Columbo: Lovely But Lethal (1973) Review of Vera Miles

"Lovely but Lethal" is a Season 3, Episode 1 episode of Columbo that features Vera Miles as a beauty industry executive, Vincent Price as her rival, and Martin Sheen as a young chemist. Reviews describe it as a solid but not top-tier episode, highlighting Miles' performance as memorable and praising the supporting cast, even while acknowledging that the plot formula isn't as strong as other episodes." 

Source:IMDB with a look at the beautiful & adorable Vera Miles.

From IMDB

As my colleague Fred Schneider write about this episode back in 2023: 

"I got into this episode of the Columbo series 4-5 years ago and was blown away by the fact that Vera Miles was on it. And thanks to Sundance and COZI-TV, probably seen this film 10 times now and even have it on DVD. Only 70 minutes, not a dull moment in it and that plus Vera's presence and her being so cute and beautiful on it and just comes off as a total sweetheart on it, (at least for a two-time murderer) I can see it over and over again, to the point that I wanted to write about it." 

From The New Democrat

I'm just going to give you a little of my own background information about this episode, first and then I'll give you my response to what Schlock Horror (who'll you will hear from later on) said about this episode on YouTube. 

I first started watching Columbo in my mid-teens and when I was just out of high school in the mid-1990s. A&E back in the 1990s had this series on as part of the Mystery Matinee series almost everyday, with other shows like Rockford Files, McMillan & Wife, McCloud, and perhaps a few others. 

And now that classic TV and movies has gone through resurgence that last 10-15 years, with cable networks not just going 24 hours of day of classic TV reruns and even modern TV reruns, but doing marathons of a specific type of programming, like mystery TV, Columbo, which is still 1 of the most popular TV cop detective shows, ever... this series is now on 3-4 cable networks, almost everyday now. If it's not on COZI-TV, you can find it on Hallmark Mystery, or Sundance, METV had for a longtime as well. 

To make a long story shorter... I saw the Lovely But Lethal episode from COZI-TV, 10-11 days ago. Similar with Fred, I've seen this particular episode, at least 10 times the last 7-8 years. Vera Miles is just that good and that great to look at and to listen to. A better looking Lana Turner, who was born to do soap operas and mystery TV, because of her great appearance, but her ability to verbal jab and comedic timing, and keep her counterpart on the run and even guessing as far as what she's doing and how that person might stop her. 

And I'm with IMDB on this... Lovely But Lethal is in my personal top 10 as far as my favorite Columbo episodes. But not in the top 3, or even top 5:  

The Jack Cassidy episodes (which I wrote last December on The New Democrat) 

as well as Lee Grant's episode, (which Kire Schneider wrote about on The New Democrat) 

Robert Conrad's episode (Exercise in Fatality) and the 2 Robert Culp episodes, I think are better than Lovely By Lethal. But what Schlock Horror said about this episode, I think goes too far: 

"We're (finally) back with the weakest season opener of the '70s." 

Source:Schlock Horror with his own review of Lovely But Lethal.

From Schlock Horror

And I think Nicholas Schroeder had the perfect response to Schlock Horror: 

"Completely baffled by the dislike of Vera Mills:  I think she's deliciously evil in this--and she's supposed to be shallow.  She's just an aging, mercenary beauty queen.  This episode is also loaded with humor." 

So Schlock Horror's main criticism of Lovely But Lethal episode, is centered around Vivica Scott. (Played by Vera Miles) He's says there isn't any depth to her and we don't really learn anything about her. He says she's not all that dastardly or that sympathetic. "She's just kind of there". 

So my response to Schlock Horror, is... pre-1974, Columbo episodes were only 70 minutes on NBC. Sure, that's more than a Rockford Files episodes, which were about 45 minutes. (Not including commercials) But when the network is giving you about 100 minutes, (give or take) including commercials, to put together what's essentially a short film, do you really want them to spend a good part of their limited time talking about: 

what it was like growing up in Oklahoma in the 1930s and 40s? 

Or, what it was like breaking into the Los Angeles cosmetics industry in the 1950s? 

How about Viveca Scott explaining what life was like without TV when she was growing up in Oklahoma?

Anyone who is familiar with the Columbo series, knows this is not A&E Biography. It's a police detective show. All they're going to give you is a little background as far as what the murderer does for a living, the pressures that person is under, why they killed the person that they did, and the actual homicide itself. You are not going to see Peter Graves or Harry Smith, Jack Whitaker (3 A&E Biography hosts) talk about the life and career of Vivica Scott in the Los Angeles cosmetics industry, before she murdered 1 of her cosmetics designers, Carl Lessing (played by Martin Sheen) in 1973. 

And the thing about Vincent Price... I agree he's great at playing the bad guy. He can be both very evil and hilariously funny at the same time. Which is an impressive talent, especially in Hollywood. But replace Vera Miles with Price and it's no longer "Lovely But Lethal". The episode would be more like: "Tall, Gruesome, and Lethal". With of course Vincent Price playing the lead, because who better, (at least from Price's generation) at scaring the hell out of people... while making them laugh at the same time, then Vincent Price

But as Fred got into on his post, Vera Miles is perfect for Lovely But Lethal, because that's exactly what she was. She's 44 at this point and still as cute as a doll and beautiful as most young women back then, even in Los Angeles. So who more perfect to play a cosmetics company owner, who is struggling financially and needs a new hit product, or risk having to sell off her business, then Vera Miles. 

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William Alland: Look In Any Window (1961) Welcome To This Neighborhood

"Teen idol Paul Anka plays Craig Fowler, the troubled son of dysfunctional parents Jackie and Jay Fowler (Ruth Roman and Alex Nicol). When Jay loses his job as a aircraft mechanic, he goes on a drinking binge to end all, passing out on the floor in front of his bored and disappointed wife. Meanwhile, across the back fence, Betty Lowell (Carole Mathews) confronts her philandering playboy husband Gareth (Jack Cassidy) about his extracurricular activities at work - activities which she has conveniently rationalized, as his success has made them the envy of their neighbors. While the parents fight, Craig and Betty's daughter Eileen (Gigi Perreau) indulge in a growing interest in each other - but what role models do they have for "normal" behavior? And how long can Craig hide his dark secret: a compulsion which drives him to prowl the neighborhood's quiet streets at night and peep in windows? Cast members Jack Cassidy and George Dolenz both were fathers of future rock star sons, David Cassidy ("The Partridge Family") and Micky Dolenz ("The Monkees").—

Source:IMDB with a look at Jackie & Craig Fowler (played by Ruth Roman & Paul Anka)

From IMDB

Suburban Confidential: "Look in Any Window" is a cheap, sleazy exploitation film about the shenanigans going on behind the scenes in suburban America. While it could have been well made and intelligent, the filmmakers really just wanted sensationalism. However, despite being pretty crass, it is entertaining.

