DANTE. NBC, Monday 9:30-10pm, October 13, 1960 through April 10, 1961; 26 episodes. Four Star Productions. Created by Blake Edwards. Produced by Michael Meshekoff. Associate Producer: Harold Jack Bloom. Cast: Howard Duff as Willie Dante, Alan Mowbray as Stewart Styles, Tom D’Andrea as Biff. Recurring Cast: James Nolan as Inspector Loper.

   The character Willie Dante began as a recurring character on the anthology TV series FOUR STAR PLAYHOUSE (CBS). Dick Powell played the gambler Dante who owned the restaurant Dante’s Inferno with a hidden backroom for illegal gambling. With the help of his friend, ex-safe cracker and bartender Monte (Herb Vigran), and (in some episodes) a former British millionaire with a gambling habit and now waiter Jackson (Alan Mowbray), Dante would help someone and be rewarded with the cops, usually lead by Lt. Waldo (Regis Toomey), closing down the gambling backroom at the end of the episode.

   I found Powell’s version disappointing, the writing stale, and the acting not strong enough for me to like any of the bad boy characters. Most if not all can be seen on youtube or available on cheap DVDs. Here is an episode with an unexpected cameo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbhKM6Kydhc

   Four years after Powell’s last Dante, Four Star and NBC decided to air a weekly series featuring Howard Duff as William Dante. Currently various episodes are available from the collector’s market and youtube. While this is the second episode to air, it appears to be the pilot:

(Part One)

(Part Two)

   Things were different. Willie Dante moved to San Francisco with hopes of a new start running a new Dante’s Inferno. This time there would be no backroom for gambling. Dante lived in the office that overlooked the inside of the popular nightclub. He had decided to go straight and was dragging two of his best friends with him.

   Dante’s sidekicks, former thief and now reluctant bartender Biff, and Dante’s Inferno’s Maitre d’ and ex-conman Stewart Styles helped run the club while Dante was out dealing with that week’s threat to the club or him, and they were there for backup whenever Willie needed help.

   Every week Willie would find himself caught in the middle of two or more opposing forces, usually the cops and bad guys. No one believed Willie was going straight, both the good guys and bad guys suspected him to be up to something.

   When a fortuneteller tells a woman her husband will be killed by Willie Dante, Dante finds himself caught in the middle of a mess he didn’t create. For the cops it is a simple case, if anything happens to the husband or Dante they will arrest the survivor.

   Women played an important role in Willie Dante’s life. It was the un-PC time of 1960 and women usually played one of two basic roles, the rich beautiful woman eager to be seduced by willing but business first Willie or ex-girlfriends turned femme fatale. There was an occasional variation such as a mobster’s girlfriend willing to do anything for Dante except reveal the name of her boyfriend who was after Willie. There was even one episode when a suspected bad girl turned into an undercover cop.

   In the episode below, the role of the girlfriend of the week lacked the patience and forgiveness of most, and the female author of a best selling book about a gangster the public believes is Willie Dante gives Willie more problems than any femme fatale ever could.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGq1SGa35QY

   The series mysteries surprisingly remain above average. One story featured an old friend from Dante’s past gunned down outside Dante’s Inferno by person and reason unknown, and the cops refuse to let anyone, even his fiancée, see the body. The episode may have been done over fifty years ago but it still entertains and surprises with its twists and solution.

   Created by Blake Edwards, it is no surprise DANTE had a similar look and style of PETER GUNN and MR LUCKY. The dialog was clever and the banter quick and witty. The stories plots were creative and hold up well. In one episode, bank robbers frame Dante by breaking into the Dante’s Inferno safe and switching the stolen money for Dante’s legally gained cash. Plot devices often had a surprise twist such as a blackmailer using homing pigeons.

   In the episode below, an enemy from the past wants Dante dead. Before he retires to the Orient he leaves Willie a $50,000 trust to begin the upcoming Monday. But should Willie not be alive on Monday the beneficiary of the trust would be a hitman desperate for money.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbA0BUffifc

   The main writer was Harold Jack Bloom (HEC RAMSEY). He and the other writers succeed where the writers (including Blake Edwards) of Powell’s version failed. The writing was fresh, clever, and the humor rose above the old vaudeville jokes about coffee that burdened the FOUR STAR PLAYHOUSE episodes.

   But it was Howard Duff who made Willie Dante the lovable rogue. Duff was perfect as Dante. Much as he did in radio’s ADVENTURES OF SAM SPADE, Duff was believable in all aspects of the character, his humor, the romance, and the hardboiled style.

   The guest cast featured such talent as Joanna Barnes, Dick Foran, Ruta Lee, Joan Marshall, Charles McGraw, Pat Medina, Edward Platt, Marion Ross, William Schallert, Joan Tabor, Nita Talbot, and (to the left) Lori Nelson.

   The series never had a chance as NBC placed it opposite of CBS’s ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW and ABC’s ADVENTURES IN PARADISE. The first episode got a 13.5 rating versus ANDY GRIFFITH 26.6 and ADVENTURES IN PARADISE 21.3. The NBC program before DANTE was BOB HOPE that for that first week had a 31.9 rating. Losing over half the audience of the show before it and finishing last in its time period made it obvious the odds were against DANTE from the beginning.

   DANTE with Howard Duff was a superior half hour mystery that remains entertaining today. It is a shame more people didn’t watch it when it first aired and there is not an official DVD available for viewers to discover it today.

HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION. Made for TV. Universal/NBC-TV; telecast 07 Jan 1967. Robert Wagner, Jill St. John, Peter Lawford, Lola Albright, Walter Pidgeon, Michael Ansara. Teleplay: Gene R. Kearney; director: William Hale.

   How I Spent My Summer Vacation is a splashy, colorful and cheerfully cheesy made-for-TV exercise in adolescent paranoia that landed right on the cusp of my teenage years. As such, it will always keep a place in my heart, if not on any 10 Best list.

   Robert Wagner, in his last “juvenile” part, stars as a college drop-out, just out of the Army and bumming around Europe, who runs into wealthy former school-mate Jill St. John and gets invited to spend the Summer cruising the Mediterranean on her Daddy’s yacht. It quickly develops that Jill’s parents (Peter Lawford and Lola Albright) disapprove of Robert, and the cause of this parental censure surfaces just as quickly: he’s gauche. Not a lovable klutz or an alienated loner, just awkward and sophomoric — the kiss of déclassé.

   Assuming that you weren’t a high school prom queen or captain of the football team, perhaps you can relate to the feeling. I know I could. Which is where Vacation takes its cue and proceeds to run the table with it. Faced with Lawford/Albright’s constant belittling — and flummoxed by the ease with which they do it — Wagner decides on a puerile revenge; he begins gathering evidence of what he thinks are Lawford’s criminal activities.

   What follows borders on a teenage dream, as our hero skulks nimbly about, snapping a photo here, jotting down a detail there, keeping one step ahead of his quarry and jotting it all down in a notebook labeled “How I Spent my Summer Vacation.” Even better, as the fantasy proceeds to its climax, writer Gene Kearney (whose talents seem confined to the small screen for his whole career) keeps spinning it further and further out, in true dream-fashion as we get shifting realities, dark plots, mysterious fortress hide-outs and the whole thing related in flashback to a super-villain (Walter Pidgeon) who seems unsettlingly fatherly — the perfect touch for a tale of adolescent angst —leading to a conclusion that… well to say any more would spoil it.

   Don’t take this Vacation expecting artistry, but if you have any feeling for that turbulent rebel mood of the 60s you may find this one a lot of fun.

Editorial Comment: This film has been reviewed once before on this blog, the earlier occasion by David L. Vineyard. (Follow the link.)

