Ellery…*sigh*
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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. -
MsELLERYqueen2 — 14 years ago(September 01, 2011 02:12 PM)
Hey, I look forward to hearing from you about the fifth DVD! Ellery sure has his hot moments in those episodes, especially in "The Wary Witness"!
It's too bad that the show ended so early on. I wish that there were more episodes. Oh well, at least I can watch the existing ones over and over again. They are fun to watchand rewatchand rewatch again
Ellery Queen (Jim Hutton) = sexiest man ever! -
rahrah14 — 14 years ago(September 03, 2011 11:20 AM)
Just finished disc 5. "The Wary Witness" was interesting because the ending was much more downbeatI guess because it turned out that Ellery's friend was actually guilty. Most episodes have their humorous moments, but that one was pretty serious throughout. "Judas Tree" was a really good one, especially when Ellery was fixing the sinkI was very much diggin' the open shirt moments in that one, haha! I must be getting better at figuring out what's going on because I guessed the killer pretty quickly in "Two-Faced Woman." And, of all the episodes on that disc, "Sinister Scenario" was probably my favorite. It probably isn't the best mystery, but I thought it was really entertaining. I especially liked how different Inspector Queen was in that episode. He was really fascinated by the Hollywood scene and kind of starstruck, which I didn't expect.
I'll watch these episodes a couple more times, then on the 6th and final disc.
Sweet merciful crap!
It's just tea! sips Needs more gin. -
MsELLERYqueen2 — 14 years ago(September 03, 2011 08:50 PM)
"The Wary Witness" is definitely a darker story. You know, I still can't figure out the second part of the mystery (the part involving the lady in green). If I paid more attention to the conclusion and less attention to the number of times Ellery put his hand on his head, I would know the complete solution. Ellery sure had his hot moments in that episode!!!
"The Judas Tree" had a brilliant ending. I loved watching Ellery fix the sink and smash that one car lol. I loved the open shirt moments, and yes, there were a lot of those in that episode!!!! Oh.he's soooo sexy..SWOON..
"The Two-Faced Woman" is a good one. I admit that I didn't guess the killer there, though I probably would have if I had been paying attention to something other than Ellery's georgeous face.
"The Sinister Scenario" is quite different from the other stories. I think that the scriptwriters based that one on the three (or four) late 1930s Ellery Queen mysteries which were set in Hollywood. Not my favorite Ellery Queen novels, but they do exist. Yup, Richard Queen was quite cute this time around. Ellery didn't have so m2000any hot moments in that episode, though. In fact, he seemed to be kind of in the background, while the guest stars really took over.
By the way, some of the Ellery Queen novels were set in the fictional Wrightsville (starting with Calamity Town). I think the scriptwriters based the episode "The Chinese Dog" on those novels.
Yup, it's hard to accept that there are so few episodes in this series. Others on these boards have said the same thing. The nice thing is that these episodes can be watched over and over againand they still remain great! The DVD collection was a great investment!
Happy long weekend, by the way!
Ellery Queen (Jim Hutton) = sexiest man ever! -
rahrah14 — 14 years ago(September 05, 2011 09:37 AM)
I love, in "Judas Tree" when he gets to the crime scene and Inspector Queen asks Ellery if he's fixed the sink and Ellery says, "yes, I fixed the sink." It's just the way he says it that is so funnyand the fact that you pretty much know that he DIDN'T fix it, haha!
Yep, I've pretty much decided that I'm ordering the DVD set. In fact, I probably should go ahead and order it now because I'll get the 6th disc by the end of this week and I don't want there to be a lull between mailing the last disc back to Netflix and getting my owncan't go that long without my dear Ellery.
Alas, I had to work today. I could have taken the day off technically, but I was out sick on Thursday so I didn't really want to take another day off so soon. It's cool and rainy here today anyway, so it wouldn't be a very fun day to have offthen again, being sick wasn't fun either. Oh wellhope you're enjoying your extra day (actually, I don't even know if Labor Day is celebrated in Canada, but have a good day anyway, haha!)
Sweet merciful crap!
It's just tea! sips Needs more gin. -
MsELLERYqueen2 — 14 years ago(September 05, 2011 12:07 PM)
Happy Labor Day!
Yup, we celebrate it here in Canada as well. Good to know you're feeling better. You are lucky to have a cold and rainy day. It's so hot here. I hate hot weather. Our winters are extremely cold, which isn't good either. Generally our temps go down to minus 10 Fahrenheit in winter. Ice, snownot fun. (I'm used to the Celsius scale, by the way. That's what we use here. I can't get used to Fahrenheit.)