The film is like a soap opera and it consists of many different vignettes involving really screwed up people. The most obviously messed up person is Craig, played by Paul Anka. He is an out of work teen who loves peeking in windows. Eventually, his behavior escalates and the police are looking to find him. His father is emotionally and physically impotent and the film is trying to say this is why the young man is a creepy sex offender...which is a bit of a stretch. As for nearly all the adults in the film, they seem to love cheating on their spouses and are too wrapped up in themselves to notice that Craig is a real head case!

The film often features very broad acting that is anything but subtle. The worst of these is played by Alex Nicol, who is Craig's alcoholic father. Subtle, he is not! But none of the characters seemed subtle...not even the cops investigating the peeping Tom case! I am a bit surprised the film didn't cast Jayne Mansfield or Mamie Van Doren as well...they would have fit right in to the story. Overall, a bad but fun movie...the type you watch if you could use a laugh or if you like over-the-top stories." 

From IMDB

"Dad's Kinda Feeling Last Night's Booze Today. If you don't laugh when he falls down, I don't think we can be friends." 

Source:Kavin Lafferty with a look at The Fowler's. (Played by Alex Nicol & Ruth Roman)

From Kevin Lafferty

If you are familiar with the movie "Peyton Place", then that makes me feel a helluva lot younger and less lonelier because now I know I'm no longer the only classic film fan on social medial and in the blogosphere, who doesn't write for this blog... besides Turner Classic Movies and the other classic film and TV networks. But that's not really my point here.

Again, if you are familiar with "Peyton Place (1957)", this movie is sort of like that. Before the Cultural Revolution, before integration became mainstream and standard in America, later in the 1960s and really ever since, Americans had a stereotypical view of what it meant to be an American, (or as MAGA might say: a real American) and if you lived in or around a big city, (like Los Angeles) the goal and preference back then was to live in the suburbs, or at least in what people thought was a nice, clean, safe, well-educated, and middle to high-income community, in a big city, like Los Angeles. 

Well, "Look in Any Window", pretty much blows up the stereotypes of what it meant to live the American dream in the 1960s. I mean this film is just a raging soap opera, where you have 2 what looks like on the surface, successful couples living next door to each other, in Reseda, Los Angeles. But where the husbands are rarely home and don't know their kids very well: 

In 1 house, Garrett Lowell (played by Jack Cassidy) is a workaholic, who has his own car dealership, who is much happier at work, then being home with his wife and daughter... who sleeps with every woman who says hi to him... who is not his wife. (That's not an exaggeration)

And next door, you have Jay Fowler (played by Alex Nicol) who is a traveling airplane mechanic (whatever the hell that is) who gets fired, (which is probably the only reason why he gets home from Alaska) because he says he was laid off. But the man is an alcoholic, so unless his company is run and owned by alcoholics, safe bet his drinking (perhaps on the job) was at least 1 reason for his dismissal. 

And then you have 2 bored and lonely housewives... I mean homemakers,  (not really) Jackie Fowler and Betty Lowell (played by Ruth Roman & Carole Matthews) who are exactly that. Who take the attitude, "If I can't have my husband, I'll have the guy next door". 

And if all of this not enough for you, along with the fact that the beautiful, adorable, and curvy Ruth Roman, is wearing hot shorts in and outside of her house, for the entire film, the Fowler's son, Craig (played by Paul Anka) is a freakin peeping tom, who is essentially antisocial and doesn't know how to communicate with females... except Eileen Lowell. (Played by Gigi Perreau) 

I agree with this IMDB review: 

"Look in Any Window" is a cheap, sleazy exploitation film about the shenanigans going on behind the scenes in suburban America. While it could have been well made and intelligent, the filmmakers really just wanted sensationalism. However, despite being pretty crass, it is entertaining...

But it was close to July 4th, 2021, perhaps the night before and I was flipping around 1 night and ran into this film on TCM. And I've been watching it at least once every year ever since... saw it again last night, in anticipation of another slow news day in Washington. And this movie, is a great soap opera episode, or TV film... as far as the cast, and the story, the location, it's pretty funny... the fact that it really blows up what upper middle class life was like back in the 1950s and early 60s, at least for some people. That life back then, even for successful Americans, wasn't just an episode of Pleasantville, at least for some Americans, including European-Americans. 

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William Graham: Thief (1971) Starring Richard Crenna

"A professional thief tries to break with his past but has to pull off one last job to pay off a gambling debt." 

Source:IMDB with a look at Angie Dickinson & Richard Crenna. Perhaps you can tell for yourself who is who.

From IMDB

"Here Is A Promo For The Movie Of The Weekend Presentation Of Thief.

Starring: Richard Crenna, Angie Dickinson And Cameron Mitchell.

Voiceover By Dick Tufeld." 

Source:MRGIOSB with a look at Hollywood Goddess Angie Dickinson. She plays Jeanne Melville.

From MRGIOSB

"Neal Wilkinson (Richard Crenna) would appear to be living a great life.  He has a nice house in the suburbs.  He has a beautiful girlfriend named Jean Melville (Angie Dickinson).  As he heads into middle-age, he is still fit and handsome and charming.  He dresses well, or at least well by the standards of the early 70s.  (By the standards of today, a few of his ties are a bit too wide.)  Everyone believes that Neal has a nice and comfortable job as an insurance agent.

Of course, the truth is far different.

Neal is a veteran con man and a thief.  He’s just recently been released from prison and his deceptively friendly parole officer (played by the great character actor, Michael Lerner) is convinced that Neal will screw up again eventually.  And, of course, Neal has screwed up.  A gambling addict, he is $30,000 in debt.  Can Neal steal enough jewelry from enough suburban homes to pay off his debt?  Can a man like Neal change his ways?

