F TROOP Fridays: TV GUIDE, May 27-June 2, 1967

The second of our trilogy of F Troop TV Guide Covers.  If you like vintage TV Guide reviews, It's About TV has a new one each Saturday, and you'll find one periodically at Retrospace also.


When F Troop made the cover of TV Guide for the first time on December 11-17, 1965, the show was riding high.  Three months into the 1965-66 season, it was ABC's biggest new hit despite a difficult time slot, giving top-billed Forrest Tucker his signature television role.

The show was front and center on TV Guide a second time during summer reruns eight months later, with Tuck's co-star Larry Storch being the subject of the feature article for the August 13-19, 1966 issue.  (Yes, I will be profiling that one, too, when we get to its 50th Anniversary later this summer.)  The ratings stayed steady through a transition to color and a new night and time in 1966-67, and the Fort Courage foul-ups made TV Guide's cover a third time, 49 years ago this week:

Unfortunately, this feature story was a bittersweet one for the show's fans.  Despite solid ratings in its sophomore season, studio politics and a pending merger with Seven Arts at Warner Brothers ended F TROOP after 65 episodes and two seasons.   

The feature article accompanying F Troop's third and final TV Guide cover is a heartfelt tribute to "one of the funniest ideas to have hit television in years" by frequent TV Guide contributor Ronald Searle.  Of course, the British satirist and artist did the illustration of Berry, Tucker and Storch you see above, along with three more Searle classics that accompanied the three page article (see the next two pictures below).

Searle drolly calls F Troop a "virtual on-the-spot portrait of frontier life as it was lived in everyday terms" and describes meeting (well, maybe) Wild Eagle himself--coming away with an autographed souvenir scalp.  Not as much information on the show as the previous cover stories on Tucker and Storch (save for de Kova's claim to have done "the only Shakespearean Indian role in the business") but Searle's wonderful tribute is still a must-read if you're an F Troop fan.  The long-time (1965-1990) contributor to the best-known television weekly on this side of the pond clearly would have welcomed a third season as much as anyone.  Searle wasn't alone: like its spiritual predecessor The Phil Silvers Show, F Troop quickly gained a significant following in the U.K., re-running continuously on ITV from 1968 to 1974.)

In the same issue that British freelancer Searle pays tribute to an American television classic, U.S. correspondent Robert Musel is far less kind to British TV.  Musel's It Isn't Just Cricket! goes so far as to say that British TV needs a "healthy counterblast" to such pieces as the BBC's examination via 24 Hours: "How Corrupt is America?"  Musel's piece is as serious as Searle's is humorous; his list of grievances can be summed up by his early statement that "the picture of life in America conjured up by the average Briton by what he sees on his screen is more caricature than portrait".  It would be interesting to see the news programs cited; maybe if Musel had been watching The Avengers, The Saint or The Prisoner instead of gotcha journalism (nothing new under the sun, eh?) he would have found more to like.

Should have been available to him, since New York-born Musel was a UPI journalist based in London for many years.  Musel wasn't a writer to be easily dismissed: his career dated back to the Lindbergh kidnapping case.  A songwriter ("Band of Gold") as well, he died in 1999 at age 90.

It's apparently an issue of the recently cancelled, as Robert Loggia of T.H.E. Cat is the subject of the two page article that follows.  Loggia's show lasted a single season, perishing opposite the CBS Friday Night Movies and failing to make the year's top 70. (It had ranked # 68 out of 91 shows at midseason.) Cut-Ups examines Thomas Hewitt Edward Cat's fencing talents, with the background on Loggia's abilities (he learned at the same time he was studying acting under Stella Adler) and offering a little credit to Loggia's double, stunt coordinator Paul Baxley.

Next up is an article that yours truly has a complaint with.  Diahann Carroll up next for four pages, and we get one picture.

Three pics of Mr. Loggia and one of Ms. Carroll?  I have a lot of respect for both performers, but come on, we all know who's easier on the eyes!  Jeez....

