Seven Things to Know About Raymond Chandler (in his own words)

For this edition of Seven Things to Know, we selected some choice excerpts from Selected Letters of Raymond Chandler, edited by Frank MacShane.

1. In a 1950 letter to his publisher, Raymond Chandler wrote: "I went to Hollywood in 1943 to work with Billy Wilder on  Double Indemnity. This was an agonizing experience and has probably shortened my life, but I learned from it as much about screen writing as I am capable of learning, which is not very much."

Martha Vickers.

2. On The Big Sleep: "(It has had) an unfortunate history. The girl who played the nymphy sister was so good she shattered Miss (Lauren) Bacall completely. So they cut the picture in such a way that all her best scenes were left out except one. The result made nonsense and Howard Hawks threatened to sue to restrain Warners from releasing the picture." (The actress who played the sister was Martha Vickers.)

3. On his Philip Marlowe novel The Lady in the Lake and the 1947 film adaptation: "This is the only published fiction of mine which I have tried to adapt for films. And it would take a lot of money to make me try again, and I don't think this kind of money would be paid me now from Hollywood. When a man has written a book and rewritten it and rewritten it, he has had enough of it."

4. On Strangers on a Train: "I'm still slaving away for Warners Brothers on this Hitchcock thing, which you may or may not have heard about. Some days I think it is fun and other days I think it damn foolishness....Suspense as an absolute quality has never seemed to me very important. At its best it is a secondary growth, and at its worst an attempt to make something out of nothing."

Farley Granger and Robert Walker in Strangers.

5. In a letter to Alfred Hitchcock about Strangers on a Train: "Regardless of whether or no my name appears on the screen among the credits, I'm not afraid that anybody will think I wrote this stuff. They'll know damn well I didn't. I shouldn't have minded in the least if you had produced a better script--believe me, I shouldn't. But if you wanted something written in skim milk, why on earth did you bother to come to me in the first place?"

6. On Agatha Christie's classic novel And Then There Were None: "As entertainment I liked the first half and the opening, in particular. The second half got pallid. But as an honest crime story, honest in the sense that the reader is given a square deal and the motivations and the mechanisms of the murders are sound--it is bunk."

7. After completing Playback, which turned out to be his seventh and final Marlowe novel, Chandler wrote about a potential eighth book: "My next book is to be laid in Palm Springs with Marlowe having a rather tough time getting along with his wife's ideas of how to live...Of course, I have to have a murder and some violence and some trouble with the cops. Marlowe wouldn't be Marlowe if he could get along with policemen." Chandler did, in fact, start on that novel, but died in 1959. Mystery writer Robert Parker completed it in 1989 and published it as Poodle Springs.

Glenda Jackson Reigns as Queen Elizabeth

A stellar cast carries the day in Elizabeth R, the highly regarded 1971 British miniseries shown on Masterpiece Theatre in the U.S. The compelling subject matter and the first-rate actors—led by Glenda Jackson in the title role--mask what is often a  slow-moving, occasionally creaky historical biography.

Elizabeth R charts the life of Queen Elizabeth I of England, from her days as a young woman through her 45-year reign as queen to her death in 1603. The six episodes, each with a running time of approximately 85 minutes, focus on: the events that lead to Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne; her close relationship with Robert Dudley (Robert Hardy); Elizabeth’s near-marriage to France’s Duke of Anjou (Michael Williams); the treason plot involving Mary, Queen of Scots (Vivian Pickles); the defeat of the Spanish Armada; and her complex relationship with the much-younger Earl of Essex (Robin Ellis).

The best episodes are those involving the men in Elizabeth’s life, specifically Dudley, the Duke of Anjou, and Essex.  Each of them love the Queen in their own way, but they are thwarted by rumor (Dudley), politics (Anjou), or greed (Essex). It helps immensely that these historical figures are portrayed by a trio of fine actors.

Robert Hardy as Dudley.

Robert Hardy, best known for playing veterinarian Siegfried Farnon in the TV series All Creatures Great and Small, captures the genuine affection that Dudley feels for his queen. He also makes it clear that Dudley is an ambitious man who faults fate for not having a seat on the throne. Married when childhood sweetheart Elizabeth becomes queen, Dudley's terminally-ill wife suffers an accidental death--or commits suicide--while he's at court. The timing leads to rumors that Dudley may have been involved with her demise. Those suspicions nix his chances of marrying Elizabeth, though they remain lifelong friends and he becomes a powerful royal adviser.

Michael William as the Duke of Anjou.

Michael Williams takes center stage in the third episode as the Duke of Anjou, brother to King Henry III of France. Williams, a veteran stage actor and long-time husband to Dame Judi Dench, brings much-needed humor to his role of the suitor that Elizabeth nicknamed "her frog." Eager to claim a position of similar authority to his brother, Williams' Anjou is a delightful mixture of lazy fop, petulant child, and charming wooer.

Robin Ellis as Essex.

Robin Ellis, best remembered as the handsome hero of the immensely popular Poldark, stars in the last episode as the doomed Essex. Ellis portrays Essex as a likable rascal, who is far too greedy and self-absorbed to appreciate the royal favors bestowed by Elizabeth. He repays her with insolence--at one point, she smacks his head and he partially withdraws his sword, an incident that actually occurred. Poldark fans will no doubt enjoy seeing Ellis in such a different role.

