F TROOP Fridays: "Play, Gypsy, Play" (1966)

F TROOP Fridays: Episode 14







F TROOP: "Play, Gypsy, Play" (1966 ABC-TV/Warner Brothers) Season One, Episode 24: Original Air Date March 1, 1966.  Starring Forrest Tucker as Sergeant Morgan O'Rourke, Larry Storch as Corporal Randolph Agarn, Ken Berry as Captain Wilton Parmenter, Melody Patterson as Wrangler Jane, Frank deKova as Chief Wild Eagle, Bob Steele as Duffy, James Hampton as Bugler Dobbs, Don Diamond as Crazy Cat.  Guest Stars Zsa Zsa Gabor as Marika, Jackie Loughery as Tanya, Angela Korens as Sonya. Lee Meriwether as Lily O'Reilly.  Directed by Gene Reynolds.  Written by Arthur Julian.

This week's F TROOP Fridays entry is in memory of the episode's Special Guest Star: the late Zsa Zsa Gabor, who passed away from a heart attack last Sunday at age 99.  R.I.P.


Captain Parmenter receives word that a wagon has been separated from its train in hostile Indian territory.  Sgt. O'Rourke is ordered to take a four man detail to search for it, leaving Vice President Agarn temporarily in charge of O'Rourke Enterprises.  With added incentive from the new "employee profit-sharing program", Agarn goes to talk business with Wild Eagle and Crazy Cat.

During the ensuing powwow, that missing wagon turns up at the Hekawi camp, carrying three singing Gypsy sisters: Marika, Tanya and Sonya.  Eager to make his mark as acting President, Agarn arranges Fort Courage protection for the Hungarian ladies and negotiates a 50/50 split with leader Marika on sales of souvenirs, palm readings and goulash. 

The Captain soon regrets this decision once Hoffenmueller sports earrings on sentry duty and Dobbs plays Reveille on the mandolin.  Once Parmenter informs him that the ladies have worn out their welcome, Agarn settles up--and finds himself identified by Marika as Prince Igor: the long lost successor to Laszlo, King of Hungary.  Since that's a higher rank than Corporal or Vice President, Agarn is ready to leave the fort behind.  Then Janie receives new information via telegraph indicating the "lost wagon" wasn't lost after all.

What if Corporal Randolph Agarn were running his own business?  Play, Gypsy, Play explores this hypothetical for the first time, and much like a backup quarterback who is exposed after the league gets some tape on him, Randolph gets off to a solid start but can't sustain it. 

For awhile, though, Agarn sure does his due diligence: seeing the possibilities of business with the gypsies, negotiating a fair deal, adeptly getting the Captain's approval and carefully tracking all sales to ensure that shifty Marika doesn't cheat him.  Entering Act Two, it's as if the Sarge never left.  The first crack in the Corporal's armor is his inability to prevent Parmenter from ordering the gravy train to leave, but Agarn nevertheless collects $22 in profits before the policy change.  All in all, we still appear to have a strong depth chart at O'Rourke Enterprises.

And then......

The Corporal unravels, done in not so much by Marika's charm as from his own greed.  The thought of receiving his weight in gold seems to have even more sway than the power of a kingdom ("Mine, you hear?  All mine!") with the marriage to a beautiful Romani girl appearing to be a distant third.  Agarn is so preoccupied with his impending riches, he even lets Parmenter snooker him out of his earnings before Marika can!   If Wilton Parmenter is putting one over on you, well---hey, some guys are VICE President for a reason.

Once her fair complexion and blonde hair is properly lampshaded ("We're from the northern part of Hungary, dahling!"), Zsa Zsa Gabor's Marika proves to be quite a formidable conwoman.  She doesn't even split with her sisters, and both are puzzled at her willingness to accept a 50/50 division with Agarn.  But Marika is thinking ahead, and she ends up having the last laugh, getting away from Fort Courage with her half of the profits intact.  It's the sisters' fourth consecutive success story at a military outpost.

So, does Zsa Zsa's Marika surpass Lily O'Reilly and happy go lucky widow Hermoine Gooderly as the best female adversary to visit Fort Courage?  Maybe, maybe not.  Despite her success here, it's undeniable that facing the second stringer made her task far easier.  Since O'Rourke was immune to the charms of the other two, it seems likely the Sarge could have resisted Maygarian wiles also.

Then again, O'Rourke re-emerges in the tag with a "new" line of souvenirs he found on his travels that had already saturated the Fort Courage market in his absence.  Better hope for some tourists who have yet to encounter that nomadic wagon, Sergeant!

Forrest Tucker has barely a minute of screen time in Play, Gypsy, Play.  The reason for Tuck's extremely limited participation?  Filming took place during the Bing Crosby Pro-Am at Pebble Beach (January 20-23, 1966), a tournament that the longtime Lakeside member (and 1947 Frank Borzage champ) had his own furlough approved for.  (Trivia: Texan Don Massengale was the winner, his first PGA title.)