This is a surprisingly somber made-for-TV movie.  Just from the plot description and the film’s first few minutes, you might expect Thief to be a light-hearted caper film in which Neal and Jean work together to pull off one last heist so that Neal can retire.  Instead, Neal spends almost the entire film lying to Jean and there’s hardly a light moment to be found.  Neal says that he wants to retire from his life of crime but, as the film makes clear, that’s a lie that he’s telling himself.  Neal cannot stop stealing and gambling because he’s as much of an addict as the wild-haired junkie (Michael C. Gwynne) who briefly confronts Neal at the parole office.  At one point, Jean tells Neal, “The more I know you, the less I know you,” but the truth of the matter is that Neal is so deep in denial about the futility of his life that he doesn’t even know himself.

It’s not a particularly happy film.  Richard Crenna is ideally cast as Neal, playing him with enough charm that the viewer can buy that he could talk his way out of being caught in a stranger’s backyard but with also with vulnerability that the viewer can see his fate, even if he can’t.  Thief also provides a rare opportunity to see Cameron Mitchell playing a sympathetic role.  Mitchell is cast as Neal’s attorney, who continually tries to get Neal to stop messing up but who ultimately knows that his attempts to reform Neal are just as futile as Neal’s attempts to go straight.

The movie ends on a surprisingly fatalistic note, one that suggests that there’s only one way to truly escape from a life of crime.  I can only imagine how viewers responded in 1971, when they turned on their television and found themselves watching not a light-hearted caper film but instead a bleak examination of criminal ennui.  It’s not a happy film but it is more than worth watching for Richard Crenna’s lead performance." 

From Lisa Marie Bowman

I guess I could've talked about President Trump's interview with Meet The Press anchor Kristen Welker from Sunday morning. And I think she actually did a good job here, but all we got out of that was that he still takes no blame for anything that ever goes wrong on his watch and demands all the credit for anything good that happens... including things that didn't happen on his watch, like the infrastructure law that was signed by President Biden and passed by Congress back in 2021. Americans must have thought they were voting for 7th Grade Class President when they went to the voting booths in 2024. 

And there's just too much Donald right now, especially for a Marylander like myself, who lives 30 minutes from The White House. So onto talking about a fictional thief (played by Richard Crenna) and enough about the career thief who is Donald J. Trump... for now. 

So I was looking on YouTube and my homepage a couple years ago and the movie Thief (1971) was in my recommendations. And it said "with Richard Crenna". So I checked out either that night, or a few days later. 

If you are a Gen-Xer like myself who grew up in the 1970s and 80s, broadcast network TV films were everywhere, especially if your family didn't have cable TV yet. I was 12 years old in 1988 when my family got a cable box. So the movies and TV back then were better (at least from my perspective) back then because they had to be. Because people had fewer options. 

So ABC, CBS, NBC, maybe even PBS, and FOX in the late 1980s and early 90s, all had their own movie productions as part as their entertainment divisions and they would make and produce their own films, as well as show hit films from the big screens that came out a few years ago, as well as older films that are still very popular. 

And the broadcast networks would show these films generally on Sunday or Monday night, or even do mini-series. ABC, CBS, and NBC, stopped producing and showing other films like 20 years ago. But CW is bringing that back with their network and showing weekend films again, and they also have their own sports division as well now. 

Thief (1971) is an ABC network produced, TV film. It was 1 of their weekend films back in October, or November of 1971. Richard Crenna plays Neal Wilkinson, who is a professional thief, who has been sent to prison twice for that, who has lost custody of his son because of that. The mother of his son is an alcoholic and the boy is currently in a foster home. 

I think there's part of Neal that wants to go straight (as they say) but when you go to Reno, Nevada (not to play in the sand) but to gamble and you are not just a two-time convicted felon, but you not just lose $9,000 (which is $71,000 in 2025) but you cover those losses with bad checks and then you use your straight (and I don't mean that in a sexual way) lawyer as a reference for your bad checks, I think that begs the question of whether a two-time felon, who is a professional thief, is ready to go straight or not. Or simply just trying to get other people to cover his losses for him. 

On the surface, Neal Wilkinson (played by Richard Crenna) has an excellent support system as well as motivation to get his life together: 

Neal just bought a house in Los Angeles in a neighborhood that looks like Brentwood. But I'm not an LA expert. 

Neal has a straight job as an insurance salesman, earning $13,000 a year. (Which is $102,000 in 2025) 

Neal has a gorgeous, successful, highly intelligent girlfriend, Jeanne Melville (played by Angie Dickinson) who knows within the first 5 minutes of the film that her boyfriend has not been straight, or even honest with her. But she thinks she's in love with him and wants to help him out. She doesn't even know he's a two-time convicted felon. 

And of course there's Charlie Harris (played by the great character actor Cameron Mitchell) who is Neal's lawyer, who serves more like an older brother, or stepfather, who'll do what he can to keep his client from going back to prison and out of trouble... but as long as Neal is making that same effort for himself. And the reason why they split in this film because as Charlie told Neal on the phone: 

"You don't want somebody to help you. You want a pallbearer". Neal wants someone to be around him to pick up the pieces for him, when he screws up. He doesn't want an advisor or mentor around to show him the way and be able to stay out of trouble, by not getting into trouble in the first place. 

Again, 1970s TV film, so you are talking about a great cast here of great, professional character actors to go along with the people I just mentioned: 

Robert Webber as Reno casino boss Jim Calendar. Mr Calendar literally gives Neal a lecture on what it means to be a real father in the scene where they're talking about the debt that Neal has to pay back and how much time he might get to make good on that debt, before Mr. Calendar turns Neal's bad checks over to the Reno Police.

Ed Peck has a cameo role where he hits on Jeanne at the restaurant when she's waiting for Neal

Bruce Kirby (the father of actor Bruno Kirby) plays the guy who talks too much in the Reno casino bathroom. Neal tries to jack Beffy's wallet from his coat pocket and gets caught before by Beffy before he can even leave the bathroom. 

Hurd Hatfield plays Neal's fence in the film. Hurd is very impressed with the merchandise that Neal brings to him. But very reluctant to pay him for it. And has a "take it, or leave it" policy with Neal. 