The issue of race looms large throughout Edith Efron's profile, with the article's era is given away in the third paragraph: "she is a Negro first and Diahann Carroll second".  By 1967 she was already a thirteen year show business veteran with a Tony award (for 1962's No Strings) and was just a season away from becoming one of TV's most popular stars in NBC's Julia.  Carroll's first marriage to Monte Kay is covered; she declines to discuss the affair with Sidney Poitier that (in part) ended it.  A half century later, the Television Academy Hall of Fame inductee (2011) is still going strong at 81.

Before I continue, I'd rather not make the same mistake they made in this issue.  Here's a second pic of Diahann Carroll in 1967:

Next up, Melvin Durslag's How to Elbow Your Way into Television is about the latest jock-turned-broadcaster, recently retired Dodger great Sandy Koufax, whose career came to an abrupt end after the 1966 season due to elbow problems.  Koufax was signed to a ten year contract by NBC.  While announcing didn't come naturally to the Hall of Fame pitcher, he did end up staying on until 1973.

The next article is a nice read for us Dobie Gillis fans. It's written by Zelda Gilroy herself, Sheila James.  The First Minute Hurts details her adventures in auditioning for commercials, with one breakfast ad and a ubiquitous bowl of mush getting the bulk of the attention.  James was 26 and had been a regular on The Stu Erwin Show and (just two seasons earlier) Broadside in addition to her four year run as Zelda, but her acting career was winding down.  She had guest starred on a January episode of The Beverly Hillbillies (Paul Henning had hired her multiple times for that series and Love That Bob) but only has a half dozen TV credits to her name since, the last being the 1988 reunion Bring Me The Head of Dobie Gillis.
 

James with Hickman on a May 1962 cover

Taking a brief jab at Governor Reagan in her article, James (now known as Sheila James Kuehl) hinted at her future career (and party).  She attained her law degree at Harvard in 1978 and went into politics in 1994, serving six years in the California State Assembly and eight more in the state Senate.  At 75, the Tulsa, Oklahoma native is still at it, in her first term as a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.  Two decades apiece in acting, law and politics; like her co-star Dwayne Hickman, she's led many lives.
 

Stephen Strimpnell of Mr. Terrific is the subject of the final article, giving this issue three recently cancelled article subjects, including the season's two highest-rated shows to be cancelled.  Mr. Terrific ranked 36th at season's end, (F Troop was 40th), improving on the show it replaced, Run, Buddy, Run (# 62 with a 27 share).  The season-ending numbers don't tell the whole story: Mr. Terrific was a midseason replacement with only 13 episodes aired, and the premiere ranking # 13 for the week.  It fell out of the top 50 completely by its third segment, never to return, so the high initial rating was considered a fluke by CBS.

Strimpnell originally auditioned for the "cross-town rival", NBC's Captain Nice.  That role was won by William Daniels, but Strimpnell had the last laugh in the ratings.  Well, sort of--both shows lasted only half a season.  Despite the demise of Mr. Terrific, Strimpnell has few complaints: the young (27) actor is living his dream.  A former teacher at Uta Hagen's H.B. Studio and a graduate of Columbia Law School, Strimpnell finds his current situation "amazing and wonderful, gratifying to the senses".

Dwight Whitney's profile of "the child prodigy who grew up to be Mr. Terrific", also gives stunt double Chuck Courtney a little recognition and director Arthur Lubin is also quoted.  While Strimpnell would stay active in the business for the next two decades (including roles in ALL THAT JAZZ and FITZWILLY), Mr. Terrific would remain his best remembered role by far.  He died in 2006.

Moving to the listings, it's summer rerun time, but we still see the premiere of a legendary cult classic with a production history that might be even more interesting than the show itself.  Coronet Blue premiered on Monday, May 29, 1967.  As the Close-Up above notes, Coronet Blue was originally intended for the 1965-66 season, but CBS shelved it, deciding to burn off 11 of the 13 episodes produced two years later.  Surprisingly, the show caught on despite airing opposite Run For Your Life and The Big Valley.   By the summer of '67, continuing it was not an option: star Frank Converse already had a new series, N.Y.P.D. on ABC for the upcoming 1967-68 season.  (It was a modest success; co-starring the great Jack Warden, it lasted until 1969.)