THE BROTHERS BRANNAGAN. Syndicated; 1960-1961. 39 episodes @ 30m each. A Brad-Jacey Production in association with CBS Films. Cast: Steve Dunne as Mike Brannagan and Mark Roberts as Bob Brannagan. Recurring Cast: Barney Phillips as Lt. Avery. Created by Wilbur Stark and Jerry Layton. Theme by Alexander Courage; filmed on location in Phoenix Arizona.

   Neither Steve Dunne nor Mark Roberts had the acting talent to impress Stanislavski, but they were likable as the leads, as were their characters. Bob and Mike Brannagan were brothers and best friends. Both, like real PIs as opposed to the fictional ones, worked within the law. In “Wheel of Fortune” they refused to break into a place for the client because it was against the law, and as they told the client, they were PIs not burglars.

   Bob was the practical one. He handled the money and was most likely to solve the case through deduction. He enjoyed his time with women, but he was not the womanizer his brother Mike was.

   There was a harmless quality to Mike’s pursuit of women, even when he pulled out his little black book filled with pick-up lines. Mike lent a more creative side to the solving of the mystery.

   Despite the low budget, lack of time and other limitations that came with TV-Film syndication, the writing and direction were the series strength. The thirty-minute story lacked time for much character or mystery depth, but the stories fast pace still had time for fist fights, shootouts, chases, light humor and nice (if today predictable) twists.

   Few of the writers, directors and actors may be remembered today but they knew how to produce television shows that were enjoyable to watch. Writers such as Harold Jack Bloom (HEC RAMSEY) kept the stories interesting and entertaining. Directors such as Eddie Davis (BOSTON BLACKIE) may have shot fast but still had time to frame shots with near perfect use of film composition to add visual depth to the action and story.

   The series made good use of the soundtrack. With much of the action happening inside the home base for the brothers, the dining room of the Mountain Shadows Resort (a real place), the background music often featured a piano playing jazz. Alexander Courage (STAR TREK) composed the opening theme music.

   The series chief gimmick was the episode’s opening where, as the theme played, we would watch the Brannagans walk away from the camera, their backs to us, until they hear a voice shouting “Hey Brannagan.” They would turn and Bob would ask “Which one?” The picture would cut to someone who usually needed help. The brothers would walk back directly at the camera.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceJpT0jxfdA

    EPISODE INDEX: There was no on screen credit featuring episode title. Titles and episode number used here come from IMDb.com. The same IMDb.com that has Bob Brannagan listed as Bill in many of its episodes credits.

“A Very Special Woman.” Episode 1. Written by Harold Jack Bloom Directed by Paul Landres. Produced by Wilbur Stark and Jerry Layton. GUEST CAST: Dorothy Green, Leo Gordon, and Keith Richards. *** The local fence learns the hard way never dump the femme fatale, not when there are other men around.

      OPENING- HEY BRANNAGAN! : A beautiful woman with a broken high heel shoe needs help.

“Wheel of Fortune.” Episode 24. Teleplay by John Dana. Story by Malcolm Stuart Boylan. Directed by Eddie Davis. Produced by Wilbur Stark and Jerry Layton. GUEST CAST: Lynn Cartwright, Ed Hashim and K.T. Stevens. *** A rich short-tempered Mexican with his wife arrives in Phoenix claiming a local art dealer has stolen a family treasure. The art dealer claims she does not have it and wants the money he cheated her out of in an art deal.

       OPENING- HEY BRANNAGAN! : A sign saying “Support Your Community Chest $1 a Chance with a kiss” and a beautiful woman asking them if they care to try their luck.

“Mistaken Identity.” Episode 28. Teleplay by Sam Ross, from a Story by William Link and Richard Levinson. Directed by Anton Leader. Produced by William Stark and Jerry Layton. GUEST CAST: Joann Manley, Lewis Charles and Bailey Harper. *** The boys are entertaining a pretty vacationing teacher when she is kidnapped.

       OPENING- HEY BRANNAGAN! : Two pretty girls waving at the brothers. Mike notes there’s one for each of them.

“Terror In the Afternoon.” Episode 30. Written by Al C. Ward. Directed by Jean Yarbrough. Produced by Wilbur Stark. GUEST CAST: James Flavin, Robert Harland, and Gloria Talbott. *** After two construction accidents costs the lives of a woman’s brother then fiance, she hires the brothers to check out the dam. The twist has her rich overprotective father building the dam and her wanting to see it destroyed.

       OPENING HEY BRANNAGAN! : A dog is trapped in a lake.

   From “Broadcasting” (8/29/60): “Producer Wilbur Stark has announced a new policy in giving film editors on his tv (sic) series credit as ‘creative film editor’ plus part ownership of the properties. First to receive this benefit is John Woodcock, editor of THE BROTHERS BRANNAGAN, which makes its debut this fall in syndication for CBS TV-Films. Mr. Stark said he hopes the move will lure the best film editors to his company. He said film editors are perhaps even more important than directors.”

   Blasphemy! While the director is not the major power in series TV as he or she is in theatrical films, Hollywood would never claim the film editor was more important (even if they can be) than a director. In the four episodes above, “Terror in Afternoon” was the only one where John M. Woodcock had the on screen credit of Creative Film Editor. Oddly enough it was the only one of four with Wilbur Stark getting sole producing credit. In the other three episodes John M. Woodcock received the on screen credit of Editorial Supervisor.

   There are a dozen episodes available in the collector’s market including two websites, Thomas Film Classics, Robert’s Hard To Find Videos, and the other usual suspects.

       SUGGESTED READING…

   James Reasoner:

http://jamesreasoner.blogspot.com/2011/07/tuesdays-overlooked-tv-brothers.html

   The Rap Sheet:

http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2012/10/oh-brothers-where-art-thou.html

   Thrilling Detective: (We will forgive the hard working nearly perfect Kevin Burton Smith for his misspelling the brothers’ name. I know my auto-correct agreed with him.)

https://www.thrillingdetective.com/brannigan.html

SEARCH. NBC, 1972-73. Leslie Stevens Production in association with Warner Brothers Television. Created and Executive Produced by Leslie Stevens. Cast: Doug McClure as C.R. Grover, Burgess Meredith as V.C. Cameron.

   This is the last of four posts examining the TV series SEARCH and its pilot TV Movie PROBE. For earlier posts:

         Probe [Pilot/TV Movie]:   https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=16030

         Search [The Hugh O’Brian episodes]:   https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=20990

         Search [The Tony Franciosa episodes]:   https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=21076

   Of the featured three Probe agents C.R. (Christopher Robin) Grover’s role was the least defined, but it didn’t start out that way. According to Leslie Stevens, originally Grover was to be the stand-by Probe, unassigned to any unit. He would have been a bit of a goof-off, someone motivated only by a pretty girl. He also would have been an incredible Probe agent, tough, brilliant, eager to solve the case and get back to goofing off.

   You can see some of that Grover in his first episode, “Short Circuit,” but that Grover was quickly gone.

   The key to Grover became his youth. He was impulsive, unconventional, had a sense of humor, fallible and insecure from a lack of experience. He was respectful to Cameron and women. Doug McClure was able to take these characteristic and make Grover the most likable character of the series.

   Sadly, the writers failed to take advantage of McClure’s portrayal in a positive way. Stories and locations should have been aimed to appeal to the younger audience. There were few opportunities for Grover to romance the girl of the week, more often the women were married or committed to another man, and even when there was a girl of the week the scripts did not spend enough time exploring the romantic possibilities.

   Without having a purpose such as belonging to a Probe unit, Grover’s cases were generic, dealing with cases that didn’t fit Lockwood or Bianco or worse, were leftovers. For example, the episode “Numbered For Death” where Grover attempts to convince Probe to take a case to help old friends, a married couple. It involved a mobster and blackmail. All of that was more fitting for Nick Bianco than young Grover.

