Hollywood Studio Magazine (November 1969)

VISIT THE COMPLETE DEALERSHIP rfut&mifect "Dccitcx GUARANTEED Reconditioned Cars LEASING ALL MAKES + MODELS CAMPERS AND TRAILERS SALES AND RENTALS CROSSROADS CHEVROLET INC. 5430 LANKERSHIM BLVD. NORTH HOLLYWOOD k Telephone 985-1500 . Scavenger's Paradise Antiques ■UY — RENT — SELL — SWAP USED FURNITURE • MARSLE 1749 C*hu*nga • North Hollywood TR. 7-7945 iinmiin: PO 3-1191 TR 7-4803 Pickup and Delivery Service for Entire Valley 18 years giving Distinctive Cleaning to the Finest Wardrobes 10933 Camarillo St. North Hollywood vn!! ii irmly "A HARD CASE OF THE BLUES" BY DOREEN JAMESON T.V. is duller every year; each season offers more of the same bland fare — one kind of show was good, so two like it will be better. You hear it all the time. Take heart dear heart - it aint necessarily so. Last night I went star-gazing and saw a brand new star born. The show: “A HARD CASE OF THE BLUES”, a Robert Stack segment of Name of the Game. The star: SHARON FARRELL. No raving beauty in the usual sense she; at first impression a nice looking kid, excellent figure and a very appealing manner. There is absolutely no preparation for what is coming. When she explodes on that screen you’re jerked right out of your seat. She is outstanding. Of course she is in exceptional company but nonetheless manages to hold her own. The story is contemporary - a young singer-composer, Jesse Boone, surrounded by all the hangers-on and trappings of the pop scene, an embezzling manager who turns up very dead; a tale which somehow, despite the ghastly noise from which these old ears recoiled, conveyed the loyalties, love and yes the sweetness of some of these types. Miss Farrell handles her role like a pro, getting inside the character in a way which can only be described as phenomenal. With all the pretty, less-than-gifted dollies (of both sexes) who clutter up the tape and celluloid nowadays, it is particularly gratifying to come upon a hard-rock honest-to-God talent such as hers. Is this a lucky one-shot? I doubt it. I think she is a young Geraldine Page. During the tender love scene with Robert Stack I was reminded of this most vividly; the same wistfulness and vulnerability. I found myself thinking this was how Geraldine Page must have been twenty-odd years ago. A formidable lineup backs Miss Farrell, a lucky girl indeed to have among such generous co-stars. Percy Rodrigues plays the police Lt. who investigates the tragedy. When is someone coming up with an idea for a series for this most competent actor? Or is everyone so busy beating the bushes for an unknown face to shove in front of the camera (its called with-it-ness dear) that they are missing out on something special right in their own backyard? As the producer, Keenan Wynn proves once more that he is as comfortable with drama as he is with comedy. Sal Mineo gives a gem of a performance as the swishy A & R man. Which brings us to Robert Stack, Actor, Gentleman. At first meeting one is struck by the innate courtesy of the man. I have been around show-biz types long enough to separate the wheat from the chaff. I have seen too many pasted on smiles, smiles which couldn’t ever hope to reach the eyes and even worse, the cool dismissal glances. So when Robert Stack shakes one’s hand and smiles a greeting it is instantly obvious that here’s someone who means it. Who says the nice guys always come in last? Here is living, breathing proof that ‘international star’ and ‘s.o.b.’ are NOT synonymous. He needs no good words from the likes of me, but I believe he couldn’t turn in a sloppy performance if he sat up all night trying! In The Name of the Game series he IS Dan Farrell, always the perfectionist. One gets the distinct impression there are no half measures with Robert Stack. Remember the Untouchables? In like manner he became Elliott Ness completely. He was the bone-weary FBI man, often discouraged by the formidable odds but always ready to have another go another day. In that role was none of the debonair type he really is. So thoroughly immersed in his part was he that as the tensions mounted the lines deepened around his mouth. And don’t tell me it was all the makeup man and his little pots. A HARD CASE has a beautiful love scene between the two principals. It could have been hopelessly wrong - the young rough-edged, not overly groomed singer and the sophisticated, urbane ‘older man’, who though sympathetic and understanding was worlds away from the ‘scene’. But it is right; inevitable if doomed - another pair, star-crossed who compress a lifetime into a short few hours and are grateful for even that little. Why is it the writer always comes in with the dessert and coffee, if he comes in at all? The best actors in the world would be a sorry looking bunch of wooden Indians without the right words to say. So I apologise for putting Philip de Guere Jr. last but by no means least. His script has not a shred of padding nor a wasted word. As Miss Farrell shows tremendous aptitude for getting inside Jesse’s skin, so is Mr. de Guere’s creation of her all the more remarkable. He certainly knows his people. A protege of Roy Huggins he obviously has been coaxed along in the right stable. Writers Continued on Page 34 Page 10