"How Much a Pound Is Albatross?" is one of my favorite episodes so far! I've really only discovered this series within the past few weeks; but Julie Newmar delivered such a wonderful performance there that I'm ashamed to admit that in my early-1960s boyhood I only appreciated her physical beauty.
These are perhaps my favorite opening sequences so far:
1) "...And the Cat Jumped Over the Moon" -- as Tod, Buz, and an as-yet unknown older man are gathered around a kitchen table, all laughing hysterically. For one thing, just to laugh convincingly on-camera is harder for actors than many people ever consider. (And this one scene must have required tough repetition, as there were separate close-up angles of each actor in addition to the master shot.) But while we know and like Buz and Tod enough to believe that those characters could share hearty laughter so easily, I don't believe I've ever seen another story on film that dared to open with such in-progress hilarity WITHOUT viewers having the slightest idea of what those people are laughing about!
2) "You Never Had it So Good" -- Not strictly speaking the actual teaser segment, as much as most of this episode's first block: I was disoriented by being unable to figure out why Buz wasn't correcting a woman who had him confused with Tod. I hope it wasn't just MeTV's editing the episode's early footage; but when I finally figured out what was happening, I got a big "66" kick.
3) "Shoulder the Sky, My Lad" -- With no inclusion of Buz or Tod yet, I respected the sensitivity of this installment starting with a boy alone at night, staring into storefront windows and seeing the reflection of a man standing behind him, although the man is revealed to be someone else once the boy turns around. And his sight of a different child being hugged by an affectionate father makes the first boy run away, alone and inconsolable. With no dialogue we recognize what lies ahead ... and I understood right off that it would be Buz, the brooding orphan, who would help someone else's crisis this time out.
4) "Only by Cunning Glimpses" -- Possibly my favorite episode so far, this begins so intriguingly on a dark-and-stormy night as Tod seems increasingly horrified by multiple details (a classical concerto heard on the car radio after Buz switches stations; clanking cowbells brandished by some nearby cattle) that we learn were all part of a female mentalist's recent, ghastly prediction that on that particular night Tod would kill Buz!
Most great films deserve a more appreciative audience than they get.
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lynxrufus
10 years ago
I like all the scenes you mention, ScopeWatcher. They're all memorable.
2) "You Never Had it So Good"
The interview scene is a good example of how great George Maharis is in the role of Buz Murdock.
Off topic: There's a contadiction in this scene. Terry (Patricia Barry) reads from Tod's application that he graduated Summa Cum Laude from Yale. But it's well establashed in more than one early episode that Tod only went three years to Yale and never graduated. Of course, Tod could have lied on his application. But why would anyone lie about graduating from college on an application for a job as a construction laborer? It makes no sense. It's not a big deal but kind of an insteresting bit of trivia.
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