Jackson as the young Elizabeth.

Yet, while these three actors hold their own, it is Glenda Jackson that dominates Elizabeth R. She captures the intricate shadings of Elizabeth, as she ages from teenage princess to powerful ruler to an elderly woman who accepts her life, but not without remorse. She is gleeful when unlikely events fall into place and secures her the throne. She is filled with guilt and anger when her closest advisers convince her to execute her half-sister Mary. She is overcome with grief with she learns of Dudley's death. It's a remarkable performance and one that earned Jackson an Emmy. Ironically, she played Queen Elizabeth again in 1971 in the theatrical film Mary, Queen of Scots, which starred Vanessa Redgrave in the title role.

Elizabeth R won a total of five Emmys, including ones for outstanding drama series and costumes. Although it's easy to see why it was held in high esteem, the series is nonetheless inconsistent. The episode about the defeat of the Spanish Armada is flat, mostly because the show's budget required that the battle scenes not be shown (but described by a character after the fact). Although Jackson has a powerful scene near the end, the episode about the treasonous Babington Plot is so convoluted that it's often hard to follow the historical events.

Still, Elizabeth R remains a must-see for fans of historical drama. It is, based on my limited research, remarkably accurate...and the acting is often sublime.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers: A Colorful Collage of Songs & Dances...Plus an Awesome Breakfast

The Oregon Territory in 1850 provides the setting for this high-energy, colorful musical based on a Benet short story (which, in turn, was inspired by Plutarch’s “The Abduction of the Sabine Women”). Adam Pontipee (Howard Keel) is a hard-working “mountain man” who comes to town for supplies—and a wife. After announcing his plans to a storeowner, he adds: “I’m in no hurry…I got all afternoon.” He quickly settles on Millie (Jane Powell), a comely—but sassy—lass who chops wood, cooks, and milks cows. For Millie, it’s love at first sight and the chance to take care of her own home.

The honeymoon gets off to a rocky start when Millie discovers that Adam has six brothers. “Y’all live around here?” she asks. “Not ’round. Here,” replies one of the brothers. After overcoming her initial shock, Millie grows fond of her brothers-in-law…until they listen to Adam and take extreme measures to get their own brides.

The score by Johnny Mercer and Gene de Paul is a tuneful one. “Wonderful, Wonderful Day” and “When You’re in Love” are bright, pretty love songs. But Mercer’s best lyrics are reserved for “Lonesome Polecat,” a woeful lament sung by the lovesick brothers (a sample line: “A man can’t sleep when he sleeps with sheep”).

Michael Kidd’s spectacular choreography provides a perfect complement to the music. Kidd insisted that all the dance numbers derive from what the brothers were doing. Most critics consider the barn-raising scene to be the film’s showstopper. But I favor the dance where the brothers try to outshine their rivals from the town and the aforementioned “Lonesome Polecat,” in which the brothers cut and saw wood in unison with the musical beats.

The cast is uniformly fine, with Powell and Keel generating the required chemistry as the romantic leads. Four of the brothers were accomplished dancers (I think Matt Mattox, who plays Caleb, is the best). Russ Tamblyn, who had no prior dancing experience (he was an acrobat), is quite appealing as the youngest brother. It’s hard to believe it’s the same actor who would later played a key role in the wonderfully weird TV series Twin Peaks.

I first saw Seven Brides on The CBS Late Movie in the mid-1970s. I liked it well enough then, but my fondness for it has grown significantly over the years. See a good print of it, if possible, so you can enjoy the vibrant colors. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers inspired a mediocre, short-lived TV series and a very successful Broadway play.

It has also played in a key role in a running joke between my mother-in-law and me. In one scene in Seven Brides, Jane Powell's character fixes the brothers an incredible breakfast with everything you can imagine: flapjacks, sausage, eggs, biscuits, potatoes, etc. So when visiting my's wife folks, if my mother-in-law asks if I want something to eat in the morning, I always reply: "A Jane Powell breakfast would be nice." I never get one, though. But I do get to hear a lovely laugh in response.

Textbook Survival: Robinson Crusoe on Mars

I could have sworn that Robinson Crusoe on Mars was produced by George Pal. However, as a recent viewing confirmed, Pal played no role in the making of this 1964 cult classic. If it seems like a Pal picture, that's because it was directed by Byron Haskin. A former special effects wizard, Haskin teamed up with Pal for four movies, including The War of the Worlds (1953) and personal favorites The Naked Jungle (1964) and The Power (1968). Both men shared a love of visual science fiction and fantasy, a trait that's readily obvious in Robinson Crusoe on Mars.

Paul Mantee as Christopher Draper.

Inspired by Daniel Defoe's novel, the film's premise is established quickly when a meteor forces the two astronauts of the Mars Gravity Probe 1 to abandon their spaceship and land on the Red Planet. Colonel Dan McReady (Adam West) perishes when his escape module crashes. However, his friend Christopher Draper (Paul Mantee) survives--along with a monkey named Mona. With his oxygen and water supplies dwindling with each day, Draper seems destined to die, too. But the astronaut, to his own surprise, proves to be remarkably resourceful. He discovers a rock that burns and gives off oxygen. He finds shelter in a cave. Observing that Mona never drinks water, he follows her and finds an underground lake--and an edible plant.

Mona plays a key role in Draper's survival.

