Recently, I’ve started watching the Ellery Queen TV series, which originally aired in 1975. Most mystery fans are at least acquainted with the name Ellery Queen, even if they have never read any of the material related to him. First, there is Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (which is available for the Kindle, either by subscription or by single issue purchase). This is a long running - first published in 1941 - magazine devoted solely to mystery fiction. If you are a mystery fan, I would suggest giving it a try.
Then there were the Ellery Queen books. They were written by a pair of writers who wrote under the pseudonym of Ellery Queen. In addition, they used Ellery as their fictional protagonist. Only one of these novels is available in the Kindle store, House of Darkness. It is currently on my TBR list.
The character of Ellery Queen was also part of a popular radio series, three of the scripts from this series are available in the Kindle store (there is another radio script as a part of a collection, but it is a repeat of Mr. Short and Mr. Long, which is available on it‘s own).
I sampled one of these scripts (The Adventure of the Murdered Ship), and found it quite enjoyable. I wasn’t really expecting to like it because scripts (and plays) don’t usually tend to be my thing. I find the format (with stage directions, etc) to be distracting from a read. I did not experience this with the radio scripts. Maybe I am becoming more able to follow scripts as I age (I am definitely more patient and less easy to distract). Or maybe it’s because with radio scripts, most of the stage directions (aside from sound effects) were designed to be read aloud. This means that they tend to be written in the same style as the dialogue itself.
Whatever the reason, I enjoyed it.
Now, I’ve given you multiple paragraphs on Ellery Queen, but haven’t yet begun to review the TV series itself. And I claimed to be less easily distracted. Imagine what I was like twenty years ago.
The series is currently running on a classic TV station that is available locally. I receive the station on Comcast Cable. I am not certain if it is available nationwide. The station is RTV (our local affiliate is RDE - Rehoboth Delaware). I have previously reviewed this station in this blog. Should you be a fan of classic “mystery” television, I would check for this station with your local cable provider.
So, what about the series, Christy? (Yes, I am reading your mind again).
The fact of the matter is that the series is excellent. It only ran for one season (the 1975 - 1976 season). It aired for only 23 episodes. I find this really surprising because this show was very well produced and highly entertaining. Maybe it was just a bit ahead of its time. I loved everything about it, right down to the credits.
The opening credits are perfect classic mystery credits. They feature a chess board filled with clues, along with a great theme song. The mysteries are cozy and clever. The clues are made available for the viewer, without being overtly spoon-fed. My favorite part of the series (and my husband’s as well) is the part when Ellery turns to the audience and asks their opinion.
Now, before you start thinking Dora the Explorer or Blue’s Clues here, realize that when Ellery Queen used this technique, the concept was fairly ahead of its time for television. It could have been disastrous if it had been poorly executed, but in this instance, it was done quite well. Ellery asks for your opinion, occasionally highlighting important clues, right before fading for the commercial break. This allows for the viewers to discuss their opinions. And we do.
Dobby and I were fully taken in, and discussed the potential solutions over the entire break (for those keeping score, of the two episodes that we’ve watched together to date, I was correct on both, Dobby was correct on the first one). Of the three episodes that I watched alone, I was right on two out of three (the one that I watched today was a real stumper).
The series is set in the late 1930s or early 1940s, and the period work is excellent (although not perfect, occasionally there are minor flaws). The dialogue is snappy period specific dialogue, and Ellery’s father - Inspector Queen - has some really funny lines using slang of the era. The costumes are lovely and make the viewer feel transported to another era. It’s really an experience.
The plots are not the heavy-handed, shove clues down your throat plots that so often make mystery lovers cringe. Nor are they the fifty-six red herrings in one episode kind of plots, although those seem to be fairly popular these days. They are also not the all clues are obscured from the audience plots. The latter type is the one where the audience is surprised, but how could they not have been, as the only one who notice the clues was the protagonist.
The Ellery Queen TV series has the clues present, notable, but not obvious. And that’s what makes these mysteries so much fun.
The series is also a cavalcade of stars. Anyone my age will remember how much fun it was to watch The Love Boat and Fantasy Island. Part of that fun came from the bevy of familiar faces that we got to see as guest stars each Saturday night. Many of the guest stars were people who were considered to be “great actors of their day” but that weren’t getting much work at the time (often because of their age). Ellery Queen also utilized these actors.
They had David Doyle as a guest star (before Charlie’s Angels), as well as Donald O’Connor, Guy Lombardo, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Joan Collins, and Craig Stevens (just to name a few). And, if you want a guest star that will be fully relevant to the younger generation, they have one of those for you as well. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, the lovely and talented Betty White had a guest starring role on the series as well. And we all know that she’s having yet another career renaissance (and with good reason, I’m a fan).
All of these things make the Ellery Queen TV series worth watching. Mystery fan or just classic TV fan? Then this one’s for you. But none of these things is the reason that you MUST watch this show. TV lovers MUST watch this show for one reason only: Jim Hutton
That’s right. Jim Hutton. He’s plays the title character. He does so beautifully. In his day, he was often cast (and classed) as a modern Jimmy Stewart. He had a similar casually loveable style to Stewart’s. And, yet, he was an actor all his own. Handsome and talented, with a simple likeability that is often missing in actors today. You just loved to watch him on the screen. You thought that if you ever met him, you and he would instantly be friends. Whatever it is, he had it.
You may or may not have heard of James (Jim) Hutton. In all likelihood, if you have heard of him, it’s because of his famous son. The late Jim Hutton is the father of actor Timothy Hutton. I am a huge fan of Timothy Hutton as well. I could have mentioned this relationship earlier in the article, and I think that most authors would. I didn’t. For a reason. It’s not that I don’t think that this fact is relevant, it is.
My reason for not mentioning it sooner is that I feel that it would be a shame if a famous son is all that the elder Hutton is remembered for. Not that it’s not a great legacy, it is. Timothy is a talented and well-respected actor and producer. Any parent would be proud to be remembered for having a great child like that. I just don’t want that to be all that Jim Hutton is remembered for.
James Hutton was a talented and handsome actor who many have not heard of today. That’s not because his career was not sustainable. It’s because his life wasn’t. He died in 1979 of a heart attack (just four years after the production of this series). I can only wonder how lengthy his body of work would have been had he not died so young. And if everyone would now remember his name, just like we do with Betty White.
Do yourself a favor, watch this series, if for no other reason than to see the late James Hutton in one of his final roles.
Don’t own a Kindle, but would like to? The latest generation of Kindle is available at the following links: with WiFi only or with WiFi and 3G.
Christy Parker is the author of three blogs: Ruminations from and Unkempt Mind, Learn to Crochet - In Minutes a Day, and You Be the Editor.
For comments, questions, notes or suggestions; Mrs. Parker can be reached in the blog specific forums on the product information pages listed above or via email at unkemptruminations@comcast.net.
No comments:
Post a Comment