After having watched all 27 on dvd I would have to say mine is the one called EVIL which has Alexander Scourby in an excellent performance as a phoney preacher who is doing it for the money. Elisha Cook Jr also appears as a washed up drunk.
www.imdb.com/title/tt0616785/
It's either one of these two, depending on my mood:
Solomon- Directed by John Cassavetes. As arty and as Noir as this show ever got. It's easy to see how Cassavetes was influenced by European directors...or maybe vice versa. Cloris Leachman and Elisha Cook, Jr. are both great in this.
A Piece of Paradise- Man, is this one downbeat and tragic. A brilliant episode. This is as about as dark in content as network TV got in 1959. A jockey is accused of murder, or was it that tough cop (Bert Freed) who hassles Johnny all the time?
While some aspects of Staccato are entertainingly dated, I'm impressed at how the best shows have a timelessness to them. Film school students should watch these to see how B&W photography is done. Cassavetes is always brilliant. He even breaks into "Victor Franko" mode from his later "Dirty Dozen" role on occasion!
Some of the dialogue and situations are corny but the dramatic moments make up for it. I also liked the episode where John Cassavetes appeared with his real life wife Gena Rowlands FLY BABY, FLY -
www.imdb.com/title/tt0616786/
I like the episode with a young Elizabeth Montgomery. She was hot! Especially in the scene where she's wearing a backless top.
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Ep09
The chemistry with Gena Rowlands is breathtaking.
I just caught an episode in which Mary Tyler Moore was the guest star. She was certainly playing against what later became her type - her character in JS was an ambitious, cold-hearted, totally unsympathetic beyotch. She looked stunning, and she was really convincing in the role. I doubt anyone who saw her for the first time on this show would ever have predicted that she would go on to play not one but two of the nicest, most relatable and most beloved long-running characters in TV history. :)
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