wilson, it's apparent that A Lovely Way to Die isn't intended as a serious film. Indeed, once the plot is unraveled, it turns out to be pretty simplistic. The film's appeal comes down to its stars and, in this case, they come through.

Kirk Douglas employs his boyish charm to great effect, especially in scenes like the one where he greets Rena's house staff cheerfully after exiting from an overnight stay in the lady's bedroom. He also gets the bulk of the script's one-liners. For example, when Rena asks Jim why he's trying to make love to her, he quips: "I think it had something to do with Mama delivering a boy child." (Later, Rena reverses this line, but it doesn't work as well.)

Eli Wallach as Tennessee.

Still, Eli Wallach practically steals the film--as he often did during his lengthy acting career. It's an impressive feat considering that his role is that of a stereotypical, homespun Southern lawyer. But hey, it worked for Andy Griffith for years on the Matlock TV series. One of my favorite lines in A Lovely Way to Die is when Jim reminds his friend Tennessee that, despite the carefully honed Southern drawl, the attorney hadn't been to Tennessee for decades.

As for Sylva Koscina, she doesn't fare as well as her American co-stars. Despite her jaw-dropping looks, she comes up surprisingly short in terms of allure. Part of the problem may be a lack of chemistry with Kirk Douglas, fueled by an age difference of seventeen years. I also think the costume designers could have created a better wardrobe for her. When Rena asks her maid to pick out "something sexy" to wear, the result is a dress that covers her completely.

Sylva Koscina returned to Italian cinema after A Lovely Way to Die and worked steadily through most of the 1970s. She appeared opposite another Hollywood icon when she co-starred with Rock Hudson in the 1970 Italian-made World War II actioner Hornets' Nest. She died in 1994 at age 61 from breast cancer. She is probably best-remembered by American audiences for her performances as Steve Reeves' love interest in the sword-and-sandal hits Hercules (1958) and its sequel Hercules Unchained (1959).

The Movie-TV Connection Game (December 2017)

Ronald Reagan and Kurt Russell.

Seasons greeting to all! For those who have never played this game, you will be given a pair or trio of films or performers. Your task is to find the common connection. It could be anything--two stars who acted in the same movie, two movies that share a common theme, etc. As always, don't answer all the questions so others can play, too. There is a single best answer for each question.

1. Donald Sutherland and Nicole Kidman.

2. Kurt Russell and Ronald Reagan.

3. Richard Boone and Karl Malden (might be a toughie!).

4. Tom Tryon and Jeff Bridges.

5. Steve McQueen and James Garner.

6. Raquel Welch and Lily Tomlin.

7. Kenneth More and Barbara Stanwyck.

8. Robert Horton and Frank Converse.

9. Charles Bronson and Frank Sinatra.

10. Glenn Ford and Karen Valentine.

11. James Stewart and Richard Roundtree.

12. James Stewart and The Creature From the Black Lagoon.

13. Dick Van Dyke and Frankie Avalon.

14. John Wayne and Fess Parker.

15. Jack Lemmon and Paul Lynde.

Playing The Pajama Game

John Raitt & Doris Day.

New superintendent Sid Sorokin (John Raitt) has his hands full at the Sleeptite pajama factory. The company's disgruntled employees want a 7½ cents raise and the company's stingy owner isn't about to give in. Sid's life becomes even more complicated when he meets Babe Williams (Doris Day), the head of the union's grievance committee.

Sparks fly between the two, even though Babe tries to feign a lack of interest in Sid (while the other female employees gush about him). However, it's not long before loves blossoms. But can a company executive and a labor leader find middle ground on the road to marital bliss?

This 1957 adaptation of the Tony Award-winning 1954 stage musical features some good songs, energetic dancing, and a rare opportunity to see famed Broadway choreographer Carol Haney in a featured role. However, it's also one of those movies where the parts never gel into a cohesive whole.

