Soapy Showbiz Fun: ‘Hollywood Wives’ 1985

 

Jackie Collins' "Hollywood Wives" was a mini-series hit for ABC in 1985.

Hollywood Wives was Jackie Collins’ most popular novel, of the many that she churned out for decades. With Dynasty then riding high on TV with Jackie’s sister Joan, producer Aaron Spelling snapped up the bestseller for a 1985 ABC mini-series. Like the book, Wives got bad reviews but was a big ratings hit.

I recall reading an interview with Jackie Collins, claiming that her showbiz stories were more authentic because she was part of the Hollywood scene, as opposed to outsider writers looking in. Maybe, but Jackie’s books were still one-dimensional, with little credibility. I love a good trashy read about the rich and famous and Jackie Susann’s Valley of the Dolls set the dirty suds standard. Hollywood columnist Joyce Haber’s The Users, which Collins pilfered the main plot for her Hollywood Wives, was much more realistic and sleazy. Dominick Dunne wrote page-turners that were much more juicy and authentic.

Did the costumes of "Hollywood Wives" get mixed up with those of "Golden Girls?"

A big reason for watching Hollywood Wives was the clothes. At his peak, designer Nolan Miller was hailed as an arbiter of old-time Hollywood glamour. When Dynasty came along, he and Joan Collins had a field day with increasingly over the top costumes. It set the style dial of the ‘80s, which was “Glitz is good.” Well, none of that has aged well. Miller’s glam outfits from that era look more drag queen than the real diva deal. Miller’s strong suit was dressing aging icons simply, like Barbara Stanwyck and Elizabeth Taylor, rather than his gaudy soap stars. Nearly all the power-dressing outfits of Hollywood Wives are laughably ugly: Shoulder pads galore, tassels and beads, oversized tops and gaudy sequined gowns, and so much more, more, more. As for the hair styles, it’s amusing to guess which star, male and female, are wearing their own hair, or sporting a wig, weave, or rug!

Nolan Miller's gown for "Hollywood Wives" seems inspired by a NYC taxi seat cover!

Laura Branigan’s convulsive wailing tries to bring pathos to the on the nose lyrics of the Hollywood Wives theme. Warning: If you listen, you’ll have this Tinseltown tune in your head for days! A mix of a cautionary tale (the pitfalls of Hollywood!) and fairytale (young newcomers get makeovers and movie offers by pure chance), all of it highly unbelievable. The villains are crass and cartoonish: the self-promoting producer, the high-class pimp, the scheming star, and the sleazy bottom feeders.

Here's the ear worm theme song from Hollywood Wives! Have a hair brush handy so you can sing along!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toZEvmbevw4

***As few spoilers as possible ahead***

I will say this: though some cast members are miscast or their talents were modest, everyone tries their best. The bad writing keeps the story from being a real show biz expose. That said, Hollywood Wives is trashy fun on a soap opera level.

Robert Stack gets the '80s glam look as George Lancaster in "Hollywood Wives."

Robert Stack plays revered icon George Lancaster, a star who’s considering a coming out of retirement for a hot property, Final Reunion. At least they didn't name him Kirk Lancaster! And Steve Forrest plays a former movie idol desperate for a comeback—sorry, a return—Ross Conti. It's typical of this type of mini-series that B actors turned TV stars are cast as legendary movie stars. Robert Stack is a Kirk/Burt type of actor, Steve Forrest is a Tony Curtis type heart throb whose career is suffering from hardening of the arteries.

Steve Forrest and Robert Stack admire each other's "work" in "Hollywood Wives."

Stack was always a stiff actor and here, Bob is given the ‘80s makeover, with fluffy, highlighted hair, and face-lifted mug full of makeup. He reminds me a Madame Tussaud wax figure, with his booming voice adding to the disembodied effect. Forrest has more fun as the aging matinee idol seeking assurance from everyone, and the only self-reflection he seeks comes from his mirror. Steve Forrest is five years past his hunky “Uncle Greg” in Mommie Dearest and still looks pretty good, though he looks like he’s had work done along the way.