       EPISODE INDEX —

Produced by Robert H. Justman. Probe Control Cast (recurring): Ron Castro as Carlos, Ginny Golden as Keach, Byron Chung as Kuroda, Albert Popwell as Griffin, Amy Farrell as Murdock, Tony DeCosta as Ramos, and Mary Cross as June Wilson.

“Short Circuit” (9/27/72) Written by Leslie Stevens Directed by Allen Reisner. Guest Cast: Marianne Mobley, Jeff Corey and Nate Esformes *** One of the scientists that created Probe’s technology has gone mad and threatens to destroy Probe Control with a new devices that causes feedback in electronic systems until they explode.

   Logic was not this episodes strong point, but it was entertaining enough. A rare case when Grover gets the girl at the end. Hugh Lockwood would have approved.

“In Search of Midas” (11/8/72) Written by John Christopher Strong and Michael R. Stein. Directed by Nicholas Colasanto. Guest Cast: Barbara Feldon, Logan Ramsey and George Gaynes *** Probe is hired to find out if a reclusive billionaire is still alive. Joining Grover on the case is a female gossip columnist, who is one of the few who knows what the billionaire looks like.

   What a mess of a script. Too many characters overwhelmed the Howard Hughes plot. Some scenes were padded while others needed more setting up to work. The romance was neglected and twists were wasted.

“A Honeymoon to Kill.” (1/10/73) Written by S.S. Schweitzer. Directed by Russ Mayberry. Guest Cast: Luciana Paluzzi, Antoinette Bower and George Coulouris *** Heiress is about to inherit a trust that would give her control over her “dying” father’s business that specializes in making military weapons. After her wedding, she is shot at and runs off alone. Her husband hires Probe to find her.

   Good action episode with non-stop chases, fights, and twists. McClure and Luciana Paluzzi made the story more watchable than it deserved.

“The Packagers” (4/11/73) Written by Robert C. Dennis. Directed by Michael Caffey. Guest Cast: Xenia Gratsos, Michael Pataki, and John Holland *** After being exiled to Paris with the Country President’s daughter, a failed revolutionary goes missing, Probe is hired to find him.

   Typical 70’s TV low budget portrayal of a revolution with the twists obvious, the believability nil and Grover at his most bumbling. Final episode of the series to air.

   As prior posts have stated, there was a change in showrunners. Two episodes left over from Stevens as showrunner (red Probe Control), one with Lockwood (Hugh O’Brian) “Suffer My Child” and the other with Grover (“The Packagers”) aired after the eight Spinner produced episodes (blue Probe Control) aired. Spinner produced three Grover episodes.

Produced by Anthony Spinner. Probe Control Cast: Pamela Jones as Miss James and Tom Hallick as Harris.

“Numbered For Death” (1/31/73) Teleplay by S.S. Schiweitzer. Story by Lou Shaw and S.S. Schiweitzer. Directed by Allen Reisner. Guest Cast: Peter Mark Richman, Bert Convy and Luther Adler *** Someone had gotten the numbers to secret Swiss banking accounts and using them for blackmail.

   Production values had collapsed with Probe Control looking like it was operating out of World Securities’ break room. The acting was bad, Bert Convy with an alleged English accent bad. The lack of mystery also hurt, but the overly simple way the blackmailer got the information ruined the episode.

“Goddess of Destruction.” (2/21/73) Written by Irv Pearlberg. Directed by Jerry Jameson. Guest Cast: Anjanette Comer, Alfred Ryder and John Vernon *** A murder of a dealer of ancient Indian art may signal the return of the ancient cult of assassins, the Thugs.

   The story was mildly entertaining but contains no surprises. Budget cuts show the outdoors of Bombay looking so much like Los Angeles you want to chip in to help the producers buy some stock footage. Probe Control was becoming less and less involved to the point where Burgess Meredith got out from behind his desk to visit the art gallery and client.

“Moment of Madness.” (3/14/73) Written by Richard Landau. Directed by George McCowan. Guest Cast: Patrick O’Neal and Brooke Bundy *** Cameron is kidnapped from Probe Control. Searching for Cameron, Grover realizes how little he knows about him.

   Cameron was working nights giving taped orders to various agents around the world. One must wonder if business had gotten so bad Probe laid off the night shift, after all its day somewhere in the world. Seriously, if you have an actor of Burgess Meredith’s talent you need to focus on his character in at least one episode.

   Having Cameron snatched from Probe Control, the top secret headquarters for World Securities was just one of three Spinner produced episodes that portrayed World Securities as a bungling inept organization (the others were Spinner produced Hugh O’Brian’s “Countdown To Panic” where World Securities bungled a scientific experience and exposed the world to a killer virus, and Tony Franciosa’s “The 24-Carat Hit” when Probe agents screwed up and a field agent’s wife was killed and daughter kidnapped.)

   A man who had served in the Korean War under the command of Government Intelligence Officer Captain V.C. Cameron blamed Cameron for his capture by the enemy. Now he sought revenge by forcing Cameron to endure the same torture he did as a POW.

   Grover’s search for Cameron lead him to V.C.’s only surviving family, a niece.

   What made this episode worth watching were the talents of Burgess Meredith and Doug McClure.

   In my last post I looked at the ratings and how the audience rejected the series, so how did the critics feel? Here are some excerpts from reviews of the first episode (“Broadcasting” 9/25/72).

    “It’s a gimmick show and a series can go only so far on a gimmick. Last night it went about two inches.” (Howard Rosenberg, Louisville (KY) Times)

    “Unquestionably, there is a lot to say for SEARCH, like contrived, ludicrous, gimmick, and dull.” (Don Page, Los Angeles Times)

    “The plots demand more reality, the characters should be less cartoony.”(Morton Moss, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner)

   Leslie Stevens’ SEARCH, with the teaming of man and his sidekick technology, tried to recreate the charm of such series as THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. and THE AVENGERS. If he had developed better characters popular enough to overcome the lack of plausibility in the plots and solutions he might have succeed.

   Anthony Spinner’s SEARCH stripped the charm from the series and turned it into just another MANNIX with corporate security inept and Probe Control reduced to a minor supporting role for the almighty individual agent. Yet Spinner’s SEARCH might have found an audience if NBC had moved it to a different time slot away from CANNON.

   As I remember, SEARCH was a great series, fun and entertaining, but memories are selective. My fondest memory was the character Gloria Harding (Angel Tompkins) who was in two of the twenty-three episodes, and I remembered nothing of Nick Bianco, C.R. Grover or any of the Spinner episodes.

   Returning to the past can be a slap of reality. I found SEARCH a watchable show, at times fun and entertaining and at times the opposite, just like much of television then and today.

   RECOMMENDED READING:

TV Obscurities: http://www.tvobscurities.com/articles/search

Rap Sheet: http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/4009/06/search-me.html

Warner Bros Press Releases: http://probecontrol.artshost.com/publicity.html

SEARCH. NBC, 1972-73; Leslie Stevens Productions in association with Warner Brothers. Creator and Executive Producer: Leslie Stevens. Cast: Tony Franciosa as Nick Bianco, Burgess Meredith as V.C.R. Cameron.

   This is the third in a series of four posts examining the TV series SEARCH and its pilot TV Movie PROBE. For earlier posts:

         Probe [Pilot/TV Movie]:   https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=16030

         Search [The Hugh O’Brian episodes]:   https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=20990

   World Securities Corporation divided Probe up into units such as the Omega Division that existed to deal with organized crime. Its top agent was Nick Bianco, a hardboiled ex-cop who was quick with his fists. An expert on organized crime Bianco had served on the famous “Crime Commission.” After being framed for a crime he didn’t commit, he left the Commission and cleared his name, after which he joined World Securities Probe’s Omega Division.

