tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post6237860911640543088..comments2024-03-08T18:49:51.289-05:00Comments on Classic Film and TV Café: James Stewart's TV Series "Hawkins"Rick29http://www.blogger.com/profile/08358116647815569722noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-78504802983701336212018-02-06T22:26:01.891-05:002018-02-06T22:26:01.891-05:00If I had watched SHAFT the series without ever hav...If I had watched SHAFT the series without ever having seen the movies, I would have loved it, but as it is, it's like watching an alternate universe version of the character. Bookstevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09797445163866512849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-10225763947089765332018-02-03T20:21:12.993-05:002018-02-03T20:21:12.993-05:00With all due respect ...
A lot of the "biogr...With all due respect ...<br /><br />A lot of the "biographies" that you find around are "cut-and-paste" jobs, put together hastily in hopes of turning a quick buck on someone else's good name. <br /><br />Far too many books such as this are dependent on the works of others, and many of those can be less than reliable themselves.<br /><br />It may well have been that when <i>Hawkins On Murder</i> was first being put together (and my recollection is that it was originally supposed to be a one-shot TV movie), that Andy Griffith's name came up as a possible lead, but everything I've ever read about it (including several other biographies of James Stewart) maintains that it was intended as a Stewart vehicle from the start.<br /><br />By the way, I looked up Mr. Dewey's book on Amazon ...<br /> ... and quite a bit of the reviews were negative ...<br /> ... and for the reasons I mentioned above.<br />Just sayin', is all ...<br /><br />(Still friends, OK?)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05527404061764217504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-24241325762729341062018-02-03T12:59:16.800-05:002018-02-03T12:59:16.800-05:00Mike, one of the sources was Donald Dewey's 19...Mike, one of the sources was Donald Dewey's 1996 biography JAMES STEWART. He states that Andy Griffith was "the original choice for the role of Billy Jim Hawkins."Rick29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08358116647815569722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-50705843841650448332018-02-03T12:12:07.058-05:002018-02-03T12:12:07.058-05:00I already wrote about this to Mitchell Hadley at I...I already wrote about this to Mitchell Hadley at <i>It's About TV</i>, but I really ought to mention it here.<br /><br />Everything I ever read or heard about <i>Hawkins On Murder</i>, which was the working title of the first TV movie, was clear that it was a custom vehicle for James Stewart from the get-go.<br /><br />"Some sources claim ..."<br />You know I love your stuff, Rick, but I think you'll have to identify those "sources".<br /><i>Hawkins</i> was from 1973; <i>Matlock</i> came along <i>thirteen years later</i>, in 1986.<br />In that intervening decade, Andy Griffith did a scad of pilots, several of which yielded short-lived series, none of which resembled <i>Hawkins</i> in any more than a superficial way.<br /><br />That <i>Matlock</i> and <i>Hawkins</i> both concerned Southern lawyers, and were vehicles for homespun stars -<br /> - the word is <i>coincidence</i> - nothing more or less.<br />All of TV history is rife with such coincidences; we here, of all people, should realize this.<br /><br />Mitchell Hadley read "some sources claim" as a confirmed fact, which is why I wrote to him.<br />I mention this to you as a caution:<br />Beware of second-, third-, or twenty-fifth-hand info when you write these things up.<br /><br />Thanx (and apologies) for your attention.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05527404061764217504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-28949710348685945252018-02-03T04:42:22.823-05:002018-02-03T04:42:22.823-05:00"The Jimmy Stewart Show" is a little bet..."The Jimmy Stewart Show" is a little better, but both fun to see Jimmy in a TV role. Both series available on DVD. Along These Lines ...https://www.blogger.com/profile/11227702789184973335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-46523959580935165962018-02-01T20:39:42.293-05:002018-02-01T20:39:42.293-05:00I can imagine that a series like this would be a l...I can imagine that a series like this would be a lot of hard work. No wonder Jimmy Stewart wanted to throw in the towel after one season.<br /><br />Thanks for the introduction to this series. I'd never heard of it before.Silver Screeningshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04955048716754142299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-9465340908806289072018-02-01T20:29:40.374-05:002018-02-01T20:29:40.374-05:00That is true. Speaking if SHAFT, watering down the...That is true. Speaking if SHAFT, watering down the character for network TV destroyed what made John Shaft interesting.Rick29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08358116647815569722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-87571284357050084362018-02-01T18:24:04.635-05:002018-02-01T18:24:04.635-05:00Pairing it with Shaft hurt both shows.Pairing it with Shaft hurt both shows.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04598321249896138287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-28156962760024217442018-02-01T09:25:50.779-05:002018-02-01T09:25:50.779-05:00It's funny. My clearest memory of this show is...It's funny. My clearest memory of this show is Strother Martin. I believe, like you, that I was hoping for something more Paul Biegler-like in the character. Nice TV Guide cover though.Caftan Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05936895555808823221noreply@blogger.com