We're only talking about an 75 minute (give or take) film here. And I really like the first 73 minutes. (Which might explain why I've seen this film like 10 times in the last 2 years) It's the ending that doesn't make sense and I think even unfair to the Neal Wilkinson character. 

Sure, I could easily see Neal being arrested after this film, after he just made 2 scores that night alone to pay off his $9,000 (again, $71,000) in today's money). But to have him shot in his own, damn, house, by and underweight, punk-junkie, (played by Michael Gwynne) who looks and acts like he could be a meth-head, who barely has the physical strength to even walk on his own 2 feet... seems out of place.

If a character like Neal Wilkinson, who is played by 1 of the great TV leading men (at least) from his generation (Richard Crenna) is taken down by anyone at the end of the film and it doesn't end in a good way for him... it's got to be by the Los Angeles Police, or the Feds. Not by 140 pound half-weight, who only just met Neal at the parole officer's office, who probably had to hitch a ride, or take several buses from his Skid Row boarding room, just to get to Neal's house in Brentwood. 

I think Michael Gwynne is an excellent character actor. But having Neal Wilkinson taken out by this character, doesn't even seem believable, let alone right. But the other 70 plus minutes of this film are really good, goes by very quickly and definitely worth seeing again. 

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Roy Royland: Slander (1957) Starring Van Johnson & Steve Cochran

"For Entertainment Purposes Only. A successful smooth talking mogul (Steve Cochran) who makes his living publishing a "muckraking" magazine tries to blackmail an "up and coming" performer to get smut about another famous entertainer. Bad goes to beyond worse while Van Johnson and Ann Blyth struggle as victims. The story is as relevant today as ever. Really about libel (not slander)...

Source:Susie Robinson with a look at Slander (1957)

From Susie Robinson

From IMDB: 

"In an effort to improve the circulation of his notorious scandal magazine, unscrupulous owner, editor and publisher H. R. Manley spares nobody." 

Source:IMDB with a look at Van Johnson Ann Blyth & Steve Cochran.

From IMDB

So, you know it's a slow news day anytime you are seeing The New Democrat talk about a classic film, instead of President Trump's latest unconstitutional executive order, or who he threatened to lock up, if that person kept saying and reporting negative things about him. But it's Friday, the 2nd day of May, which feels like a summer day in Washington, D.C., which is pretty common for this time of year. And there just isn't much going on today. Besides, as it says on our home page, TND is about current affairs, sports, and entertainment... not just current affairs. 

So the more I see Van Johnson, the more I like him. He's the sort of classic, Classic Hollywood leading man and great supportive actor: 

Tall 

Good looking

Well built

Excellent sense of humor and comedic timing.

Van Johnson was the perfect actor for soap operas both in film and on TV in the 1950s and 60s, but go to the 1970s... even the 1980s as well. Even in his 60s, he would've been great on shows like Dynasty. He would've been a great late night talk show guest for the reasons I just gave as well. 

So Slander is not really what you would call a classic soap opera, but it has those elements: 

A big shot star (played by Van Johnson) that a tabloid reporter (played by Steve Cochran) wants to take down... or at least seriously hurt, because he can and it would sell a lot of paper for his publication. 

What I'm about to say, is not a newsflash for anyone who has a solid grasp of American history, or even Hollywood history. But well before what's called reality TV, the internet, blogging, or even the tabloid news magazine shows from the 1980s and 90s... this is how Americans got a lot of their news about their favorite stars... tabloid print publications. 

And like today with serious news organizations, or even 70 years ago, it was up to the individual reader to be able to figure out what was trash, what was incomplete, and what was real when it came to their news diet. 

And Slander is sort of about how people got their news back in the 1950s,  where you have a tabloid print reporter trying to take down a star, because he can and it will sell a lot of pint for him. And doing that with trash, or at best half-truths.  I'm going to watch it tonight and I might have more about on The New Democrat next week. 

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Police Woman: Tigress (1978) Laraine Stephens Guest Stars

"POLICEWOMAN - Series 4 - Episode 11 - "Tigress"

Originally broadcast 11th January 1978

MOPPY-KUN TV now screens on both Dailymotion & you tube - episodes not here are definitely on Dailymotion.

Angie Dickinson as POLICE WOMAN was the first American Police Drama to feature a woman in the title role inspiring many women to join the force. POLICE WOMAN ran on NBCTV for four seasons from 13th September 1974 to 29th March 1978 consisting of 91 episodes.

Story synopsis: - A special team of undercover Police Officers work for the Criminal Conspiracy Unit at the Los Angeles Police Department." 

Source: MOPPY-KUN TV- left to right: Laraine Stephens as Los Angeles City Council candidate Amelia Boyer & Angie Dickinson as LAPD Detective Sergeant Pepper Anderson.

From MOPPY-KUN TV

"Pepper resents her assignment to protect an unscrupulous former classmate who is now a political candidate." 

Source:IMDB- Laraine Stephens as Amelia Boyer.

From IMDB

"At a public hearing in Dade County, Florida, parents were enraged. The nation, they said, was in peril and children were at risk. A recent ordinance had granted gay people housing and employment protections, and that meant teachers couldn’t be fired because of their sexuality. Florida classrooms quickly became a battleground, and opponents of the ordinance said the state’s support of civil rights for homosexuals was infringing on their rights as parents. 

Action had to be taken, and a campaign to limit the legal rights of LGBTQ people — all in the name of protecting children — was enacted. A woman who spoke at this hearing said it was her right to control “the moral atmosphere in which my children grow up.” That woman was Anita Bryant, formerly Miss Oklahoma and a white, telegenic, Top 40 singer who was well known for her Florida orange juice commercials (“A day without orange juice is like a day without sunshine!” she’d say). Bryant spearheaded an anti-LGBTQ campaign of such impact that its echoes can be heard in today’s rhetoric. The year was 1977.

Last month, nearly half a century after Bryant’s “Save Our Children” campaign, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by its opponents. The measure, which takes effect July 1, prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in “kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” Similar bills are being considered in 19 other states, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ think tank that has been tracking the bills... 