More importantly
Ellery was so very sweet and appealing in "The Judas Tree". I love the open shirt moments, and other moments as well. I love how he keeps putting his hand on his head. I agree with you about the part where he says that he fixed the sink.tee hee. His facial expression there was priceless! Jim Hutton was good at comedy.
I'm so glad that I bought the DVD set. It's so much fun to watch the episodes overand overand over again. Most episodes are excellent. A couple of them are stinkers, but that's no big deal.
Disc six:
-Caesar's Last Sleep: Ellery does have some of his sexiest moments in that episode, especially near the very beginning. That light green sweater looks so good on him. I love the expression on his face when he asks his dad where his dad will be spending the night. (His dad was on special assignment.) There are moments in this one, though, in which we don't see Ellery at all. (sniff, sob)
-The Hard-hearted Huckster (geez, what a tongue-twister!): Ellery has some cute moments here as well. I really love his final presentation. There is something about this episode that's a bit different from the others in terms of the way he presents the conclusion. He's more serious and dedicated for a very important reason. I love it!!!!!!
-Be sure to catch the very last line of the very last episode on that disc. It's kind of a sad and ironic line. You'll see what I mean when you hear it. How ironic that Ellery is the one who said it.
-There is one more episode on that DVD, but that one didn't make much of an impression on me. I think it was supposed to be more of a romantic episode, but it didn't work well as a romantic one. No, Ellery doesn't have a girl, but, wellyou'll see what I mean. Maybe.
I am still thinking about Ellery's style of sneezing in "The Blunt Instrument". Either it was Jim Hottie's style of sneezin238g, or Jim Hottie came up with that style himself. Either way, it's probably the most adorable thing I've ever seen on TV.
We need more participation on this thread! Where are all the other ladies who love Ellery? I know they're out there!!!!!
Ellery Queen (Jim Hutton) = sexiest man ever! -
rahrah14 — 14 years ago(September 05, 2011 01:42 PM)
I would say the weather here in VA is similar to what you have, except it doesn't get quite as cold. Very extreme temp differences between the seasons. I'm only used to Fahrenheit, even though Celsius is much more logicalwhy in the world would such random numbers as 32 and 212 be the freezing and boiling points? It's been hot here up until recently. I like pretty much all kinds of weatherI like the changes in seasons. I could never live somewhere like Los Angeles where it's always 75 degrees and sunny. I would get bored with that.
I think the titles of the other episodes on disc 6 are "Tin-Pan Alley" and "Disappearing Dagger" (or thereabouts). Not sure which is which though. Hmmm, romantic episodewonder what you might be referring to there? I'm intrigued now.
I think you and I have turned this thread into a personal chat-session and maybe others are intimidated, haha!
Sweet merciful crap!
It's just tea! sips Needs more gin. -
MsELLERYqueen2 — 14 years ago(September 05, 2011 04:10 PM)
"I'm only used to Fahrenheit, even though Celsius is much more logicalwhy in the world would such random numbers as 32 and 212 be the freezing and boiling points?"
I agree. We also use the metric system which is mathematically easier than the imperial system. Ten millimeters in a centimeter, ten centimeters in a decimeter, ten decimeters in a meter, 1000 meters in a kilometermakes more sense than having 12 inches in a foot, etc. I heard from someone much older than myself that the Americans tried the metric system in the seventies and that it didn't catch on. Hmmmwas it because Jim Hutton was so hot back then? Tee hee. He's right up there on the Celsius scale (tee hee).
"I think the titles of the other episodes on disc 6 are "Tin-Pan Alley" and "Disappearing Dagger" (or thereabouts). Not sure which is which though. Hmmm, romantic episodewonder what you might be referring to there? I'm intrigued now. :)" 2000
"The Disappearing Dagger" is the last one, and the last line there is a sadly ironic one. The episode is pretty good, though not a fave of mine.
Hard to explain why I think that "Tin-Pan Alley" is kind of romanticor tries to be romantic. If I explain it, I'll be giving too much away.
"I think you and I have turned this thread into a personal chat-session and maybe others are intimidated, haha!"
I hope others aren't intimidated! I'd love to see others post here!
I still can't get over how nicely Ellery sneezed in "The Blunt Instrument". The fact that Jim Hottie either came up with that style of sneezing OR the fact that he does sneeze like that says something about how charming he is. Charming, adorable, appealing, sexy, hot, georgeous.