Steve Forrest is amusing as aging movie hunk Ross Conti in "Hollywood Wives."

Candice Bergen as Elaine Conti, in gowns that look like coverups, "Hollywood Wives."

Candice Bergen is sympathetic but miscast as Elaine Conti, longsuffering wife of aging star Ross Conti. Bergen is gorgeous at 38, smart, sexy, loving, etc. Why would her wife put up with a 60 year old man-baby like Forrest's Ross? Also, Bergen’s Elaine should probably be Ross' second, younger wife, but she's made to act like the typical Hollywood first wife. Bergen, still looking model trim and beautiful, is stuck wearing some baggy, bulky monstrosities. And what's with that mullet in the first party scene? In casual wear, Candy looks stunning and subtle, hardly the desperate Hollywood housewife.

Candice Bergen looks like her gorgeous younger self in more casual moments
of 1985's "Hollywood Wives."

Frances Bergen, Candice's equally gorgeous mom, as Pamela Lancaster.

Frances Bergen plays Pamela, George Lancaster's new wife. One look at ageless beauty Frances and you’ll know where Candice got her damned classy good looks and hair!

Mary Crosby is a willful Hollywood daughter in 1985's "Hollywood Wives."

Mary Crosby as Karen Lancaster, the bad girl who’s really good deep down, was quite good at playing sultry vixens. Crosby’s Karen and Stack’s star have one of the most icky daughter-father confrontations ever, but hey, it works for them! Also unfortunate are Crosby and Suzanne Somers as the show’s femme fatales, who are over-dressed, over-tressed, and over-tarted up.

Suzanne Somers is fictional movie sex symbol Gina Germaine, interviewed by
Mary Hart of "Entertainment Tonight," in 1985's "Hollywood Wives."

Suzanne Somers is Gina Germaine, "the most beautiful, sensuous sex symbol in the United States today," proclaims Entertainment Tonight interviewer Mary Hart. Even in 1985, that wasn’t true! Somers is a latter day Monroe blonde bombshell, who wants to be taken seriously, with her eye on a role in Final Reunion. Somers’ response to Hart seems like a sly dig at Three's Company: "Sex symbols are for television series."

Anthony Hopkins is director Neil Gray, whose sobriety and fidelity fails him
under pressure, in 1985's "Hollywood Wives."

"When you have no taste, you can do anything," uttered by Anthony Hopkins, his explanation for slumming here? Hopkins plays Neil Gray, the uncompromising director of Final Reunion, until Somers’ Gina gets him in some compromising positions!

Stephanie Powers as Montana Gray, screenwriter with integrity, but still glam,
in 1985's ABC mini-series "Hollywood Wives."

Stephanie Powers is screenwriter Montana Gray, Neil’s wife. Oh, and the writer for Final Reunion. Though her character sneers at Hollywood ways, whose name sounds like a cowboy star, yet Montana looks like a typical Hollywood diva. Despite the artifice, Powers plays with her usual no-nonsense style and doesn’t let the “Big ‘80s” look take over her own fashion style.

Joanna Cassidy as Marilee Gray, member of the first wives club in 1985's "Hollywood
 Wives." Cassidy's a redhead so she gets the shamrock green gown and Bergen rocks
a blue breast plate. Candice also sports a Joe Dirt mullet here!

Joanna Cassidy is Marilee Gray, an ex-Hollywood wife of director Neil. She’s smart, pragmatic, and has great taste in boy toys. Cassidy looks lovely here and feels the most authentic of the bunch in Hollywood Wives.

Rod Steiger, who never met a rug he didn't like, plays Oliver Easterne, blowhard
 movie producer, from 1985's "Hollywood Wives."

Rod Steiger overplays the self-aggrandizing movie producer, Oliver Easterne—surprised? Oliver gleefully uses Final Reunion as the proverbial carrot to dangle in front of all interested parties. Steiger’s character is humorously crass and he brays his lines, like the male Shelley Winters he is!