Like its source novel and many film variations (e.g., Cast Away), a large chunk of the running time is devoted to Draper's lonely existence. We "hear" Draper's thoughts as he talks into his tape recorder or discourses with Mona. After four months, he notes that he has conquered all challenges except the biggest one: loneliness. In one of the film's best scenes, he even imagines the survival of his friend McReady.

Director Haskin creates a colorful Martian world, with deserts and mountains set against a bright red sky. Fireballs zip across the surface and winds whisper eerily throughout the night. It's a mysterious world, but also one devoid of any living creatures--until alien spaceships appear and begin mining some of the planet's ore. That sets the stage for the arrival of Friday (Victor Lundin).

With only three human characters and a monkey, Paul Mantee is left with carrying most of the film by himself. A journeyman actor, Mantee creates a vivid portrait of an "everyman." In a 1988 interview with Tom Weaver, Robinson Crusoe on Mars co-writer Ib Melchoir noted: "There is some advantage, when watching a film of this sort, in not seeing a major star in it... The film was more believable that way."

Lundin as Friday.

Unfortunately, Robinson Crusoe on Mars did not perform well enough at the boxoffice to further Mantee's career. The actor guest starred in numerous television series in the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1980s, he joined the cast of Cagney and Lacey as Detective Al Corassa. Later, he also had a recurring role on The A Team as Commander Tom Clayton. Mantee died in 2013, as did his Crusoe co-star Victor Lundin.

War of the World fans will note
a spacecraft similarity!

The film's true star, though, is director Byron Haskin. He began his Hollywood career in the 1920s, later worked with David O. Selznick, and directed his most famous movie, The War of the Worlds, when he was 54. Either Haskin had a natural talent for science fiction cinema or he was very good at picking the right properties. In addition to Robinson Crusoe on Mars and The War of the Worlds, he helmed Pal's underrated The Power and two of the best episodes of The Outer Limits TV series ("Demon With a Glass Hand" and The Architects of Fear).

As for Robinson Crusoe on Mars, it has evolved into a cult classic. It even got the highbrow treatment when Criterion released a deluxe blu-ray in 2011 packed with bonus features, such as commentary by screenwriter Ib Melchoir and stars Paul Mantee and Victor Lundin.

Seven Things to Know About Glynis Johns

1. Stephen Sondheim wrote "Send in the Clowns" specifically for Glynis Johns, whose husky voice worked best with short phrasing. She sang it in the original 1973 stage production of  A Little Night Music and won a Tony for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.

2. Glynis Johns received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for The Sundowners (1960), Fred Zinneman's saga of an Australian family. She lost the Oscar to Shirley Jones in Elmer Gantry. Deborah Kerr was also nominated, as Best Actress, for The Sundowners; Kerr and Johns appeared together 15 years earlier opposite Robert Donat in Perfect Strangers (aka Vacation from Marriage).

Johns and Danny Kaye--in disguise--in
The Court Jester.

3. She once said: "I would sooner play in a good British picture than in the majority of American pictures I have seen." Ironically, it was an American picture--the 1955 comedy classic The Court Jester--that provided her with one of her most fondly-remembered roles.

4. In 1963, she starred as an author who dabbled in crime-solving in her own American sitcom Glynis. The series was created by Jess Oppenheimer, one of the masterminds behind I Love Lucy, and was produced by Desilu. Keith Andes played Glynis' husband. Alas, the series was cancelled after 13 episodes--though a similar premise worked quite well years later for Johns' Court Jester co-star Angela Lansbury. Interestingly, Johns guest-starred in a 1985 episode of Muder, She Wrote called "Sing a Song of Murder."

As Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins.

5. Glynis Johns and Angela Lansbury share two other connections. Lansbury was also Tony-nominated for A Little Night Music. She appeared in a 2009 Broadway revival, playing the mother of Johns' character. Johns and Lansbury also appeared in Disney musicals about magical child caregivers. Glynis Johns portrayed Mrs. Banks opposite Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins  (1964), while Angela Lansbury starred as an apprentice witch in Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).

Rudy Vallee and Glynis Johns.

6. Johns played villain Lady Penelope Peasoup on the Batman TV series. She teamed up with Rudy Vallee, who portrayed Lord Marmaduke Ffogg.

7. She played a flirtatious mermaid curious about humans in Miranda (1948) and its belated 1954 sequel Mad About Men. The first film was one of the biggest British boxoffice hits of the year. In the second film, Glynis Johns played double roles: Caroline, a school teacher who takes a vacation in Cornwall, and Miranda, a mermaid and distant relative to Caroline.

Powell and Pressberger's One of Our Aircraft Is Missing

I suspect that The Red Shoes, A Matter of Life and Death, and Black Narcissus are the films that spring to mind when most movie buffs think of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressberger. However, the filmmaking duo explored the theme of war more than any other. It's present--either directly or indirectly--in 49th Parallel, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Contraband, and A Canterbury Tale. However, their most prominent war film was One of Our Aircraft is Missing.

It was produced in 1942 under the auspices of Great Britain's Ministry of Information, with the goal of boosting the country's morale during World War II. It also marked the fourth collaboration for Powell and Pressberger and, notably, their first one in which their producing, directing, and writing credits were billed collectively as The Archers.