Part of the problem can be attributed to the producers' decision to trim a stage musical running over two hours to a 101-minute film. The result plays like a highlight reel with one musical number leading to another with little exposition. For example, Sid and Babe exchange a little dialogue, duet on some songs, and--presto!--they're in love. A little more story development would have done wonders.

Likewise, two of the film's most famous musical numbers--"Steam Heat" and "Hernando's Hideaway"--don't seem integrated into the plot. Its easier to justify the latter because at least it's a song about a nightclub where a scene takes place. But "Steam Heat" is presented as part of the entertainment at a union event that seems irrelevant to the rest of the movie.

Haney, in the middle, for "Steam Heat."

That's not to say that "Steam Heat" isn't a fabulous musical number, because it's a showstopper featuring the incredible choreography of Bob Fosse and Haney's precision dancing. Haney, like much of the cast, appeared in the original stage production. She first met Fosse when the two danced together in the 1953 film version of Kiss Me, Kate (click here to watch their brief, but impressive routine on YouTube). Although Carol Haney won a Tony Award for The Pajama Game, she preferred to work behind the scenes. She later received three Tony nominations as a choreographer. Her only other major film role was in Gene Kelly's Invitation to the Dance (1956).

The Pajama Game was also John Raitt's only significant film appearance. Though his strong baritone voice serves him well, his on-screen acting is wooden and he and Doris Day exhibit little chemistry. Still, he continued to have great success on the stage and as a recording artist. And, yes, he is the father of singer Bonnie Raitt.

Doris Day was cast in the lead to provide the film with some star power. At one time, Frank Sinatra was attached to play the male lead with Janis Paige reprising her performance as Babe from the Broadway show. When Sinatra dropped out, John Raitt got the part and the female lead shifted to Doris.

Carol Haney.

By the way, Carol Haney's understudy in the Broadway play was a young Shirley MacLaine. When Haney injured her ankle, MacLaine replaced her for several performances--and was subsequently signed to a movie contract. Still, I'm glad she wasn't in the film version. The Pajama Game may not be a great musical film, but it's an opportunity to see Ms. Haney dance and I quite enjoyed that.

George Gently: The Complete Collection

Searching for that perfect gift for the mystery fan in your family? Then look no farther than Acorn TV's boxed set of the superb British detective series George Gently. This show, which concluded earlier this year, consists of twenty-five 90-minute episodes that were broadcast over the last ten years. Yes, it's a stretch to write about it on a classic TV blog, but this is one series that will be a classic--plus its convincing 1960s setting will evoke plenty of nostalgia.

Martin Shaw as George Gently.

Martin Shaw stars as the title character, a veteran detective chief inspector for London's Metropolitan Police circa 1964. A highly-principled man, George Gently has been fighting corrupt senior colleagues--and his actions may have been responsible for his wife Isabella's recent death. When a snitch provides a lead to locating Bella's killer, George postpones his retirement to investigate a murder case in Northumberland.

He is paired with a young, ambitious detective sergeant named John Bacchus (Lee Ingleby). Bacchus knows the locale and its residents, but he's also a copper willing to bend the rules in the line of duty. Yet, Gently recognizes promise in Bacchus, which leads the senior detective to postpone his retirement, transfer to Northumberland, and nix Bacchus' planned reassignment to London. Gently informs his new partner in no uncertain terms at the end of the first episode: "I've told you, Sergeant Bacchus, I'm chopping you down. You're staying here. With me."

Lee Ingleby as John Bacchus.

It's the constantly-evolving relationship between Gently and Bacchus that elevates George Gently above dozens of other British crime shows. The duo ultimately become loyal to one another and form a sort of father-son relationship. But Bacchus struggles to live up to George's expectations, especially when the older detective serves as the younger one's moral compass. The relationship becomes even more complex when a female police constable, Rachel Coles (Lisa McGrillis), joins the team in season six. Her open admiration and deep respect for Gently immediately puts her at odds with Bacchus.

Lisa McGrillis as Rachel Coles.

