PALM SPRINGS WEEKEND

Owen Orr, Dorothy Green, Stephanie Powers, Troy Donahue

PALM SPRINGS WEEKEND  (1963). Director: Norman Taurog. 

The members of a college basketball team hightail it by bus to Palm Springs for Easter vacation, unaware that their dyspeptic Coach Campbell (Jack Weston) is along for the ride. A gaggle of gals are also on vacation and before you can say "Where the Boys Are" -- an earlier film that clearly was the inspiration for this one -- the sexes are intertwining in both comedic and light dramatic fashion. Naturally some of these young couples will think they're in love -- after a weekend!

Eric (Conrad) and Jim (Donahue) speak frankly

Of the lead "youngsters" -- none of whom are that young -- Robert Conrad (of The Wild, Wild West) offers the best performance as spoiled rich kid Eric Dean, a Palm Springs resident whose neglectful unseen daddy is off on one of his frequent honeymoons. Eric sets his sights on perky Gayle Lewis (Connie Stevens) who claims to be from Hawaii even though she isn't. She gets caught between Eric and hunky Texan and Hollywood stuntman "Stretch" (Ty Hardin of Wall of Noise). Meanwhile nice boy Jim Munroe (Troy Donahue) is smitten with record shop clerk Bunny Dixon (Stephanie Powers), who is the daughter of the Chief of Police (Andrew Duggan). Biff Roberts, played by typical college student Jerry Van Dyke, is at first put off by the tomboyish Amanda (Zeme North), but once Gayle helps her with her make up ... ! 

Jerry Van Dyke, Zeme North, Troy Donahue

The comedy has to do with such things as the pool turning into a bubble bath due to the accidental introduction of detergent, as well as the antics of Boom Boom (Billy Mumy of Twilight Zone's "It's a Good Life"), the adorable little monster who belongs to the hotel's proprietor, Naomi Yates (a spirited Carole Cook). The dramatic scenes have to do with a fight sequence when some lowlifes invade a party, and Eric taking after Stretch in his car and causing an accident after the latter has prevented Eric from sexually assaulting Gayle. 

In love after two days: Stephanie Powers with Donahue

Troy Donahue had to make this picture whether he wanted to or not, and was so zonked on drugs and alcohol during filming that it's a wonder he gives any kind of performance, although he gets by. In some shots you can already see the effect this is having on his looks, a certain puffiness, although the attractive sensitivity of his features is unaffected. Zeme North had appeared on Broadway in Take Me Along but had limited film and TV credits, retiring in the late sixties, which is too bad as she's quite appealing in this picture. As usual, little Billy Mumy nearly steals the movie. A small role is played by Owen Orr, AKA Greg Benedict, who was Donahue's college roommate and best friend. 

Verdict: Amiable if forgettable teen movie with hardly any teenagers in sight! **1/2. 

HAWAIIAN EYE

HAWAIIAN EYE (1959 - 1964).

This popular private detective show set in the Hawaiian islands lasted for four seasons. The agency did security for the Honolulu Village Hotel, among many other cases, and the partners were Tom Lopaka (Robert Conrad), who was half Hawaiian, and Tracy Steele (Anthony Eisley). Later on they had another operative, Greg Mackenzie (Grant Williams), and Troy Donahue joined the cast as the hotel's social director, Philip Barton. The hotel's lounge -- featuring the "exotic sounds of Arthur Lyman" and his rather talented trio --  employed cutesy singer Cricket Blake (Connie Stevens), and a cab driver named Kim (Poncie Ponce) sometimes figured in the action. Hawaiian Eye also had a handsome security man, Moke (Douglas Mossman), and the gang frequently worked with Lt. Danny Quon (Mel Prestidge), who was actually a real-life police officer. Tina Cole appeared in a few episodes as "Sunny." filling in for Cricket.