One of Our Aircraft Is Missing begins with an empty airplane plunging into power lines and then backtracks to 15 hours before the crash. In almost documentary-like fashion, we're introduced to the plane's crew as it prepares for its next--apparently routine--mission. Personally, I struggled with differentiating the characters during these early scenes since I was unfamiliar with many of the British actors. As a result, the first 26 minutes were a bit of a slog.

However, the film takes off once the crew parachutes from its damaged plane into occupied Dutch territory. To their surprise, the British fliers are discovered by children that lead them to a resistance group willing to smuggle the entire crew out of Nazi-occupied Netherlands. The escape comprises the rest of the 139-minute running time, with suspenseful sequences alternating with pithy conversations among the Brits, the Dutch Resistance, and the Nazis.

Googie Withers as a spy.

Powell and Pressberger specialized in creating strong parts for their leading ladies, as evidenced by Black Narcissus, I Know Where I'm Going, The Red Shoes, and others. You can add One of Our Aircraft Is Missing to that list. Pamela Brown shines as a member of the Dutch Resistance, especially in her first scene where she subtly interrogates the Brits to ensure they are not Germans in disguise. Later in the film, the crew is aided by an entrepreneur (Googie Withers) who plays a dangerous game: She conducts routine business with the Nazis while she hides the British fliers in her quarters and plans the final phase of their escape. These tough, dedicated women are the true heroes of One of Our Aircraft Is Missing.

Geoffrey Tearle is probably the best-remembered of the male leads, having portrayed a villain in Hitchcock's The 39 Steps (1935). He later appeared in Mandy (1952), a critically-acclaimed film about a young deaf girl, and the Ealing comedy The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953). Of course, the most famous actor in One of Our Aircraft Is Missing has only a small supporting part. That would be Peter Ustinov, who looks so young as to almost be unrecognizable as a priest.

Powell uses lighting to simulate shells
exploding in mid-air outside the plane.

The crisp black-and-white photography suits the film--which is saying a lot since Michael Powell later revolutionized the use of color in Black Narcissus. The film opens with a pre-title sequence, which was unusual for the 1940s. It also contains no music, emphasizing natural sound to great effect.

One of Our Aircraft Is Missing earned Academy Award nominations for special effects and the screenplay by Powell and Pressberger. Amazingly, it was Michael Powell's only Oscar nomination. Emeric Pressberger won an Oscar for his 49th Parallel screenplay and received another writing nomination for The Red Shoes in 1948.

The man who edited One of Our Aircraft Is Missing didn't receive any recognition for his work. Still, he had a pretty good career in the cinema. His name was David Lean.

The Wonderfulness of "I Spy" Arrives on DVD

The cultural significance of I Spy--which Timeless Media will release as a boxed set on June 24th--has been covered in numerous books and essays. It was, after all, the first U.S. television series to feature an African American actor in a lead role. In 1965, that was a landmark achievement--and a bold one. Four of NBC's affiliates in the southern U.S. refused to broadcast I Spy.

The irony is that the people responsible for the success of I Spy went out of their way to avoid focusing on the fact that co-star Bill Cosby was an African American. Their show was simply about two friends who happened to be spies. It was incidental that one was white and one was black. In fact, racial insults were banned from the show after a season one episode ("Danny Was a Million Laughs") in which Martin Landau's smarmy criminal flips a coin to Scotty (Cosby) and tells him: "Here you are, boy. I'll leave my shoes out for you tonight."

The series was the brainchild of actor-turned-producer Sheldon Leonard. After producing such hits as The Danny Thomas Show, The Andy Griffith Show, and The Dick Van Dyke Show, Leonard wanted to create an hour-long drama. With the James Bond craze in full throttle in 1965, Leonard developed the idea for an espionage series that utilized international locales--but few gadgets. Robert Culp, who had approached Leonard with a proposed TV series about a retired spy, was a natural choice for one of the roles. The original premise was for Culp to play a protege to an older spy. Leonard dropped that idea when Carl Reiner suggested the other role be played by an up-and-coming stand-up comic named Bill Cosby--who had no acting experience.

Cosby's "test" episode "Affair in T'sien Cha" did not go well. The acting novice was stiff and his natural charm came across as muted. Still, Leonard and and Culp pushed ahead with the series (that episode was eventually broadcast midway through the first season).  I Spy debuted on September 15, 1965, with Culp starring as Kelly Robinson, a veteran espionage agent who maintains his cover as an Ivy League-educated tennis pro. His Rhodes scholar partner, Alexander Scott (or Scotty), acts as Robinson's trainer.

Yes, that's Culp as Chuang Tzu.

Culp, who also wrote several episodes, was clearly the intended star during the first season of I Spy. He appears in the opening credits, his name comes first, and the font size of his name is larger than Cosby's. The breakout star, though, turned out to be Cosby. He won the first of three consecutive Emmys for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series. Each year, Robert Culp was among the other nominees in the same category (Culp even played a double role in the season 2 episode "The War Lord," also appearing as the villainous Chuang Tzu).

The success of I Spy can be attributed almost entirely to the breezy interplay between Culp and Cosby. The two, who became good friends off-screen, sometimes improvised their dialogue. A favorite expression was "wonderfulness," which was first used in the second episode "A Cup of Kindness." As Scotty makes a homemade explosive to escape from a warehouse, he explains how he'll use a cigarette as the fuse. Kelly quips back: "Is there no limit to the wonderfulness of your mind?"