Don't go thinking that George Gently is all character study, though. The mysteries are tightly constructed and often integrated into the 1960s backdrop. The Cold War, riots, a holiday camp, and the pop music scene provide the background for some of the best episodes. As the series progresses, it moves from 1964 through the rest of the decade, with the final two episodes taking place in 1970.

Author Alan Hunter introduced George Gently in his 1955 novel Gently Does It. He wrote a total of 46 George Gently mysteries with the last one being published in 1999. In the books, there is no John Bacchus, Gently is single, and he lives in Norfolk.

The boxed set of George Gently includes numerous behind-the-scenes featurettes, interviews, and photos. The best bonus item is a booklet describing key historical events in Great Britain for the years covered by the series. The booklet also contains brief text interviews with Martin Shaw, Lee Ingleby, Lisa McGrillis, and producer Jake Lushington.

Key historical events in 1964--as described in the bonus booklet.

When asked to describe George Gently in one sentence, Lushington states: "I would say that it's a challenging and entertaining detective drama that gives you a realistic snapshot of the 1960s, rather than a rose-tinted memory." I would add that it's marvelously acted, especially by Martin Shaw, and is a worthy edition to any mystery lover's video collection.

Acorn TV provided a review copy of George Gently: The Complete Collection. It retails for $149.99, but you should be able to find it for much less, especially during the holiday season.

Irwin Allen's City Beneath the Sea

Stuart Whitman as Admiral Matthews.

Shortly before The Poseidon Adventure revived his big screen career, producer Irwin Allen made this 1971 made-for-TV film about an underwater city called Pacifica. Set in 2053, it opens with the U.S. President (Richard Basehart) ordering former admiral Michael Matthews (Stuart Whitman) back to the submerged city to oversee the transport of the nation's gold from Fort Knox to Pacifica. Matthews' return is met with open hostility. Everyone blames him for the death of his friend Bill Holmes, especially Bill's bitter widow Lia (Rosemary Forsyth).

Rosemary Forsyth as Lia.

There's little time to cope with such emotions, though, as Matthews learns about a "planetoid" that's heading directly for Pacifica. Unknown to Matthews, his brother Brett (Robert Wagner) has been plotting to steal the nation's gold bullion as well as its supply of H-128, a valuable, radioactive source of highly-efficient energy. Brett sees the impending planetoid disaster as a perfect opportunity to adjust and implement his scheme.

The Flying Sub from Voyage.

Intended as the pilot for a new TV series, City Beneath the Sea borrows liberally from other Irwin Allen projects. The aircraft that Whitman and Robert Colbert use in the opening scenes is the Flying Sub from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. Much of the equipment was recycled from Voyage and Lost in Space. Star Colbert was a regular on Allen's Time Tunnel TV series, as was supporting actor Whit Bissell and "special guest star" James Darren. In addition in Basehart, look quickly and you'll spot Bob Dowdell, who played Lieutenant Commander Chip Morton on Voyage.

Robert Wagner as the bad brother.

I'm not sure if City Beneath the Sea could have sustained itself as a weekly series, but the telefilm moves crisply and features plenty of action. Though Star Trek veteran John Meredyth Lucas wrote the screenplay, there's not a lot of depth to the characters. The most promising is Aguila (Burr DeBenning), a scientist with both gills and lungs. DeBenning later appeared as an underwater-breathing man again--though this time a villain--in Man From Atlantis.

Four-time Oscar winner L.B. Abbott supervised the spotty special effects. His work was no doubt hampered by the modest budget, but still good enough to earn the film a theatrical release in Great Britain.

City Beneath the Sea was Irwin Allen's second attempt to launch a TV series about an underwater city. He made a ten-minute clip in 1967 starring Glenn Corbett, Francine York, Lloyd Bochner, and a young James Brolin as Wild Bill Tyler. You can watch it on YouTube.


Here's a clip from City Beneath the Sea. You can view it full-screen on the Classic Film & TV Cafe's YouTube Channel. You can also stream the entire movie at warnerarchive.com.

