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Posted: |
Apr 6, 2008 - 12:56 PM
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By: |
Eric Paddon
(Member)
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Even though Fox is withholding the last 75 episodes of "The Big Valley" from us on DVD, uncut airings on Encore Westerns have made it possible to spotlight episodes from later in the run, such as Season 4's "They Called Her Delilah".
IMO this is Julie London's best TV guest appearance, one that finally makes use of her torch singing femme fatale image to great effect, and at a time when at age 42 she was at the peak of her beauty.
Julia Saxon is a noted singer, and former Stockton resident who during the Civil War, spied for the Confederacy. Her spying, in which she utilized her seductive persona to the fullest, resulted in the death of a Stockton boy, which the town has long and bitter memories of.
As a result, when Julia decides to return to Stockton for the first time since the war for a singing engagement, the town is not about to give her a friendly reception (the photo they use for the billboard comes from one of Julie's 1950s movies, when she did several westerns).
The hotel manager tries to dissuade Julia from going on-stage, where there's apt to be an ugly reception, but Julia, determined to perform, uses her inimitable charm to get her way.
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Julie's husband Bobby Troup has an unbilled cameo as Julia's accompanist.
As feared, the crowd gives Julia an ugly reception, hurling anything they can at her.
Jarrod Barkley, who knows something of what it's like to be under Julia's spell, comes to her rescue and hustles her away from the lynch mob to the safety of his law office.
Jarrod also sees to it that she spend the night at the Barkley mansion, where despite some reluctance, she is welcomed in.
Julia is then arrested and charged with the murder of the hotel manager who has been found dead. Jarrod, knowing how risky it is to defend her because of her past, does so and eventually clears her.
Julie's only acting work after this episode was her six year stint as Nurse Dixie McCall on "Emergency!", and so we never got to see her in this kind of role again that played off her singing image. Her "Man From UNCLE" appearance the previous year, where she has too little screen-time, is the only other guest shot I've seen that used her to great effect.
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Y'know, these contributions of yours are not only consistently entertaining but historically informative, also.
Many thanks! I believe that threads that are principally devoted to eye candy, should also where possible offer more than just the basic eye candy by offering some more insight into the careers of these women who graced the TV screens in that era.
Since it's been awhile vis-a-vis viewing the later seasons, we can't recall if we actually caught Julie London's stint or not, but you've definitely whetted our appetite.
Hope you get a chance to see it soon! One reason why I was anxious to find a DVD-R set of the unreleased episodes, was so I could see her episode since the imdb description immediately told me that this promised to be a good spotlight for Julie, and it didn't disappoint when I got it.
And I'll agree that "Barbary Red" represented one of Jill St. John's finest moments.
Marlyn Mason in S1 will likely be the next spotlight (and she also has a second episode in S3 I need to give a look, later on), but if you've got some specific requests, neo, the crack committee in charge of screencaps will be glad to get to them in due course. 
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Accidentally Overlooking the Obvious Department:
One reason "Barbary Red" is so evocative - and an aspect we both have forgotten to remember - is that Judith Barrows wrote it (along with another ep, "The Way to Kill a Killer") so it's not surprising Ms. St. John's character had more than usual feminine insight into the human condition.
(Barrows wrote for many ostensibly "male"-oriented shows during the 60s, including "Bonanza", "Combat", "Mission: Impossible", "The Green Hornet" and numerous others).
As for our own percolatin' personal requests, the one we'd REALLY love to see comes from Season 3, "Days of Wrath", which has Richard Long's most wrenching performance (and that's truly saying something considering the high caliber - the only one to match Stanwyck in expertise, skill and power - of his contributions throughout the series' run).
It's the one where he marries (the lovely Sandra Smith), and it's the ep we wanna have a pristine (or as close as can be) copy of.
So if it ain't too early for Christmas in April (or better yet, how'sabout as a birthday present for next month?!  ), that's our singular wish list ...
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The Yum spotlight for this episode is Marlyn Mason, who a year later would be singing an Elmer Bernstein composed score on Broadway in "How Now, Dow Jones."
"The Fallen Hawk" is a Heath-centered episode, involving his guilt over an injury a friend has suffered that has seemingly left him crippled.
But as Heath helps out, it isn't long before his friend's wife, Marlyn, suspects that all is not what it seems.
Turns out, it was all a sham to get Heath to give him some money. And when Marlyn attempts to blow the whistle he nearly strangles her to death. But Heath sees to it that all is made right at the end, and Marlyn goes off to begin anew.
Marlyn would return in S3. Her two MFU appearances have also been spotlighted. While a prolific guest star in many series of the 60s and 70s, the only one where she was a regular, was the James Franciscus drama "Longstreet" in 1971-72.
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Shall be arranged. The one thing that must occur first is for me to sit down and watch that episode before doing caps, since I've only finished Season 2 so far, and also the first two episodes of S4 (besides Julie's episode, I also had to see Adam West in the S4 premiere).
Meantime, we move back to S1's "Heritage" which featured in her first of two appearances, Anne Helm (who has been spotlighted twice in the Hawaii Five-O thread).
The episode centers on a mine the Barkley's have invested in, where labor unrest is at an all-time high. Up-close investigation by Heath, with Jarrod doing the legal paperwork, lead the family to take greater control in an effort to settle the disputes that are working to labor's disadvantage.
Anne retired from acting in the mid-70s, but made a final appearance in the Richard Matheson penned episode (originally intended for "The Twilight Zone") "The Doll", on "Amazing Stories" in 1986 with John Lithgow.
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Seeing these familiar female faces pop up in these versatile roles on other classic shows is what makes this era the best for classic TV! (And what makes these multi-Yum threads worth doing).
Anne also shares something else in common with our previous Yum spotlight, Marlyn Mason, in that they both were leading ladies of Elvis Presley.
And yes, will give an assessment of "Days Of Wrath" in due course.
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Done deal (we hope) on each aspect ...
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I did take care of the photo by trying to restore it elsewhere, if that was indeed the one.
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