April 22, 2022

Around the dial




We're back after the Good Friday break, and as is usually the case after we take a week off, we have a packed trip Around the Dial in-store, so we'll get right to it.

Part three of the Hitchcock Project look at the television work of Sarett Rudley is up at bare-bones e-zine, and this week Jack is looking at "My Brother, Richard," Rudley's teleplay from 1957. It's a routine story, but with a very nice cast: Royal Dano, Inger Stevens, and Harry Townes.

At Classic Film & TV Cafe, Rick gives us seven things to know about Barbara Eden, the wonderful actress who turns 91 (!) this year. She's more than Jeannie, of course, with a list of credits both before and after the show, but I don't think she needed any of that magic to remain a star for all of us.

I Dream of Jeannie wasn't the only '60s sitcom using magic as a premise, of course, but at Comfort TV, Rick takes a slightly darker look at Bewitched, and Darrin's vow to not take advantage of his wife Samantha's powers. His resolve wavered once, but in the end remained firm; what, he asks, can happen when we're the ones being tempted? Will we ever know for sure how resolute we'll be when temptation comes knocking at the door?

It's an "Escape to Tampico" for a flat-busted Bret Maverick at The Horn Section, as Hal recounts the noirish second-season episode, with the great character actor Gerald Mohr as the Bogartesque casino owner Steve Corbett.

Could you possibly resist an event called the First Nether Wallop International Arts Festival? Especially if you knew it featured Peter Cook, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, Rik Mayall, Billy Connolly, Rowan Atkinson, and others? It happened in 1984 (you can see highlights here), and John has the details at Cult TV Blog.

The top 10 hits of the Doors is a topic that has pretty much nothing to do with television (although they did their share of TV appearances); since I'm a fan of their music though (though I do cringe at some of the lyrics), I couldn't resist linking to this piece over at The Flaming Nose.

At RealWeegieMidget, Gill reviews the television remake of David Lean's classic Brief Encounter, which I believe aired here on the Hallmark Hall of Fame (back when, well, you know). The ill-fated lovers are played by Richard Burton and Sophia Loren; with them as your stars, do you need anyone else?

Nehemiah Persoff must have been one of the last major stars from television's Golden Age; his performances were often intense and frequently memorable, and one role that encompassed both was the Twilight Zone episode "Judgment Night." At Shadow & Substance, Paul looks at what powered Persoff's powerful performance.

Care for some reading? If, like me, you enjoyed the 1960s television version of The Green Hornet, then you'll be drawn to The Green Hornet: How Sweet the Sting, a new novel by Jim Beard. Martin Grams has the lowdown. 

I promised a lot of good stuff today; hopefully, the wait was worth it. TV  

1 comment:

Thanks for writing! Drive safely!