Ellery…*sigh*
-
rahrah14 — 14 years ago(August 25, 2011 08:12 AM)
I have seen "How to Marry a Millionaire" and it's very good. I think David Wayne and Marilyn Monroe made a good matchit's interesting because you wouldn't think so just by hearing the two names mentioned together. I like when he convinces her to put her glasses on, but says he already thinks she's "quite a streudel." Then he says she looks better with the glasses on and she just melts. Very cute! I've also seen another movie they were in together, "We're Not Married." They only have a small vignette together, but it's cute too.
Now, back to Jim HuttonI think "Looking for Love" is coming on TCM in a month or two, so I'll catch it then. Another movie he had a supporting part in, "Major Dundee," is showing around the same time. I'll keep looking for others too.
Sweet merciful crap! -
MsELLERYqueen2 — 14 years ago(August 25, 2011 10:16 PM)
And I just realized that you said in your OP that you are a fan of David Wayne lol. I overlooked it because I was too busy thinking about Jim Hutton! Shame on me lol. Yup, I do love "How to Marry a Millionaire", especially the part about the glasses. I didn't care for "we're not married", though.
"Looking for Love" is such a cute movie, and Connie Francis really steals the show here. I would like to see Jim Hutton in "Major Dundee".
I was thinking about the movie "Who's Minding the Mint". I have seen it so many times and I'd like to see it yet again!
Ellery Queen (Jim Hutton) = sexiest man ever! -
rahrah14 — 14 years ago(August 27, 2011 10:30 AM)
I'm on the 4th disc now. Just finished watching "Blunt Instrument" and you were righthe does raise his hand when he sneezes, haha! That is cuteI wonder if it was an acting touch or if Jim Hutton actually did that when he sneezed?
I think my favorite so far is "Comic Book Crusader" but they've all been great. I also really liked "Veronica's Veils"I just thought that one was quite funny, even if the mystery itself wasn't so great. The end is hilarious when the vice squad picks up all those girls and they also get Simon Brimmer. Ellery goes to stop them but his dad stops him and smiles all the way out. LOL!! My new favorite line is in "Blunt Instrument" when Inspector Queen gives Ellery tea to drink to help his cold. Ellery says no, knowing it's going to be rough. Inspector Queen says, "It's just tea!", takes a sip, then says "Needs more gin." I. LOVE. THAT! In fact, I think I'm going to add it to my signature.
Sweet merciful crap! -
MsELLERYqueen2 — 14 years ago(August 27, 2011 10:02 PM)
I think that Ellery's style of sneezing is the most adorable thing I've ever seen. I also like how in "The 12th Floor Express" he kind of twists his wrist in one scene when he's thinking.
I adore "The Comic Book Crusader" because ellery looked so hot in that one, especially at the beginning when he was furious. He also looked great lying in that jail cell (tee hee). I still can't make out his eye color, though. Sometimes it's blue and sometime it's grey.
I like the line you quoted ("needs more gin"). I also liked the line from "The Comic book crusader" when Richard Queen says something like, "Tell the commissioner not to believe everything he reads at the bottom of the bird cage". Personally, I think that Frank Flannigan is hilarious.
Ellery is hot, sexy, attractive, appealing, georgeous, cute.Okay, I just had to get that out of my system.
By the way, in the movie "Walk don't Run", I love the scene in the car where Jim Hutton starts kissing the girl. He looked so hot there.
Ellery Queen (Jim Hutton) = sexiest man ever! -
rahrah14 — 14 years ago(August 28, 2011 06:58 PM)
I agree with everything you said. I love the relationship between Ellery and his dad. It's really sweet the way they kind of take care of each other. Inspector Queen has a great sense of humora lot of his lines are the very best of the whole show because they're just so funny!
Sweet merciful crap!
It's just tea! sips Needs more gin. -
MsELLERYqueen2 — 14 years ago(August 28, 2011 07:19 PM)
The characters are based on the characters from the books. The father and son have a great relationship in the books. Have you read any of the books? I recommend "The Door Between" and "Calamity Town", though Insp Queen doesn't appear in "Calamity Town".