Seven Obscure Movies That I Curiously Remember (Vol. 4)

1. The Sword and the Dragon (1956) - When I was a wee lad, I pestered my Dad until he took me to this movie because... well..it had a dragon in it. Alas, the dragon doesn't appear until the climax, so hopefully I didn't drive my family nuts. Many years later, I learned this was actually a Russian film called Ilya Muromets, which Roger Corman purchased and re-edited for U.S. release in 1960. Dell even published a comic book tie-in and I had a copy.

2. Eegah! (1962) - Probably the worst caveman movie ever made, Eegah! stars Richard Kiel (Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker) as the title character. A young woman named Roxy discovers him in a California desert and the caveman falls in love (sort of). Arch Hall, Sr. produced, directed, and acted in it. His son Arch Hall, Jr. portrays Roxy's boyfriend. The Halls made several bad flicks in the 1960s, but you gotta love their colorful titles such as Wild Guitar, The Nasty Rabbit, The Corpse Grinders, and, of course, Eegah!

Sean Flynn on the set.

3. Son of Captain Blood (1962) - Sean Flynn, Errol's only son, made a handful of European movies in the 1960s before deciding that acting wasn't for him. The handsome, younger Flynn's best-known film is this sequel to his father's Captain Blood (1935). A Spanish-Italian co-production, The Son of Captain Blood also starred Ann Todd in the Olivia de Havilland role. Sean Flynn later became a photo journalist who is believed to have been killed in Cambodia in 1970. My father was a huge Errol Flynn fan, so my family saw this one when it played (appropriately enough) at the Robin Hood Drive-in in Winston-Salem, NC.

4. Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx (1970) - A young man (Gene Wilder) makes a living in Dublin by scooping up horse dung and selling it as garden fertilizer. He becomes smitten with an American student played by Margot Kidder. This offbeat Irish comedy was made before Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein made Wilder a star. I rather enjoyed Quackser Fortune when I saw it on The CBS Late Movie--back when you never knew what might pop up on that venue.

McCallum as Sol Madrid.

5. Sol Madrid (1968) - At the height of their Man From U.N.C.L.E. fame, both David McCallum and Robert Vaughn tried to establish themselves as big screen leading men. In Sol Madrid, McCallum played an undercover narcotics agents in Mexico mixed up with organized crime and heroin. At least, it featured a pretty good cast with Stella Stevens, Telly Savalas, Ricardo Montalban, and Rip Torn.

6. The Venetian Affair (1967) - This was Robert Vaughn's post-U.N.C.L.E. effort. Unlike McCallum, Vaughn had flirted with stardom in earlier supporting roles like The Young Philadelphians (1959) and The Magnificent Seven (1960). Of course, that didn't make The Venetian Affair--his attempt at a serious spy film--any better. I saw this one at a theater with my parents when I was 11. I didn't understand it. I'm not sure I would now, though I have become an Elke Sommer fan over the years.

7. The Maze (1953) - A man (Richard Carlson) suddenly breaks off his engagement and moves into his uncle's creepy castle in the Scottish Highlands. A huge maze and a big frog (well, maybe frog-like creature is a more accurate description) are featured in this 3D cult pic directed by famed set designer William Cameron Menzies. When my wife and I ran a nonprofit film society in the 1980s, we showed The Maze in 3D. We had to turn the 3D glasses upside-down to see the three-dimensional effect. Go figure!

Interview with Heather Menzies Urich

Canadian-born Heather Menzies Urich had only one acting credit when she was cast as 13-year-old Louisa Von Trapp in the 1965 box office smash The Sound of Music. It was a dynamic start to a film and television career that would span four decades. Her television work included guest appearances in popular TV shows such as Bonanza, Dragnet 1967, The Bob Newhart Show, S.W.A.T., Marcus Welby, M.D., and The Six Million Dollar Man. Heather starred as Jessica 6 in the 1977-78 TV series Logan's Run, which was based on the hit movie. It was one of several roles that caused her popularity to soar among science fiction fans. She also starred in the sci fi movies Sssssss (1973), Piranha (1978), and Endangered Species (1982). In 1975, Heather married fellow actor Robert Urich and the couple went on to have three children. Then, in 2002, Robert died at age 55 from cancer. Five years later, Heather founded the Robert Urich Foundation. She remains actively involved in the non-profit organization, having hosted a fundraiser in Canada last August.