L to R: Angela Korens, Jackie Loughery, Zsa Zsa Gabor

Speaking of champions, two former beauty pageant winners are visiting Fort Courage this segment, with glamorous Miss Hungary of 1936 Gabor overshadowing 1952 Miss USA Jackie Loughery.  Play, Gypsy, Play was Loughery's penultimate performance: after a 1969 guest appearance on MARCUS WELBY, M.D. she retired from the screen.  Ms. Loughery only has a few lines here: for much more of her (she turns 87 next April), check out these two appearances of hers on LOVE THAT BOB).  Third sister Sonya is played by Hungarian immigrant Angela Korens, who also appeared on TEMPLE HOUSTON and I SPY during her brief acting career in the mid-1960's.  

THINGS YOU LEARNED:

The Tuwatsi tribe is a neighbor to the Hekawis.  "Always dancing" per Chief Wild Eagle.  Despite that annoyance I'd assume they are better neighbors than the Shugs.

Agarn weighs a svelte 155 lbs., but has been up to 200 before.

Continuing to demonstrate that he is a talented musician, Dobbs sounds pretty good on the mandolin.  So Private Dobbs can effectively play the flute, drums and mandolin--just not the bugle.

HOW'S BUSINESS AT O'ROURKE ENTERPRISES?

Agarn earned about two months' pay in just a few days under the profit-sharing plan before it all slipped away from him. 

WISE OLD HEKAWI SAYING?

Not this time, all of the wisdom is Hungarian.  And plentiful, since Marika ends up doing 28 palm readings that we know of.

NUMBER OF TIMES O'ROURKE COULD HAVE BEEN CHARGED WITH TREASON:

Zero, partly because he was barely around.   In fact, this entry was largely free of violations, though we did temporarily face the prospect of war with Hungary over the release of Prince Agarn/Igor from the U.S. Army.

PC OR NOT PC?

Well....I'll just present this exchange without further comment:

MARIKA: Chief, dahling, you want your palm read?
WILD EAGLE: (looking at it) It already is.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

I guess I could nitpick and point out that the immigration of Hungarian Slovak Gypsies to the United States didn't start until about 20 years after the Civil War, but why bother?  Play, Gypsy, Play is a very amusing and sometimes surprising look at Randolph in charge, with Zsa Zsa Gabor's larger than life persona fitting in perfectly for a Fort Courage visit.  Arthur Julian's sharp dialogue helps Storch and Berry a great deal as they capably shoulder the comedic load in Forrest Tucker's absence.   (***1/2 out of four)

Television Review: LOVE THAT BOB: "Eleven Angry Women" (1957)

LOVE THAT BOB: "Eleven Angry Women" (Original Air Date: 1/10/1957) Starring Bob Cummings as Bob Collins, Ann B. Davis as Schultzy,  Richard Deacon as The D.A., Jackie Loughery as Harriet Burke, Robert Carson as The Judge, Tony Henning as The Newsboy, Charles Wagenheim as the Court Clerk, William Kendis as the Press Photographer, Barbara Drew, Maude Prickett and Nora Marlowe as jurors. Written by Paul Henning, Shirley Gordon and Phil Shuken.  Directed by Norman Tokar.


Series overview of LOVE THAT BOB a.k.a. THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW previously published here for the one hundredth anniversary of the star's birth in 2008 at this link. 


After getting his jury summons, Bob Collins is set to use a flareup of "old war injuries" to get out of his $3 per day civic duty.  However, a glance at the newspaper causes him to have a change of heart, since he'll be in the pool for the high-profile Beach Bandit Case.  It seems that the young lady pictured with Bob below is on trial for a string of robberies along the sandy shores.

With a stated altruistic motive to see that "this innocent girl" gets a fair trial, Bob nevertheless faces a daunting challenge in being selected, since the D.A. understandably wants twelve females on the jury.  But somehow, our ace shutterbug (who says he mostly photographs "interesting structures") manages to convince the prosecutor that he will be impartial during the screening process.  Bob ends up being the lone male juror and (initially) the sole holdout for acquittal against seemingly airtight and damning evidence.

Bob Cummings won an Emmy as Juror # 8 in the 1954 Studio One production of TWELVE ANGRY MEN, so spoofing it on his own series was a natural fit.  The result is an enjoyable, if unexceptional outing, though Collins' selfish shenanigans seem slightly shadier than usual.  Can't mince words--Bob's goal is to free a kleptomaniac so he can sleep with her.  The now venerable Reginald Rose classic has seen dozens of sitcom variations in the half-century since, but the angle presented in Eleven Angry Women remains one of the most inspired of the takeoffs in concept.