Angie Dickinson is no-nonsense talent agent Sadie LaSalle in "Hollywood Wives."

Angie Dickinson is Sadie LaSalle, the tough, top talent agent who holds a grudge against Ross Conti, when he burned her decades ago. Though Angie is stuck in similar potato sack costumes as Candice Bergen, her hair and makeup are far simpler than her tawdry Police Woman days. She looks lovely here at 54.

Roddy McDowall multi-tasks as an interior decorator and pimp, Jason Swandle,
in 1985's ABC mini-series, "Hollywood Wives."

Roddy McDowall plays interior decorator AND pimp Jason Swandle, finding young men for lonely ladies. Roddy plays him in his usual hammy way. The facial tics and vacillating between creepy charm and passive/aggressive threats made me wonder: Did Roddy and Anthony Perkins ever star in a movie together?

Andrew Stevens as Buddy Hudson, getting the Sadie LaSalle build-up in 1985's
ABC mini-series, "Hollywood Wives."

Andrew Stevens is Buddy Hudson, an aspiring actor, once a male prostitute. Stevens is square-jawed and plays the soap opera scenes with surface skill. But when his character wishes to be taken seriously, it’s an eye roll. Andrew Stevens is cute as button and a square-jawed Ken Doll, but not the next Al Pacino, as Buddy is described! Yes, he too hopes to get his big break in Final Reunion. Catherine Mary Stewart as Angel Hudson was a fairly icky ‘80s ingénue but she fits right in Hollywood Wives. She has the good luck to be discovered at the beach by creeper producer Oliver Easterne, who thinks she’d be perfect for Nicki in Final Reunion.

Catherine Mary Stewart plays naive Angel Hudson in 1985's "Hollywood Wives."

From the other side of the showbiz lens is Deke, at home watching a Hollywood gala on TV with most of these characters. He is also going berserk since he has found out that he was given up for adoption from some showbiz bigwig. Apparently a problem child, Deke turns into Mr. Hyde toward his sugary sweet adoptive parents. Deke, as the bad apple twin, is bizarrely played by Andrew Stevens. Why is he nuts? Why does he look like Lon Chaney's The Wolfman? Why does he limp? Why does he talk in a gravelly New York City accent? Why is his skin chalky white, with brown smudges? Since this is Hollywood Wives, why ask why?! Aside from knowing that he was adopted, Deke didn’t get Buddy Hudson’s blue eyes, better hair, and charming personality.

Andrew Stevens also plays (awfully) Deke, Buddy Hudson's secret twin in
1985's "Hollywood Wives." Is Lon Chaney, Jr. deranged Deke's secret father?

Though Deke wreaks havoc along the way to Hollywood to take revenge, the inept scenes with this psycho and victims are unintentionally hilarious. The worst is the first, with his adopted parents, who get the most fake beat downs and stabbing deaths ever.

I’m not even going to try to explain the convoluted plot of Hollywood Wives, except that it leaves no showbiz cliché unchecked! Basically, just about everyone involved, directly or indirectly, wants a piece of Final Reunion. Naturally, there is no synopsis given for this brilliant story—not from the writer of Hollywood Wives! The fun is watching the lengths the characters will go to get a role, for themselves or a spouse. There are even more male bimbos in this movie than women, which reflects its intended audience, women and gays. The pool boy, the tennis player, the waiters, etc.—choose your flavor!

Candice Bergen's Elaine may be the only one of "Hollywood Wives" who's so easily satisfied by an ungrateful husband with flowers! With Steven Forrest as Ross.

Most of my favorite moments happen to be the most ludicrous. Deranged Deke hitching to Hollywood, Rod Steiger’s inappropriate producer, and especially Gina Germaine’s scheming to get a coveted movie role.