Café:  What was your life like after starring in a blockbuster like The Sound of Music?

Heather Menzies Urich:  It was pretty normal. It’s not something that I bragged about or talked about. All of a sudden, people wanted to get to know me whereas before I was a bit of a wallflower. I was always painfully shy so the attention didn’t really sit well.

Heather, 2nd from left, with Julie Andrews and family.

Café: What is the secret to the amazing friendships you and your Sound of Music "siblings" have maintained over the decades?

HMU:  We kind of grew up together. Our families became close and there was always something to promote, hence a reason to pull us all together over the years. For example, there would be a new re-issue of the DVD, an anniversary, etc.

Café:  In Sssssss, your boyfriend transformed into a snake and in Piranha, you played a skiptracer that battled people-eating fish. What are some of your memories from these modestly-budgeted cult classics?

HMU:  The snake one was a lot of fun to do. I loved Strother Martin and he became a bit of a father figure to me. Bob and I used to go over to his house on Sundays and sit on the back porch all afternoon. You never knew who else was going to be there. He knew everyone in Hollywood. At first, handling the snakes was horrifying, but we all got used to it. Piranha was filmed almost entirely on location in Texas. Joe Dante went on to direct Gremlins for Spielberg, so working with him was pretty special. Not to mention Brad Dillman, Kevin McCarthy and Keenan Wynn. Legends!

Café:  The Logan's Run TV series was short-lived, but has a loyal following (and can be viewed now on WarnerArchive.com). How did you come to be cast as Jessica 6?

With Gregory Harrison in Logan's Run.

HMU:  I went to the audition and then screen tested with a few potential Logans. Nicholas Hammond and Dirk Benedict were in the running.

Café:  The series only lasted 14 episodes despite the involvement of veteran Star Trek writers, one of the authors of the novel Logan's Run, and Saul David, who produced the movie version. What do you think led to the show's cancellation?

HMU:  I think they needed to spend more money on the visuals. Star Wars came out around that time and we couldn’t really compete with that.

Heather and Robert Urich on the Libby's set.

Café:  I've read that you met your future husband Robert Urich while making a TV commercial. Can you provide details...and was it love at first sight?

HMU:  It was a Libby's Corned Beef Hash commercial. We actually got married in the commercial. I kind of avoided him at first because I thought that getting involved with a “chiseled jaw” actor was not something I needed.

Café:  What was it like acting opposite your husband in episodes of Vega$ and Spenser: For Hire and in the movie Endangered Species?

HMU:  We did a lot of work together in acting class (Milton Katseles), so we were used to working with each other. We had a tremendous amount of mutual respect for each other professionally. We also did a couple of plays together: The Hasty Heart at the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theater and The Kennedy Center as well as Barefoot in the Park on the Kenley Circuit in Ohio.

Café:  As noted above, you guest-starred in many of the most popular TV series of the 1960s and 1970s. What were some of your favorite roles and why?

HMU:  Anything having to do with horses. So, I guess that would be any Western, such as Bonanza, High Chaparral, and Alias Smith and Jones.

Café:  Can you tell us about your work with the Robert Urich Foundation?

HMU: It is a California-based Foundation. We raise funds for cancer research and patient care. You can learn more at www.urichfoundation.org.

Café:  Are you participating in any upcoming events that you'd like to share with our readers?

HMU:  I’m appearing at The Hollywood Show in LA in February.

You can learn more about Heather Menzies Urich at her website (www.heathermenziesurich.com). You can connect with her and the rest of the Sound of Music 7 (the performers who played all the children) on Twitter and Facebook. All photos are courtesy of Heather Menzies Urich.