Mr. & Mrs. Culp in "The Tiger,"
an episode written by Robert Culp.

While some episodes tilted toward comedy ("Chrysanthemum") and others went for straight drama ("The Loser"), the best ones were a combination of both (the delightfully twisty "Dragon's Teeth"). Many well-known performers appeared on the show, such as Boris Karloff, Dorothy Lamour, Keye Luke, and Don Rickles. Some of the guest stars gained fame later on television or in films, to include: Carroll O'Connor, Gene Hackman, and Nicolas Colasanto (Coach in Cheers). I Spy also provided a unique platform for African American performers. Earth Kitt won an Emmy for playing a drug addicted singer in "The Loser." Other episodes featured Ivan Dixon (Kinch on Hogan's Heroes), Greg Morris (Barney on Mission: Impossible), and Godfrey Cambridge. Culp's favorite guest star may have been France Nuyen, who appeared in four episodes. She and Culp were married from 1967-70.

The snazzy credits complimented
Hagen's theme.

From a production standpoint, I Spy stood apart from its espionage TV series rivals by setting the action in scenic international locales. In fact, much of I Spy was filmed throughout the world, in colorful countries like Hong Kong, Greece, Mexico, and Italy. Finally, no mention of the show would be complete without highlighting the catchy opening theme by Earle Hagen. The composer also scored the background music for the series, often incorporating ethnic music from an episode's locale.

Hickey & Boggs movie poster.

While never a Top 20 TV series, I Spy enjoyed a solid three-year run. Four years after its cancellation, Cosby and Culp reteamed as a pair of private eyes for the theatrical film Hickey & Boggs (1972), which was directed by Culp. They also reunited again for the 1994  made-for-television movie I Spy Again. It was intended as a pilot for a television series which would feature the grown children of Kelly and Scotty as spies.

The new I Spy boxed set from Timeless Media includes all three seasons on 18 discs. The picture and sound quality are excellent. Although the discs feature no extras, there is an attractive booklet containing a brief history of the series, synopses of each episode, and interesting trivia.


The Cafe received a review copy of the I Spy boxed set from Timeless Media.

The Movie-TV Connection Game (June 2014 Edition)

These two have a connection?

This is the second edition of our latest game. In the questions below, you'll be given be a pair of films, TV series, performers, or any combination thereof. Your task is to find the common connection between the pair. It could be anything--two stars who acted in the same movie, two movies that share a common theme, a film that inspired a TV series, etc. For example, suppose the pair was: the Perry Mason TV series and Errol Flynn. The connection is the 1935 film The Case of the Curious Bride, which starred Warren William as Perry Mason and Errol Flynn as a murder victim. As always, don't answer all the questions so others can play, too. There is a single best answer for each question. Good luck!

1. James Garner and Steve McQueen (it's not The Great Escape). 

2. David Niven and Leslie Howard. 

3. Ginger Rogers and Jerry Lewis. 

4. Ray Milland and Patrick McGoohan. 

5. The TV series It Takes a Thief and the film The Towering Inferno.

6. Tom Cruise and Peter Graves. 

7. Johnny Weissmuller and Charlton Heston. 

8. Laurence Olivier and Peter Cushing. 

9. Raquel Welch and Carole Landis. 

10. I Love Lucy and My Three Sons (an easy one!).

11. Richard Burton and the 1966-71 TV series Dark Shadows.

12. Cornel Wilde and Robert Taylor.

13. Timothy Carey and Paul Newman.

14. Agnes Moorehead and Veronica Lake.

15. Janet Leigh and James Stewart (this one is a stretch...and it's not Hitchcock!).

The Poseidon Adventure: Trust in Hackman

The first--and best--of the 1970s "disaster movies," The Poseidon Adventure has aged well over the years. I sometimes think it gets lumped in with its disaster brethren--The Towering Inferno, Earthquake, etc.--which is a shame, because Poseidon is a superior film that established the formula for those lesser efforts.

The first half-hour is basically an introduction to the people aboard the S.S. Poseidon, an outdated cruise ship making its final voyage from Athens to New York. The passengers and ship staff include: a police detective and his former-prostitute wife (Ernest Borgnine and Stella Stevens); a retired couple (Jack Albertson and Shelley Winters) going to see their grandson for the first time; a teen girl and her obnoxious younger brother (Pamela Sue Martin and Eric Shea); a lonely businessman (Red Buttons); a singer (Carol Lynley); a bartender (Roddy McDowall); and an unorthodox priest (Gene Hackman), whose defiance of his church superiors has resulted in his banishment to a third-world country (a mission that the priest embraces). Granted, some of these characters border initially on stereotypes, which is surprising considering that Stirling Silliphant (In the Heat of the Night, Route 66) co-wrote the screenplay. However, as the film progresses, Silliphant reveals hidden depths to some of the passengers.

Gene Hackman and Pamela Sue Martin..

The plot cranks into high gear when the ship capsizes after being hit with an aftershock (8.6 on the Richter scale) from an underwater earthquake. With several people already dead, the survivors face their first dilemma. Two of them (Buttons and Hackman) propose that they make their way upward to the propeller shaft where the hull may be thin enough to reach the surface. However, the ship's purser encourages the passengers to remain in the ballroom, with promises that help must surely be on its way. Unable to reach agreement, two groups split off with one following the decisive priest and the other remaining with the purser.