"Jane Fonda got serious, why can't I?" Was Suzanne Somers writing her own dialogue as Gina Germaine? Gina wants the role of young ingénue Nicki in Final Reunion. Suzanne’s tawdry bombshell hardly fits the part. Somers sports a shit ton of makeup and the most platinum, unruly perm I’ve seen since Connie Stevens ‘70s Brillo shag! One unkind but accurate critic commented that Suzanne in Hollywood Wives looks like Daryl Hannah in Blade Runner!

You can tell Suzanne Somers is the vixen in 1985's "Hollywood Wives," because
she's seductively brushing her locks as Gina Germaine plots and schemes!

I never thought Suzanne Somers was a beauty, but her mobile features, capped with big, childlike blue eyes, reminded me a bit of Goldie Hawn. Even their voices are similar. Suzanne plays the scheming star in a likable fashion. Gina Germaine is a vision in yellow terrycloth as she lies in wait down Palm Beach way, where director Neil Gray is there for talks with George Lancaster about Final Reunion. Gina is willing to roll in the hotel hay for a role in this “serious” film. Neil has had two beautiful wives, but finds mop-topped Suzanne irresistible. Soon, stocky, dour Anthony Hopkins is making hot jungle love to Somers’ Gina. It gets better when they happen to be on the same flight home and she initiates him into the mile high club—by the coffee machines—guess the restrooms were busy! Googly-eyed Suzanne and owlish Anthony make a comic couple!

Stephanie Powers as Montana Gray, at hubby Neil's funeral, in "Hollywood Wives."
 This must have cut close to the bone for Powers, who had just lost
long-time companion William Holden three years prior.

And the guessing game of who are the natural parents of Deke (and Buddy) comes to a ludicrous finale. Though no attention is given to the trail of bodies that Deke has left across the USA, it made me think of a later real life celebrity-obsessed psychotic, Andrew Cunanan, who capped his killing spree with shooting Gianni Versace on his doorstep.

I’m surprised nobody has remade Hollywood Wives, since the showbiz game hasn’t changed a bit. The stakes are just higher and the class level of today’s participants even lower. Let’s just enjoy the soapy, sleazy ‘80s Hollywood Wives!

Steve Forrest as Ross Conti, getting the Sadie LaSalle build-up before he gave her
the brush-off, in 1985's "Hollywood Wives."

Lombard's Last: ‘To Be or Not to Be’ 1942

 

Carole Lombard was just 33 when she appeared  in her last film, "To Be or Not to Be."

Carole Lombard’s last film, To Be or Not to Be, also turned out to be one of her best. The ’42 film is an incredibly nimble high wire act of smart satire, broad comedy, and heartfelt drama. At 33, Lombard was at the top of her acting game in both comedy and drama, and Carole gives a terrific final performance.

To Be or Not to Be has that same layer of urgency that Casablanca possessed. Both films had war-time era plots that were informed by real-life events. Casablanca was premiered at the end of ‘42, to capitalize on when the city had just been captured by Allies. To Be or Not to Be premiered on Feb. 19, 1942, just over a month after Lombard was killed in a plane crash, when she was returning home to Hollywood, from selling war bonds. The timing was tricky for this political satire, what with the U.S. now in WWII and the star’s sudden death. Yet, To Be or Not to Be had its champions from the beginning, and only increased over the decades.

Carole Lombard & Jack Benny are Maria & Josef Tura, an acting couple in
"To Be or Not to Be." O/T: Lombard had the most beautifully curved forehead ever!

Carole Lombard and Jack Benny, with young Robert Stack and a fine cast of character actors, are guided by the great Ernst Lubitsch. The director, producer, and screenwriter brought his famed “Lubitsch touch” to what was his favorite film. Melchior Lengyel, Edwin Justus Mayer, and uncredited Lubitsch wrote the multi-faceted script. To Be or Not to Be unreels a convoluted but brilliantly told tale that all comes together perfectly by the finale. Hitler’s hostile takeover of Europe hardly seems like hilarious comedy material. But this was a subject near and dear to director Lubitsch, who was a German Jew. I won’t give away the series of unending spoilers, but they serve as satiric tweaks throughout.