   Tony Franciosa made a TV career out of playing one character and Nick Bianco was no different. Franciosa’s Bianco even used a notebook as his character Jeff Dillon did in NAME OF THE GAME.

   Bianco’s relationship with Probe Control and Cameron had its differences from Lockwood (Hugh O’Brian) and Grover (Doug McClure). Bianco was the most likely to abandon Probe Control while on the case and continue on his own.

   Women play a different role in the Bianco episodes. Bianco was always more interested in solving the crime than romance. He was fast with the ladies, but they had to wait until after the case was solved.

       EPISODE INDEX —

Produced by Robert H. Justman. Probe Control Cast (recurring) Ron Castro as Carlos, Ginny Golden as Keach, Byron Chung as Kuroda, Albert Popwell as Griffin, Amy Farrell as Murdock, Tony DeCosta as Ramos, and Cheryl Stoppelmoor (Cheryl Ladd) as Amy Love.

“One of Our Probes is Missing” (9/20/72) Written by Leslie Stevens Directed Paul Leacock Guest Cast: Stephanie Powers, Allen Garfield, and Milton Selzer *** A Probe agent disappears while investigating a counterfeiting case with $100 bills so perfect the US Mint can only tell them apart by their duplicate serial numbers.

   The episode was a good one if you can accept the TV simplistic plot.

“Live Men Tell Tales” (10/11/72) Written by Irving Pearlberg Directed by Marc Daniels Guest Cast: Louise Sorel, Leslie Charleson and Torrin Thataher *** An old friend of Bianco from the Crime Commission, now Probe agent is murdered by a mysterious villain out to take over the entire World of organized crime.

   This one is probably my favorite episode of the series. A wannabe Bond villain runs a worldwide organization complete with gadgets, agents, and an evil lair with a mad scientist. Add a witty charming femme fatale who has her hands full with the agent’s widow, a twist that is expected but sets the fun going, and the result is a clever escapist episode with the ladies, Louise Sorel as the femme fatale and Leslie Charleson as the middle class widow, stealing the show.

“Operation Iceman” (10/25/72) Written by S.S. Schweitzer Directed by Robert Friend Guest Cast: Edward Mulhare, James Gregory and Mary Frann *** Nick leads a team of Probe agents, that includes his mentor, who are assigned to stop organized crime’s top assassin, the Iceman from killing an American Ambassador.

   Slow moving, weak dialog, and insipid characters did not help this predictable mystery. Nick is not thrilled having to work with others but behaves as long as he is boss. Of course, Nick goes rogue and saves the Ambassador all by himself.

“Let Us Prey” (1/3/73) Written by Don Balluck Directed by Russ Mayberry Guest Cast: Diana Hyland and Albert Paulsen *** A multi-billionaire’s fiancee is missing. He demands Nick Bianco, her old boyfriend, be assigned the case.

   Richard Connell short story “The Most Dangerous Game” gets ripped off again for this poor excuse to ditch Probe Control. Bianco is trapped on an island with an insane rich man, a hired killer and Diana Hyland giving an embarrassing shrill performance.

   In week 14 there is a visually noticeable production change. Fifteen episodes had been filmed and produced by Robert H. Justman for showrunner Leslie Stevens (two would air at the end of the season). While the final eight episodes filmed were produced by replacement showrunner and current executive story consultant Anthony Spinner (MAN FROM UNCLE, DAN AUGUST).

Produced by Anthony Spinner. Probe Control Cast: Pamela James as Miss James and Tom Hallick as Harris (the character did not appear in “The Matteson Papers”).

“The 24 Carat Hit” (1/24/73) Written by Jack Turley Directed by Barry Shear Guest Cast: Dane Clark, William Smith and Nehemiah Persoff *** Probe agent Ed Bain search for missing gold leads him to an exiled mobster illegally back in the States. After the mobster’s thug kills Ed’s wife and kidnaps his daughter, a wounded Bain goes after them, refusing the help of old friend Nick Bianco and Probe Control.

   If you can stomach the over the top macho stupidity, and ignore the irony of Bianco telling Bain he can’t do it alone, the story is good in a Quinn Martin kind of way. Nice action, well directed. The action takes place mainly at night giving it that TV wannabe noir look.

“The Clayton Lewis Document” (2/14/73) Written by Norman Hudis Directed by William Wiard Guest Cast: Craig Stevens, Julie Adams and Rhonda Fleming *** Clayton Lewis is heading up an important World Disarmament conference and is being blackmailed to reveal America’s position. Lewis’s wife comes to Nick Bianco, an old friend from the Crime Commission days, for help.

   Probe Control played a small but helpful role. Typical Bianco refuses to listen when Cameron and the clients demand he stop. No surprises but the story’s pace keeps the action moving.

“The Mattson Papers” (2/28/73) Teleplay by S.S. Schwartzer and Don Balluck Story by Don Balluck Directed by Willaim Wiard Guest Cast: Cameron Mitchell, Tim O’Connor and Nancy Wilson *** US Senator hires Probe to find a missing witness who has information about organized crime in a Texas small town.

   Again your average TV plot with most of what made SEARCH different removed. Little humor, no style, just the same old TV cop show.

“Ends of the Earth” (3/21/73) Written by Robert C. Dennis Directed by Ralph Senensky Guest Cast: Sebastian Cabot, Jay Robinson and Diana Muldaur ***Bianco goes undercover as a killer in need of the services of Ends of the Earth travel agency. The travel agency offers a service similar to Witness Protection only for criminals.

   The plot is so delightfully twisted it brings back memories of 60s shows such as MAN FROM UNCLE and THE AVENGERS and doesn’t let us down.

   The ratings stayed much the same no matter whom the star of the week was. CBS’s CANNON won the time slot from the start, but both ABC’s JULIE ANDREWS SHOW and NBC’s SEARCH were sampled in the beginning by many.

   Week One had Hugh O’Brian in “The Murrow Disappearance” finishing 39th out of 65. CANNON finished 21st and JULIE ANDREWS finished 34th.

   Week Two had Tony Franciosa in “One of Our Probe’s Is Missing” finishing 31st out of 65. CANNON finished 11th and JULIE ANDREWS dropped to 61st.

   Week Three had Doug McClure in “Short Circuit” finishing 36th out of 65. CANNON finished 19th and JULIE ANDREWS finished 45th.

   The audience had seen enough. Week Four of the season had Hugh O’Brian in the episode “Moonrock” finishing 53rd out of 64. CANNON finished in 10th and JULIE ANDREWS in 57th.

   From then on the pattern was set. CANNON remained in the Top 20 while SEARCH stayed in the bottom 20.

   January 17, 1973 ABC replaced JULIE ANDREWS SHOW with OWEN MARSHALL, COUNSELOR AT LAW. A week later, the first Spinner episode appeared. It did not improve the ratings.

   Not surprisingly, Spinner reduced the science fiction aspects of SEARCH for more typical TV detective. While unlikely, the change might have worked, but not in the time slot opposite of the all ready popular CANNON. A few years later Anthony Spinner would be producing CANNON.

   One can understand the thought about Quinn Martin-izing the series. It was 1972 and QM Production was one of the most successful independent TV production companies doing TV detectives. The gadgets, computers, and science fiction were still unwelcomed by mainstream television viewers. But the other changes made less sense.

   It is odd that the studio or network made the last ditch effort to save the series. Why spend the money to redesign the set for the group you hope to reduce to a limited role? My guess is the change of Probe Control red décor to a blue one was blue offered a better match for the hard-boiled TV detective look they wanted.

   With production budget almost certainly dropping with the bad ratings, I can understand the reduction in Probe Control staff. There was no need for half a dozen techs working the computers when two would do, but why hire two new actors instead of using the original group? And why change actors playing Dr. Barnett from Ford Rainey to Keith Andes?