“In the present environment, you can’t go after homosexual teachers anymore,” Faderman said. “We have too many allies. And so Florida has found another way to do it by this ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, which doesn’t go after homosexual teachers precisely. But the idea is the same. That is, that homosexuality is a pariah status, and it shouldn’t be discussed in the public schools.”

Source:NBC News: "Singer-turned-political activist Anita Bryant speaks at a news conference in Miami Beach, Fla. on June 7, 1977."

From NBC News

"She came to national attention when millions of copies of her self-published book A Choice Not an Echo were distributed in support of Barry Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign, especially in California's hotly fought winner-take-all-delegates GOP primary.[23] In it, Schlafly denounced the Rockefeller Republicans in the Northeast, accusing them of corruption and globalism. Critics called the book a conspiracy theory about "secret kingmakers" controlling the Republican Party.[24] Schlafly had previously been a member of the John Birch Society; founder Robert Welch Jr. referred to her as a "very loyal" member.[25] She later quit and denied she had been a member because she feared her association with the organization would damage her book's reputation. By mutual agreement her books were not mentioned in the John Birch Society's magazine, and the distribution of her books by the society was handled so as to mask their involvement. The society was able to dispense 300,000 copies of A Choice Not an Echo in California prior to the June 2, 1964, GOP primary.[26] Gardiner Johnson, Republican National Committee for California, stated that the distribution of her book in California was a major factor in Goldwater's winning the nomination.

American feminists made their greatest bid for national attention at the 1977 National Women's Conference in Houston; however, historian Marjorie J. Spruill argues that the anti-feminists led by Schlafly organized a highly successful counter-conference, the Pro-Life, Pro-Family Rally, to protest the National Women's Conference and make it clear that feminists did not speak for them. At their rally at the Astro Arena they had an overflow of over 15,000 people,[30] and announced the beginning of a pro-family movement to oppose politicians who had been supporting feminism and liberalism, and to promote "family values" in American politics, and so moved the Republican Party to the right and defeated the ratification of the ERA.

Schlafly became an outspoken opponent of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) during the 1970s as the organizer of the "STOP ERA" campaign. STOP was a backronym for "Stop Taking Our Privileges". She argued that the ERA would take away gender-specific privileges enjoyed by women, including "dependent wife" benefits under Social Security, separate restrooms for males and females, and exemption from Selective Service (the military draft).[32][33] She was opposed by groups such as the National Organization for Women (NOW) and the ERAmerica coalition. The Homemakers' Equal Rights Association was formed to counter Schlafly's campaign...

In 1972, when Schlafly began her campaign against the Equal Rights Amendment, the ERA had already been ratified by 28 of the required 38 states.[35] Seven more states ratified the amendment after Schlafly began organizing opposition, but another five states rescinded their ratifications. The last state to ratify the ERA was Indiana, where State Senator Wayne Townsend cast the tie-breaking vote in January 1977.[36] (Nevada, Illinois and Virginia ratified the ERA between 2017 and 2020, many years after the deadline to do so.)[37]

The Equal Rights Amendment was narrowly defeated, having only achieved ratification in a total 35 states.[7] Political scientist Jane J. Mansbridge concluded in her history of the ERA:

Many people who followed the struggle over the ERA believed—rightly in my view—that the Amendment would have been ratified by 1975 or 1976 had it not been for Phyllis Schlafly's early and effective effort to organize potential opponents.[38]

Joan Williams argues, "ERA was defeated when Schlafly turned it into a war among women over gender roles."[39] Historian Judith Glazer-Raymo argues:

As moderates, we thought we represented the forces of reason and goodwill but failed to take seriously the power of the family values argument and the single-mindedness of Schlafly and her followers. The ERA's defeat seriously damaged the women's movement, destroying its momentum and its potential to foment social change ... Eventually, this resulted in feminist dissatisfaction with the Republican Party, giving the Democrats a new source of strength that when combined with overwhelming minority support, helped elect Bill Clinton to the presidency in 1992 and again in 1996.[40]

Critics of Schlafly pointed out that she was not a typical housewife, as she was heavily involved in political causes." 

Source:Wikipedia with a profile of far-right political activist Phyllis Schlafly.

From Wikipedia

I give you all this background information about Anita Bryant and Phyllis Schlafly because I wanted to see how many people I could get to run to the nearest and highest bridge to jump off from, to escape from having to do all this reading. Actually, I have another reason for this. Even better than the first 1. 

With all this background info of Anita Bryant and Phyllis Schlafly, I'm trying to give you an idea of what American political culture was like in the mid and late 1970s on the Right. And I'm sure as hell not talking about the center-right. 

And of course I'm not a mindreader. I'm also not a brain surgeon, or astronaut, or a murder 1 defense lawyer specializing in death penalty cases. (Just in case the jury is still out on any of that) I'm just saying that I believe that's what this Police Woman episode is based on. At least the political background of the of Amelia Boyer, (played by Laraine Stephens) the woman that the fictional Criminal Conspiracy Unit in LAPD is assigned to protect in this episode.

If you are familiar with the Ann Coulter's, the Mercedes Schlapp's, Marjorie T. Greene's and Lauren Boebert's in the U.S. House of Representatives, these women from today... that's who the Amelia Boyer (played by Laraine Stephens) character is like ideologically and culturally. 

These far-right, female culture warriors, argue that America is essentially being taken over by independent, educated, Caucasian women, and at least to a certain extent racial and ethnic minorities. And that homosexuality and personal freedom in general, is "poisoning and blood of America" and that it's time for the "real Americans" (meaning Anglo-Saxon-Protestants) to step up, fight back, and "take back America". 

And that's who Anita Bryant was when it came to homosexuality and perhaps other culture war issues in Miami and San Francisco in the late 1970s. And that's who Phyllis Schlafly was when it came to all these cultural war battles on the far-right in America, for really the 2nd half of her adult life starting in the mid 1960s and up until she died in 2016. 

I saw the Tigress episode last night, knowing that I would be writing about it today. And I believe Laraine Stephens plays that Phyllis Schlafly like character beautifully (in more ways than 1) and perfectly. And LAPD Detective Sergeant Pepper Anderson (played by Angie Dickinson) plays the independent woman, who hates Amelia Boyer's (played Laraine Stephens) politics and who represents the contrarian point of view to Miss Boyer's politics, beautifully (in more ways than 1) and plays that role perfectly as well.