This famed writer/director was a legend even while he was alive. Sadly, he suffered
a heart condition, and died in 1947, just five years after Carole Lombard.

To Be or Not to Be begins in the summer of ’39 in Warsaw, Poland, with Hitler about to attack. Jack Benny and Carole Lombard make a fine team as a husband and wife acting duo, Josef and Maria Tura. They are performing Hamlet while also rehearsing an upcoming satire on Hitler. Though Hitler and war loom ever closer to Poland, Josef is more preoccupied with his wife Maria's fidelity. With good reason, as Maria tells a handsome young flier, Robert Stack, to meet her during Josef's "To Be or Not to Be" soliloquy. When Stack’s swain is off to fight the Nazis, he notices that Professor Siletsky (Stanley Ridges) seems shady as he takes soldiers’ messages for family members. He reports his suspicions and soon the Turas and their acting troupe are enlisted to head the professor off at the pass.

Jack Benny assumes several poses in "To Be or Not to Be," but the most hilarious
may be his take on "Hamlet."

Jack Benny has his best film role as Josef Tura. As the “ham actor” playing Hamlet, his scenes are a hoot. In Benny’s various disguises to fool the Nazis, his master thespian has a field day, but often overplays his hand. One scene I love is when he tries to stretch small talk with villain Professor Siletsky, trying to buy time. Jack gives hilarious variety to the line: “So they call me ‘Concentration Camp Ehrhardt’…” I never thought Jack Benny was funny as a comedian in terms of his stand-up material. It was Benny’s droll delivery, side-long glances, and body language that made him so memorable.

Carole Lombard's Maria considers a new backstage romance in "To Be or Not to Be."

In theory, Lombard is playing the straight man to Benny’s showboat actor. Yet, as Maria, she gets to be seductive and airily vain, but also smart and with a good heart. Lombard delivers her comic lines with ease, whether Maria’s dinging her jealous husband or flirting with the flier. The star expertly navigates from sly comedy to the dramatic scenes, where she is effortlessly believable. Also, I’m always struck at what a versatile, lovely speaking voice Carole possessed. This was Lombard’s last film before her sudden demise, and she was at the height of her powers as a consummate comic, natural dramatic actress, and high-class beauty.

Robert Stack, a young flier who waits for his cue to romance in "To Be or Not to Be."

Robert Stack is incredibly young as the infatuated pilot, his good looks are actually soft here, rather than from the stone-faced looker he was later. One of his first films, he’s the male ingénue, but he does quite well. And off-camera, Bob admired Benny and adored Carole, who he knew personally.

Benny was 47 when To Be or Not to Be was filmed in late ‘41, Lombard was 33, and Robert Stack was 21. Stack turned 22 on Jan. 13, just before Carole’s Jan. 16^th plane crash. Stack joined the Navy in ‘42, as a gunnery instructor.

Carole Lombard as an actress about to bid her men adieu in "To Be or Not to Be."

The supporting cast is hilarious: Tom Dugan as Bronski, whose “Hitler” impersonation is a hilarious; Felix Bressart as Greenberg, who longs to play Shylock;  and Sig Ruman as Ehrhardt, whose blame game battle cry is “Schultz!” As Professor Siletsky, Stanley Ridges is the most fascinating villain since Claude Rains, intimidating, yet charming.

The wonderful supporting cast of "To Be or Not to Be."

No wonder Billy Wilder considered Lubitsch an inspiration. He mentored with him writing screenplays for Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife and Ninotchka. The mix of satire with empathetic drama was a model for Wilder’s movies as director. Also, the plot of a troupe of theatrical actors taking on the Nazis sounds like a Mel Brooks movie, so no surprise that Mel remade the film in 1983.

Stanley Ridges memorable as Professor Siletsky.