By the way, some time ago, someone on IMDb told me that Jim Hottie was expelled from college because he mooned someone. Have you heard anything like that, or is it just an old wives tale? ha haI wish that I could have been there to see that
Ellery Queen (Jim Hutton) = sexiest man ever! -
rahrah14 — 14 years ago(September 05, 2011 06:43 PM)
Actually, I read an interview that he did back in the 60's where he talked about all the trouble he got into when he was younger. He went to one college and was expelled for driving a bulldozer through the university's signature rosebushes (or something like that) and then he transferred to another college and dropped trou at some assembly on a dare. I bet you might be able to find it if you Googled itor at least get a more accurate version of the story. It sounds like he was quite a wild child, haha! Probably he just wasn't the college type.
I'm not sure why others aren't posting, except maybe this page just isn't getting a lot of traffic right now. The actors that aren't as well known kind of go through fits and starts of popularity. Maybe someone will come around eventually.
Yeah, I think America did try the metric system and it didn't go over very well so they went back to standard. I think we're the only major country in the world that still operates on Fahrenheit and the standard measurement systems. Kind of silly, but not surprising if you know anything about America, ha!
Sweet merciful crap!
It's just tea! sips Needs more gin. -
MsELLERYqueen2 — 14 years ago(September 05, 2011 07:11 PM)
Tee hee about Jim Hutton's college pranks lol.
Yeah, he certainly doesn't sound like he was the college type! I'll have to Google him and look up this story. Amazing how Ellery is such a gentleman and Jim Hutton waswell, he was different. I can't imagine Ellery driving a bulldozer through some rosebushes.
Have you been noticing how much Ellery has been putting his hand on his head, or on the back of his neck? In "The Hard-Hearted Huckster", he walks towards the elevator while tapping the back of his neck. That looked so attractive.
One other thing that I found quite sweet was the following: in "The Wary Witness", when he meets the victim's wife in the bar, he refuses to accept an alcoholic drink because "he's old fashioned" (as he said himself). Now I have nothing against people drinking, but somehow, it struck me as being so sweet that Ellery refused to have a drink because he's old fashioned. In "Col. Niven's Memoirs", he was also reluctant to go to that get-together at the bar. What an adorable sweetie. I rather like to see him and his father get the shock of their lives. For example, in "The Judas Tree", when the widow admits that she spent the night at her lover's townhouse, she sure got a reaction from both Queens. Ellery recovered faster than his dad did, though.
If you do decide to read any of the Ellery Queen mysteries, I recommend both "Calamity Town" and "Inspector Queen's Own Case". I can totally see Jim Hutton doing Calamity Town and David Wayne doing Insp Queen's Own Case. It's too bad that both men aren't together in the two books. Oh well.
Ellery Queen (Jim Hutton) = 238sexiest man ever! -
rahrah14 — 14 years ago(September 06, 2011 12:45 PM)
I ordered my full season DVD set from Amazon.com todaywoohoo! I got an email saying it had already been shipped (quick!) so hopefully it will be here by early next week or socan't wait to start watching the early episodes again and pay closer attention to what's going on and notice things I forgot.
He does the back of the head thing a lotit's actually funny because David Wayne does that some too. In fact, I've noticed that he did that in other roles toomaybe it was a father/son thing, haha!
I thought that was kind of strange the way he didn't want to have a drink with the widowthe only thing I could figure is that he maybe thought it was improper to have a drink with a woman whose husband had so recently died, which is kinda sweet.
I think I want to check out "Inspector Queen's Own Case" but I've got to try and finish "The Help" which I've had for months and kind of stalled on. I'm bad about starting a book before I've finished other ones I've started before.
I think Jim Hutton was probably just mischievous. Maybe somewhat rebellious, which is kinda sexy in and of itself.
Sweet merciful crap!
It's just tea! sips Needs more gin. -
MsELLERYqueen2 — 14 years ago(September 06, 2011 03:51 PM)
Hello again! Well, I modified my signature because I noticed a wonderful comment in the episode "The Black Falcon". I love that episode! There is one kitchen scene where Ellery is totally spaced out, and his dad does have to explain to him the difference between a sink and a fridge (tee hee).
When Ellery finally makes it to the fridge, his dad says something like, "Why does everything in this house end up in the fridge? Manuscrips, mittens" and then he gets cut off. I decided to make part of that quote my signature.
Regarding "The Wary Witness", you might be right. Ellery probably didn't want to have a drink with the woman whose hubby died so recently. Very sweet and sexy of him to think that way.