To my knowledge, Ellery never marrib68es in the books, but his dad finds romance in the novel "Inspector Queen's Own Case".
What are your thoughts about the ladies that go out with Ellery in the series? I liked the girl from "Col. Niven's Memoirs". I thought that the scriptwriters were a bit sexist when they wrote up "The Eccentric Engineer", since they didn't have Ellery notice that girl until she put on the sexy dress. Ellery's casual relationships in the episodes are consistent with what he does in the books.
Earlier today, I was still thinking about Ellery's sneezing. Either Jim Hutton really sneezes like that (how cute!!!) or he came up with the idea of sneezing like that (how cute!!!). I don't like to think of the possibility that someone else told him to sneeze like that. I like to think that it's the Jim Hutton touch.
Ellery is definitely funny in these episodes. I'm just watching "Miss Aggie's Farewell Performance", and I'm laughing at how he tries to use that new cooker thingie in the kitchen in order to get his dad to eat healthy foods. I agree that his dad is funny in the series as well.
By the way, on a side note, I have never been attracted to the so-called hotties such as Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Pierce Brosnan. In fact, all four of them get on my nerves. I'll take Jim Hottie over any of them any day!
By the way, I like the update to your signature. "Needs more gin." lol
Ellery Queen (Jim Hutton) = sexiest man ever! -
rahrah14 — 14 years ago(August 23, 2011 01:24 PM)
I haven't read any of the books. To be honest, I haven't really read mystery novels before (except some older ones I had to read for Lit classes in college) so I'm not sure how I would take to them. I was an English major though so any kind of reading is good.
Awww, if only the series would have lasted longer, maybe they could have explored a romantic interest for Inspector Queen there too. It's a little sad to think of the possibilities that could have been explored in future seasons. Then again, (unfortunately) the series couldn't have lasted that much longer anyway because of Jim Hutton's untimely passing.
I would say that the Ellery relationship that was the most interesting was the one in "Colonel Niven's Memoirs", mostly because it was the one that was fleshed out the most. The one in "Eccentric Engineer" was kinda lame to me too. He definitely didn't seem interested in her at all until she took off the glasses and showed a little skinin modern parlance, what might be called a booty call, haha!
The hand in the air probably was a little actor-ly touch on Jim Hutton's partusually those kinds of things aren't written in.
I forgot about Ellery trying to use the pressure cookerthat was funny! All their kitchen scenes are funny, where it kind of becomes a running gag that Ellery is a rotten cook and can't make decent coffee to save his life.
Well, I tend to be more interested in the offbeat, unlikely choices in attractive males also. For example, I have something of a crush on Burgess Meredith (I know, WTF, right?). In his younger days he was so cute! If you can ever catch a Ginger Rogers movie called "Tom Dick and Harry" Burgess is absolutely adorable in it! But I can definitely see the charms in actors like George Clooney and Johnny Depp (the more typical choices). However, I probably would take Jim Hutton over them as well.
Sweet merciful crap!
It's just tea! sips Needs more gin. -
MsELLERYqueen2 — 14 years ago(August 29, 2011 11:50 AM)
Regarding the books, they are meant to be escape literature rather than required reading for Lit classes. I'm surprised that you had to read some of them for your courses. I think that the series is based on the style which the two Ellery Queen authors used for the EQ books of the late thirties and forties (ie, Ellery becomes less of a thinking machine and more human, romance is introduced, etc.). "Calamity Town" is a real tear jerker, I think. "The Door Between" has a brilliant ending to it.
I agree that Jim Hutton died way too early in life. If he had lived longer, I think that he could have had a good career. I feel that he really wasn't given much of a chance. Some older folks have told me that he was sidelined in the late 60s when actors like Dustin Hoffman became popular. Perhaps he could have had a great career as an older actor in the eighties and nineties. I guess we'll never know for sure.
