Hi Stefan and Jim and everyone,
Here are a few photos and reviews regarding the shows you both mentioned, so everyone can be on the same page and have a little background on Bob's early TV adventures.
Yes, Jim, our man Culp appeared in
two "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" .... The first was during the 1/2 hour series and was called A MAN GREATLY BELOVED" (1957 - Season 2). It starred Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Hugh Marlow, and Evelyn Rudie (the child actress I always mixed up with Eileen Baral, the little girl who played Leno in "Child Out of Time."
Evelyn Rudie and Eileen Baral
Here's a review and synopsis of A MAN GREATLY BELOVED ....
This surprisingly warm-and-fuzzy episode is narrated by child actress Evelyn Rudie, here cast as minister's daughter Hildegarde Fell. Against the wishes of her father (Hugh Marlowe), Hildegarde insists upon trying to make friends with crabby old John Anderson (Cedric Hardwicke), an elderly recluse whom everyone in town assumes to be a former judge, famous for his harsh and merciless sentences. Only after Anderson's death does the wide-eyed Hildegarde reveal the unvarnished truth about the greatly beloved man. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide"
(Here's the Hitchcock twist at the ending - don't read this next part, if you prefer to be surprised - if you ever get to see this one. )
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When he dies, everyone in the town feels the loss of the great man. It is later discovered though that he wasn't all he seemed to be. He was actually a convicted strangler who the real Judge Anderson had sentenced years before.
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The other Hitchcock outing for our Bob was in the hour long series. He starred in a delightful story called GOODBYE GEORGE in 1963. Co-starring with him was Patricia Barry, Stubby Kaye, Elliott Reid, and Bernie Kopell.
Here's a review/synopsis ....
Popular movie star Lara Layne (Patricia Barry) is on the verge of wedding handsome Harry Lawrence (Robert Culp) when she is paid a visit by ex-convict George Cassidy (Stubby Kaye) -- who was himself married to Lara back when she was calling herself Peaches. Lara is stunned by George's arrival, especially since he was reported to have died behind bars, but here he is, demanding a huge payoff to keep quiet. A struggle ensues, and Lara kills George, whereupon Harry valiantly volunteers to help her dispose of the body somewhere in Mexico, where the couple had planned to take a secret honeymoon. (Well, anyway, it was supposed to be a secret.) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
I have seen this one and it is a "fun" ride all the way to the "perfect" Hitchcock ending.
Patricia Barry definitely falls into the
"Culp's worked with everyone out there twice" category!
She also played his wife earlier in 1962 in Walt Disney's SAMMY THE WAY-OUT SEAL. This film also co-starred Jack Carson, Billy Mumy, and a seal!
Please, jump on in with your reviews ... if you've ever seen this one, or any of these!!
And Stefan, you mentioned two of Bob's M.O.W.'s - ones that were both very good.
THE CHILL FACTOR (a.k.a. A COLD's NIGHT DEATH) came out in 1973. And the human cast consisted of Robert Culp and Eli Wallach (O.K. no seals this time, but throw in some chimps ...) This is a strangely dark and odd film and it works.
And a review for CHILL FACTOR ....
A cut above most TV movies, the ABC production A COLD NIGHT’S DEATH (THE CHILL FACTOR) is set at a remote research lab in the inhospitable Arctic. Scientists Robert Culp (Dr. Robert Jones) and Eli Wallach arrive to continue the project another researcher was doing before he mysteriously died. The experiments focus on a group of super-intelligent monkeys to observe how much confinement, depravation, fear and exposure to cold they can endure. Wallach is a rational, by the book scientist, whereas Culp is more intrigued by the mysteries of nature. As the days of boredom and isolation go on and on, both develop a bad case of cabin fever. They begin to accuse each other of playing mind games when odd occurrences start popping up. Who left the windows open? Who trashed the food supply? Wallach is dismissive of Culp’s speculations that something extraordinary is happening, instead chalking up their peculiar behavior to the high altitude. As tensions between the two psychologists ripen, the beleaguered chimps start protesting their abuse leading us to the spooky, if not obvious conclusion. Both actors ham it up well in what occasionally feels like off-Broadway theater. Gil Mellé, veteran composer from B.J. LANG PRESENTS to THE NIGHT STALKER series, provides an appropriately chilly score. His sparse, eerie electronics ominously counterpoint the continual howl of blizzard winds and screeching simians. Bleak, atmospheric and well worth seeking out. ABC Wednesday Night Movie ABC ~ from pimpadelicwonderland.com
.... and you also mentioned HOUSTON, WE’VE GOT A PROBLEM (1974) with Gary Collins, Clu Gallagher, Sandra Dee, Ed Nelson, Steve Franken, and Mrs. Culp No. 4 - Sheila Sullivan. This was a rather well-done docu-drama style of story based on the people manning NASA's Mission Control during the Apollo 13 disaster. Bob is excellent as Steve Bell - head of re-entry crew - who struggles with masking his severe (and deteriorating) cardiac condition. Sheila Sullivan plays his wife. The story rotates between the explosion that damaged the craft and how the personal lives of the people on the ground are affected by trying to bring the crew home safely. This made for TV film came out 21 years before the "Apollo 13" movie and 4 years after the actual events occurred ...
As always,
Tatia
....
