MovieChat Forums > The Virginian (1962) Discussion > saw an excellent 'Virginian' rerun today...

saw an excellent 'Virginian' rerun today...

posted 10 years ago by PERRO315
8 replies | jump to latest

In which JACK ALBERTSON and BRENDA SCOTT played a team of traveling fake mentalists who try to convince Granger (JOHN McINTIRE) that Ms. Scott is, in reality, Granger's niece--who would then be entitled to a large share of Granger's fortune! JACK ALBERTSON was always worth watching, and here he does not disappoint either, but, for me, the real revelation was Ms. Scott! BRENDA SCOTT was an overwhelmingly beautiful actress, frequently seen in mostly Universal Television productions in the '60's and '70's, but---aside from being almost hypnotically goddesslike in a purely physical nature, she was never---in my view---a strong actress (probably because she didn't have to be!) Here, however, she was touching, compelling, and occasionally, even humorous! This was a really good episode, airing in early 1969---toward the end of the series' run (only one more season of THE VIRGINIAN, then one of THE MEN FROM SHILOH followed)

[–] gppressingon 9 years ago

Intriguing post that has me eagerly anticipating the later seasons. I'm a VIRGINIAN newbie who is still working his way through the first season, but I'm in it for the long haul.

You mention BRENDA SCOTT. Now I'm a happily married man, but I admit I fell in love with the gratuitously bikini-clad Brenda Scott after seeing her in the "Up Tight" episode of HAWAII FIVE-O, which aired in January 1969, so right around the time of her appearance on THE VIRGINIAN. If you're a fan (and with approbations like "overwhelmingly beautiful" and "hypnotically goddesslike," I suspect you are!) that H5O episode will be worth tracking down.

And you're right about JACK ALBERTSON, whom I grew up enjoying on CHICO AND THE MAN and remembering fondly from WILLY WONKA. He is always worth watching in both comedic and dramatic roles.

Thanks for the assurance there are good episodes ahead.

Gary

[–] PERRO315 9 years ago

Was the HAWAII FIVE-O episode you mention the one where a very young ED FLANDERS played a kind of drug-pushing Pied Piper?! I saw parts of it, where Ms. Scott (blonde in this episode, if I remember correctly) did indeed look very beautiful! (I didn't see a bikini scene, though!)

[–] gppressingon 9 years ago

That's the one! Ed Flanders was great as a Timothy Leary-type disgraced professor and Ms. Scott is indeed blonde. The bikini scene is near the beginning. After her friend jumps from a cliff while tripping, McGarrett goes to interview Scott's character, who is swimming in a backyard pool (and is quite callous about her friend's death and quite dismissive of Steve). She isn't very likeable, but she is beautiful. (From what you wrote originally, I suspect that sums up her VIRGINIAN appearance as well.)

[–] PERRO315 9 years ago

actually, she is quite likeable in her VIRGINIAN appearance as well, which is kind of what threw me---I'd never before seen BRENDA SCOTT as an actress where I was as impressed with her thespian ability as I was here! But, basically, just to save you some time, if you started out as an early VIRGINIAN fan, I doubt that you'll be disappointed by the later episodes overall! THE VIRGINIAN pretty much stayed the same---in terms of quality---throughout its whole run! Enjoy each later episode as you encounter it! I'm almost tempted to offer you a money-back guarantee! LOL!

[–] lcmovie 8 years ago

Brenda Scott had many wonderful roles such as "Who is Jennifer", (on YouTube) "Jeeney Ray" around in the early '60s, "The Hanged Man". (YouTube) She was indeed very beautiful but she could also act extremely well.

[–] perro315-1 8 years ago

"Who is Jennifer" was the KRAFT SUSPENSE THEATRE episode which also starred GLORIA SWANSON and DAN DURYEA (what a cast!---although, I suspect that, since you were the one who brought it up, you already know this!) Since I wrote this post, I also saw a RUN FOR YOUR LIFE rerun in which the gorgeous Ms. Scott also gave a good performance---and it was opposite that thespian powerhouse, BEN GAZZARA (I'm actually being truly complimentary here, not sarcastic!) It took me a while to stumble upon this episode, since "Run"---despite the presence of Gazzara and several talented guests---was frequently very much a crapola show which looked good on the surface, but usually had very little of interest beneath! BTW, what is "Jeeney Ray"?!

[–] lcmovie 8 years ago

"Jeeney Ray" was an episode of Alcoa Theatre from 1963. I came across it from John Williams collection. It tells the story of a spastic girl played by Brenda Scott. This is one of her early episodes and she was so talented. You can read her profile in IMDb that is relatively up to date. So contact [email protected]. You won't be disappointed but understand the episode is in black and white. It is surprising it has not been remastered.

[–] packerpassion4 8 years ago

I totally agree about Brenda Scott's mesmerizing beauty especially those piercing eyes. I saw her in an episode yesterday. Her and Yvonne Craig are two underrated beauties from the 1960s.