Borgnine as the detective Rogo.

As the first group of passengers makes its way slowly up to the hull, friction quickly develops between the priest and the detective. In addition to having doubts about the priest's course of action, Borgnine's detective--a man typically in charge--bristles at taking orders from someone else. And it doesn't help that his wife seems to have complete confidence in Hackman's priest. This intra-group turbulence heightens the suspense as the survivors face one seemingly insurmountable hurdle after another. 

The interior of the ship, masterfully created by set designers William Creber and Raphael Bretton, earned an Oscar nomination for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration. Danger seems to lurk around every turn, whether it is rising water, searing flames, or boiling steam.

Oscar nominee Shelley Winters.

In addition to its art decoration, The Poseidon Adventure earned Oscar nominations for cinematography, costumes, sound, editing, and John Williams' excellent music score. Shelley Winters, who won the 1973 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress, lost the Academy Award in the same category to Eileen Heckart for Butterflies Are Free. Still, The Poseidon Adventure wasn't shut out in Oscar wins; the song "The Morning After" picked up a statuette and the film was given a "special achievements award" for its visual effects.

Although Borgnine gives one of his best post-1960s performances and Winters has a great scene, acting honors go to Gene Hackman. His high-octane performance propels the film and reaffirms his status as one of the most versatile actors of his generation.

The flop sequel with
Michael Caine & Sally Field.

Backed by a canny marketing campaign ("Hell, upside down" and "Who will survive?" proclaimed the posters), The Poseidon Adventure was a boxoffice smash. Producer Irwin Allen copied the formula, only with bigger stars, for The Towering Inferno. And, at the end of the disaster movie cycle, he mounted an unsuccessful sequel called Beyond the Poseidon Adventure.

Thirty-three years after the original film, two remakes appeared: a made-for-TV version with Rutger Hauer and 2006's Poseidon, a lively remake helmed by Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot). Though the latter is quite watchable, I recommend sticking with the original if you're in the mood for a suspenseful movie about an overturned ocean liner.

The Five Best Classic Movie Robots

They come in all sizes, from imposing, lumbering giants to pint-sized wheeled models. Sometimes, they can speak a variety of languages fluently, but other times they can only make beeping sounds or no noise at all. They're adept at fixing things and destroying things. Once in awhile, one goes bad--but typically they function as loyal companions. Yes, we are talking about robots of the silver screen!

In our picks below, please note that cyborgs and androids have been omitted (sorry, Blade Runner, RoboCop, and Terminator!).

1. Gort (The Day the Earth Stood Still). Eight feet tall and made of an impenetrable alien metallic substance, Gort was the movies’ first robot superstar. He doesn’t say a word, but was the recipient of a classic line of dialogue: “Klaatu barada nikto” (roughly translated, it means that Klaatu was killed and needs to be revived…and, by the way, please don’t destroy the Earth). Definitely the tall silent type.

2. Robby the Robot (Forbidden Planet). Slightly shorter than Gort and much more talkative, Robby also starred in the cult sci fi film The Invisible Boy (1957). But he’s most famous for Forbidden Planet, in which his character was inspired by the sprite Ariel in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Dr. Morbius programmed Robby so that the robot could not harm humans. (Robby was also the obvious inspiration for the robot in TV's Lost in Space).

3. The Robot Maria (Metropolis). This 2006 inductee into the Robot Hall of Fame (Gort made it the same year) is the oldest robot on this list--though she's doesn't look it, of course. Possibly cinema's first female robot, the Robot Maria (also know as the False Maria) is eventually given human features that make it impossible to discern the real Maria from her robotic duplicate. Still, it's the image of the robot prior to the transformation that has captured the imagination of millions of film fans.

4. R2-D2 and C3PO (Star Wars movies). They need no introduction after compiling more screen time than any other robots in motion picture history. Plus, they've starred in video games, been molded into popular play-action figures, and been transformed into kiddie Halloween costumes!

5. Huey, Dewey, and Louie (Silent Running). These three little service drones prove invaluable to an astronaut-botanist (Bruce Dern) after he hijacks a spaceship carrying a living forest. The drones not only conduct maintenance on the station, but they also perform surgery on Dern’s injured leg, tend to the forest, and play poker with their human companion.


Honorable Mentions: The Iron Giant, Tobor the Great (spell his name backwards), and Terror of Mechagodzilla.

What do James Stewart, Billy Wilder, and Connie Francis Have in Common?

The answer is the melodic strains of the of the song "Senza Fine."

Italian composer Gino Paoli wrote "Senza Fine" in 1961. Although a popular success, it was not his biggest hit in his native country. That would be "Sapore Di Sale" or "Il Cielo in una Stanza." While those songs still have their ardent fans (Martin Scorsese used the latter in Goodfellas), it's "Senza Fine" that would be immortalized in two English-language films.

It first appeared in Robert Aldrich's gripping The Flight of the Phoenix. The song is playing on the radio as James Stewart and Ernest Borgnine watch over a fellow airplane crash survivor destined to die from his injuries. As Connie Francis croons "Senza Fine" in both English and Italian, the dying young man (Gabriele Tinti) finds solace in its lyrics. It's a poignant scene--a moment of tranquility--in a film filled with conflict, hardship, and suspense. You can view the scene below.