I love those little "extra touches" that Jim Hottie put into the episodes (arm in the air when sneezing, etc.). I like to think that he even let some of those extra touches slip while out in the real world. I'm sure that the ladies were crazy about him. Oh, and when you do get to the last two DVDs, you'll get to see more of that - his hand on the back of his neck, more "kitchen mishaps" (Ellery trying to fix the sink), and more about his driving skills.
By the way, to my knowledge, the only Ellery Queen episodes which are actually based on Ellery Queen literature are: "The Mad Tea Party" (based on the short story by the same name) and the pilot episode (based on the novel called "The Fourth Side of the Triangle"). The relationship that Ellery has with the girl in "The Mad Tea Party" (the episode) is consistent with the short story. It's kind of left open-ended whether they date for a long time or whether they just have a brief fling.
You might appreciate some of the Ellery Queen short stories, since the dying clues in the short stories are more clever than what we are offered in the episodes. Many of the clues involve some trick from the English language. (Recall the anagrams from the pilot episode. In fact, the novel has a slightly different and more clever ending than the storyline involving the TV set.)
Regarding older actors and their looks.I think that Gary Cooper was quite attractive. I do need to see Burgess Meredith in a movie other than "Grumpy Old Men"b68 (tee hee). For awhile, I thought that Hugh Jackman was hot, but I don't notice him now. When I was 17, I had a bit of a crush on Robert Redford. I remember watching "The Sting" a few times. My first crush was back in 1989. I was 13 and loved "Balki" from the sitcom "Perfect Strangers". Nothing against Johnny Depp. He's okay looking, and at least the media doesn't go on and on about his looks like they do with Brad Pitt.
Speaking of Gary Cooper, you might enjoy him in the 1941 movie "Ball of Fire". In that one, he plays a professor who is studying modern slang. Since you were an English major, you might appreciate the humor in this wonderful comedy. And yes, Cooper really looked hot in this movie. Barbara Stanwyck is the leading actress here. She was really wonderful in a lot of her movies!
Ellery Queen (Jim Hutton) = sexiest man ever! -
rahrah14 — 14 years ago(August 29, 2011 01:47 PM)
Well, the only mystery novel I can think of specifically that I had to read was for Victorian Lit. It was called "The Woman in White" and it was actually serialized originally, then put into novel form. The portions were published in a London newspaper weekly (I think) and you can kind of tell in reading the novel because each chapter kind of ends on a cliffhanger of sorts. That's what made me think of it as a mystery novel. I do need to look into the Ellery Queen books thoughalthough I've read that the early novels portray Ellery in a very different way (sort of snooty and prissy in demeanor). Not sure how I would feel about that since I'm already familiar with Ellery the way Jim Hutton plays him and think that is such a great characterization.
I LOVE old movies!! Gary Cooper was super hot and quite the ladies man in his day. I've heard of "Ball of Fire" and am always on the lookout for when it might come on TV. I used to have a huge crush on Paul Newman too.
Haha, yeah, most people tend to think of Burgess only as an old man because of the "Rocky" and "Grumpy Old Men" movies. He wasn't really a leading man when he was younger, exactly, but he did have a few leading roles. In real life, Burgess was a hot commodity also. He had affairs with a bunch of the famous female stars of that time, like Marlene Dietrich, Hedy Lamarr, etc. And he was married to Paulette Goddard, one of the most gorgeous women ever! So that says something for his charms, I guess. I actually have a little bit of a crush on David Wayne, for that matter. He was a cutie when he was young too. He's hilarious in "Adam's Rib" and "The Tender Trap." He was in a bunch of movies in the 50s, then mainly did theater and TV work the rest of his career. Whoever decided to cast him and Jim Hutton in "Ellery Queen" was brilliant. Even though they look nothing alike, they are both great actors and have a great chemistry with each other so you can really believe they could have been father and son.
Sweet merciful crap!