Elevators in Classic Movies

“Take the stairs! Take the stairs! For God’s sake, take the stairs!” proclaimed the ad line to 1984’s The Lift. In general, that’s advice that should be heeded by most film characters. Angie Dickinson played a housewife that was brutally murdered in an elevator in Brian De Palma’s Dressed to Kill (1980). In another psychological thriller, the inferior Scissors (1991), Sharon Stone survived an elevator attack. The killer in The List of Adrian Messenger (1963) successfully booby trapped an elevator before the opening credits even rolled. In The Lift, an elevator with a mind of its own (well, courtesy of an experimental computer chip), bumped off apartment dwellers in imaginative, gory ways. Even Steve Martin’s wacky comedy The Man With Two Brains (1983) featured a mysterious villain known as The Elevator Killer.

Olivia de Havilland trapped in her elevator.

Malfunctioning elevators have stranded their passengers between floors in films such as Ingmar Bergman’s Secrets of Women (1952), The Elevator (1974), and Out of Order (1984). Olivia de Havilland played a wealthy invalid trapped in her home elevator and threatened by psychotic teens in Lady in a Cage (1964). Another psycho, played by Dennis Hopper, threatened to blow up passengers stuck in a high-rise elevator at the beginning of Speed (1994). A villainous Charles Laughton fell to death in an elevator shaft in The Big Clock (1947). Michael Rennie plunged to his death aboard a malfunctioning elevator in Hotel (1967). Rennie fared far better as the alien Klaatu in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). When an elevator abruptly stops between floors, he explains to a frightened Patricia Neal why he has “neutralized” the Earth’s electricity.

In more fantastical films, elevators have been used to travel between planets (Dream One), travel through time (Time at the Top), and fly through the air (the “Wonkavator” in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory).

Bruce Willis climbing the elevator shaft.

Many film characters, such as Bruce Willis’ police detective in Die Hard (1988), have used elevator shafts as shortcuts in large buildings. Johnny Depp spent a lot of time traveling in glass elevators in Nick of Time (1995) and Sean Connery as James Bond looked very stylish standing atop an exterior, moving elevator in Diamonds Are Forever (1970). A woman had a child resulting from an elevator encounter in Between Heaven and Earth (1992), while a nude woman unexpectedly exited from a lift in Allen Funt’s What Do You Say to a Naked Lady? (1970).

Elevator operators have been relegated to supporting roles in most films, although they played significant roles in Jimmy Boy (1935), Don’t Bother to Knock (1952), Confessions of Felix Krull (1957), and Living Out Loud (1998). Our favorite elevator operator is Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine) from The Apartment.

Here's a representative list of pre-2000 films featuring elevators:

Jimmy Boy (1935)
Secrets of Women (aka Waiting Women) (1952)
Don’t Bother to Knock (1952)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Confessions of Felix Krull (1957)
Lady in a Cage (1964)
The List of Adrian Messenger (1963)
Hotel (1967)
What Do You Say to a Naked Lady? (1970)
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
The Elevator (1974 TV movie)
Dressed to Kill (1980)
The Man With Two Brains (1983)
Dream One (aka Nemo) (1984)
The Lift (1984)
Out of Order (aka Abwärts) (1984)
Die Hard (1988)
Scissors (1991)
Between Heaven and Earth (1992)
Speed (1994)
Downtime (1997)
Living Out Loud (1998)
Time at the Top (1999)

Reprinted with the authors' permission from the Encyclopedia of Film Themes, Settings and Series.

The Movie-TV Connection Game (November 2017 Edition)

Welcome to this month's edition of the Cafe's most popular game (of all time even...and there have been other games). You will be given a pair or trio of films or performers, your task is to find the common connection. It could be anything--two stars who acted in the same movie, two movies that share a common theme, etc. As always, don't answer all the questions so others can play, too. There is a single best answer for each question.