The photographer poses for a change

Unfortunately, execution of said concept left something to be desired.  The main shortcoming of Eleven Angry Women has to do with the lack of any solid opposing force, with Deacon's hapless D.A. and Carson's passive judge completely steamrollered by Bob's gamesmanship.  In particular, the D.A. is not only easily outmaneuvered in court by Collins, but also by the Bandit, who is representing herself.  Some DA--Hamilton Burger probably has a higher winning percentage.

With the authority figures dispatched, Bob's fellow jurors are putty in his hands--all eleven of them, especially after the milquetoast turns back into a playboy once the trial starts.  Our silver tongued orator doesn't have a deliberation room adversary close to the level of the source material's infamous Juror # 3.  Collins' argument on the Bandit's behalf is mostly an emotional appeal for her canine companion rather than exposure of holes in the evidence (outside of wondering where she could hide the 'take').  With Bob in her corner, the defendant isn't required to demonstrate the ingenuity implied by her thefts in the courtroom.  Collins doesn't even face his usual hurdles from office or home: default blocker Schultzy is relegated to the peanut gallery, and sister Margaret (Rosemary DeCamp) and nephew Chuck (Dwayne Hickman) are both M.I.A. this segment. 

To answer the question, I'd say "both"

Former Miss USA (and future Mrs. Jack Webb) Jackie Loughery gets to spend a considerable amount of screen time in her bathing suit, not an easy thing to arrange when most of the episode takes place in court.  She is appealing, but not exactly the femme fatale the role calls for.  Loughery made numerous TV and film appearances throughout the decade and returned to the series in season four's Colonel Goldbrick.  Bob's most effective foil is the civic-minded newsboy played by Tony Henning, the producer's son.  This would be the younger Henning's only screen credit.

A partner in crime

Director Norman Tokar helmed a handful of third season episodes in between the transition of lead directing duties from Rod Amateau to Cummings.  Tokar (WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS) does a respectable job, but his specialty was more leisurely paced family humor--he directed 93 segments of LEAVE IT TO BEAVER and several Disney features. Like all LOVE THAT BOB outings, Eleven Angry Women has its comedic highlights: Collins being dressed down by the civic-minded paper boy; the abrupt end of Bob's "nerd" act in the courtroom, Harriet's canine accomplice and, of course, Harriet demonstrating the lack of hiding places for the loot. 

Looks like Bob agrees with that last highlight....

WHO WAS BLOCKING?

As noted above, no one, at least effectively.

Nothing in my way, hmm?  Not even Joe Friday?

DID BOB SCORE?

He certainly had it all set up, but after the trial, he appeared to have changed his mind before anything happened.  Puzzling, especially the reason.  I mean, what did you expect from a thief, Bob?

Some funny moments as always, and Cummings is having a great time spoofing his most famous dramatic TV role, but the lack of solid opposition keeps Eleven Angry Women from really scoring.  It's just way too easy for our playboy this time.  In the end, a mediocre outing that coasts as far as it does on the star's shtick and Loughery's wares.   (** out of four)

Eleven Angry Women is included as an extra on The Official Collection DVD release of Cummings' 1964 series, MY LIVING DOLL.

Television Review: LOVE THAT BOB: "Colonel Goldbrick" (1958)

Hold it!  I don't think Bob likes this picture....

LOVE THAT BOB: "Colonel Goldbrick" (Original Air Date: June 3, 1958) Starring Bob Cummings as Bob Collins, Rosemary deCamp as Margaret MacDonald, Dwayne Hickman as Chuck MacDonald, Ann B. Davis as Schultzy, Olive Sturgess as Carol Henning, General Clarence A. Shoop as Himself, Stanley Stenner as Himself, Jackie Loughery as Jenny.  Directed by Bob Cummings. Written by Paul Henning and Dick Wesson.

Series overview of LOVE THAT BOB a.k.a. THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW previously published here for the one hundredth anniversary of the star's birth in 2008 at this link. 

Chuck is reeling from the loss of best girl Carol to rock n' roll singer Stenner, a blow with additional pain inflicted when the coupling makes the front page of the campus newspaper.  Margaret calls on Uncle Bob the romance expert to help his lovelorn nephew, but her brother can't be bothered.  Wearing his Air Force uniform, the still active reserve departs for a "top secret" photography assignment with the head of S.A.C.  Obviously, Strategic Air Command takes precedence, right?

However, you guessed it: Colonel Collins hasn't been summoned by that S.A.C.  Instead, he's photographing a bathing beauty from this one:

And of course, he's wearing the officer's duds to impress blonde Jenny, S.A.C.'s leader and fundraiser.  When Margaret discovers the real reason that Bob can't stay and aid her moping son, she schemes with commanding officer Shoop to give him a genuine Air Force assignment--in Greenland!  Bob immediately cooks up an explanation involving yet another organization with the same acronym, but can the Colonel put one over on a Major General?