It's just tea! sips Needs more gin. -
MsELLERYqueen2 — 14 years ago(August 29, 2011 02:39 PM)
Yes, the early Ellery Queen mysteries do portray him as being kind of snotty and without any sort of real feelings. That started to change in the late 30s, though. The novels from the 40s are the ones that are most similar to the series, because they show Ellery as a human being, involved with women, etc. When I read "Calamity Town", I can easily see Jim Hottie as the Ellery Queen in that novel.
Over the years, I've started to watch more and more old movies. I'm quite tired of modern movies, because of the way they rely on tiresome bathroom and sex humor to get their point across. Most of the movies which I watch now are pre-1970 movies. As for "Ball of Fire", you might be able to find a copy in your local library.
I don't have a crush on David Wayne, but I really do like his acting. He was a super actor and he got a lot of good parts when he was younger. From what I've seen, it looks like Jim Hutton didn't really get to showcase his talents that much in the sixties. Oh, he did a lot of comedies and all that, but he didn't really get to show the world how versatile he could be. In "Looking for Love", Connie Francis stole the show. In "Who's Minding the Mint", the supporting actors had the funniest parts. He was given more of a chance in "Walk Don't Run".
By the way, one part of the episode "The Blunt Instrument" which I really liked was the part (about 15 minutes into the episode) where Ellery tricks that one publisher into admitting that she knew that the victim kept that extra key under the mat. When she tries the key, Ellery flings open the door, cocks his head just a tiny bit, and smiles at her. He looks sooooo sexy doing that! I can watch that part over and over again. Holy moly.
I also like the parts where Ellery doesn't have his shirt done up completely and I can see a bit of his chest hair.sigh. There is one such scene in "Col Niven's Memoirs" and another one in one of the last couple of DVDs. Tee hee.my heart's pounding a bit faster
By the way, do you live in the States (if you don't mind my asking)? I live in Edmonton, Canada.
Ellery Queen (Jim Hutton) = sexiest man ever! -
MsELLERYqueen2 — 14 years ago(August 30, 2011 11:39 AM)
Hello again! Have you had a chance to see the last two Ellery Queen DVDs? Ellery definitely has some hot moments in that one, and funny moments as well. He does try to fix the sink in one episode, and the joke about his bad driving continues. You've noticed that running joke, haven't you?
Aside from being unable to make coffee, Ellery is also great at burning food (toast and eggs come to mind). That is so adorable.
Major hot moment - in "Caesar's Last Sleep" (NO SPOILERS HERE), near the beginning, we see him working on his book. He is wearing a lovely green sweater. He has on his glasses and he does pat his head there. Well anyway, his dad shows up, wanting to catch a ball game on the radio. Ellery tells him that it was rained out. His dad doesn't believe him until he hears on the radio that the game was rained out. Ellery kind of cocks his head and smiles. Holy smokes, he looked great when he did that. There was a similar scene in (I think) "The Wary Witness" when he said something like "Velie knows what he's doing" and then he smiles. WOW!
Two questions for you:
Did you understand the humor in the one episode where Ellery hires a typist because he broke his finger? She kept saying that her name is "Margie Coopersmith with a C". Did that make sense? How else would one spell Coopersmith? Or did I miss something?
Also, did you find that any of the episodes had obvious endings? I figured out the ending to "The Chinese Dog" and "The Sunday Punch" very quickly.
Ellery Queen (Jim Hutton) = sexiest man ever! -
rahrah14 — 14 years ago(August 30, 2011 05:12 PM)
The 5th disc should get here Thursdaywaiting impatiently. I definitely look forward to those cute little moments you are talking about.
I didn't quite get that Coopersmith with a C thing either. The only thing I could think of was that maybe someone would think it was spelled with a K, though that is highly unlikely. Or maybe she was really anal about people spelling her name rightit didn't make much sense to me.
