Click here for the previous episode review.
Season #2, Episode #4
That He Should Weep for Her
Original Air Date: November 6, 1964 (unlike previous and subsequent episodes, this episode appears to have aired on a Friday instead of Thursday).
Setting/Time: A small California town near the Mexican border in the present.
Plot/Review/Discussion -
This episode is fairly typical of many KST episodes. It features one or more major stars, takes place in a small town and focuses more on resolution of personal conflict than action or adventure.
Milton Berle plays a middle aged jeweler (Sam Morris) who is fair (but firm) with his customers. One night his store is robbed by two masked men from the Hispanic part of town. Morris' assistant tries to fight the robbers while Morris pleads, "Give him the money!" Morris retrieves a gun and, in a near panic, shoots to protect his assistant. He ends up killing the younger of the two robbers. The other robber escapes.
The major conflict revolves not around finding the robber. The audience knows who it is (even though the other characters do not). The conflict occurs between Morris and the dead robber's sister (Marta). Morris is plagued by guilt for the death of the robber, while Marta is angry and bitter at Morris for shooting her brother. Morris spends much of the episode trying to express his remorse to Marta, while Marta tries to punish Morris with her anger.
They begin to talk and see each other more often while continuing the fight over what happened. (I am simplifying the description to avoid plot spoilers.) Gradually Marta's anger subsides and she and Morris become close. In addition to the tragic circumstances of how they met, Morris wrestles with the age difference between the two.
The Morris-Marta relationship is more plausible than I am making it sound. It takes a great deal of subtlety to depict a relationship the way the writers depicted this relationship over the course of one show. Modern shows would not be content with showing a mere relationship such as the one that evolved between Morris and Marta. Modern writers would feel compelled to add intrigue, mystery and implausible complications. In doing so, they water down the main story and the fictional relationship suffers. There was a time when one simple story was enough for one episode. Such a story, if subtle and deep enough, would be thought provoking and satisfying to the viewer. But when too much is added, the whole product becomes superficial. Sometimes, less is more.
Marta's friend Juano is the surviving robber (unknown to Marta). He was older than Marta's brother and was supposed to look out for the brother while Marta was living out of town. Juano cannot tell Marta the truth. He remains quiet while Marta rages about the unknown man that led her brother to join the robbery. Juano becomes angry as Morris and Marta grow closer together.
The plot proceeds to the final conflict as Morris and Marta work out their situation while Juano interferes and acts as the catalyst for the story's resolution.
The writer is Irv Pearlberg, whose writing credits include episode 1.25 and many police and law stories. Even though the background for this story involves a crime, the main focus is on the relationship between Marta and Morris. The crime is only a tool to get to the real story. The same was true of episode 1.25.
The title comes from Hamlet, and it contains the implicit question that the episode tries to answer. What is Marta to Morris that he should be sympathetic to her situation and her grief? Morris spends most of the episode asking that question. The ultimate answer and the plot resolution is credible.
Cars
At one point, the viewer can spot a 1964 Dodge on the street. I am not sure of the make, because the Dodge is difficult to distinguish from the 1964 Plymouth. Juano drives a 1955 Ford. (This follows one of the lessons from 1.15). Morris drives what looks like a 1961 Ford Galaxie.
Actors
Milton Berle played Morris. It is unusual to see him in a dramatic role, but he had more than a few of those in his career.
Carol Lawrence played Marta. She had recently achieved stardom on Broadway in West Side Story. At the time this episode aired, she was married to KST actor Robert Goulet. Her acting/broadway career continues at this time. Her acting credits include multiple roles on KST spinoff Run For Your Life.
Alejandro Rey played Juano. His most famous role was as a regular on The Flying Nun in the late 1960's.
Berkeley Harris played a friend of Juano whose interference advanced the plot to its resolution. This episode was his third appearance on KST.
Norman Leavitt played a farmer buying jewelry at Morris' store. Leavitt's transaction established Morris' fairness as a businessman. Leavitt was playing in the second of his three KST episodes.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Milton Berle and Carol Lawrence 1964 publicity photo for this episode of Kraft Suspense Theatre
Friday, April 19, 2013
Kraft Suspense Theatre; A Lion Amongst Men; James Whitmore; Tommy Sands, Peter Duryea
Click here for the previous episode review.