I do like to think of Jim Hutton as being a naughty and rebellious boy.
By the way, I still can't figure out his eye color. His eyes look so blue in some episodes and so grey in others!!! I should start a thread about this on this board.
Hey, enjoy the DVD collection!16d0 It's really wonderful. There is one thing that I find kind of annoying: they didn't label each DVD with the episode names. Otherwise, the DVDs are great! Hope your DVDs arrive soon!
Ellery Queen(Jim Hutton)=SEXY!
"Why does everything in this house end up in the fridge?" -
rahrah14 — 14 years ago(September 07, 2011 07:40 AM)
I noticed your new signaturegood call! I liked that line too because I find myself doing things like that sometimes. I'm sort of absent-minded, but not nearly as bad as Ellery, haha!
Well, eye color does change on some people (or seems to). I generally have hazel eyes, but sometimes they look more green and sometimes they look more brown. I don't know if that's scientifically possible, but they do appear to change color at times. It seems like, sometimes, they look different depending on what color clothes you're wearing. Maybe that's the case with Jim Hutton. I've always thought they looked more blue, but I could definitely see them going grayish from time to time.
That is a little annoyinghopefully there's at least a guide that tells you which episodes are on which discs. I'm still getting disc 6 tomorrow so I won't have to wait too long to watch them, but I hope the season set will be here by the beginning of next week or so
Sweet merciful crap!
It's just tea! sips Needs more gin. -
MsELLERYqueen2 — 14 years ago(September 07, 2011 07:53 AM)
I'm kind of absentminded as well, but Ellery and my dad both take the cake when it comes to having their heads up in the clouds. My dad has done some very bizarre things in his time!
Interesting about eye color. Mine are always dark brown. Jim Hutton's eyes always look georgeous, no matter what shade they are. I always notice his eyes when he talks to the audience, and other times5b4 when there is a close-up shot of him (ex. when he's in the jail cell, talking to Flannigan).
As for the DVDs, the episodes are put in order. The first three are on DVD one, the next four on DVD two, etc. I really should print out a copy of all the episodes and just mark for myself which episodes are on which DVD. I'm just too lazy to do this (ha ha).
I forgot to say in my last email that it's funny that David Wayne also put his hand on his head in other TV shows and such. Jim Hutton does it with such charisma, though. He's so unbelievably attractive and appealing.
Have a good day at work! I need to get going as well.
Ellery Queen(Jim Hutton)=SEXY!
"Why does everything in this house end up in the fridge?" -
MsELLERYqueen2 — 14 years ago(September 02, 2011 03:36 PM)
By the way, I think that in the episode "The Hard-hearted Huckster", Ellery is sexiest when presenting the conclusion to the mystery. There is something different about what he does in that episode compared to all the other episodes, a gimmick that isn't used in any of the other episodes. Ellery sure looks georgeous when he presents us with the conclusion.
I couldn't keep my eyes off of him. That episode is on the sixth disk.
Also in this episodeI love the fact that Ellery pats his head and/or the back of his neck so many times!
Ellery Queen (Jim Hutton) = sexiest man ever! -
dolenz5 — 13 years ago(July 08, 2012 10:16 PM)
HiI know it's been quite a while since either of 5b4you have posted anything here and don't know if you ever check back in, but I'm one of those who was able to watch "Ellery Queen" when it was originally aired. I was about 20 and also thought Jim Hutton was a hottie! I think I watched it because Jim had already caught my eye elsewhere. I was so smitten with Jim that I even named one of my kittens Ellery.
Being a huge John Wayne fan I think I probably first noticed Jim in "Hellfighters" and "The Green Berets". While I liked him in both (as well as everything else I saw him in!) I think I preferred his performance in "The Green Berets". He had a great role as Sgt. Petersen the company scroungerif they needed anything, Petersen could get it for them. And the relationship that developed between 'Peter-saun' and the little Vietnamese orphan was absolutely precious! I HATED the out come of the one mission but it was a fact of warenough saidI don't want to spoil anything for anyone that might read this.
Anyway, if you happen to read this and are still a big Jim Hutton fanand why wouldn't you be? I am after almost 40 years! I hope you get a chance to see these 2 movies, they are both available on Netflix.
BTWI agree with you about David Wayne and Burgess Meredith, too! In fact I had a very good friend who reminded me a lot of Burgess as they each got older and my friend was a REAL HOTTIE!! If you do watch "The5b4 Green Berets", check out David Janssen and Aldo Raythey are two more of my favorites. I don't think either will disappoint you.