I'm not the quickest person when it comes to following mystery stories. I tend to forget small details that may be important later on. Having said that, I have tried to figure out who the killer is when all the suspects are introduced. I've gotten it right twice; once with "Blunt Instrument" and the other being, like you, "Sunday Punch." Strangely enough, those had more to do with the casting choices. Dean Stockwell (in "Blunt Instrument") just gave off a creepy vibe to me, and the guy who played the doctor in "Sunday Punch" is always playing bad guys in other things I've seen him in. In "Pharoah's Curse," I kinda had a feeling that it would end up being the night watchman because I couldn't imagine why they would have kept showing him and having him interact with Ellery and Inspector Queen without there being a good reason for it. I felt like, if he hadn't been the killer, he wouldn't have been given much screen time at all, maybe just a moment.
Sweet merciful crap!
It's just tea! sips Needs more gin. -
MsELLERYqueen2 — 14 years ago(August 30, 2011 06:30 PM)
Well, enjoy the last two discs! They are great.
I'm not the greatest at following mystery stories either. I tend to read them for fun and suspense. I'm not interested in solving the crimes myself. I prefer to let Ellery Queen do the dirty work (tee hee). It's just that some of the episodes have endings which just seemed obvious from the very start.
"The Chinese Dog" - the episode was set up in such a way that only one person COULD have done it.
"Sunday Punch" - I've read enough Agatha Christie to spot the trick here.
I don't remember figuring out the ending of "The Blunt Instrument", though if I had paid more attention to the story and less to Ellery's sneezing (lol), then I might have been able to solve the crime myself.
As for "Pharoah's Curse", I just tuned out that episode after a certain point. It was a weak story with a weak ending. You brought up a good point about the watchman, though.
In "The Judas Window" (NO SPOILERS HERE), there is one part where Ellery gets injured and his dad gives him a massage. Ellery really looked good getting a massage. Just sayin'
By the way, in "Caesar's Last Sleep", Inspector Queen is the one who solves the crime. You've already seen the episode in which Ellery is a suspect. In "Caesar's Last Sleep", Velie becomes one of the suspects.
Oh, how do you like the parts where Ellery talks to the audience? He always looks adorable when he does so. He is SUCH a cutie!
Ellery Queen (Jim Hutton) = sexiest man ever! -
rahrah14 — 14 years ago(August 31, 2011 07:25 AM)
Yeah, it makes me a little sad that I'm almost through and there won't be any new episodes to look forward to, but I also can't wait for what's next.
I'm glad there's an episode where Inspector Queen solves the crime. If there's one gripe I have (and it's not really a gripe, more an observation), it's that the inspector relies too much on Ellery. Sometimes it seems like he's just waiting around on Ellery to arrive and figure everything out. The police provide the evidence and Ellery does the brain work. If Ellery always solved the case, it would sort of make Inspector Queen obsoleteand we couldn't have that because he's just too cute.
I love when Ellery breaks the 4th wall! I think that's one of the best things about the show actually. Bringing the audience in is clever and it's a good connection to the books. And Jim Hutton does it in such a way that it doesn't seem contrived or like he's just playing around. It really seems like he's got a relationship with the audience and that he thinks we could have come up with the answer before he did. Very effective storytelling device, in my opinion.
Sweet merciful crap!
It's just tea! sips Needs more gin. -
MsELLERYqueen2 — 14 years ago(August 31, 2011 12:11 PM)
AwwI do wish that the series had gone on for a few more years. Oh well.
After seeing "How to Marry a Millionaire", I have decided that David Wayne would have made a good Ellery Queen back in the fifties. If Jim Hutton was still with us, then he and Tim Hutton could have played father and son in a recent Ellery Queen series. Oh well, a lost opportunity!
As for the police relying on the detective, that seems to be a common theme with many of the old mysteries. It was certainly true with Sherlock Holmes. I've been reading some Agatha Christie, and I noticed that sweet little Miss Marple gets at the truth faster than the cops. I also heard that the Philo Vance mysteries were very anti-cop and pro-Vance.
In the books published in the thirties, Ellery and his dad are "joined at the hip", so to speak, and Ellery solves the crimes. I haven't read too many of the books from the forties, but in those ones, Ellery does break away from his dad a bit and solves the crimes on his own. In "Inspector Queen's Own Case", Richard solves the case on his own and Ellery isn't even present in the book. I've even heard of a few Ellery Queen novels (the later ones) where neither man is present in the novels. Sounds like the authors did a lot of experimenting with various ideas.