While Converse didn't get a chance to reprise the role of Michael Alden--or at least, hasn't to date--he did have the cult favorite Movin' On in his future as well.  Paul Bogart directed the series premiere.  A detailed history of the series and its long, strange journey to the airwaves can be found at the always fascinating Television Obscurities blog.

On Friday night, the upcoming fifth installment of the James Bond franchise (YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE) warrants a special on NBC, pre-empting The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Other listings tidbits:

Joanne Dru

Joanne Dru is one of the Hollywood Squares this week; her brother Peter Marshall is the host, of course.  Other Squares: Marty Allen, Steve Rossi, Vincent Price, Eva Gabor and Michael Landon;

Crooner Julius La Rosa (from the various Arthur Godfrey shows, at least until his "swan song" in October 1953) alongside country comics Homer and Jethro on Friday's Mike Douglas Show; La Rosa actually is in for the entire week.  His public firing by Godfrey was still mentioned in the headlines of his obituaries after his passing on May 12, overshadowing several major hits including Eh, Cumpari and Anywhere I Wander.  R.I.P.

What of F Troop itself?  Forrest Tucker gets his chance to shine in a dual role, playing both Sergeant O'Rourke and father Angus in Did Your Father Come From Ireland? Thursday night at 8 PM. 

In the "Letters" section, the May 6 John Banner article brought a thumbs-down from a reader.  Yes, controversy over Hogan's Heroes was nothing new even then.   One reason you might find the letter interesting--it's written by a very familiar name:

Allan S. Manings was married to Whitney Blake (Hazel) and the two of them co-created One Day At a Time in 1975.  In the more immediate future, he was months away from a long run writing for Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In.  Manings (1924-2010) won an Emmy for the latter; he also produced Good Times from 1975-1977.

Yes, I did these out of order, but the in-between issue is still coming up in August, when we will visit the world of the legendary Larry Storch.  Until then, It's About TV can satisfy your TV Guide fix on a weekly basis, taking an in-depth look at a vintage issue every Saturday.

Television Review: GET CHRISTIE LOVE!: "Highway to Murder" (1974)

GET CHRISTIE LOVE!: "Highway to Murder" (ABC-TV/Universal; Original Air Date: October 30, 1974) Starring Teresa Graves as Det. Christie Love, Charles Cioffi as Captain Reardon.  Guest Stars: Clu Galager as Sheriff Burl Taggart, John Quade as Deputy Willet, Donna Andresen as Myrna James, Walter Brooke as Kane, Rudy Ramos as Dimas, Jack Ryland as Chan, Migdia Varela as Tina Estrada, Pat Corley as Duffy, Patch McKenzie as Loretta Brooks, Brion James as Trent Hopper, Georgia Schmidt as Mrs. Bannister, Douglas Dirkson as Tolan.  Written by Donn Mullaly.  Directed by Ivan Dixon.

Series overview for GET CHRISTIE LOVE! and introduction to the episode guide at this link.


The incarceration of material witness Myrna James brings Detective Love to the small town of Monroe.  Needing to arrange James' extradition for a key L.A. murder trial, Christie finds that she'll have to wait: Myrna's jailed for robbery and the Judge is away on a fishing trip.   Monroe Sheriff Burl Taggart can't be much help, since Love's arrival coincides with the discovery that one of Burl's officers has been found murdered outside of town.

Taggart offers to let Love ride along and observe investigative techniques "out here in the sticks".  Despite Deputy Willet's discovery of an incriminating stolen watch in Dimas' luggage, "big city" Detective Love thinks that the Sheriff is barking up the wrong tree when he suspects the Hispanic immigrant of the killing.  Meanwhile, with the backing of a menacing biker gang (The Vikings), the dead officer's brother Chan threatens vigilantism if Dimas is "let off".  When public defender Tolan pulls a few strings with the Attorney General,  Christie is assigned to help with the case, putting the L.A. Detective squarely in someone's crosshairs.  But whose?