   The change from Leslie Stevens’ science fiction detective/spy to Anthony Spinner’s more typical TV detective was abrupt but affected ex-cop Nick Bianco in a positive way. However, the same can’t be said for the third Probe agent, young C.R. Grover played by Doug McClure, but more on that next time.

NEXT: SEARCH – The DOUG McCLURE Episodes.

Ratings from “Broadcasting” magazine: http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Broadcasting_Individual_Issues_Guide.htm

   Recommended reading:

TV Obscurities: http://www.tvobscurities.com/articles/search

Rap Sheet: http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/4009/06/search-me.html

Warner Bros. Press Releases: http://probecontrol.artshost.com/publicity.html

SEARCH. NBC, 1972-73; Leslie Stevens Productions in association with Warner Brothers. Creator and Executive Producer: Leslie Stevens. Cast: Hugh O’Brian as Hugh Lockwood, Burgess Meredith as V.C.R. Cameron.

   Little changed from the pilot TV Movie PROBE, which I reviewed here earlier on this blog. Inspired by the success of NAME OF THE GAME (a series Leslie Stevens produced and Tony Franciosa co-starred), SEARCH featured three agents. This post is about Hugh Lockwood. Future posts will examine the worlds of Nick Bianco (Tony Franciosa) and C.R. Grover (Doug McClure). Head of Probe Control V.C.R. Cameron (Burgess Meredith) was the only character to appear in all 23 episodes.

   Hugh O’Brian played Hugh Lockwood, Probe One, the top agent of World Securities Corporation. Lockwood was a TV James Bond, cool, witty, irresistible to all women, a former astronaut with a planetary size ego. Assisting Lockwood was Probe Control, a group of computer techs of various specialties monitoring the actions and needs of the field agent. This made Probe Control the ultimate legman.

   Probe Control was and remains my favorite part of SEARCH. The technology and the humans that ran it made this series different from any other TV detective show at the time. Leslie Stevens (OUTER LIMITS, GEMINI MAN, BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY) had created a good premise, the hero with technology as a sidekick.

   V.C.R. Cameron was in charge of Probe Control and answered to the World Securities Corporation Board of Directors lead by Dr. Barnett (played by Ford Rainey or Keith Andes). We learn more about V.C.R (or V.C.) in an episode with Doug McClure so I will take a deeper look at the character during the post about the Grover episodes.

   However, the Lockwood episodes offered Cameron’s sole contribution to comedy relief. Once Lockwood solved a case with the girl of the week he usually followed James Bond’s example and ran off to enjoy some quality time with her, while Cameron would frustratingly attempt to stop him.

   70s TV was run by the star. Hugh O’Brian and others objected to the important role Probe Control played in the pilot TV Movie. So the role of advance technology was reduced and the potential of the characters that made up Probe Control was basically wasted, but imagine this series done today in the era of large casts such as CSI and NCIS.

   The computer and the PI had been introduced before with CBS’ MANNIX and the audience rejected the machine. It was 1972. Roger Moore had not yet become James Bond, and there was still a fear that machines would replace man. So not surprisingly Lockwood began to drift away from gadget happy James Bond and closer to Mannix and the other TV detectives of the era.

   Lockwood got knocked out almost as often as he got the girl. Usually, Probe Control would helplessly watch as Lockwood was unconscious and in serious danger. Yet, some such as Hugh O’Brian thought Probe Control made the hero too powerful. The discussion about SEARCH begins around the 7:23 mark.

   Sadly, instead of increasing the power of the villains and giving the episodes the Bond villain it needed, it reduced the very part of the series that made it different, Probe Control.

         EPISODE INDEX:

Produced by Robert H. Justman. Probe Control Cast: (recurring) Ron Castro as Carlos, Ginny Golden as Keach, Byron Chung as Kuroda, Albert Popwell as Griffin, Amy Farrell as Murdock, Tony DeCosta as Ramos, and Cheryl Stoppelmoor (Cheryl Ladd) as Amy Love.

   One note about the series titles, they appeared on screen as:

         Search:

         Episode Title

“The Murrow Disappearance” (9/13/72) Written by Leslie Stevens Directed by Russ Mayberry Guest Cast: Capucine, Maurice Evans and David White Recurring Cast: Ford Rainey as Dr. Barnett, Angel Tompkins as Gloria Harding. *** Probe is hired to find a missing government agent who has access to top secrets. Lockwood begins his search at a private club outside Washington DC where the missing man was a member.

   I enjoyed the interaction between Lockwood and Probe Control. This episode was heavy with gadgets and batter between Lockwood and sidekick Probe Control.

   What I remember most from the series was the relationship between Gloria Harding and macho Lockwood. Yet despite how memorable the character of Gloria Harding was, this and “The Gold Machine” were the only series episodes Angel Tompkins appeared.

“Moonrock” (10/4/72) Written by Leslie Stevens Directed by William Wiard Guest Cast: Jo Ann Pflug, Ann Prentis, and George Pan Recurring Cast: Ford Rainey as Dr. Barnett *** While under Probe’s protection, a moon rock is stolen. Not just any moon rock but one of pure carbon (raw diamond).

   This episode with its over the top macguffin needed an equally over the top villain. Instead too much time was devoted to the chase and not enough time establishing the villain. The episode was worth watching just for the delightful stylish scenes where Lockwood charters a 747 with full crew so he and the gratuitous girl of the week can continue to chase the killer who now has the rock.

“The Bullet” (11/1/72) Written by Judy Burns Directed by William Wiard Guest Cast: Ina Balin, Malachi Throne and Alan Bergman *** Lockwood is sent in to help a scientist, who had invented a poison bullet, defect to our side.

   The story makes for an above average spy drama until it all falls apart in the last act. Once Lockwood is shot with a poison bullet the action turns stupid, highlighted by a near death Lockwood making it through four miles of an Eastern Europe city with the state police chasing him, so he can get to the unguarded section of “The Wall.” MISSION IMPOSSIBLE fans laughed at the naive simplicity.

“The Adonis Files” (11/15/72) Written by Jack Turley Directed by Joseph Pevney Guest Cast: Bill Bixby, Deanna Lund Matheson, and Victoria George *** Private secretary to a famous celebrity is kidnapped for $5 million. A secretive private foundation that hopes to make the celebrity an US Senator hires Probe to act as go-between.

   Average 70s action episode but with a better than average twist at the end.

“Flight To Nowhere” (11/22/72) Written by Brad Radnitz Directed by Paul Stanley Guest Cast: Linda Cristal, Anna Cameron, and Don Dubbins *** When a search for a missing cargo plane flown by an old friend of Lockwood fails to find the pilot, Lockwood demands Probe continue the search.

   I called this the MANNIX episode. When Cameron refuses to take the case, Lockwood loses it and screams at Cameron that he is becoming like the machines. Our hero races off on his own to find his friend. For no reason, someone tries to kill him. Probe joins in but used sparely. As a viewer who likes the characters at Probe Control more than Lockwood, I found little to like about this episode other than Anna Cameron, who played the girl of the week.

“The Gold Machine” (12/20/73) Written by Leslie Stevens Directed by Russ Mayberry Guest Cast: Marian McCargo, Kurt Kasznar, and Mark Lenard Recurring Cast: Angel Tompkins as Gloria Harding *** Lockwood needs to find a lost gold mine. Gloria has managed to be in the right place at the right time to be Lockwood’s girl of the week.

   The search for the gold mine is entertaining and more important than it sounds, but it was the relationship between Lockwood and Gloria that made this episode fun to watch. While Gloria is less than thrilled with the dangers of being around a field agent, she does enjoy the typical Lockwood’s romantic escape with the girl of the week after the case is solved.

“Suffer My Child” (3/8/73) Written by Norman Hudis. Directed by Russ Mayberry Guest Cast: Mel Ferrer, Dianne Hull, and Dabney Coleman *** A young daughter of one of Wall Street’s most powerful men is kidnapped.

