Episode 20 - "The Cemetary Vote"
Wow, another nasty one. Jessica goes to Idaho after hearing of the death of a friend, and walks right into another rural hornet's nest. This show really loves to portray small-minded small town types who lord over "out of towners" and "do gooders" until they finally get their just comeuppance.
Here, Jessica discovers her friend died in a single car accident that might not be an accident. And after trying to uncover the truth, the friend's dad is murdered as well. The suspects seem obvious: the ultra-corrupt sheriff, his brutish thug of a deputy, the sly gambling parlor maven who partners with them. But while they are just as bad (worse!) as they seem, the real culprit is going to take some very clever detective work by Jessica, working with the state police and her friend's widow.
The horrible sheriff is Ed Lauter, whose face I recognzied instantly. He's known for a million movies, including Rage, The Longest Yard, French Connection II, Family Plot, King Kong '76, Cujo, Lassiter, Real Genius, Raw Deal, Gleaming the Cube, and many many more. His deputy is Jeff Yagher, who has appeared on Room for Two (26 episodes), Live Shot (13 episodes), Six Feet Under (6 episodes), and the recent movie version of Atlas Shrugged.
The honest state policeman is played by Mitchell Ryan, who played Edward Montgomery on Dharma & Greg (119 episodes), the title role of Chase (22 episodes), and many tough guy movie roles like Magnum Force, High Plains Drifter, Monte Walsh; he already has appeared during the Washington D.C. episode, and will appear twice more. The friend's father is played by John McLiam, who is known to me as Boss Keen in Cool Hand Luke and Orval in First Blood, and also appears in movies like In Cold Blood, The Reivers, Monte Walsh, The Iceman Cometh, Missouri Breaks, and many more.
Finally, there are three interesting ladies here. The gambling lady, Kate Gunnerson, is played to the very hilt by the magnificent femme fatale Marie Windsor, who is known especially for her role as Sherry in The Killing (1956); this and another episode of Mrder, She Wrote were her last acting credits. Jessica's friend's widow is Ellen Bry, known as nurse Shirley Daniels on St. Elsewhere (52 episodes), and many other roles. Lastly, the councilman's secretary, who shows a LOT of skin in this episode, is Charlene Tilton, who is in a variety of movies and TV but perhaps is best known asLucy Ewing Cooper on Dallas (234 episodes).
Episode 21 - "The Days Dwindle Down"
I honestly did not care for this one much... in the beginning. But then it got really interesting! Jessica is approached by a restant worker to help her husband, Sam Wilson, who she believes was framed for the shooting of his boss many many years ago. And the back story is told in lengthy flashback scenes in black and white, taken from the 1949 film Strange Bargain. Jessica reviews the case and agrees, the original case was weak and fishy and Sam was likely framed.
But then things get curious - the episode brings on as guests some of the actors from the original 1949 movie as it can! It's a great twist, especially the retired police lieutenant. Jessica slowly gets to work and analyzes alibis and clues and finally comes to a pretty interesting conclusion. Very ambitious episode!
The retired police lieutenant is Harry Morgan! The great actor himself, known to me as Colonel Sherman Potter on M*A*S*H, and from too many shows and movies to count. The show is richer for him. Edna Jarvis is played by Gloria Stuart, veteran of Golden Age Hollywood including films like The Invisible Man, Gold Diggers of 1935, and more; after a hiatus, she came back and is well known for playing the elderly Rose in Titanic.
Georgia Wilson is played by Martha Scott, another film vetran. She's known for Stage Door Canteen, Strange Bargain (of course), The Ten Commandments, Sayonara, Ben-Hur, and others before transitioning early to television. Thelma is played by June Havoc, another Hollywood veteran and legend of the "Gypsy" story, surviving a brutal vaudeville childhood to appear in films like Brewster's Millions (1945), Gentleman's Agreement, The Iron Curtain, and more before also transitioning to television. She will appear in one more episode of Murder, She Wrote before retiring.
Dorothy Davis is played by Susan Strasberg, who is known for Picnic, Stage Struck, Delta Force, and many other roles. I just saw her as part of my '80s movie blog in Sweet Sixteen (1983), so it was interesting to see her here. Finally, Jarvis Junior is played by Richard Beymer, who most TV viewers know as Ben Horne on Twin Peaks; he has been in many other things as well, and is very good in this episode.
Episode 22 - "Murder, She Spoke"
Missing! Not on Netflix, for whatever mysterious reason. Netflix, fix this!
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