Season #2, Episode #3
A Lion Amongst Men
Original Air Date: October 22, 1964
Setting/Time: A small rural/mountain/western town (Cedar Bay) in the present (in late October).
Plot/Review/Discussion -
James Whitmore plays "the Major," a Korean War veteran that emphasizes preparedness and physical fitness in his daily living. He and his army friends have built a training center at their mountain cabin retreat. The Major believes that the rest of society, particularly the young people in high school, have gone soft. The conflict is established early, as the Major confronts some smart-alec students who show no respect to the Major and his friends.
The writer faced some difficulty in creating a balanced conflict among the characters. Ordinarily, smart-alec teenagers do not make for sympathetic characters - especially when they confront or oppose military veterans. So the writers gave the Major some unpopular traits. He disliked ethnic students. He used sneaky methods. He spoke in favor of "real Americans" and against "their kind." The Major was Archie Bunker nearly a decade before All in the Family. These traits balanced the negatives of the teenagers.
The Major's animus toward ethnic students and use of non-PC buzzwords served no purpose in the plot, as it played no role in the final confrontation. That character trait existed just so that the writers could present a political view.
The local teenagers, led by the high school quarterback named Riccio, go on a rampage of vandalism on Halloween eve. Their last stop is the Major's house. The teens' vandalism included cherry bombs. The noise from the cherry bombs sent the Major into an episode of post traumatic stress disorder. He began suffering flashbacks to the Korean War.
The Major captured Riccio and took him prisoner in the house while the other teenagers escaped. The Major began berating Riccio for various aspects of unAmericanism, while slowly slipping into a delusion that both of them were fighting in Korea a decade earlier.
The Major then began blaming his former superiors for orders that resulted in the death of the Major's soldiers in a particular Korean War battle. The Major took Riccio to the mountain retreat where his breakdown became complete. He eventually began firing his gun into the night air while Riccio tried to run away. This confrontation took place while the other teens and the sheriff raced to the retreat to rescue Riccio.
The main point of the story appears to focus on post traumatic stress. The Major's confrontation with Riccio brings that issue to the forefront, while the prejudice issue appears to serve no purpose. The "generation gap" also looms in the background, but is overshadowed by the other issues. At the end, Riccio gains a new appreciation for the Major and what he endured in the war. The episode was a learning experience for both characters, but the political issues got in the way.
The story could have been much more effective and dramatic had the writers not injected the political and PC elements into the story. In 1964, Americans were not yet tired of seeing fictional bad guys made obvious with dialogue that referred to "real Americans" while criticizing "their kind." The Archie Bunkers of television were still considered controversial and had not yet become mere parodies of themselves. Today, Americans have grown weary of the "race card." It has become too easy for a writer to place a "racist" label on a character by having him insult someone's ethnicity. For this reason, this episode has not aged well.
Just as importantly, both the war on terror and recent economic troubles in the U.S. and Europe have created a new emphasis on preparedness. The Major does not seem as out of place today as he would have been in 1964. As I watched this episode, I had to remind myself from the beginning that the Major would soon emerge as the bad guy. The Major's emphasis on preparedness probably caused the 1964 audience to peg him as the bad guy much sooner.
The Sheriff doubled also as the high school football coach. But he did not provide sports updates or serve as an art critic.
Cars
The Sheriff drove a 1964 Ford Galaxie. There also appeared to be a 1964 Dodge or Plymouth, which was somewhat common for this and other shows of that era. The high school kids drove a 1957 Dodge convertible.
Actors
James Whitmore played the Major. This was his second appearance on KST. His acting career spanned almost 60 years and featured such TV shows as Twilight Zone, Big Valley, KST spinoff Run For Your Life and The Virginian. He played a prominent role in 1970's Tora! Tora! Tora!
Tommy Sands played Riccio. Sands was, at the time, Frank Sinatra's son-in-law. He made guest appearances on such shows as United States Steel Hour, Wagon Train and Hawaii Five-0. He enjoyed a successful music career as a teen idol in the 1950's, singing in an episode of Kraft Theatre in 1957.
Star Trek connection
Peter Duryea played Palchek - one of Riccio's teenage friends. Little more than one month after this episode aired, Duryea began filming his role in Star Trek's first pilot episode - "The Cage." Duryea is one of many actors from that particular episode to be featured in KST.