1. Judy Garland and Bill Paxton.

2. Robert Wagner and Kevin Costner.

3. Ward Bond and John McIntire.

4. James Arness and Charlton Heston.

5. Barbara Feldon and Patrick McGoohan.

6. George Kennedy and Lee Van Cleef.

7. The TV series Lost in Space and the film Alien.

8. George Burns and Robert Conrad.

9. Cary Grant and Mark Wahlberg.

10. Laurence Olivier's Hamlet and Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed.

11. Margaret Rutherford and Vanessa Redgrave.

12. Dual M for Murder and Creature from the Black Lagoon.

13. Karen Valentine and Sandra Dee.

14. Moira Shearer and Danny Kaye.

15. The TV series Peter Gunn and Batman.

Family Discord in Edward Dmytryk's "Broken Lance"

The 1954 Western Broken Lance is a curious film that is both overly familiar and more nuanced than it first appears.

Father Tracy and sons Holliman, O'Brien, Widmark, and Wagner.

The plot focuses on the friction between cattle baron Spencer Tracy and three of his four sons (Richard Widmark, Hugh O'Brien, and Earl Holliman). It'd be easy to paint the brotherly trio as the film's villains and youngest son Robert Wagner as the hero. But the reality is that Richard Widmark's bitter son is smarter than his father; he understands the necessity for change and embraces it. His father, meanwhile, adheres to doing business the same way as usual--by bulldozing his way through all obstacles.

Wagner (sporting a Fabian hair-do) and Tracy.

Adding to the family discord, Tracy favors youngest son Robert Wagner with the fatherly affection he denied the other three. They grew up as he was building his empire. They toiled alongside their then-widowed father from an early age, rarely earning even a word of praise. Thus, their acrimony is understandable to an extent and it's hard to fault them when they take advantage of their father's folly.

As for their younger sibling, he has his heart in the right place. However, he is also too eager to play the hero. When Wagner's character rashly takes the blame for his father's actions and winds up in prison, it's hard to feel sorry for him. He also seems too eager to play the martyr willing to take the punishment for his dead old dad.

Edward G. Robinson in House of Strangers.

Yet, while the family relationships hold one's attention for awhile, Broken Lance can't overcome a pervasive feeling of familiarity. Perhaps, that's because you've seen House of Strangers, a 1949 film noir written by Philip Yordan and starring Edward G. Robinson as the headstrong family patriarch and Richard Conte as the good brother.

Just five years later, Yordan transplanted the same plot to the Old West and won an Oscar for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story, for Broken Lance. Yes, he won an Oscar for a writing a story based on a screenplay written for a previous film! This gets even more interesting, because some reliable sources consider both films to be adapted from Jerome Weidman's 1941 novel I'll Never Go There Anymore. Of course, one could also argue the influence of Shakespeare's King Lear.

Tracy and Katy Jurado.

The strong cast--which also includes Jean Peters and Katy Jurado--fails to inject much-needed excitement. Spencer Tracy could play a take-charge cattle baron in his sleep. As his wife--the calm voice of reason--Jurado earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Director Edward Dmytryk, whom I tend to associate with film noir (e.g., Cornered) and tight dramas, sets the action against some breathtaking vistas. He teamed with Tracy and Wagner again two years later for The Mountain.

This was his sixth film following his return to the U.S. in 1951 after four years overseas. He left the country after refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) as one of the "Hollywood Ten." When Dmytryk returned to the States, he was arrested and served six months in a West Virginia prison before agreeing to name names before the HUAC in 1951. In his 1996 book Odd Man Out: A Memoir of the Holywood Ten, he explains his change of heart about testifying: "[If] I were going to be a martyr, I wanted the privilege of choosing my martyrdom. . . ."

I met Dmytryk in the late 1970s when he gave a guest lecture at Indiana University. He signed his name alongside the entry about him in my copy of The Filmgoer's Companion.

This post is part of the Classic Movie Blog Association's Banned and Blacklisted Blogathon. Check out all the entries on the blogathon schedule by clicking here.

A Double Case of Murder on the Orient Express

Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot.