By the way, Frank Flannigan and Simon Brimmer aren't in the books at all. They were created strictly for the show. Both were a great addition to the show, in my opinion. Brimmer's character gives us a glimpse into the world of radio plays. Flannigan seems like a typical newspaper guy of the times.
I think that Ellery looks so adorable when he talks to the audience. I love how the elevator nearly closes on his face in "The 12th Floor Express" when he talks to us. He's so sweet, sexy, and charming all the time. I'm so glad I discovered this show!
Oh, by the way, I gave "The Honeymoon Machine" (1961) another fair chance, and I liked it better this time around. What's interesting is that this movie also had a storyline regarding a girl and her glasses. This time, it was Jim Hutton trying to get Paula Prentiss to put on her glasses. In "How to Marry a Millionaire", it was David Wayne complimenting Marilyn Monroe on her glasses. Interesting.
Ellery Queen (Jim Hutton) = sexiest man ever! -
rahrah14 — 14 years ago(August 31, 2011 01:47 PM)
Okay, so now the all-important question: how DID you discover the show?
I think I already told you, but I sought it out primarily because I'm a fan of David Wayne. I had never seen any of Jim Hutton's worb68k prior to thisnow I'm trying to make up for lost time.
Sweet merciful crap!
It's just tea! sips Needs more gin. -
MsELLERYqueen2 — 14 years ago(August 31, 2011 02:14 PM)
Well, I have been taking the time to read some of the old mysteries by Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen, and John Dickson Carr. A few months ago, I walked into my local video store (which, by the way, has closed since then), and saw the series in the "new releases" section. Since I had read some of the Ellery Queen novels, I decided to give this series a try. Ellery Queen sure turned my head when I first saw him. I wasn't expecting him to be so georgeous and appealing. Shortly after, I resurrected my old IMDb account, changed my screenname and sig, and started to post nonstop.
A number of ladies have said (on various boards) that they remember watching this show in the seventies and that they had a crush 2000on Jim Hutton. I don't blame them.
Recently, I have been checking out Jim Hutton's work. Until I saw this series, I had never heard of him or David Wayne. I grew interested in both actors and I've been trying to track down movies featuring both of them. A long-time and older Internet friend told me that Jim Hutton never really did make it in the movies. He was popular for a bit in the early sixties, then went out of style during the hippie years, and later tried to become big again through TV shows. (All this according to my older Internet friend.) Personally, I find his comedies from the early sixties to be sweet and refreshing. The humor back then was so different than what we get in movies now!
I really recommend "Where the Boys Are", "Bachelor in Paradise", "Looking for Love", "Walk Don't Run" (oh yes, you've seen this one already), and "Who's Minding the Mint". Yesterday, I gave "The Honeymoon Machine" a second chance and loved it. Jim Hutton was so cute in those movies.
Interesting thing - in these movies, Jim Hutton generally played characters who were quite with-it and all that. Despite that, he turned Ellery Queen into a very awkward, absentminded, and forgetful individual who can't even make coffee properly (tee hee). I think that his best work was in the Ellery Queen series. Jim Hutton was very versatile and it's too bad that he isn't with us anymore. He would have been great as a senior actor now.
Ellery Queen (Jim Hutton) = sexiest man ever! -
rahrah14 — 14 years ago(September 01, 2011 01:42 PM)
Got the second to last DVD todaymixed feelings about that. I'll let you know when I finish with them.
Ellery Queen was probably his best opportunity because he could play serious and comic aspects with the character. He did a lot of guest shots on different TV series in the 70's but I haven't seen any of them. It definitely would be interesting to see the kind of work he would have done as he got older. I think he would have been an interesting character actor also. It would have been amazing to see Jim and Timothy acting together in somethingI'm sure they both would have loved that.
Sweet merciful crap!
It's just tea! sips Needs more gin.