Season #2, Episode #3
A Lion Amongst Men
Original Air Date: October 22, 1964
Setting/Time: A small rural/mountain/western town (Cedar Bay) in the present (in late October).
Plot/Review/Discussion -
James Whitmore plays "the Major," a Korean War veteran that emphasizes preparedness and physical fitness in his daily living. He and his army friends have built a training center at their mountain cabin retreat. The Major believes that the rest of society, particularly the young people in high school, have gone soft. The conflict is established early, as the Major confronts some smart-alec students who show no respect to the Major and his friends.
The writer faced some difficulty in creating a balanced conflict among the characters. Ordinarily, smart-alec teenagers do not make for sympathetic characters - especially when they confront or oppose military veterans. So the writers gave the Major some unpopular traits. He disliked ethnic students. He used sneaky methods. He spoke in favor of "real Americans" and against "their kind." The Major was Archie Bunker nearly a decade before All in the Family. These traits balanced the negatives of the teenagers.
The Major's animus toward ethnic students and use of non-PC buzzwords served no purpose in the plot, as it played no role in the final confrontation. That character trait existed just so that the writers could present a political view.
The local teenagers, led by the high school quarterback named Riccio, go on a rampage of vandalism on Halloween eve. Their last stop is the Major's house. The teens' vandalism included cherry bombs. The noise from the cherry bombs sent the Major into an episode of post traumatic stress disorder. He began suffering flashbacks to the Korean War.
The Major captured Riccio and took him prisoner in the house while the other teenagers escaped. The Major began berating Riccio for various aspects of unAmericanism, while slowly slipping into a delusion that both of them were fighting in Korea a decade earlier.
The Major then began blaming his former superiors for orders that resulted in the death of the Major's soldiers in a particular Korean War battle. The Major took Riccio to the mountain retreat where his breakdown became complete. He eventually began firing his gun into the night air while Riccio tried to run away. This confrontation took place while the other teens and the sheriff raced to the retreat to rescue Riccio.
The main point of the story appears to focus on post traumatic stress. The Major's confrontation with Riccio brings that issue to the forefront, while the prejudice issue appears to serve no purpose. The "generation gap" also looms in the background, but is overshadowed by the other issues. At the end, Riccio gains a new appreciation for the Major and what he endured in the war. The episode was a learning experience for both characters, but the political issues got in the way.
The story could have been much more effective and dramatic had the writers not injected the political and PC elements into the story. In 1964, Americans were not yet tired of seeing fictional bad guys made obvious with dialogue that referred to "real Americans" while criticizing "their kind." The Archie Bunkers of television were still considered controversial and had not yet become mere parodies of themselves. Today, Americans have grown weary of the "race card." It has become too easy for a writer to place a "racist" label on a character by having him insult someone's ethnicity. For this reason, this episode has not aged well.
Just as importantly, both the war on terror and recent economic troubles in the U.S. and Europe have created a new emphasis on preparedness. The Major does not seem as out of place today as he would have been in 1964. As I watched this episode, I had to remind myself from the beginning that the Major would soon emerge as the bad guy. The Major's emphasis on preparedness probably caused the 1964 audience to peg him as the bad guy much sooner.
The Sheriff doubled also as the high school football coach. But he did not provide sports updates or serve as an art critic.
Cars
The Sheriff drove a 1964 Ford Galaxie. There also appeared to be a 1964 Dodge or Plymouth, which was somewhat common for this and other shows of that era. The high school kids drove a 1957 Dodge convertible.
Actors
James Whitmore played the Major. This was his second appearance on KST. His acting career spanned almost 60 years and featured such TV shows as Twilight Zone, Big Valley, KST spinoff Run For Your Life and The Virginian. He played a prominent role in 1970's Tora! Tora! Tora!
Tommy Sands played Riccio. Sands was, at the time, Frank Sinatra's son-in-law. He made guest appearances on such shows as United States Steel Hour, Wagon Train and Hawaii Five-0. He enjoyed a successful music career as a teen idol in the 1950's, singing in an episode of Kraft Theatre in 1957.
Star Trek connection
Peter Duryea played Palchek - one of Riccio's teenage friends. Little more than one month after this episode aired, Duryea began filming his role in Star Trek's first pilot episode - "The Cage." Duryea is one of many actors from that particular episode to be featured in KST.
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