   This episode is a good action mystery with plenty of suspects to supply a twist or three. Probe Control and the computers are more heavily involved than usual. Lockwood’s dislike for computers is expressed more here, even after the computer saved his life, that ungrateful human.

   After fifteen episodes were filmed, Leslie Stevens and Robert H. Justman (STAR TREK, ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN) were replaced. Executive story consultant Anthony Spinner (DAN AUGUST, CANNON) took over as showrunner and producer. The change was visually noticeable. Since O’Brian did only one episode in the Spinner’s period, I’ll wait to examine these changes in my next post that will look at the Tony Franciosa episodes.

   Produced by Anthony Spinner. Probe Control Cast: Tom Hallick as Harris and Pamela Jones as Miss James.

“Countdown To Panic” (2/7/73) Written by Judy Burns Directed by Jerry Jameson Guest Cast: Ed Nelson, Anne Francis, and Howard Duff. Recurring Cast: Keith Andes as Dr. Barnett *** A scientific experiment conducted by World Securities for the US Navy goes wrong. One of the victims with a fatal contagious virus escapes. Lockwood is assigned to find the man, an old friend from his days in the astronaut program.

   The episode itself was entertaining for 70s action drama with an overused plot, but humorless and more like an episode from the Quinn Martin factory than the escapism fun of the Stevens’ episodes.

NEXT: SEARCH – The TONY FRANCIOSA Episodes.

Recommended reading: TV Obscurities: http://www.tvobscurities.com/articles/search

The Rap Sheet: http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2009/06/search-me.html

Warner Bros. Press Releases: http://probecontrol.artshost.com/publicity.html

VAL McDERMID – A Place of Execution. Collins, UK, hardcover, 1999; paperback, 2000. St. Martin’s, US, hardcover, 2000; paperback, 2001.

A PLACE OF EXECUTION. ITV, UK; 3 x 60m episodes: 22 Sept, 29 Sept, 6 Oct 2008. PBS, US, November 1 & 8, 2009. Lee Ingleby, Emma Cunniffe, Philip Jackson, Juliet Stevenson, Elizabeth Day, Tony Maudsley, Greg Wise, Poppy Goodburn, Mikey North, Danny Tennant. Based on the novel by Val McDermid. Director: Daniel Percival.

   In 1963, when the Manchester police are investigating the first disappearances caused by the real-life Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, a 13-year-old girl goes missing from her small isolated Derbyshire village.

   On hand when the call comes in is Detective Inspector George Martin, a man fast-tracked for promotion under the new graduate recruitment scheme. He becomes rather obsessed with the search for the missing girl, coordinating unsuccessful searches and then reacting with diligence when evidence starts to filter in slowly over the next few weeks.

   When an arrest is made, we follow the accumulation of evidence and then the formality of the trial and verdict. This takes us through almost 400 of the 550 pages in the paperback that I read.

   We then forward to the present day (or, at least, to 1998, when the book was written) and the story of Catherine Heathcote, a journalist who has taken time off to write a book about the about the case, co-operating with the now retired George Martin. With the book nearly finished, she receives a letter from him saying that he was withdrawing from the project ad insisting that she abandon it.

   Catherine now has to investigate the reasons why and this takes up the final part of the book.

   This is a very slow paced but enjoyable and rewarding book (after 200 pages very little has happened but I was enthralled and still reading enthusiastically).

   However I have to say that it was very well written and I thoroughly enjoyed the reading of it. (It was short-listed for the Gold Dagger in 1999 and the Edgar in 2001, and won the Anthony and Macavity Awards for that year.)

   I delayed watching the television adaptation of the novel (three one-hour parts, less adverts) because I wanted to read the book first. (It’s an awful dilemma because, as you all know, you gain the knowledge from one which can dilute the pleasure of the other, no matter which you experience – unless of course you leave a small gap, a few weeks seems to sufficient nowadays for me, in which case all knowledge of the original will be forgotten.)

   This is a superior production and one I would recommend. Some changes are made to the original. The journalist is now preparing a television piece (which gives her people to speak to: a televisual necessity since thoughts are difficult to get across) and is given a difficult teenage daughter with which to contend. Also many of the characters of the book are jettisoned and the action is streamlined (again necessary or the production would last much longer than the allotted 2½ hours or so).

   The switch between the 1963 scenes and the present day is well handled and well cast with corresponding actors chosen to portray the same actors in the differing eras.

   The coincidence I complained of in the book is eliminated but, unfortunately, another much more unacceptable coincidence is added to close the production. This is not enough to ruin what is an enjoyable adaptation, but it would have been better if it not been added.

THE ADVENTURES OF HIRAM HOLLIDAY. California National Presentations, filmed for NBC, 1956-57. Based on the stories by Paul Gallico. Cast: Wally Cox as Hiram Holliday and Ainslie Pryor as Joel Smith. Produced by Philip Rapp.

    The Adventures of Hiram Holliday is an amusing action spoof. The plots leaned to the absurd such as when Hiram stopped some foreign spies from turning Pearl Harbor to ice (“Hawaiian Humzah”). The humor was gentle and often based on misunderstanding or the odd image of Wally Cox as an action hero to rival Errol Flynn.

   The screen credit and announcer tells us the series was “based on stories by Paul Gallico.” Which is odd since The Adventures of Hiram Holliday was published as a book in 1939. More confusing is Billboard (May 12, 1956), reported the TV series was based on stories from the Saturday Evening Post. Paul Gallico was writing stories for that magazine during the fifties, so perhaps Hiram appeared as a serial in the Saturday Evening Post.

   Hiram Holliday was the copy editor for the newspaper New York Chronicle. Hiram catches an error that could have bankrupted the paper in libel charges. The grateful publisher Harrison Prentice sends Hiram on a trip around the world accompanied by reporter Joel Smith. On the way Hiram and Joel share one strange adventure after another with Hiram always the hero in the end and Joel failing for one reason or another to get the story published.

   Wally Cox carried the show with his ability to make the absurd character of Hiram believable. It is Cox that makes the series funny and worth watching. He underplays the character, reacting to danger with a confident calmness. In one episode Hiram enters his room to find the femme fatale waiting for him. The room had been trashed and thoroughly searched. She tells Hiram she had been waiting for him. Hiram looked around and calmly replied he was glad she found something to do while waiting.

   The rest of the cast were limited by one-note characters of dubious logic and were played by actors of various talents, from Sebastian Cabot to Thor Johnson (aka Tor Johnson). Publisher Prentice (Thurston Hall) existed to scream at Joel. The mastermind would make mistake after mistake while blaming it all on his henchman or femme fatale. The femme fatales existed to seduce Hiram.

   Each episode would begin with Hiram and Joel entering a new country. Hiram’s interest was always in scientific and academic challenges. In Hawaii, he wanted to visit a Professor to study a lost consonant of the language. In Hong Kong, Hiram’s quest was for the rare sea cucumber.

   Quickly, Hiram would stumble into an adventure while Joel was usually off somewhere eating. For reasons unexplained the misused laugh track thought Joel eating was hilarious, making it a bad running gag.

   Villains arrive, usually made up of a mastermind, femme fatale, and a henchman. Through comedic misunderstanding the bad guys believe they have to get rid of Hiram. Hiram innocence and complete honesty is disbelieved and he has to turn into an action hero, from fighting atop a speeding train to performing some feat such as a carnival high dive act that he had never done before but had read about.

   Ainslie Pryor failed to rise over the thankless role of Hiram’s traveling companion and best friend, Joel Smith who at times broke the fourth wall to talk to us. It was a difficult role. His character spent much of the time clueless and existed for Hiram to rescue or to take the brunt of the blame from the authorities for many of the misunderstanding that revolved around Hiram. In “Wrong Rembrandt.” Hiram had painted such a perfect copy of a Rembrandt the French police arrested Joel for art theft.