Among the more memorable episodes: "Two for the Money" guest-stars Mary Tyler Moore in a story about a once-missing daughter who may be an impostor. "Payoff" investigates the possibility that a prosecutor may be on the take. "Echo of Honor" features an excellent Philip Reed in a story of murder and jewel thefts at the hotel. In "Pretty Pigeon" a pretty gal (Diane McBain) goes undercover to help Tom catch a murderer. In "Two Too Many" a man gets a love letter from a woman he claims he has never met. "Passport," features an outstanding performance from Randy Stuart [who co-starred with Williams in The Incredible Shrinking Man] in a story about a hunt for an embezzler (Gerald Mohr) with an estranged wife and daughter; Stuart and Mohr have an especially well-acted scene together. Andrew Duggan guest-stars in "Maybe Menehunes," in which a movie star (Mala Powers) fears her life is in danger. In "Pursuit of a Lady" Greg proposes to a woman (Diane McBain again) who is promptly murdered. "Concert in Hawaii" stars Faith Domergue as the teacher of a young prodigy who is subjected to murder attempts. Finally "V for Victim" features Nancy Kulp in a "Ten Little Indians" type story where tourists are beset by a murderer on an isolated island during -- you guessed it -- a storm that cuts off phones, power, and access to the mainland.

The acting was generally quite good. Eisley [The Mighty Gorga] could come off like an obnoxious bully at times, with Williams heading in that direction, but Conrad was generally pleasant, as was Donahue. Stevens was not bad as either singer or actress but she could be a trifle cloying at times, as could the self-consciously cute Ponce. Other guest-stars included George Takei (wonderful as an operative in Formosa), Jack Nicholson, Tom Drake, Richard Crane, Jeanne Cooper, Chad Everett, Grace Lee Whitney, Dyan Cannon, Biff Elliott, Fay Wray, and Joan Marshall, among others. This was also produced by William Orr, who did Surfside 6, Bourbon Street Beat, and 77 Sunset Strip.

Verdict: Maybe not a really great show, but a good and entertaining one. ***.

THE WILD, WILD WEST Season Four

Jo Van Fleet and Robert Conrad in the final episode

THE WILD, WILD WEST Season Four. 1968. CBS.

While there were less outstanding episodes in The Wild, Wild West's last season than in previous years, it remained an entertaining, generally well-made and well-acted program until the end. During Ross Martin's illness, Charles Aidman filled in for Artemis Gordon as "Jeremy Pike" in several episodes. [William Schallert filled in as "Frank Harper" in one two-part episode.] There was a suspenseful scene in a vault in the first episode, "Night of the Big Blackmail," with Harvey Korman; a mechanical squid and an underwater HQ in "Kraken;" a giant tuning fork sonics weapon in "Avaricious Actuary;" a certain song that holds the key to which secret service agent might be a traitor in "the Janus;" an obnoxious opera singer (Patrice Munsel) in the unusual episode "Night of the Diva;" a tank used to tear homesteaders' dwellings apart in "Juggernaut;" a vial of deadly plague in "Gruesome Games;" and a deadly new explosive in "Doomsday Formula" with Kevin McCarthy. Dr. Loveless (Michael Dunn) plays dummy to a robot ventriloquist and kidnaps several people in ways related to a nursery rhyme in "Miquelito's Revenge;" and "Bleak Island," concerning skulduggery in a spooky old house on a cliff, features fine performances from John Williams, Beverly Garland and, especially, Robert H. Herron. The two best episodes were "The Sedgwick Curse," in which people disappear without a trace from a sinister hotel; and the very last episode of the series, the slightly sexist "Night of the Tycoons," in which Jo Van Fleet expertly plays the sole female member of a board of directors who are being killed off one by one. Robert Conrad and Ross Martin still seem to be having fun, and Aidman and Schallert make admirable and likable fill-ins.

Verdict: Nice wind-up to an unusual and entertaining TV series. ***.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE Season 3

Barbara Bain and Torin Thatcher

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE Season Three. 1968.

The Impossible Missions Force is back with the usual suspects for a third season of highly illegal action, intrigue and phoney accents [one size fits all]. This was a solid season with more than its share of above average and a few excellent episodes. Among the most memorable: "The Cardinal," in which the team has to switch a real cardinal for a communist impersonator; "The Elixir," in which a despotic woman (Ruth Roman) is undone by her own vanity; "The Diplomat," with Lee Grant and Fernando Lamas in a suspenseful tale of stolen missile plans and deadly poison; the very clever "The Cage," in which a political prisoner must be freed from a top security prison; "The System," with a casino dealer manipulated into squealing on his boss with violent results; and "Doomsday," in which the team must stop the sale of a hydrogen bomb to the bad guys. The cast is good, with Martin Landau taking top honors. Barbara Bain remains glacial, but Cinnamon does show some emotion in another excellent episode, "The Exchange," in  which she's actually caught during a mission and winds up in an iron curtain prison. There seem to be less episodes in which the bad guys instantly fall in love or lust with Cinnamon [surely some of them would prefer a less classy, overtly sexy 19-year-old?], and Bain continues to do fair-to-middling "character" impersonations, such as her "Anastasia" turn in "The Heir Apparent" with guest-star Torin Thatcher. Bain does an amusing imitation of Marlene Dietrich, bad singing and all, in "The Illusion." Robert Conrad of The Wild, Wild West shows up briefly in "The Contender."