Highway to Murder is the obligatory episode where our metropolitan detective unwittingly gets involved in a rural case and finds a hostile reception from the locals.  But don't expect many echoes of In the Heat of the Night---while none of the locals we meet are African-American, no one makes so much of a mention of Christie's race.  The lone comment Christie's appearance elicits?  Deputy Willet's opener: "They sure do package 'em nice in the big city!"  Even the Vikings' leader avoids racist or sexist perjoratives while menacing the outsider.

This isn't to say that Highway to Murder is devoid of racial tensions; Chan is upset to learn his brother has been murdered, and seems even angrier at the thought that Mexicans might get away with the crime--lynching is his stated threat from the officer's sibling if justice "isn't served".  As it turns out, the choosing of Dimas as a patsy is purely to cover up a much larger operation, one that has an impressive number of collaborators.  Not surprising in 1974, but this conspiracy isn't of (say) Race With the Devil proportions: the sheriff and the powerful Kane certainly aren't in on it.  However, both have moles in their organizations.

Despite a few comments early, the expected urban/rural law enforcement conflict never really develops.  He initially seems eager to demonstrate that hustle and know-how can compensate for budgetary shortfalls, but Sheriff Taggart owns a Masters in criminology from UCLA, takes refresher courses through the LAPD and already embraces the latest technology.  Still, it takes Taggart a while to release the idea that Dimas is guilty.  The Sheriff doesn't appear all that pleased to be ordered to work with Detective Love, but he welcomes her input before and after this brief irritation, agreeing that they both want the same thing: a real culprit behind bars.

Taggart and Love are equally dogged invesigators, and the former implies he's in Monroe instead of L.A. because he dislikes the hassle of the concrete jungle.  Then again, for all his training, hustle and expertise, he's still unaware of the major criminal activity taking place right under his nose--specifically, with his top deputy.  On the surface, Willet fields the calls and minds the store at the department, all the while directing and concealing his role in the trafficking scheme.

Willet is intriguingly written by Mullaly: using his position to stay one step ahead of Taggart's leg work, deftly planting phony evidence to steer suspicion,  easing Love into a wild goose chase to the Kane farm--and into harm's way.  All the while, he's deferential to his boss, of whom he speaks glowingly--it's Willet who lists Taggart's credentials, something the modest Sheriff appears highly unlikely to do.

Unfortunately, much of the resolution doesn't hold water.  The incriminating body at the resort would almost certainly be disposed of after the first officer's death, particularly with the manpower available to our labor suppliers.  Chan's inflammatory actions also seem very puzzling in hindsight, once the final revelation is known.  Willet foolishly handles the showdown with Love--he should be telling her to throw down the gun instead of asking her to hand it to him (so he can lose his balance reaching out for it), shouldn't he?   It makes about as much sense as approaching Steven Seagal with a gun instead of shooting him at a distance always did.  Too many highly unlikely mistakes from a heretofore meticulous mastermind.

Outside of the disappointing finale, director Dixon (Trouble Man) handles the action capably, with Christie's second run-in with the Vikings well handled--Dixon doesn't even utilize the overexposed right hand flip that seemed to show up in every episode.  Christie's Capri takes the beating that the Detective avoids, with her back windshield shot out by "crazy hermit" Trent Hopper as he supposedly hunts for jackrabbit.

Speaking of Hopper, he's played by Brion James in what appears to have been the actor's first prime time TV role.  In fact, I suspect James may have been doing double duty, since he's credited only as Hopper, while the Vikings' leader is unlisted in the credits, but definitely appears to be him as well.  You be the judge:

Elsewhere, a young Patch MacKenzie plays Kane's much younger squeeze,

Migdia Chinea has one of her earliest credits as well, before launching her career as a writer-director:

And Donna Andreson makes an appearance as Christie's jailed material witness, shortly before her most memorable role in 1976's Mansion of the Damned.  Incidentally, that cult classic was directed by Michael Pataki, who would join the cast of GET CHRISTIE LOVE! just a few episodes later as Christie's new partner, replacing Andy Romano.