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Jacques Tourneur: Out of The Past (1947) Starring Robert Mitchum & Jane Greer

Source:Roger Ebert with a look at Out of The Past (1947)

"Most crime movies begin in the present and move forward, but film noir coils back into the past. The noir hero is doomed before the story begins — by fate, rotten luck, or his own flawed character. Crime movies sometimes show good men who go bad. The noir hero is never good, just kidding himself, living in ignorance of his dark side until events demonstrate it to him.

“Out of the Past” (1947) is one of the greatest of all film noirs, the story of a man who tries to break with his past and his weakness and start over again in a town, with a new job and a new girl. The movie stars Robert Mitchum, whose weary eyes and laconic voice, whose very presence as a violent man wrapped in indifference, made him an archetypal noir actor. The story opens before we’ve even seen him, as trouble comes to town looking for him. A man from his past has seen him pumping gas, and now his old life reaches out and pulls him back.

Mitchum plays Jeff Bailey, whose name was Jeff Markham when he was working as a private eye out of New York. In those days he was hired by a gangster named Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas, electrifying in an early role) to track down a woman named Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer, irresistibly mixing sexiness and treachery). Kathie shot Sterling four times, hitting him once, and supposedly left with $40,000 of his money. Sterling wants Jeff to bring her back. It’s not, he says, that he wants revenge: “I just want her back. When you see her, you’ll understand better...

From Roger Ebert

"Noir Alley - Out of the Past (1947) intro 20220605 by Eddie Muller shown on June 5, 2022

From TCM's Noir Alley (Saturdays at Midnight ET and Sunday 10am ET) hosted by the Czar of Noir, Eddie Muller." 

Source:Noir Fan- TCM film historian Eddie Muller.

From Noir Fan

"Noir Alley - Out of the Past (1947) outro 20220605 by Eddie Muller shown on June 5, 2022

From TCM's Noir Alley (Saturdays at Midnight ET and Sunday 10am ET) hosted by the Czar of Noir, Eddie Muller" 

Source:Noir Fan- TCM film historian Eddie Muller.

From Noir Fan

Just to give you my little personal background of this film first. I caught this movie almost by accident 5 years ago in the summer of 2019, on a Sunday, when I just got home from biking, just got out of the shower, having a little dinner, and I was sort of flipping around on the TV that night. And I just couldn't stop watching the movie. And I immediately checked to see when this film would be on again. Turns out the next filming of Out of The Past from TCM, was a year later from when I saw it the first time. This film is not on TV very often. So what I like to do with all my favorite films, is record them on DVD when they're on TV. Which is what I've done with Out of The Past and most of my favorite films. 

Eddie Muller thinks either Out of The Past or Double Indemnity is the best film noir of all-time. I look at Out of The Past, the way I look at North By Northwest: NBN is the best Alfred Hitchcock film ever. And Out of The Past is the best film noir ever. 

In a 97 minute film, you have the best of film noir: 

You have what looks like a love story starting out, where you have Jeff Bailey/Markham (played by Robert Mitchum) basically falling in love with the woman who he was hired to find by a gangster, Whit Sterling (played by Kirk Douglas) almost before he ever meets her. 

To Whit Sterling's credit, he did warn Markham that Kathie Moffatt (played by Jane Greer) was no ordinary woman. I mean the word "unforgettable" comes to mind with both Jane Greer and Kathie Moffatt. Every time she speaks, I'm staring at her eyes and and her facial expressions, as I'm trying not to fall into a trance from that and trying to hear what she says. And that's basically what happens to Markham here. Until she kills his former partner because he was simply trying to retrieve the money that she stole from her gangster boyfriend. While double-crossing his old partner Jeff. 

I think another thing that makes Out of The Past such a great film, is it's so classic film noir. 

You have the man (played by Robert Mitchum) who is sort of the lead good guy (even though there's no such thing as a good guy or good girl in Out of The Past) who is really just a survivor. As Jeff Markham says in the film: "If we are all going to die, I'm going to die last". 

There are no saints or angels in Out of The Past, or I film noir in general. There are just a lot of narcissistic, double-crossers, who are simply in the business of getting what they believe is there's and what they want. And then you have survivors on the other side who are doing exactly that. They don't want the real crooks to get what away with whatever they're trying to get away with. Or hurt the people that they care about. But just like there are no real cold days in Hell and there are no virgins at whore houses, there are no saints or angels in film noir. 

Jeff Markham is simply looking to survive this experience. Which means staying alive and staying out of prison. And even coming out of this experience better off than he started. But he plans on at the very least being the last person to die during this experience.

I think the two best scenes in Out of The Past, is the San Francisco scene. That's about 1/2 of the film right there. That could've been a great TV episode of some great detective series from the 1950s or 60s, something like Peter Gunn or something. 

Whit Sterling and his organization simply want their tax attorney out-of-the-way. Sterling sends Markham to San Francisco to meet with Meta Carson (played by Rhonda Fleming) who introduces him to Sterling's tax attorney, Eels (played by Ken Niles) at his apartment. But the whole point of that is to show that Markham was in that apartment the night that Eels was murdered. Markham being the experienced and intelligent detective that he is, figures that out from the beginning that he's being framed. And gets ahold of Sterling's tax records, in order to keep himself alive and prevent these gangsters who work for Sterling, from turning him over to the police for the murder of the tax attorney. 

My 2nd favorite scene in the film is towards the end of it after Kathie (played by Jane Greer) just killed Whit Sterling (even though they don't show us doing that) and I think she perfectly sums up who she is and what Out of The Past is really about, which is a movie about surviving, with this quote: 

Kathie: "I never told you I was anything but what I am. You just wanted to imagine I was. That's why I left you. You're no good and neither am I. That's why we deserve each other. 

Kathie trying to convince Jeff that they belong together by saying he either takes her back, or he will go down for the murders of Eels, Joe Stephanos (played by Paul Valentine) and Whit Sterling: 

"Whit's dead. A bundle of papers isn't any good. If Joe was around, you could use him, but Joe's dead too. So what are you gonna do about Eels and Fisher? For that matter, what are you gonna do about this? Someone has to take the blame. You have nothing on me, but I'd make a fine witness for the prosecution. Don't you see? You've only have me to make deals with now. No, no, we're starting all over. I want to go back to Mexico. I want to walk out of the sun again and find you waiting. I want to sit in the same moonlight and tell you all the things I never talked to you - till you don't hate me, till sometime you'll love again." 