The 1974 adaptation of Agatha Christie's controversial mystery Murder on the Orient Express spawned a string of theatrical and made-for-TV films based on her works. I recently revisited Orient Express and, for comparison purposes, also watched the 2010 version starring David Suchet as Hercule Poirot. It was an interesting exercise in which each film boasted certain strengths. In the end, though, it came down to which Poirot was the best and, for me, the choice between Suchet and Albert Finney is a no-contest.

The plots of each version closely mirror Christie's 1934 novel. While aboard the Orient Express en route back to England, Poirot is approached by a wealthy, distasteful man named Ratchett, who fears for his life. Ratchett tries to hire Poirot to protect him, but the Belgian detective refuses. Two nights later, Ratchett's bloody corpse--which features, significantly, twelve knife wounds--is found in his compartment. The obvious solution is that the murderer disposed of Ratchett, then departed the train. However, Poirot quickly makes a connection to the kidnapping and subsequent death of young Daisy Armstrong, which occurred five years earlier (an obvious nod to the real-life Lindbergh case).

The snowbound train.

The 1974 Murder on the Orient Express boasts a running time of 128 minutes, which surprisingly works to the plot's advantage. First, it allows director Sidney Lumet to open the film with a well-constructed montage that encapsulates the Armstrong kidnapping and its aftermath. This sequence not only piques the viewer's interest from the beginning, but its eliminates the need for lengthy flashbacks later or incorporation into Poirot's explanation. The second advantage of the long running time is it affords Poirot time to reveal the mystery's solution in detail (indeed, the "reveal" scene lasts almost 25 minutes).

Wendy Hiller.

The casting of big-name stars as the suspects may be entertaining, but it actually adds little to the mystery. I suppose one could argue that it's easier to tell the suspects apart, because they're played by performers such as Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, Jacqueline Bisset, Ingrid Bergman, and others. However, with the exception of Wendy Hiller as the elusive and deathly pale Princess Dragomiroff, no one has enough screen time to add any depth to their character.

Ingrid Bergman.

Albert Finney, as Poirot, dominates Murder on the Orient Express and that's unfortunate because he's a poor choice to portray Christie's sleuth. Finney may have mastered Poirot's manners, but there's no passion in his interpretation. I also have no idea what accent he was using--it certainly didn't sound Belgian French. Apparently, I hold a minority opinion of Finney's portrayal; he received both Oscar and BAFTA nominations for Best Actor. (Incidentally, Ingrid Bergman won those two awards for supporting actress, though I think it was more for her career than for her performance in this picture.)

Eileen Atkins as Princess Dragomiroff.

The 2010 Murder on the Orient Express, made by Britain's ITV network, lacks the grand scale of the 1974 version. Still, it looks expensive for a made-for-TV movie. In lieu of an all-star cast, many of the suspects are played by actors familiar to fans of British drama: Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey), Eileen Atkins (Doc Martin), and Toby Jones (Midsomer Murders). Perhaps, the most recognizable face for U.S. audiences is Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), who was still relatively unknown in 2010.

At a zippy 89 minutes, this adaptation moves almost too quickly, making it difficult for viewers to differentiate among the large number of suspects. In lieu of the 1974 film's opening montage, Poirot explains the connection to the Daisy Armstrong case as part of his climatic "reveal." It's a lot of information to absorb at one time and I wonder if individuals unfamiliar with Christie's plot will be able to fully follow Poirot's explanation.

David Suchet as Poirot.

Despite these minor misgivings, I probably prefer this version for one reason alone. David Suchet is--as always--superb as Hercule Poirot. One of Suchet's great gifts was being able to find the humor in the Poirot character, while never mocking the detective nor making him intentionally funny. Thus, we may smile when Suchet's Poirot measures his eggs to ensure they're the same size, but we never laugh at him. (In contrast, when Finney races down a train car to question a suspect, he looks like Charlie Chaplin).

The 2010 version also ends on a stronger note with the religious Poirot pondering the impacts of a personal moral dilemma. Interestingly, the same theme is explored at the conclusion of Curtain: Poirot's Last Case, the excellent 2014 film that marked the last of Suchet's 70 appearances as Hercule Poirot.