The eclectic guest cast headed by Galager, Quade and Brooke is a definite plus, since both Andy Romano and Dennis Rucker are M.I.A. this week and Charles Cioffi is limited to a fifteen second telephone cameo.  Doesn't quite all tie together, but does set up a potential sequel with Galager's Sheriff, since Quade's accomplice who actually committed one murder and sabotaged Christie's car is still at large.  Alas, Highway to Murder would be our only visit to Monroe, California and those fiery enchiladas.

ONE LUMP, OR MORE?

Christie doles out two. with Trenton and Deputy Willet uneasily sugared by our wary heroine.  The first after that aforementioned back windshield blast, the latter after the deputy gets the drop on the big city detective who threw a wrench in his seemingly foolproof stratagem.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

The guest cast is deeper and more fascinating than usual.  Mullaly and Dixon bring impressive credentials and skills, but neither seems to be at the top of his game with Highway to Murder. On the plus side: Galager and Quade give well conceived performances, the message that the exploiters are far more worrisome than the exploited isn't lost and the change of scenery (for the first time since the pilot movie, we're out of L.A.) is welcome. An interesting setup that just doesn't quite come together.  (**1/2 out of four)

MAVERICK Mondays: Maverick and Juliet (1960)

MAVERICK Mondays: Number 19






MAVERICK: "Maverick and Juliet" (1960 Warner Brothers/ABC-TV) Starring James Garner as Bret Maverick, Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick, Carole Wells as Juliet Carteret, Steven Terrell as Sonny Montgomery, Rhys Williams as Montague Montgomery, Marjorie Bennett as Mrs. Edwina Montgomery, Jack Mather as Enoch Carteret, Sarah Selby as Mrs. Carteret, Michael Garret as Ty, Lew Brown as Jeb, John Zaccaro as Nat.  Directed by Arthur Lubin.  Written by Herman Epstein.


Bret Maverick is just passin' through Carteret land en route to St. Louis when he happens upon Juliet Carteret, Sonny Montgomery and their broken down horse carriage.  Bret briefly interrupts his journey to help the couple get the wheel fixed and finds himself nose to nose with the entire Carteret clan, accused of assisting the elopement by hot-headed Ty.  In the ensuing fistfight Ty instigates, the ill-tempered young Carteret hits his head on a large rock.  Held responsible for Ty's head injury, Bret finds himself taken hostage at gunpoint by the still suspicious Carterets.

Maverick soon learns that the young lovers are on opposite sides of a family feud (over land) that has lasted generations. With his life on the line (thanks to revenge-seeking Ty), Bret suggests a civilized way to settle the dispute: a poker game, with Bret playing on the family's behalf.   Since there's only half a dozen players in the West who can hang with Bret at the tables, it seems like a sure win for the Carterets.  That is, until "Bret Carteret" meets his opponent: Bart "Montgomery". 
 

A MAVERICK variation on Romeo and Juliet?  Producer Coles Trapnell admitted that Maverick and Juliet is lifted from Mark Twain's satirizing of Shakespeare in Huckleberry Finn.  In earlier seasons, a natural fit for Marion Hargrove (The Rivals), but with the Gun-Shy author long gone from the series, the assignment went to Herman Epstein, another of Trapnell's colleagues from his days at Four Star Productions.  As was the case with Epstein's first installment (A Fellow's Brother), he crafted a hilarious tale of misguided family honor and illogical logic.

The Carterets and Montgomerys have been at war for a half century over access to fifty acres of land.  Neither patriarch is trusting enough to resolve the dispute--each prefers the collateral damage of losing the occasional family member to gunfire over "trafficking with the Devil".  The stubbornness has been passed down intact for three generations, with no sign of fading anytime soon if the youngest Montgomery's attitude is any indication.