Verdict: When this show cooks, it cooks. ***.

THE WILD, WILD WEST Season 3

Ross Martin and Robert Conrad

THE WILD, WILD WEST Season 3.1967.

Secret Service agents James West (Robert Conrad) and Artemis Gordon (Ross Martin) are back for a third season in this still viable action-adventure-spy series. One change in the series is that, in general, the stories seem a little more "reasonable" than they often were in the past -- in other words, West never gets shrunk to doll-size [as he did in the second season] nor anything along those lines. Among the more memorable episodes are: "Bubbling Death," which involves the stolen Constitution and an acid bath; "The Hangman," in which the boys race to prove the innocence of a man about to be hanged; "Montezuma's Hordes,"  regarding a dangerous treasure hunt in Mexico; "The Cut-Throats," in which a bitter man wants to simply erase an entire town, with some good twists and fine performances from Bradford Dillman and Beverly Garland; "The Legion of Death," featuring an outstanding performance by Anthony Zerbe as the boys take on a territorial governor (Kent Smith); "Iron Fist," in  which Jim tries to bring in a Russian with an iron hand for extradition; "Vipers," in which a hooded gang raids towns and robs banks; and "Underground Terror," about a group of tortured men who seek vengeance against their tormentor, with Nehemiah Persoff. Arguably the two best episodes are: "Death Masks," in which an old foe toys with Jim in a deserted town and Patty McCormack plays the villain's daughter, sort of The Bad Seed grown up; and the suspenseful "Running Death" [with Jason Evers and an excellent T. C. Jones] in which the fellows trail a notorious assassin via wagon train. Some viewers may be amused/turned on by the leather britches Conrad wears over his pants and which cover everything but his waist, crotch and backside.

Verdict: Basically maintains the quality of the first two seasons. ***.

THE WILD, WILD WEST SEASON 2

Ross Martin and Robert Conrad

THE WILD, WILD WEST Season two. 1966. CBS-television.

James West (Robert Conrad) and Artemis Gordon (Ross Martin) are back for a second [now in color] season of the post-Civil War spy series, The Wild, Wild West. Amidst a plethora of mediocre and plain silly episodes are some more notable stories, such as the exciting "Night of the Raven" with Dr. Loveless (Michael Dunn) and Phyllis Newman [better than you might imagine] as an  Indian princess. "Big Blast" guest-stars Ida Lupino as Dr. Faustino, who uses human bomb duplicates of Artie and Jim to try to blow up Congress! "Ready-Made Corpse" features Carroll O'Connor as a man who provides new faces for wanted criminals. "Man-Eating House" is a weird -- too weird -- but entertaining episode guest-starring Hurd Hatfield as an escaped jailbird in a creepy old haunted house. Dr. Loveless reappears in "Bogus Bandits" -- also guest-starring the inimitable Patsy Kelley -- staging bank robberies yet throwing away the money! The two most memorable episodes feature female antagonists: Delphi Lawrence makes an excellent Lucrece Posey, trying to form a criminal group of hit men in "Poisonous Posey"; and no less than Agnes Moorehead plays a murderous marriage broker in "Vicious Valentine," which probably has the most suspenseful climax of any season two episode. Another notable episode is "Tottering Tontine," in which members of a survivor-takes-all financial concern are wiped out one by one in a sinister old mansion by the sea. The Wild, Wild West was an imperfect series, but almost always entertaining in spite of it. The boys report to a portly colonel in many of the episodes, and President Grant himself appears in at least one story. Artie and Jim are always impeccably dressed in beautiful old-style suits with matching vests, and Conrad continues to wear the tightest pants on television -- for a 19th century secret service man no less! Other interesting guest-stars include Boris Karloff, Sammy Davis, Jr., Leslie Parrish, William Talman, Tom Drake, and Victor Buono. Click here to read about season one of the show.

Verdict: Still fun. ***.