   Production values were fine considering the era. Philip Rapp produced the series and wrote and directed many of the episodes. The show was funny but after a few episodes the situations became repetitive and the humor grew tired. How often can you laugh at Hiram winning swordfights with his umbrella?

   The series followed Wally Cox’s successful turn as Mr.Peepers. But that success didn’t carry over to Hiram Holliday. General Foods was the sponsor of The Adventures of Hiram Holliday and quickly regretted it.

    Hiram Holliday premiered October 3, 1956 on Wednesday at 8-8:30pm (Eastern). In Billboard (October 13,1956), according to rating service Trendex, NBC’s Hiram received a 11.4 compared to ABC’s Disneyland with 19.2 and CBS’s >Arthur Godfrey Show with 14.2.

   Billboard (January 1, 1956) discussed some of the TV series in trouble. Shows the sponsors were unhappy with but had given a 26 episodes or 52 episodes commitment. This included General Food and Adventures of Hiram Holliday.

   January 28, 1957 issue of Broadcasting reported, “General Foods, N.Y. will drop its sponsorship of Hiram Holiday (sic) on NBC-TV, Wed. 8-8:30pm, and will become instead the alternate week sponsor of Wells Fargo (Monday, 8:30-9pm) effective March 18th.”

   On February 27, 1957, the twentieth episode of the series to air was the last on NBC. Reportedly, three more episodes were showed in England during syndication, leaving 23 episodes apparently filmed.

   Various episodes of the Adventures of Hiram Holliday are available on low budget DVD.

   And on You Tube, at the moment, is the episode, “Moroccan Hawk Moth.”

BULLET IN THE FACE. Independent Film Channel, August 16-17, 2012. IFC Original / Just For Laughs Television and Muse Entertainment Enterprise in Association with Alan Spencer & Company. Cast: Max Williams as Gunter Vogler, Kate Kelton as Martine/Lilly, Eddie Izzard as Tannhauser, Eric Roberts as Racken, Neil Napier as Hagerman, and Jessica Steen as Commissioner Eva Braden. Developed, Executive Produced and Written by Alan Spenser. Directed and Co-Executive Produced by Erik Canuel. Music by James Gelfand. Theme “Dispatch” written, produced and performed by Amanda Bauman and Patrick Doyle (Courtesy of AmA music). [Series is available online for purchase.]

   Bullet in the Face is a comedy developed and written by Alan Spencer. Spencer is best known for his over the top comedy Sledge Hammer, a series that broadly mocked the TV cop shows. Here Spencer takes on neo-noir. The result is an at times funny but always strange series featuring excessive violence with graphic language and enough gore and blood to satisfy Sam Peckinpah and Quentin Tarantino.

   It helps (as with any satirical comedy) to be aware of the genre. The series’ targets include such neo-noir movies as Frank Miller’s Sin City and crime graphic novels by such writers as Ed Brubaker. Fans of film directors John Woo and Luc Besson as well as mystery writers such as Duane Swierczynski will enjoy this series.

   Set in the corrupt city of Bruteville, Tannhauser, an agoraphobic evil mastermind with a fondness for snow globes, is trying to take over the city now under the control of old school mobster Racken.

   The story begins with psychopath Gunter learning his lover and equal psychopath Martine is pregnant. This complicates his life as their boss Tannhauser has ordered him to kill her after they rob a jewelry store. During the robbery, the city’s hero cop arrives. Gunter kills the cop but is betrayed and shot in the face by Martine on Tannhauser’s orders.

   Gunter wakes up in a police hospital with a new face, the face of the good guy cop he had killed. Seems the female police Commissioner loved the cop (the cop didn’t return her affections, he spent all his time with men). So hoping for another chance, she had his face transplanted onto Gunter and gives Gunter the opportunity to go after those who had betrayed him.

   The acting matches the exaggerated humor of the script and the cartoonishness of the characters. Max Williams plays Gunter with the appropriate hamminess and silly German accent.

   Kate Kelton as Martine/Lilly is the love of the life of three men, Gunter, Tannhauser and Racken. Each man thinks he is the father of her unborn child. Kelton matches Williams’ Gunter in insanity and accent.

   Here is a clip with Kate Kelton and Eddie Izzard. Warning, it contains adult language: http://www.ifc.com/bullet-in-the-face/videos/bullet-in-the-face-killer-species

      [Editorial Comment: I’ve been unable to view the video at this link. I’ve included it in Michael’s review in the hope that others may succeed where I seem to fail.]

   It is Izzard and Roberts as the two mobsters that steal the show. Eddie Izzard is a bizarre delight as Tannhauser. When asked if he thought he was God, he answered, “No, God thinks He is me.”

   Eric Roberts is equally wonderful as the old school mobster Racken, who keeps a scrapbook of photos of cops he had killed. Racken does not approve of Tannhauser’s style, “He’s not a normal criminal, probably never had a hoagie in his life.”

   Jessica Steen convincingly plays the sexually frustrated, boss from Hell, Police Commissioner Eva Braden who has her own unique ways of trying to keep Bruteville safe from a possible mob war.

   Neil Napier is Gunter’s police partner Hagerman, an easy to cry, absurdly righteous cop who had been partner to the man Gunter killed, the man whose face is now Gunter’s. Hagerman is hated for his decency and Napier plays him with a delightful goofiness that adds a layer of humor to the character.

         EPISODE GUIDE

“Meet Gunter Vogler” (8/16/12) Guest Cast: Christopher Heyergahl and Maya Fuhr *** Sociopath Gunter is having a bad day. When his plan to rob a jewelry store and kill people goes wrong, his lover and mother of his unborn child shoots him in the face. To make matters worse Gunter wakes up with the face of a heroic cop he had killed.

   A very funny episode that wastes no time as it sets up the premise and characters.

   Sample of humor: When shown video of Matrine shooting him in the face, Gunter refuses to believe it. “Why would that woman shoot me? We had dinner reservations later.”

“Angel of Death” (8/16/12) Guest Cast: James Kidnie and Alix Sideris *** Priests are being murdered by the Angel of Death.

   Another fun episode as Gunter begins to enjoy his role as a cop as he seeks revenge against Tannhauser who is in hiding. This episode can offend many with its excessively irreverent treatment of the rituals of Christianity.

   Sample dialog: When the doctor (Alex Bisping) wishes to do oral surgery to help the face transplant take, Gunter reacts violently, “I killed the last dentist I went to and stole his car. His office still sends me a bill.”

“Drug of Choice” (8/16/12) Guest Cast: Robert Naylor and Marcel Jeannin *** Gunter attempts to mentor a young boy who had just murdered two people and a parakeet.

   Weakest episode of the series. While it advances the story arc, the humor usually falls flat.

   Sample dialog: While chasing the man who gave the kid the gun used in the killing, Hagerman calls out, “Fassbinder, we would like a few words with you, as well as some complete sentences.”

“Kiss Me Thrice” (8/17/12) Guest Cast: Heidi Foss and Jason Cavalier *** Racken recruits Gunter to kill Tannhauser.

   This episode has some great scenes such as during a catfight between Martine and a huge woman, Martine wins by reminding her opponent she’s pregnant every time the other woman comes close to hitting her.

   Sample dialog: Martine discovers Gunter is alive with another man’s face. She has a gun pointed at him, demanding he explain what is going on, Gunter ignores her and leaves. She screams after him “This is a real gun, not an abstract piece of art. It shoots bullets.”

“The World Stage” (8/17/12) Guest Cast: Debbie Wong and Kaoru Matsui *** A third group entrance finally sets off the drug war.

   The identity of the third group and its plan is comedic genius. Also watch for writer Alan Spencer’s cameo. Hitchcock would have been proud.