While Mr. Carteret "don't hold with gambling" he is perfectly okay holdin' with murder and deception.  "Whatever must be, must be."  Gunshots are liable to ring out at any time, except for Sunday--neither family wishes to fight on the Sabbath and they attend the same church (with the two clans collectively comprising about eighty percent of the congregation).  The Montgomerys and Carterets are faithful in physical presence, but the sermons fall on deaf ears, week after week--the feudin' starts right back up after midnight every Monday.

Only Sonny Montgomery and Juliet Carteret join Bret in seeing the ludicrousness of letting the land go unused ("this way, everyone loses").  Summing up this hopeless--but of course, never serious--situation: Ty, spoiling for a gunfight, shoots a silver dollar in the air to intimidate Bret.  The eldest Carteret sternly scolds his son for wasting ammunition.  Maverick is horrified, too--because money is being destroyed.

The highlight of Maverick and Juliet is the opportunity to see Bret and Bart on opposite sides of the poker table in extended action for the first (and only) time.  Bret is thrown off by the unexpected competition, and Bart takes advantage, building an early lead.  Despite Bart's initially heartless response (hilariously voiced by messenger Juliet) to Bret's dilemma, the younger sibling displays some brotherly love by tapping the brakes on the budding rout, and Bret returns the favor when the tables are turned.

Though this epic poker match isn't entirely on the level (how could it be, since both sides are entering it under false pretenses?) it is realistically staged, with a small full house being the top hand we see and the deciding hand being won (or is it?) by two pair.  Director Lubin has a similarly grounded approach to the episode's humor, completely eschewing silliness for Garner's exasperated reactions to the absurd logic of his captors. 

The question of which Maverick is the better player remains unanswered after two days of heads-up action but this particular battle is conceived, fought and decided pragmatically.   Satisfyingly, too.  Young lovers are helped, a family feud is resolved, and the Maverick brothers come through for one another--well, sort of.  But never fear, you're still firmly in the MAVERICK universe, with no tears, no hugs, and certainly no lessons learned in Maverick and Juliet.


HOW'D THEY DO AT POKER?

The Mavericks emerge from their own family battle with both of their lives intact and $5,000 profit to keep in the family, the best possible outcome.  Bret does kick ass earlier against Nat Carteret, but the only thing at stake is a chance to play for his life if he shows prowess against the family's most experienced gambler.

WISDOM FROM PAPPY?

Wise old Pappy is in fine form, with both aphorisms hitting the bull's-eye.  "If all the men who lived by the gun were laid end to end, I wouldn't be surprised."  Gunfire from the Montgomery family partially obscures the final word.  Even better is Bart's response (via Juliet) when Bret relays the dire fate he faces if he loses the game.  Is brother Bret's life more meaningful to Bart than the promised $5,000 for the win?  When in doubt, heed Pappy's words: "The only thing more important than money is more money." 

 
THE BOTTOM LINE:

One of the unsung heroes of the Coles Trapnell Era, Epstein penned four segments during his Four Star Productions colleague's MAVERICK stint.   All were winners, and this is his best (by a nose over A Fellow's Brother).  Getting the Maverick brothers across the table from one another for the highest stakes was a much anticipated situation for two and a half seasons, and the writer doesn't disappoint-- director Arthur Lubin deftly handles both the game and its buildup.  Maverick and Juliet is deserving of its high reputation with fans and one of the most rewatchable installments of the entire series.  (**** out of four)

MAVERICK currently airs Monday through Friday at 1 PM Central/2 PM Eastern without commercial interruption on Encore Westerns.

Favourite TV Episode Blogathon II: BILKO in "Hollywood"

THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW - "Hollywood" (1956)  Starring Phil Silvers as Sgt. Bilko, Paul Ford as Colonel Hall, Howard Smith as Cecil D. Chadwick, Ralph Stantley as Chick Benson, Eric Fleming as Rory Mundane, Malcolm Lee Beggs as General Merritt, Jule Styne as Himself, Robert Dryden as Sampson, Billie Allen as WAC Billie.  Directed by Al de Caprio.  Written by Nat Hiken.