Alec Wilder wrote the English lyrics for "Senza Fine," since Paoli's original was in Italian only. When The Flight of Phoenix was released in Italy, though, the song was sung by Ornella Vanoni completely in Italian.

Although Connie Francis was near the height of her popularity in the mid-1960s, her recording of "Senza Fine" was never released as a single in the U.S. (although it was in Great Britain). Francis' version did appear on her 1966 album Movie Greats of the 1960s, where it was billed as "The Phoenix Love Theme (Senza fine)."

Thus, it was left to an instrumental group called The Brass Ring to record the only version of "Senza Fine" to chart in the U.S. Punctuated by Phil Bodner's saxophone solo, it's an upbeat interpretation which is pleasant enough, but without the poignancy of Francis' rendition. Still, it reached #21 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart as part of a two-sided single that also included "Lara's Theme (from Dr. Zhivago"). 

Despite its fame (and having watching The Flight of the Phoenix multiple times), I never took note of "Senza Fine" until I saw Billy Wilder's Avanti! (1972). Charming and under-appreciated, the film is about a reserved businessman (Jack Lemmon) who travels to an island near Naples to bury his father. He meets the daughter (Juliet Mills) of his father's mistress and, though married, finds himself falling in love. Wilder incorporates "Senza Fine" throughout the film, giving this scenic romance an effervescent charm. It's a lovely arrangement by Carlo Rustichelli (who also composed the original music for Avanti!).

And, of course, there have been numerous other version of "Senza Fine." It has been covered by recording artists as diverse as Andrea Bocelli, Boz Scaggs, and Dean Martin. Interestingly, it's rarely listed by its English-language title: "Without End."

Peter Falk's First Case as Columbo

Falk's first close-up as Columbo.

Upon suspecting that her psychiatrist husband left their anniversary party for a rendezvous with his mistress, Joan Flemming threatens to ruin him professionally and financially. Dr. Ray Flemming (Gene Barry) comes up with a convincing lie--he was planning a surprise second honeymoon in Mexico. Yet, the reality is that he has already plotted Joan's murder to the last detail. The following day, with an assist from his actress girlfriend, Flemming pulls off what he believes to be the perfect crime. The only problem is that the L.A. detective assigned to the case is Lieutenant Columbo.

Bert Freed was the first Columbo.

Prescription: Murder, a 1968 made-for-TV movie, marked Peter Falk's debut as the crafty Columbo. However, it was not the first appearance of the fictional sleuth created by Richard Levinson and William Link. Columbo--then known as Fisher--was featured in the short story "Dear Corpus Delicti," which was published in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 1960. That same year, Levinson and Link adapated their short story into "Enough Rope," an episode of the live drama anthology Chevy Mystery Show. Bert Freed played Columbo, who was a secondary character to the villainous Dr. Flemming (played by Richard Carlson).

A year later, Levinson and Link expanded "Enough Rope" into a stage play called Prescription: Murder. It starred Joseph Cotten as Flemming, Agnes Moorehead as his wife, and Thomas Mitchell as Columbo. Sadly, the play never made it to Broadway, in part because Thomas Mitchell died of cancer in 1962.

Levinson and Link, who met in junior high school, dusted off Prescription: Murder again in 1968--this time as a telefilm for NBC. They originally wanted Lee J. Cobb to play Columbo. When his schedule prevented him from taking the role, they offered it to Bing Crosby. When he also declined, the part went to Peter Falk. Levinson and Link initially worried that the 41-year-old Falk was too young to play Columbo (Mitchell was 70). However, once they saw his performance, they knew it was a perfect pairing of actor and role. 

Gene Barry as the murderer.

Considering that Columbo would eventually become a TV icon, it's somewhat surprising that he doesn't make his entrance until 32 minutes into Prescription: Murder. He introduces himself to Gene Barry's murderer as simply: "Lieutenant Columbo, police." Thus, it's up to Barry to carry the film's opening scenes and he's quite persuasive as the intelligent, egotistical Flemming. His simple, yet ingenious, murder plot relies on an axiom employed by Agatha Christie in her classic Hercule Poirot novel Lord Edgware Dies. Flemming explains it to his accomplice: "People see what they expect to see."

It takes Flemming most of the film to realize that he has underestimated his dogged pursuer. In the best scene, the two men discuss the murder in theoretical terms--though each knows exactly what happened. Flemming even offers a psychoanalysis of Columbo's tactic of masking his intelligence. At its best, Prescription: Murder is a two-character play--and I mean that as a compliment. William Windom, Nina Foch, and Katherine Justice are fine in supporting roles, but the crux of the film is the cat-and-mouse game between Columbo and Flemming.

Columbo: "There's just one more thing..."

Although Prescription: Murder is sometimes described as a pilot for a TV series, most sources claim that neither Falk nor Levinson and Link were interested in the grind of a weekly show. NBC addressed their concern in 1971 when it suggested a Columbo drama as part of its 90-minute umbrella series, The NBC Mystery Movie. Thus, instead of starring in 24 or more weekly hour shows, Falk had to commit to just seven 90-minute shows yearly.

Lee Grant as the first female killer.