Again, back to my point about there being no saints or angels in Out of the Past, just survivors... Kathie has just laid out the score for what their situation is. She's completely honest and truthful about how she would screw him over, if he doesn't agree to go with her. And he's sort of resigned to thinking that he basically has no other choice. Otherwise he could go down for 3 murders, thanks to her. And keep in mind, if you seen this film before, she had Joe Stephanos (played by Paul Valentine) try to murder him, right before they're all back at the Sterling cabin together. And he suspects her of that. 

Is Jane Greer or even her character Kathie Moffat the only great thing about Out of The Past, or even the only reason to watch Out of The Past? Of course not. Otherwise this film wouldn't be the great film that it is. Which I believe is the greatest film noir ever. Even better than Dark Passage and The Big Sleep, which are also two of my personal favorites. But if the definition of femme fatal is: 

"Sometimes called a man-eater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of literature and art." 

Then that's Kathie Moffat to perfection. And Jane Greer plays this role perfectly. 

On the surface, you would think that Kathie Moffat is too cute scare a mouse. That the mouse would just stare at her thinking: "Who is this baby trying to fool? She's even cuter than me". But that's the femme fatal at it's best. The woman who is simply too cute to make any man suspicious of her. Until he gets some experience with her and learns the hard way that you can never just automatically trust a baby face. Doesn't matter how beautiful she is. 

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Hunter: The Beautiful & The Dead (1986)

Source:Apple TV- actress Persis Khambatta as Dhari Ziad.

"Hunter and McCall are called to investigate the car bombing of a Middle-Eastern consulate member for which a student terrorist group claims responsibility." 

From IMDB

"Hunter and McCall are called to investigate the car bombing of a Middle-Eastern consulate member for which a student terrorist group claims responsibility." 

Source:YouTube- actress Persis Khambatta as Dhari Ziad.

From YouTube

"When a dead girl disappears from Hunter's living room, Hunter and McCall follow a trail of intrigue, adultery and murder." 

Source:IMDB- actress Katherine Justice plays Shirley Humphreys in this episode.

From IMDB

In early 2021, perhaps earlier than that, Charge started putting the old Hunter episodes on their network. And they did that for about a year or so. And then GetTV picked up the TV series as well about 1-2 years later and are stilling showing Hunter on the weekends.

I'm a Gen-Xer and growing up in the 1980s, this was 1 of my favorite TV shows, especially before my family got cable in the late 80s. And it's 1 of the my favorite cop shows as well. So I'm watching all these Hunter reruns mostly on the weekends. And a few episodes really stand out with me to the point I personally recoded a lot of them on my DVR. 2 episodes in particular are 62 Hours of Terror and The Beautiful and The Dead, both from season 2 and both from 1986. 

If you are familiar with Fred Dryer (who played LAPD Detective Sergeant Rick Hunter) on the Hunter TV series, you know that before he got into acting in the 1980s, he was an All Pro defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL in the 1970s. 

So we're talking about a 6'6 240-245 pound man, all muscle, who plays an LAPD detective sergeant and lead investigator on all his cases. But that's just from the outside. He's also a very funny man, who always has a great wisecrack ready to go, or some sarcastic, physical comedy, ready to show as well. And they added his comedic humor, with Stephanie Kramer's who played Sergeant Hunter's partner on this show. (Detective Sergeant DeDee McCall) And she's an excellent comedic actress herself. 

If you are familiar with this TV series, it's basically an action/comedy, that's advertised as police detective show. The detectives are very funny, a lot of the guest actors are also very funny. The storylines and writing and funny as well. But it's also a serious cop show about how two senior, LAPD detectives, solve cases together, but who have a lot of fun with each other while they're doing that. 

The two Hunter episodes that this is about, is what I'm talking about. But there's more to it than that. The fact that LAPD would be investigating Middle Eastern terrorists, as well as officials who were involved in these terrorist acts, but then the fact that a woman (played by Persis Khambatta) from the Baraqi embassy (a made up country) American boyfriend (played by Rod Arrantis) who is really the terrorist here, because this woman really wants to kill her husband whose is cheating on her, (even though she's doing the exact same thing to him) makes this episode even more fascinating to me. 

But then this woman is so cute and beautiful, (reminds me of actress Anne-Marie Johnson) you would think she would be the last person who is behind this terrorist plot, but she's plays the innocent woman so beautifully (in more ways than 1) that you would have to be a great detective like Rick Hunter to figure this out. But it's her boyfriend Harry Malone (played by Rod Arrantis) who gives Sergeant's Hunter and McCall the giveaway to this plot by volunteering that Dhari Ziad (played by Persis Khambatta) is 1 of his clients that he was protecting. Puts Hunter and McCall on to him and that's how they figure this case out. 

As far as The Beautiful and The Dead, it's a great Cold War, intelligence/detective story. You have a Russian citizen Leo Zukoff (played by Kabir Bedi) who is really a Russian intelligence officer, pretending to be a small businessman in Los Angeles. But what he's really doing is knocking off people who get in his way and threaten to exposed himself for what he is, which is a Russian intelligence officer and mobster. Hunter and McCall figure that out pretty quickly. But it takes them most of this 2-part episode to figure this out. 

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Jack Cassidy: The Perfect Villain For Lieutenant Columbo

Source:Columbo Phile- Jack Cassidy as Ken Franklin in Murder By The Book (1971)

Source:The New Democrat

“The first episode made available on the channel was the seminal Murder by the Book, which opened Columbo‘s first season in September 1971. Starring the irrepressible Jack Cassidy as Ken Franklin, and directed by Steven Spielberg, it remains one of the best pieces of episodic television ever made and you can view in HD glory below.”

From the Columbo Phile

“The Columbo calendar year of 1974 got off to the most arresting start imaginable in the shape of Publish or Perish.

Not only were the opening credits an extraordinary combination of explosions and freeze frames, but consummate villain Jack Cassidy was back in his second appearance as a killer – this time sporting an evil moustache to accentuate his inherent wickedness.