Welcome to the Horn Section's contribution to the 2nd Favourite TV Episode Blogathon, hosted by our friend Terence Towles Canote at his wonderful blog, A Shroud of Thoughts.  Check out all the other entries for what we hope will continue to be an annual event, and while you're there, check out Terence's archives as well--A Shroud of Thoughts has been around since 2004 and the archives are stuffed with goodies.

THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW was a remarkably and meticulously written creation from the great Nat Hiken, who realized his vision immediately.  By the second episode, "Empty Store", the show's formula was established.  Nominal commanding officer Colonel Hall would spend most of his time trying to figure out what was really behind some seemingly innocuous Bilko request, and "Ernie" would always be one step ahead of him and everyone else.  For all the Sergeant's cunning, though, deep down, he was a softy--not a sociopath.  The series original title spelled it out for Bilko: YOU'LL NEVER GET RICH.  But on the bright side, he'd never be supplanted as the man who really runs Fort Baxter either.

I previously highlighted the first season entry Centennial, a great example of one of BILKO's most commonly used sits to set up the com--the arrival of an outsider threatening to disrupt Bilko's well-oiled operation.  Such segments were almost always home runs, whether the new arrival was a visiting officer (Centennial), a muckraking reporter (The Secret Life of Sergeant Bilko) or even a visiting lecturer (The Twitch).  The show's supporting players almost always got individual moments to shine in these episodes, which was challenging given the show's expansive cast (22 regulars were stationed at Fort Baxter at one point).

Despite the large cast, and the popularity of Maurice Gosfield's sad-sack Private Doberman, BILKO was far less of an ensemble than the military comedies it inspired (McHALE'S NAVY, F TROOP).  As suggested by its change in title during the first season, THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW was vehicle tailored to the talents of its star.

No disrespect intended for the contributions of Gosfield, Joe E. Ross, Allan Melvin, Karl Lukas, Maurice Brenner and the rest of the motor pool platoon.  But let's face it: the bulk of the show fell on Phil Silvers' shoulders--case in point, none of the above take part in this blogathon selection.  If not for appearances by Paul Ford (and an uncredited Billie Allen as WAC Billie, with no lines) no one else from Fort Baxter would appear in Hollywood at all.  This episode is truly Silvers' show wire to wire.

Hollywood is also the first of another subset of installments that showed Sergeant Bilko's inimitable skills unleashed on the civilian world outside sleepy, long-ignored Fort Baxter. ("The Pentagon is calling?  They must have the wrong number!"--Colonel Hall) The Sarge would later end up in Monte Carlo (hilariously trying out a foolproof roulette system) and on Wall Street (temporarily making a killing).  Ernie would also chisel his way into the spotlight in an army training film and an all-army special hosted by guest star Ed Sullivan.  All classic BILKO's, and all a result of the wild success of this initial furlough in Tinseltown.

To be sure, Nat Hiken was never that fond of the titular movie capital.  Television production moved rapidly from New York to Los Angeles in the late Fifties, but Hiken didn't relent and move with it until years later.  I'd imagine this quintessential champion of East Coast television delighted in penning Hollywood.

After a string of WW2 themed 'sexy' hits (like They Met in Okinawa), Chadwick's creative team sets its sights on the Battle of Kabuchi for Guns, Guts and Gals.  The higher-ups at the Pentagon would prefer that Chadwick Productions seek their moneymakers elsewhere, but General Merritt admits that non-cooperation with Chadwick Productions is a losing battle: "Chadwick will make the picture anyway, and at least this way we'll know they're wearing United States uniforms!"