Cummings and Shoop

Colonel Goldbrick is one of several installments to debunk the two most repeated myths about LOVE THAT BOB: a) that aging playboy Collins is ludicrously presented as irresistible to women twenty years his junior while b) the budding youth revolution is completely ignored on the show.

Granted, Collins does have a bevy of beautiful young models thinking he's the cat's meow (Shirley Swanson, Collete DuBois), but as one of L.A.'s top photographers, Bob is in a position to further a model's career--not unlike his obvious role model, Hugh Hefner.  It makes perfect sense for Bob to have heightened attraction in the eyes of a professional model, particuarly if she's marriage minded and likes a challenge--single, successful Bob is a nice prospective catch to a young lady so inclined. 

Jackie Loughery and Stanley Stenner

However, the considerably younger Jenny (played by Loughery, Miss USA in 1952) is neither a professional model nor aspiring to be one.  She appears somewhat attracted to Collins, but in a way that exudes more respect than arousal.  Bob hasn't a chance with her or the other divers once he introduces the ladies to the hip rock n' roll singer their own age, obviously underestimating the appeal of the guitar and voice to the next generation.  The members of S.A.C. (who would have been in grade school during Colonel Collins' war heroics) can resist a man in uniform, and it's Stenner who ends up walking away mobbed in admiration by the entire club. 

Speaking of that uniform, Bob atypically wears it for the entire episode, though his antics have him on the verge of losing a few stripes by the final scene.  While Bob's business casual is nowhere to be found, Colonel Goldbrick is quintessential LOVE THAT BOB (and Henning) otherwise.  One deceptively uncorrected misunderstanding snowballs in a manner that will be very familiar to BEVERLY HILLBILLIES aficionados.

One consistent strength of Cummings' direction was his work with inexperienced actors, as many guest stars during the later seasons were.  He pulls double duty in that regard here, with Stenner and Shoop playing amusing fictionalized versions of themselves.  Seventeen year old Stenner was making the second of two 1957-58 appearances.  A Mary Martin protege who had played Curley in PETER PAN on Broadway as a child, Stenner never parlayed this prime time exposure into rock n' roll stardom.  He did cut singles for the Dynasty label in 1962 and briefly fronted The Grass in the mid-Sixties, but his acting career never took off.

Stenner's second LOVE THAT BOB would be his last, but Major General Clarence A. Shoop (making his fourth appearance here as himself) would return for Bob in Orbit.  Shoop's association with the show's star went back to the General's work as a technical advisor on Cummings' 1943 film PRINCESS O'ROURKE.  While working on O'ROURKE, Shoop met actress Julie Bishop (The Sergeant Wore Skirts), who would remain his wife until his death in 1968 (he was 60; their daughter is actress Pamela Susan Shoop).

A genuine World War II hero who flew the first photographic mission over Normandy prior to D-Day, Shoop was a technical advisor on several films and also acted in the original INVASION U.S.A. (1952).  He is generously given several good lines in Colonel Goldbrick (including the titular one) and delivers laughs consistently in his largest LOVE THAT BOB role.  In addition to his successes in Hollywood and on the battlefield, General Shoop was also Vice President of (Howard) Hughes Aircraft Company.

Cummings was nominated for four acting Emmys for the series but his work behind the camera was just as worthy, particularly when one considers how frequently non professional actors were seamlessly blended into the LOVE THAT BOB universe.  The crisply executed Colonel Goldbrick is a solid example to point to.  

MOST SUGGESTIVE LINE:

Prodded for words of wisdom, Uncle Bob sees his agonized nephew holding a textbook bottom side up and offers: "You don't hold a girl upside down either."  I dunno, Bob, that might make a man look really virile....   Runner up: the playboy photographer assures Jenny of his love for "water sports".  TMI, Bob!  Oh, no, wait, he clarified that he meant scuba diving.

WHO WAS "BLOCKING"?

Everyone....and yet, no one.  See next question.

DID BOB SCORE?

An emphatic "Hell no" this episode.  Youth is served at every turn; all Colonel Collins gets is a comeuppance.

Another simple farce played to perfection, Colonel Goldbrick is funnier than companion piece Bob Digs Rock n' Roll, which also featured Stenner.  Shoop's deadpan delivery is put to especially good use here as he retorts Cummings' well-timed denials.  Bob's square view on the next generation's music would become a recurring theme in the show's following season, and hints that he was close to the end of his shelf life as a swinging single would become more frequent.  No wonder, then, that the fifth season would be the last.  With two episodes to go in its fourth, though, Colonel Goldbrick displayed a show streaking to the finish line.  (***1/2 out of four)