TV and Movies

[Oznell]

2:00 a.m. Eastern Monday  The Fugitive--  "Fun and Games and Party Favors"  David Janssen, Mark Goddard, Katherine Crawford, Joan Tompkins, Tom Palmer,   Anthony D. Call,  Peter E. Deuel/Pete Duel (known by both names), Gerald Hamer

Kimble has landed in a plush Los Angeles suburb, where he is currently chauffeur to a socially ambitious matron and her husband, "Madge and Charles Glenn", and their college-age daughter.  The daughter, "Joanne", is secretly involved with the family's young, poor-but-worthy pool maintenace guy, "Danny",  played by Mark Goddard.  And of course, Kimble is positioned right in the middle of a potentially explosive family rift.....

Lots of interesting little side trips to this one.  One or two of you might have seen another thread of mine, a few weeks ago, about the tragic murder of young H'wood actress Karyn Kupcinet.  Mark Goddard and his wife were friends of hers who saw her the night she died, and were, in fact, the ones who discovered her body later....  And of course, Mark Goddard was soon to achieve fame on the spoofy TV series, "Lost in Space".  

I really liked Kimble's and Danny's interactions here, and noticed that several of the reviewers on imdb had the same reaction.  Kimble is at his best when he is mentoring young people of like mind, particularly someone pursuing an education in medicine like Danny.  There's a nice, sympathetic chemistry that persists all the way through between the two actors, I thought...

        

I didn't know until reading up on the episode that young actress Katherine Crawford was the daughter of legendary "Fugitive" creator and writer, Roy Huggins!

And troubled young actor Peter Deuel/Pete Duel makes an early appearance here.

You have to have a high tolerance for a lot of not-good, goofy party frugging and twisting in this one, ha.  The party scenes certainly give Kimble/Janssen ample scope for his repertoire of sardonic expressions, but he also seems pleasantly beguiled at times, as does the cutely doddering butler, "Warren" (Gerald Hamer).

The frivolity of some of the scenes belies the serious social issues that are referenced, or bubble just under the surface of this 'la la land' episode ...

Streaming free on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joCqxeIhVbw

[twinsister]

@Oznell  - Looks interesting.  I know most of the actors in this one and knew about Katherine Crawford being R Huggins' daughter.  She was also in a few RFYL episodes.

Do we get to see DJ doing the tiwst?   You didn't say if you liked this episode or not.

[Oznell]

Ha, ha, @twinsister ,  DJ does not "gift" us with the sight of him twisting, at least I don't think so.   As for the episode as a whole, hmmm--- there are things I liked, and things I didn't.  I was taken with Mark Goddard's character, and the integrity he showed.  Very appealing.

[Tique]

@Oznell   I agree about Mark Goddard/Dan and Kimble's relationship. For the most part, I enjoyed this episode. There was a lot going on. 

[godi]

Fabulous!  Thanks @Oznell 

[Oznell]

Ha, ha, @Tique ,  your 'signature line' is indeed apt for this episode!

My pleasure, @godi --  if you watch, would love to hear your reactions....

[Pearlee]

I could have done with less teenage boisterousness and more David Handsome in this epi. Was it just me or did it seem like DJ wasn't in this epi as much as others?

I liked it but not nearly as much as other ones due to the teenage chaos which IMO was a little exaggerated and overdone. (E.g. the girl who toppled the vase to dance). @twinsister  I loved the mid 1960s vibe with the French twist hairdo, the twist dance, the full slip she wore in the bedroom scene, the cats eye eye makeup on Madge, and even the name Madge! Oh yes, and the boys in jackets and ties at a party!  And hearing the police called "fuzz" which I haven't heard in decades.

I did not know Joanne was Huggins'  real life daughter! What a beauty!  She really looked like she could be the daughter of the mother in it who IMO looked like a blond Joan Fontaine.And Peter Duel was of course in Gidget.  I also did not know Mark Goddard and one of his 3 wives found Kupcinet! Yikes! Fascinating info,  @Oznell .  

[Oznell]

@Pearlee,  the whole time I was trying to think of who "Madge" reminded me of, and now you've nailed it, Joan Fontaine! Joan Tompkins in this even had a sort of similar "brittle" quality that I sometimes associate with Fontaine...

I too savored the very 60's ambiance in this one, but that party was a wreck.  What I can't understand is the poor staging -- it kind of looked like amateur hour, and at certain points the actors almost seemed like they were left "hanging", including Anthony Call's crew.   Speaking of lookalikes, one of the reviewers I read said that Call looked like a junior Russell Johnson, the professor in "Gilligan's Island",  and I see that!   Maybe in the wide-spaced eyes and the mouth....

Couldn't they have gotten decent dancers?  Or maybe that was purposeful-- they were just supposed to look like hapless suburban kids, therefore the happy-go-lucky (to put it kindly) "moves"...

[Pearlee]

@Oznell  😄 as someone who was a teenager in 1965 myself (13 yrs old) I assure you that dancing was authentic!  It was quite haphazard and willy-nilly with arms flailing every which way, unless you were on TV on American Bandstand!

Yes, I can see Call resembling a young Russell Johnson. GLad I could help you think of Joan Fontaine. 

[Oznell]

Ha, ha, I was around then too, and I think they could have done better.  I was comparing some of them to even Patty Duke (!) on her show, and even Patty, doing the same stuff, somehow came off better, I think...

But it was also the whole party scene, not just the dancing, that seemed somehow not quite up to par---   maybe "under-directed" --   not sure...