Chadwick needs a technical advisor who "fought in the Battle of Kabuchi and is still in the Army", and after a decade, only one serviceman fits the bill: Sergeant Ernest Bilko of Fort Baxter.  While the most powerful military in the world may be completely helpless to stop Tinseltown, Sergeant Bilko is a different matter.  Hollywood's unique hook is that Bilko, usually a man subverting the ultimate faceless bureaucracy--that Army--is unknowingly doing just what the Pentagon wants by simply being his scheming, conniving self.

By the time Bilko has arrived, Guns, Guts and Gals has a title change to Love in a Foxhole ("gals" is too tacky for Chadwick's sensibilities).   Technical advisor Bilko is to be a mere figurehead--the script is already written, and he'll be sent back to Fort Baxter once the publicity photos are taken.  But Chadwick's flunkies are no match for the career soldier, and neither is the producer himself once the Sergeant starts dividing and conquering.

It's a classic scene, with Bilko successfully getting under the skin of virtually everyone in the room: director Sampson (accused of keeping scuttlebutt away from "Hokey Pokey" Chadwick), the screenwriters (who Bilko claims don't even have the climactic battle on the correct location), leading man Rory Mundane (deemed perfect for the role of Sgt. Skinner once Bilko sees the "ugly mole" on his cheek) and Chadwick himself, whose films "kept our minds off the War" and possesses production skills unsurpassed "since Georgie Jessel".  Cecil D. smells a troublemaker, but Bilko (likely bluffing) already has the numbers for every gossip columnist in town (starting with Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons), so simply sending him back to Kansas won't do.

Fake and real Sergeant Ernest Bilkos

Realizing that they can't beat him, they decide to join him, and find Bilko's doppelganger to play a bit part.  Rather than "stars in his eyes", Bilko sees dollars, threatening a libel suit since he "had a full head of hair" during his tour of duty on Kabuchi.

Bilko emerges from the infighting with his own personal director's chair ("call me E.B."), a production hopelessly behind schedule, and Chadwick begging the Sergeant to get the picture rolling.  By the time handsome Mundane is playing him ("here's the ammunition?") the exasperated producer finally pulls the plug on his box-office busting war series and sends a scathing letter to General Merritt--which results in "Ernie" getting another month long furlough from his grateful commanders in D.C.

Eric Fleming as Rory Mundane

Gruff character actor Howard Smith (HAZEL) sputters and fumes memorably as Chadwick, but perhaps the funniest supporting performance comes from future RAWHIDE star Eric Fleming as his top box office attraction Rory Mundane.  Using a hilariously hammy "matinee idol" voice, Fleming's interpretation of a vainglorious Hollywood "war hero" leaves a terrific impression with barely a half dozen lines.  Enraged to learn about the real-life "scrawny, lisping" character he's playing, Mundane becomes positively livid when Bilko decides he is well cast.  While uncredited here, Fleming would return to the series as The Face on the Recruiting Poster (the intended one, anyway).

While undeniably presented as trashy (by 1956 standards), Chadwick's productions are lent a distinct touch of class with songs by Oscar-winning composer Jule Styne, who plays himself and writes "My Heart is a Burned Out Shell" for the doomed feature.  A regular at Hiken's (and Silvers') weekly gin rummy game, Styne received a whopping twelve Academy Award nominations in all, winning for 1955's THREE COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN.

Speaking of Oscar winners, THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW soon had a technical advisor of its own not long after Hollywood aired--George Kennedy, who would parlay the duty into his first acting roles.  Kennedy's debut, The Court-Martial (from March 1956) could have easily been my choice to highlight here.

While references to Jimmie Fidler and George Jessel's career in film production haven't aged that well, and Chadwick's sarong-heavy flicks don't seem so sleazy by modern standards, Hollywood remains a hilarious skewering of the city that would replace Hiken's beloved NYC as the U.S. television capitol.  Quite a warped hierarchy: the Pentagon is helpless against Chadwick, Chadwick kowtows to the power of the press, and all of the above are completely impotent against one Sergeant Ernest Bilko.  In my opinion, the best of the episodes that had Nat Hiken's timeless military creation invading civilian life.

THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW airs on MeTV every Monday morning at 12:30 AM Central.