Favorite guest actors
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MsELLERYqueen2 — 12 years ago(January 24, 2014 10:29 AM)
I love Dana Andrews, but he was given a pretty boring part, I think. He could have done something better in this show.
I agree about
The Comic Book Crusader
. Terrific episode!
I loved seeing "Mr. Cunningham" in it.
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JimHutton (1934-79) & ElleryQueen -
MsELLERYqueen2 — 12 years ago(January 24, 2014 12:15 PM)
It's always great to see the actors from the Golden Age as guest stars in this series, even if they weren't on the screen for very long.
Dana Andrews, Ray Milland, Milton Berle, Victor Buono, etc.
I wish that Dana Andrews had been cast in one of the other episodes, maybe as a gangster or something.
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JimHutton (1934-79) & ElleryQueen -
Angel_Buffy — 12 years ago(January 26, 2014 06:24 PM)
Lol! Yes, I always picture Dana Andrews as playing gangsters as well, though I'm not sure why! Of the four movies I've seen him in, he was only a gangster in one o them..
It would have been nice if he'd gotten a more exciting role though.
It is a lot of fun to see how many well known actors signed up for Ellery Queen. I haven't seen a whole lot of shows from this era, was that common do you know? For Golden Age actors to guest star on TV shows like this one? -
ghostfan — 12 years ago(January 26, 2014 06:36 PM)
I'm not sure if it was common, as it was a Levinson and Link quirk. It is a good way to see favorites, and a good way for production to have actors they could count on tried and true, so to speak.
they did the same thing when they produced Columbo and Murder She Wrote. MSW especially had five or six well known actors per show that were guest stars.
Personally as far as Ellery Queen goes, I loved seeing Vincent Price show up, and of course, Edward Mulhare but he's a favorite of mine anyway. Roddy McDowall anytime, naturally!
I think it would be fun to see how many EQ actors also appeared on MSW over the years.
How sad, that you were not born in my time, nor I, in yours. -
Angel_Buffy — 12 years ago(January 27, 2014 05:20 PM)
I've never really watched Murder She Wrote.I saw a few episodes on TV once when I was very little but don't remember enough of them to know if it was any good. How does it compare to Ellery Queen? I like Angela Lansbury so I'm tempted to try it.
Agree with you, especially about Vincent Price! -
ghostfan — 12 years ago(January 27, 2014 05:31 PM)
Well, in a way, it was the same formula mystery writer who keeps solving mysteries.. mostly murders and there were five or six suspects each week played by guest stars.
Big difference is while Ellery learned about most of his murders through his father, the police inspector, Jessica seemed to stumble on a lot of hers while she was traveling for her writing. There were also some that took place in her home town of Cabot Cove. fun show. The first eight years were the best.
I honestly think part of the reason Ellery didn't work, though I loved it, was the 1940's setting. More expensive. MSW ended up with much higher ratings Lansbury is great so they were able to do more expensive shows later.
How sad, that you were not born in my time, nor I, in yours. -
Angel_Buffy — 12 years ago(January 28, 2014 12:52 AM)
Oh interestingit never really occurred to me that might be the reason Ellery Queen didn't make it.
I've tried Columbo a couple of times but I don't enjoy as much mysteries that are built around attempting to figure out how the killer did it rather then who the killer is, and that seemed to be the general basis of the show. I give it credit for doing something different but it just wasn't something I was as interested in watching.
Well Murder She Wrote sounds like something I'd quite enjoy, so I'll be sure to check it out. -
Jimmy-128 — 12 years ago(January 31, 2014 01:04 PM)
Oh interestingit never really occurred to me that might be the reason Ellery Queen didn't make it.
Yeah, period pieces are always more expensive to produce than contemporary ones - that's also why
Wonder Woman
almost didn't make it to a second season, and why they moved it from World War II to the present day. -
MsELLERYqueen2 — 12 years ago(January 28, 2014 07:19 AM)
I honestly think part of the reason Ellery didn't work, though I loved it, was the 1940's setting. More expensive.
Why would it be more expensive?
Even though the setting was 1940s, it looked more seventies than forties.
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JimHutton (1934-79) & ElleryQueen -
MsELLERYqueen2 — 12 years ago(January 28, 2014 11:34 AM)
True about the cars, except that they probably reused the same ones in each episode. Period clothes wouldn't have cost that much to make. Not all of the characters wore them.
My guess is that it just wasn't the right time for such a series. A few years later, when the Agatha Christie adaptations became popular, it would have lasted longer. Of course, they wouldn't have had Jim Hutton in the leading role.
Even just one more season would have been so wonderful!
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JimHutton (1934-79) & ElleryQueen -
MsELLERYqueen2 — 12 years ago(January 28, 2014 02:22 PM)
The only reason I didn't watch
Murder She Wrote
as a child/teen is because I wasn't into mysteries back then. I did see a few episodes and liked them. One that I saw last year was an episode which was written originally for EQ. This episode starts out with Angela Lansbury saying that she heard about a mystery which took place in the forties, and then they switch to a forties setting and tell the story. I wish that this episode had been filmed as part of the EQ series.
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JimHutton (1934-79) & ElleryQueen -
MsELLERYqueen2 — 12 years ago(January 26, 2014 07:13 PM)
Is
Ball of Fire
one of those films you've seen? He plays a bad boy in that movie.
I don't know if it was common for Golden Age actors to get guest spots on TV shows in the seventies. There would have been some demand for older actors for certain parts, but I have no idea if the producers went with the known actors or with unfamiliar faces.
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JimHutton (1934-79) & ElleryQueen -
Angel_Buffy — 12 years ago(January 27, 2014 05:22 PM)
Yes one of them is Ball of Fire! I love that movie, it's wonderful cast and just such a fun plot. I'm always on the look out for more Dana Andrew films, I find him very charming and a very attractive hero, and he also seems to be a good actor, at least he was very good in The Best Years of Our Lives.
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MsELLERYqueen2 — 12 years ago(January 27, 2014 05:53 PM)
Those two movies are terrific. Also see him in
Laura
and
Where the Sidewalk Ends
, if you haven't already. If you want to, of course.
Both of those are film noir.
Have you seen the western
The Ox-Bow Incident
? Geez, he was wonderful in that movie! It's a very heartbreaking film, though.
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JimHutton (1934-79) & ElleryQueen -
Angel_Buffy — 12 years ago(January 28, 2014 12:49 AM)
I'd forgotten he was in Laura. I guess I've seen him in another movie then. Have never heard of Where the Sidewalk Ends, but I'll look it up!
I haven't seen the Ox-Bow Incident either, nor did I know he was in that. I do believe I have the DVD somewhere though so I'll see if I can't find it. I always sort of avoided it because Henry Fonda isn't an actor I'm terribly fond of, but if Dana Andrews is in it I'll definitely give it a try.