However, before finalizing the deal, NBC asked for a pilot film that became Ransom for a Dead Man. It was telecast in March 1971, with the Columbo TV series debuting the following September. Ransom stars Lee Grant as a tough attorney who murders her husband--and then devises a fake kidnapping in order to liquidate his financial assets to pay a ransom. Columbo makes an earlier appearance this time (at the 12-minute mark). Although Grant was nominated for an Emmy, Ransom for a Dead Man lacks the bite that permeates Prescription: Murder--perhaps because Levinson and Link penned the story, but not the script.

Still, Ransom for a Dead Man was a ratings hit and the rest--as they say--is television history. Counting Prescription and Ransom, Peter Falk played Columbo in 68 telefilms or TV episodes over a span of 35 years.

Boris Karloff Hosts a Thriller

In his 1981 history of horror fiction Danse Macabre, Stephen King dubs Thriller "probably the best horror series ever put on TV." It's still hard to argue with King's assessment. While this 1960-62 anthology series was inconsistent, it boasted some of the most chilling content ever broadcast on television. Ironically, that--combined with its one-hour length and short run--may explain why it never achieved lasting popularity along the lines of The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Simply put, episodes like the classic "Pigeons from Hell" (which featured a "zuvembie" and a hatchet murder) aren't everyone's cup of tea.

Don't let Miss DeVore (Patricia Barry)
remove her wig!

Thriller was created by Hubbell Robinson, a television pioneer who served as executive producer of CBS's prestigious anthology series Playhouse 90. According to the book Fantastic Television, Robinson sold Thriller to NBC without a pilot and based on a vague description. From the beginning, Robinson and his producers disagreed about the direction of the series. Unlike The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Thriller lacked a strong vision and its initial ratings were soft. Fantastic Television includes this enlightening Robinson assessment: "The show simply did not have time to find its identity."

Veteran producers Maxwell Shane and William Frye were brought in to salvage the show. At the same time, the series' scope was narrowed to suspenseful crime stories (produced by Shane) and horror tales (Frye). Although Thriller fared better with critics and viewers, it was still a show with a split personality. One never knew what to expect on a given week: an episode about a botched kidnapping scheme or a scary yarn about a wig that turns its wearer into a vengeful killer.

Henry Daniell in "Well of Doom."

In retrospect, the show's reputation rests almost exclusively on the horror episodes--many of which are still hailed as genre classics. The aforementioned "Pigeons from Hell," adapted from a Robert E. Howard (Conan the Barbarian) story, is a contemporary Gothic tale about two brothers who encounter a zombie-like, murderous creature in a decayed Southern mansion. In "The Cheaters," a pair of unusual glasses reveals different things to its various owners--but the result is always bad for everyone involved. The title hairpiece in a "A Wig for Miss DeVore" was once worn by a vengeful witch burned at the stake. It restores youth to a washed-up actress--who unfortunately transforms into a nasty-looking killer whenever the wig is removed. And, in a personal favorite, the densely-atmospheric Well of Doom, a man and his fiancee are imprisoned in a dungeon by mysterious strangers that may possess supernatural powers. The stellar cast features Henry Daniell (looking like Lon Chaney in London After Midnight) and Richard Kiel (Jaws in two Bond films) as the villains.

John Williams in "Yours Truly,
Jack the Ripper."

While I agree that the crime episodes are not as engrossing overall, there are notable exceptions. Stand-up comic Mort Sahl gives a good dramatic performance as a none-too-bright joe who overhears a kidnapping plot in Man in the Middle. His unconventional solution: Kidnap the heiress first. In The Twisted Image, married businessman Leslie Nielsen becomes the target of an obsessed younger woman. And in another fave, "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper," John Williams (a Hitchcock semi-regular) portrays an expert engaged by the Washington, D.C. police to help apprehend a Ripper-like murderer. Or is the murderer actually Jack the Ripper himself, who has used black magic rituals to defy ageing? This episode was based on a short story by Robert Bloch, who also penned teleplays for Thriller (and wrote the source novel for Hitchcock's Psycho). Interestingly, Block revamped his Jack the Ripper short story a few years later as the Star Trek episode "Wolf in the Fold."

Boris Karloff served as host of Thriller. It was not his first TV series, that distinction belonging to the 1954-55 British program Colonel March of Scotland Yard. Karloff, whose career was fading in the 1950s, gained fame anew when his Universal monster films were released to television, starting in 1957. By 1960, his name was synonymous with horror and he brought instant recognition to Thriller. Alas, his introductions weren't always well-written and often add little to the show. They lack the dark humor of Hitch's introductions on Alfred Hitchcock Presents and the poetic fate of Serling's Twilight Zone narratives.

Thriller composers Pete Rugolo and Jerry Goldsmith earned a well-deserved Emmy nomination in 1961 for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Music. Rugolo, who wrote the jazzy Thriller opening theme, is perhaps best remembered for his work on The Fugitive. Goldsmith, of course, went on to a long, highly successful career as a film composer. Morton Stevens, another Thriller composer, later wrote one of the famous of all TV series themes: Hawaii Five-O.

To learn more about Thriller, I recommend checking out the entertaining blog A Thriller a Day... and Alan Warren's book This Is a Thriller. You can watch Thriller on MeTV; the complete series is also available in a boxed set from Image Entertainment.


This post is of part of The Summer of MeTV Classic TV Blogathon, hosted by the Classic TV Blog Association. Click here to view all the other great blogathon entries.