I could pepper this piece with witty lines and scenes from To Be or Not to Be, but this was my first viewing and I was delightfully surprised, so I won’t spoil the fun. One scene though, between the Nazi professor and Lombard’s actress, demonstrates Lubitsch’s expertise in mixing comedic wit with dramatic weight. And this scene shows how timely To Be or Not to Be still is today:

Professor Alexander Siletsky: Mrs. Tura, you're an actress aren't you?

Maria Tura: Yes.

Siletsky: Naturally in the theater it's important that you chose the right part.

Maria: Very.

Siletsky: In real life, it's even more important that you chose the right side.

Maria: The right side? Well, what is the right side?

Siletsky: The winning side.

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Robert Stack & Carole Lombard between publicity shots for "To Be or Not to Be."
Carole was renowned as great fun to work with and young Stack adored her.

‘The Name of the Game’ an Ordeal for Jessica Walter 1968

Jessica Walter as topless cocktail waitress turned top-tier socialite Linda Ramsey.

When I was a grade school-age kid, The Name of the Game was one of those "grown up" TV shows that I loved. That Dave Grusin theme song instantly brings back memories. Game’s storytelling was considered hip and adult, and this Upper Michigan kid quickly made that distinction between what Mom liked, and what Dad liked. Mom favored cool shows like The Mod Squad, and Dad watched mostly westerns and the Green Bay Packers—though she watched the “modern” westerns, with hunky stars. When Name was still on at night time, its reruns were shown on our local afternoon movie show. My Mom enjoyed The Name of the Game, which was on NBC Friday nights, between two of Mom’s very favorites, High Chaparral and Star Trek!

Friday nights in 1968 were a fave TV night for my Mom!
'The Name of the Game' had three rotating stars: Gene Barry, Robert Stack, & Tony Franciosa.

The Name of the Game’s three leading men were essentially stars of their own 90 minute TV movies. Today, I still enjoy the shows more for the storytelling, and not so much the stars. In our house, we always thought Robert Stack was a stiff, with that sonorous voice and glowering eyes, sort of a minor league Charlton Heston. Gene Barry was another actor who acted with his voice, but seemed mellower, if slightly pompous. We thought Tony Franciosa was the king of cool back in the day, but now, he seems rather smug, like another Tony—Curtis. Still charming as ever is Susan Saint James, as the wisecracking girl Friday, Peggy Maxwell.

Veteran Robert Stack had youngsters Ben Murphy and Susan Saint James as his co-stars.

This episode, titled Ordeal, starred regulars Robert Stack as hard-nosed Dan Farrell, Crime magazine reporter, Ben Murphy as cocky sidekick Joe Sample, and Susan Saint James as Peggy, the quirky and often kidnapped secretary.

The guest stars are from my eye-roll Hollywood Hall of Fame: perennial plastic starlet Martha Hyer; middle-aged but still-pouty Farley Granger; and drum roll, please: Lloyd Bochner, with his trademark slicked back hair, ascot, and sneer. Most surprising is an uncredited O.J. Simpson, as the gas chamber prison guard. I guess The Juice got promoted when he rescued that cat in The Towering Inferno!

Jessica Walter faces the gas chamber with prison guard O.J. Simpson!

On the plus side, there’s Jessica Walter, at the start of her long roll in TV guest star roles, right up there with Vera Miles. Walter’s role was a showcase for her, sort of a mini-I Want to Live! And Jessica has that old time movie diva vibe, like Susan Hayward and Anne Baxter, theatrical, yes, but also intense and empathetic. Walter makes the most of her juicy role as Linda Ramsey, tough as the young "dancer/waitress," later the hurt wife, and finally the stoic figure on death row, fighting for her life. Walter looks lovely, even with her short '60s hairdo that would soon evolve into her famous Play Misty for Me shag.

I realized right off that Ordeal was a take-off on the infamous shooting of high society’s Billy Woodward by his former showgirl, now wife, Ann. This scandal was immortalized in the '70s by Truman Capote as part of his notorious Answered Prayers. Later, Dominick Dunne became a best-selling author with a fictionalized account, The Two Mrs. Grenvilles. Well, Ordeal got there first!