   Sample dialog: Racken defends himself to a PC Mobster (Larry Wilmore) who wonders if Racken is progressive enough, “I was the first guy to recruit kids from low-test score schools. It was like, it was like, no juvenile delinquents left behind.”

“Cradle To Grave” (8/17/12) Guest Cast: Miranda Handford and Andrew Campbell *** The gang war concludes and Martine gives birth.

   Nice final episode that resolves the story while lampooning the ending of another popular crime TV series.

   Sample dialog: The cops have fled the police station to escape a bomb. Gunter finds the bomb and tosses it out the window, killing all the cops outside. The Commissioner notes no one had to die. “True,” replies Gunter, “If they’d stayed inside, but instead they fled like yellow kittens from a Korean butcher.”

   While many will find the series offensive, it is a funny parody of neo-noir (a genre many find offensive). As in true neo-noir the language, sex, violence, and situations are extremely graphic, but I enjoyed watching the story Gunter described as a rollercoaster ride designed by Kafka.

   At the time of this posting IFC still had information and clips for the series available at the network’s website.

CASABLANCA. NBC, 1983. David L. Wolper Production in association with Warner Brothers Television. Cast: David Soul as Rick Blaine, Hector Elizondo as Captain Louis Renault, Reuven Bar-Yotam as Ferrari, Ray Liotta as Sacha, Scatman Crothers as Sam, Arthur Malet as Carl, Patrick Horgan as Major Strasser, and Kai Wolff as Lt Heinz. Executive Producer: David L. Wolper, Supervising Producer: Howard Gast. Producer: Charles B. Fitzsimons.     ***     There was no on screen credit for who created or developed the series nor was there any on screen credit for the film or the play it was loosely based on.

   This was Warner Brothers second attempt to make a TV series based on the movie CASABLANCA (1942). The first attempt was in 1955 with the first TV program produced by Warner Brothers. WARNER PRESENTS was an early example of a wheel series with CASABLANCA rotating with CHEYENNE and KINGS ROW. For more information, read the informative article by Christopher Anderson at The Museum of Broadcast Communications site.

   CASABLANCA (1983) was a limited series of five episodes and served as a pilot for a possible weekly series. But bad ratings resulted in NBC removing the series from its schedule after the third episode. The final two episodes were shown months later.

   OK, I am going to assume everyone has seen the film CASABLANCA that starred Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, and Dooley Wilson. If not, do so. As far as I am concerned, CASABLANCA is the best movie ever made.

   The setting remains the same, Casablanca French Morocco. The time is 1941, before Ilsa would return to Rick’s life. Rick Blaine, owner of Rick’s Café Americain, Casablanca’s most popular nightclub, has no interest in the War or politics. All he wants to do is run his saloon and mind his own business, something the rest of the world has no intention of letting him do.

   The casting was a problem with this series. David Soul as Rick Blaine? I always enjoy watching Hector Elizondo and here he is a good Claude Rains. But that was the problem the cast faced, none of the actors could match our memories of their characters as played by the original cast of the film.

   The most appealing aspect of the series was the look, thanks to Oscar award winner director of photography Joseph Biroc (TOWERING INFERNO, IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, HAMMETT) and Oscar winning production designer E. Preston Ames (GIGI, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, LADY IN THE LAKE). The exterior scenes were weak in comparison and obvious studio lots. The costumes, transportation and heavy use of period music kept us in the time and place, though the original background music rarely helped.

          EPISODE INDEX:

“Who Am I Killing?” April 10, 1983. Sunday at 10-11pm (Eastern). Written by James M. Miller. Directed by Ralph Senensky. Guest Cast: Trisha Noble and Christopher Mahar *** Nazi Major Strasser’s romantic crush on Café Americain’s British born singer causes her problems. Like Rick, she doesn’t want to get involved with the politics of the day. Meanwhile, a recently shot down British pilot is wounded and being hunted by the Nazis. The pilot may die without special medicine available only on the Black Market.

   Looked great but with no substance. Predictable. Not one original twist or thought in entire episode. Director Senensky discusses the behind the scene filming of this episode here at his blog.

Ratings: 13.5 with a 24 share. Opposite: ABC SUNDAY NIGHT MOVIE (“Altered States”) 14.2 with a 23 share (average for the two hours) and CBS aired repeat of TRAPPER JOHN 19.8 with a 34 share.

“Master Builder’s Woman.” April 17, 1983. Sunday at 10-11pm. Written by Bob Foster. Directed by Robert Lewis. Guest Cast: Madolyn Smith and Martina Deignan. *** Nazi top Engineer and his female companion arrive in Casablanca. His plans could change the war in Northern Africa. An American woman reporter wants Rick’s help in finding French Resistance fighter Andre Andre.

   The story had its moments but was fatally limited by its predictability and weak acting from some of the guest cast especially Martina Deignan as the female reporter. This episode won the Emmy for Best Cinematography in a Series for Joseph Biroc. A deserving choice.

Ratings: 8.6 with a 15 share (ranked 72 out of 74 series). Opposite: ABC SUNDAY MOVIE (“Mountain Men”) 17.5 with a 28 share (#18) and CBS aired (repeat) of TRAPPER JOHN 21.5 with a 38 share (#8).

“Jenny.” April 24, 1983. Sunday at 10-11pm. Written by Chester Krumholz. Directed by Mel Stuart. Guest Cast: Shanna Reed and Daniel Pilon *** Rick falls for a whore that reminds him of Ilsa. A Gestapo agent believes someone in Casablanca is selling German war secrets to the British.

   This episode was the best of the series. It had spies, murder, political intrigue, humor, and a love story, everything you’d want from a TV series called CASABLANCA.

Ratings: 12.0 with a 20 share. Opposite ABC programming (unknown) and CBS repeat of TRAPPER JOHN 19.1 with a 32 share.

“The Cashier and the Belly Dancer.” August 27, 1983. Saturday at 10-11pm. Written by Nelson Gidding. Directed by Ralph Senensky. Guest Cast: Melinda O. Fee and Michael Horton *** Rick’s customers have left him for the new belly dancer at the Blue Parrot. The wife of Rick’s cashier believes her husband is doing more with the belly dancer than watch her dance.

   A weak caper story with an ending that is unbelievable and reduces the threat of the Nazis to the level of Colonel Klink and HOGAN’S HEROES. Director Senensky did a better job than the writer and cast. You can read his experiences about this episode at his blog.

Ratings: 7.0 with a 14 share (66th out of 67). Opposite: ABC aired repeat of FANTASY ISLAND 16.5 with a 32 share (#6) and CBS NFL PRESEASON FOOTBALL 10.7 with a 22 shared (average over entire program).

“Divorce Casablanca Style.” September 3, 1983. Saturday at 10-11pm. Written by Harold Gast. Directed by Robert Lewis. Guest Cast: Persis Khambatta and Zitto Kazann. *** Rick finds himself in the middle between a husband and wife and the Muslim culture while trying to take care of smuggled guns for an old friend.

   The series always featured two plots in each episode that would merge at the end of the hour. This episode took on the serious issue of women’s rights in 1940’s Muslim world and shoved it together with a gratuitous second story of Rick taking care of a friend, an old Ethiopian General who was apparently tricked into storing smuggled guns. Information was revealed heavy-handedly as there was no time to develop either story properly.

Ratings: 7.1 with a 15 share (#61 out of 62). Opposite: ABC College Football 10.2 with a 22 share (average over program) and CBS Saturday Night Movies (Country Gold) 11.8 with a 24 share.

   I remember watching the first episode in 1983 and hating it. I am more forgiving now towards the cast, writers and directors, realizing how absurd the very idea is of attempting to recreate the magic of the film CASABLANCA as a TV series. But even by a different name, this remains a TV series that deserved to die.