Paul Henning's greatest contribution to television (indeed, world pop
culture) history was The Beverly Hillbillies. The premise was extremely
simple: a hillbilly family becomes rich due to an oil strike and they
move to Beverly Hills, where the city must adjust to them as much as
they adjust to the city. The show struck a chord with the viewing
public, and quickly became a ratings bonanza.
The show's lasting popularity was due to a number of factors. The cast
was perfect, the writing was sharp, and the show exuded charm. Rather
than poke fun at country folk, the show more often than not showed the
Clampetts to be the sharpest ones on the scene, grounded by the simple
wisdom of patriarch Jed Clampett. Feisty Granny Clampett was always
eager to return to the hills, but Jed felt his daughter Elly May stood a
better chance of finding a good fella amid the educated young men of
the West Coast. This was largely Mr. Drysdale's argument, for he feared
the Clampetts would remove their billions from his bank. Drysdale lived
next door to the Clampett's mansion, a condition Mrs. Drysdale was eager
to change. Drysdale's secretary Miss Hathaway did what she could to
smooth out misunderstandings, while also pining for Jed's nephew, hunky
lunkhead Jethro. While Max Baer Jr. came to feel typecast as Jethro, and
Donna Douglas wasn't too keen on her status as a sex symbol in the
innocently inviting Elly May, the cast came together and filled their
parts expertly. Irene Ryan was a firecracker and a knee-slapper as the
elderly dynamo Granny. The true linchpin to the whole thing was Buddy
Ebsen as Jed Clampett, though. He brought to the role such warmth and
heart that Jed never came off as a cartoon character (much differently
from the rest of his clan). Ultimately, though the laughs were
plenteous, audiences loved the Clampetts because they were just good
people. Henning maintained a personal hand in The Beverly Hillbillies
rather than hand it off to a staff. The show was such a hit that the
network eventually got two more shows from Henning which tied directly
to The Beverly Hillbillies. Petticoat Junction told of misadventures in
the rural community of Hooterville, just down the road from where the
Clampetts lived. Green Acres, meanwhile, told of some city folk who
moved to Hooterville to become farmers. All three were popular, as this
era saw a real rural craze. Sadly, the network sought a more youthful
image in the early 70's and purged everything clean and homespun from
it's line-up. This Rural Purge signaled the end of the first golden era
of television. The Clampetts would return in the TV movie THE RETURN OF
THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES sometime in the 80's. The 90's saw a hugely
popular big screen adaptation of the property hit theater screens, which
kicked off a wave of movies based on old TV shows.
MOON PILOT was one of those delightful live-action 60's Disney movies
which could easily have been spun off into a sitcom (and in fact sort of
predicts I Dream Of Jeannie). In the film, Tom Tryon is selected for a
manned space flight, despite the fact that the astro-chimp sent
previously has returned to Earth in a state of insanity. When adorable
Dany Saval enters the picture, she claims to be a space-lady with a
formula which can coat the nose of the next rocket and prevent the
cosmic rays from scrambling Tom's brain. Naturally, Tom thinks she's a
spy (or just crazy). And even after she convinces Tom of her sincerity,
the brass still has her marked as a spy. So you end up with Tom and Dany
desperately trying to speak to each other while the government and
military are doing everything they can to prevent to two from getting
close. The star-studded cast includes such familiar faces as Brian
Keith, Edmond O'Brien, and guest-star Tommy Kirk. Miss Saval is one of
the cutest things you'll ever see. Nearly forgotten comedy has a lot
going for it, and is worth tracking down if you like a fun Space Age
rib-tickler.
Here's one of my most unexpected viewing experiences, gritty exploitation cop picture A SCREAM IN THE STREETS. Imagine a
mixture of Adam-12, DIRTY HARRY, and an X-rated domestic drama, and
you'd be in the ballpark. Homicidal killer dresses like a woman in order
to violently stab women to death, but the real story involves a pair of
plainclothes officers newly assigned as riding partners. One is married
and tries to go By The Book. The other is a bit of
a lose cannon. Together, they ride the streets and get involved in
various hold-ups and shoot-outs and grow to trust each other. Meanwhile,
there's a sex scene every other reel or so -remove this material and
picture would only be about an hour long. Despite the more base material
woven through-out, A SCREAM IN THE STREETS is a surprisingly good
picture. The writing is solid, the acting good, and the characterization
is unusually strong. The porn elements aside, this is probably one of
the better pictures I've seen in a good while!
Without warning, Another Slice of Cheesecake suddenly sported a content warning to readers. I'm through. It's too much trouble anymore, and I have other things to do. I may close both blogs to prevent the content warning from infecting my other blogs. Either way, the A Slice of Cheesecake Facebook page will remain in operation, God willing. https://www.facebook.com/A-Slice-of-Cheesecake-1325990544135856/
Was stunned to hear of the passing of Adam West (that's he in eclipse
behind Joe DeRita). West was a fine actor, but always the first one to
poke fun at himself. It struck me today that West is essentially
America's Roger Moore. Adam was always a bright spot whenever he turned
up, and was one of those stars who oozed average Joe likability. Rest In
Peace, Mr. West, and thanks for all the good times. Upon thinking of
Adam, my mind went first to THE OUTLAWS IS COMING, a wild, cartoony
horse opera spoof starring The Three Stooges. The last starring feature
for the Stooges, in fact. West plays a crusading reporter desperate to
save the buffalo from being exterminated (that happening due to a plot
to turn the Indians against the white man and jumpstart a war). Moe,
Larry, and Curly Joe are his assistants, and do what they can to
acclimate tenderfoot Adam to the wild and woolly Western territories.
When West gets into a gun duel, sharp-shooter Nancy Kovack saves his life
and gives the town the impression that he's the best shot in the
territory. To counter this, the bad guys call in every notorious gunman
(and future television star) they can find, including the likes of Bat
Masterson, Johnny Ringo, Belle Starr, Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Wyatt
Earp, and so forth. Lot's a gags in this one, which is practically a Tex
Avery cartoon! The self-referencing showbiz gags are truly my kind of
humor, and this one has them in spades.