A publishing backdrop, reassuringly familiar to fans of Murder by the Book, promised to make Publish or Perish a series highlight. But is it a the equivalent of an Allen Mallory best-selling novel, or an amateurish effort set to languish in the bargain bucket? Let’s set our clocks back to 18 January 1974 and find out…

Source:Columbo Phile- left to right Peter Falk & Jack Cassidy.

From the Columbo Phile

“ALAKAZAM! As if by magic, master villain Jack Cassidy returned to give Columbo‘s fifth season a much-needed boost in the illusion-packed Now You See Him on 29 February 1976.

The presence of Cassidy as The Great Santini, the return of Sergeant Wilson and the unique and mysterious backdrop of the Cabaret of Magic help Now You See Him stand tall in the memory. But is the end result as good as the ingredients itself? Or to put it another way, is this a water tank illusion of an episode, or merely a simple card trick?

Let’s don our most luxurious capes, twirl our moustaches and bust out of some unbreakable handcuffs as we investigate…

Source:Columbo Phile- left to right; Jack Cassidy & Peter Falk.

From the Columbo Phile

“A star of stage and television for over two decades, actor Jack Cassidy embodied the vainglorious, self-absorbed side of his profession in a series of Tony-winning and Emmy-nominated turns that made him a much-loved performer until his tragic death. Cassidy’s rich, mellifluous voice and fair-haired good looks made him a popular leading man on Broadway in the late 1940s and early ’50s, where he met his first wife, dancer Evelyn Ward, who would give birth to their son, future pop star David Cassidy…

From Turner Classic Movies

Just to give you my personal observation about Jack Cassidy, someone who’ve I had a platonic man crush on for about 10 years now, since MeTV, The Hallmark Channel, Sundance, CoziTV, and other have been doing their Columbo marathons:

I think the Columbo TV series is at its best, when the murderer is almost as sharp and as witty as Lieutenant Columbo himself. Someone who can go toe-to-toe with the Lieutenant up to the point where he not only figures it out, but now can prove it. That’s where you get all the great wisecracks back and forth, the suspect now playing defense attorney for himself, or herself, because he or she now knows that the Lieutenant has figured out, but only has to prove it.

I think all of these factors are what made Jack Cassidy so great in all 3 of his appearances which were his charm, his self-confidence, his humor, his comedic timing, and his intelligence, as well as the intelligence of his characters. And of course the overconfidence of all 3 of his characters, thinking that he’s just pulled off the perfect murders, even though he’s an amateur murderer.

I’ll give you a little bit but what I think of Jack Cassidy’s 2nd and 3rd episodes on Columbo, but I’m mostly going to concentrate on Murder By The Book (1971) because it’s not only his best episode, his best performance on Columbo, but I believe the best Columbo episode in the entire series.

If you are familiar with the original USA Network TV series In Plain Sight (from 2008-2012) starring Mary McCormack (as Deputy Marshal Mary Shannon) then you have probably seen the pilot episode as well. There’s a scene where she’s about to question her lead suspect of this murder (or killing) and she’s walking up this kid’s father’s place and about to meet his father. And I haven’t been able to find the exact quote anywhere, but she’s referencing Lieutenant Columbo. (Played by Peter Falk) And she says something to the effect:

“You know when you are watching a Columbo episode and the Lieutenant figures out who the ,murderer is as soon as he meets that person…

Columbo hasn’t figured out who the murderer is as soon as he meets Ken Franklin. (Played by Jack Cassidy) But thanks to the victim’s wife, (played by Rosemary Forsyth) Franklin is already the lead suspect. She tells the Lieutenant about his partnership with her husband Jim Ferris (played by Martin Milner) and how much Franklin is about to lose financially, because now they’re breaking up and their both authors, but Ferris does most of the writing. And Ferris is about to go out on his own and that could cost Franklin a lot of money and so-forth.

So now Ken Franklin is the only suspect to this crime, even though Columbo hasn’t even met him yet. And they are at the Ferris home when Franklin shows up and Columbo still hasn’t figured out who the actual murderer is. But it gets really interesting after the Lieutenant starts talking to Franklin.

If you have ever played the game Follow The Trail, where you have to keep finding clues that lead you to where you are going and finally end up, that’s what Murder By The Book is:

Franklin and Columbo are at Franklin’s office that he shared with his partner Jim Ferris, the night of the murder. What Franklin really wants to do is detour Columbo and get him looking at other people like West Coast organized figures as suspects that his Jim Ferris was doing research on to write a book about. What Franklin does instead is make himself look even guiltier. He explains to Columbo that instead of flying back to Los Angeles from San Diego, he drives back instead. Now, San Diego is only a 2 hour drive from Los Angeles. But it suggested to Columbo that Franklin wasn’t in a hurry to get back and find out what happened to his missing partner and friend. And he showed no emotion whatsoever about the fact that his friend and partner was missing.

And now they’re at Ken Franklin’s place and Franklin of course knows what happened to his friend and partner, since he murdered him and has been keeping the dead body in the trunk of his car and now decides to dump the body on his lawn and report it to the police. So Franklin and Columbo are now in his home and Columbo asks Franklin to retrace his steps and movements once he found the dead body and what he was doing and after he founded the body. And he tells Lieutenant Columbo that he was looking at his mail and going through his mail, even though he just discovered a dead body on his lawn, who just happened to be his partner, as well as best friend. Franklin is still trying to put this murder on a list of West Coast organized crime figures. But he doing that while dropping all sorts of clues on the floor about his own guilt.

And you get into the facts that Ken Franklin and Jim Ferris both has insurance polices on each other. That Franklin who was doing very well financially, but was a playboy bachelor with very expensive women and taste. But Franklin who is the co-author of the very book where the murder that he just committed was literally laid out, thinks he just committed the perfect murder.

Publish Or Perish (1974) and Now You See Him (1976) are both excellent Columbo episodes. The 2nd and 3rd Jack Cassidy episodes are both in my Columbo top 5-10. But Murder By The Book is my personal favorite, because the murderer thinks he just committed the perfect murder. But his so overconfident that he literally proves himself guilty of the crime, because of his arrogance and he kept leaving little clues that only Lieutenant Columbo could put together to solve the crime.

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