Show265
I think I may prefer this later version of the Gardner story to the original (broadcast in the 1950s)—somehow it seems to flow better and is easier to follow, but that may be a function of the editing of the syndication print. Submitted by gracenote, 6/12/2011.
Interesting camera work in this episode. Right after the murder, we are looking at everything from the killer's point of view. From the murder's perspective, we see the body being searched, the wallet extracted, the keys taken, the victim's apartment searched, and the money burned. The shaky, handheld camera work gives an eerie feeling to the scene. Submitted by Bill-W2XOY on 08/26/13.
That three light floor lamp with the stripe shades magically transports from Peggy/Ethel's motel room to Strickland's apartment. Another plot that hinges on rather laissez faire identification of a body. The crashed car didn’t burn, in fact looks in fairly good shape. Surely the body wasn’t that mangled. Why does the hitman take Peggy/Ethel to San Francisco? And how did the police track her there? Submitted by DOD 04/10/18
Quiet, Please! I love this scene, for its nervousness, but will make a small quibble about the firearm. The killer used a revolver with a silencer attached. I'm no expert, but I have read that silencers only really work on automatics, where the firing is all contained within the gun. JohnK, 17 April 2017
+ Looks like it only works on some specific models. See this link. Submitted by HamBurger, 07/08/2017
The camera work (handheld rather than on a dolly?) reminded me of that of "Lady in the Lake" from 19 years earlier, only more nervous. However, how about the stacks of bills in the money box? The money changes at least twice from the time the box is opened (29:30 on the 2013 Paramount DVD) until the money is burned 25 seconds later. When the box is opened, there are 3 unbanded stacks, topped with 10-, 50-, and 100-dollar bills. When the bills are dumped into the urn the stacks are banded with what look like stacks of 500, 1000, and 1000. And while the cigarette lighter is lit the stacks re-arrange themselves in the urn and now include at least 1 5-dollar bill. Not to mention that the physical appearance of the bills also changed. Submitted by (lowercase, with a comma and period) masonite, 10/27/13.
+The stacks of bills in the money box begin as "real" U.S. currency. Somehow when the shadowy stranger pours the money into what appears to be an ice bucket... the money is magically changed to "stage" money!!! See pictures here.
Submitted by Charles Richmond, 11/08/14
+ "Of the $1/2/5/10/20/50/100 bills, www.treasury.gov says, 'The basic...designs...were selected in 1928...A committee made those choices...However, our records do Not suggest Why certain presidents and statesmen were chosen for specific denominations,'" We The People 1 Preamble 6 Purposes 95 Propositions observes (Xlibris books, 2012). Mike Bedard [WTP 1P6P95P author] 3.11.15.
TIME TUNNEL Perspective: March 27, 1966 viewers may have heard the News about Anti-Vietnam War demonstrations in the US, UK & Australia that day. takemeback.to website. Mike Bedard 3.5.15.
Seamon Glass gets to use his auto repair skills from last year’s “Runaway Racer”. DOD 06/21/23
SLOW NEWS DAY Ethel Andrews Killed in Auto Crash is the banner headline in the Chronicle: keep in mind this was an accident some eighty miles from LA - according to the road signage shown - and the (presumed) victim was unknown to the world but for an embezzlement - in a similarly remote town - which had just been discovered. Although the treatment wasn't completely consistent, most PM epsisodes had the good sense to depict media coverage of stories such as this in a realistic manner ( i.e. inside page story). Commented by Notcom, 063016.
+ And furthermore: the picture of Ethel, plastered across the front page and so visible to...well, anybody who sees the paper, would make it immediately obvious that it wasn't she who was killed in the crash. Perhaps we're to think Peggy's body was so mangled that they couldn't make a match, but if that's the case they should have had a more spectacular accident scene...the car seemed almost undamaged. (IMHO, this part was much better handled in the original.) Notcom 111424.
Freedoms for Frails? In other news, that front page of The Chron (1966) carried a small item about equal rights for women. A constitutional amendment granting equal rights to men and women was passed by both the U.S. House and Senate in 1972, but not ratified by three-quarters of the states by the 1982 deadline. JohnK, 17 April 2017
Perry almost let the cat out of the bag. When he's questioning Strickland at the funeral he says "You mean the notion of a wedding, of getting married to you, is all in her mind?" (note: the close-caption says was but to my ear he's saying is.) Kilo 5/16/2020.
Missing Person I've always thought it strange that Ethel, didn't tell Perry that it wasn't her who found the bundle of money, but a guy who stopped to change her flat tyre. She in fact told PM specifically that it was her who had found the money in the trunk. I wonder if this 'Good Samaritan' originally played a bigger part in the script, but was edited out? The actor Seamon Glass was even given a credit as "Driver"?
++++I am watching the MeTV version. Does the DVD set better inform us who actually killed Peggy Sutton, causing her to wreck? Or do we have to still "assume" someone (the hitman, Bruce Strickland, or Milgrave?)? It is too weird if she just happened to lose control on her own and die. ;-> Thoughts? Submitted by mesave31, 03/11/15.
+ The DVD provides no additional clue as to why Peggy drove off the road. Apparently it was just an accident. Submitted by Kilo 2/9/2018.
+ + I thought it was a tire blow-out, just like the post-accident blow-out that Ethel suffered in the car that she was driving. Both cars had been damaged in the accident, and both cars were hastily repaired. If the car that Peggy was driving also suffered a post-accident blow-out, but while on that cliff-side, it would have easily gone over the edge. Submitted by catyron, August 13th, 2018.
+ I agree that Peggy Sutton’s fatal crash was probably accidental. After Ethel Andrews discovers the package of money, she turns around and heads back south to catch up with Peggy. As she does so, the hired gun (Tierney) pulls into the service station and speaks to the attendant, presumably asking about Peggy. At 12:20 on the DVD, Ethel passes the service station and Tierney’s car is still there, so it’s unlik ely he had anything to do with the accident scene Ethel is approaching. Added by Dan K, 19 August 2018.
+ One other oddity about the crash. As the body is being loaded into the ambulance, there's a woman standing next to the ambulance watching the body being loaded. She was so obvious, I thought she was going to be part of the plot. But, alas, she was just a nosy passerby. Kilo 11/14/2018.
"A Stroll through the Park." Can anyone explain why Barry Kelley is credited as "Mr" Park Milgrave? Why the "Mr?" Very few PM actors are given such an honorific in the credits. His wife Althea refers to him as "Park," so that must be his first name, ruling out the possibility of his full name being something like Algernon Park-Milgrave--which would make "Mr. Park-Milgrave" understandable. Nor is his name "Park Avenue," making it necessary to credit him as "Mr. Park Avenue" to avoid confusing him with the NYC thoroughfare. With lots of time to spare, submitted by BobH, 25 January 2024.