Socialite from the wrong side of the tracks shoots her boozy rich husband, & claims she mistook him for a burglar?! 'Ordeal' could have been called 'The Two Ms. Ramseys!'

In this take, Linda Ramsey is on death row, for the murder of her rich husband, Tom Ramsey, respectively played by Walter and Bochner. She shot him, claiming she thought he was a prowler. However, their marriage was very publicly on the rocks, and his wealthy family and friends thought she was a gold digger. The drunken playboy met Linda when she was a topless waitress, which is ironic, since Walter is rail thin here. Bochner's Tom seems to think of his marriage as a joke. He humiliates Linda by ripping her top off at a ‘welcome to his world’ cocktail party, to demonstrate how he met her. I recall being outraged by this as a 9-year-old!

Farley Granger co-stars as Jessica Walter's louche lover.

The bitter sister-in-law, Billie Ramsey, is played by Martha Hyer, in her usual mannequin manner. Her character is angry at being second banana to a brother who is bananas! Hyer’s Billie sees Linda as a fortune hunter and Tom as a debit to the family. However, Hyer’s expressions of unhappiness or anger looks like someone who just smelled something bad. At 44, Martha looks pretty, but the late '60s clothing and hair styles Martha sports make her slightly plump figure and face look like a glamorous bowling ball.

Martha Hyer as the sinister sister-in-law, with Farley Granger as a charming hanger-on.

Farley Granger plays the handsome, charming, and weak man with ease—sort of an American Louis Jourdan. Interestingly, Granger and Robert Stack acted together in the notoriously awful TV version of Laura the same year, with Lee Radziwill in the title role, Granger in the Vincent Price gigolo role, and Stack as Dana Andrews’ detective. Here, in Ordeal, their roles aren’t really that different.

The opening titles of 'The Name of the Game' were made even more memorable paired with Dave Grusin's theme song. 

Lloyd Bochner is haughty and hammy as Tom, first as the degrading husband, then suddenly hurt and pathetic when he finds out his abused wife is cheating. Bochner’s character is a lot like Robert Stack’s Oscar –nominated role of a rich boy drunk, whose wife is suspected of shooting him, in Written on the Wind. That too, was based on a real life murder. Back to Bochner, who made a career of supercilious and slimy characters, from cheesy movies like Sylvia and Harlow to television villains, most memorably as Dynasty’s Cecil Colby. 

Robert Stack doesn't take kindly to intimidation, as former FBI man now reporter Dan Farrell.

Robert Stack as Dan Farrell, was an extension of his famed Eliot Ness role in The Untouchables. Dan was also once an FBI man, now a crusading reporter, inflamed by the murder of his wife. The role is tailored for the actor, so the deadpan stare and booming radio voice are on full display. Now Bob Stack was by all accounts a nice guy, who had the good humor to spoof his image in the Airplane movies. But Bob’s humor is not on display as Dan!

Ben Murphy as Joe Sample, Dan Farrell's cocky sidekick.

Ben Murphy's character as the outspoken sidekick is rather annoying. Considering he’s supposed to be a hip young guy, his knee jerk reactions to everything are today middle-brow. Still, Murphy was an engaging actor, who always reminded me of a young Paul Newman mixed with Ryan O’ Neal. His big break, Alias Smith & Jones was just around the corner, another Mom favorite. Susan Saint James isn’t in this episode much, but it’s always nice to see her good-humored Peggy Maxwell.

Dan Farrell's wise veteran paired with energetic upstart Joe Sample is a TV show staple.

There are a lot of clever twist and turns in this episode and I won’t spoil them for you. The Name of the Game can be hard to come by, but YouTube is a good place to start, as are various classic TV cable channels, and Amazon.

The dramatic tale of Ordeal, especially as enacted by Jessica Walter, has stayed with me all these years, and I’m glad to have seen this episode again.

From gas chamber to cover girl--that was a close one, Jessica!

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