There's always been a notion that American actors are limited in what they have to offer, in general, in regards to Shakespeare.
The assumption seems to be that any Brit can pick up the bard's text and begin reading and master the effect with no effort.
This is no slight on the American, as the appeal of the western is known worldwide and European attempts at westerns are likewise frowned upon and observed with utter peculiarity.
This then brings us to this episode of Murder She Wrote. A truly odd confection seeking to cast Jessica Fletcher in the deep sayuth where bigotry and colored restrooms and mob mentality still run rampant.
All that was really missing was cotton fields and the KKK on horseback (perhaps there was a sense of redemption with a later Murder She Wrote movie, starring Phyllicia Rashad, as the bulk of the mystery involved 19th century flashbacks with runaway slaves and Lansbury as a different character, definitely a much better watch).
Yet oddly enough, this episode isn't without its merits.
We get former child actor Jackie Earle Haley, twenty years before his Oscar nomination, and we get Pat Corley, who never failed.
And we get Dorian Harewood as the sheriff, and likewise Stuart Whitman, who doesn't really rise above the subject matter, but makes good with it.
Many of the actors do seem to outdo the plot, as ridiculous and clichéd as it is. I guess it would have been no different than if Jessica had driven into Roman emperor days.
And there is even Larry Wilcox of CHiPs fame, definitely leaving his good guy role behind and a little too easily stepping into the bigot role (Wilcox played second fiddle to a scene stealing latino on CHiPs, so clearly he was showing acting ability here).
The most out-of-place aspect must definitely be Craig Stevens and his love child, Brian L. Green. Why was this in this episode? To flesh it out? Worth noting, Green also appeared on the soap Another World.
Stevens appeared on Love Boat with Cyd Charisse, where Stephen Schnetzer was her son and Stevens love child there as well. Schnetzer would go on to appear on Another World as well.
This episode will definitely stand as one of the odd confections of what the south was about (in 1986, no less).
The assumption seems to be that any Brit can pick up the bard's text and begin reading and master the effect with no effort.
This is no slight on the American, as the appeal of the western is known worldwide and European attempts at westerns are likewise frowned upon and observed with utter peculiarity.
This then brings us to this episode of Murder She Wrote. A truly odd confection seeking to cast Jessica Fletcher in the deep sayuth where bigotry and colored restrooms and mob mentality still run rampant.
All that was really missing was cotton fields and the KKK on horseback (perhaps there was a sense of redemption with a later Murder She Wrote movie, starring Phyllicia Rashad, as the bulk of the mystery involved 19th century flashbacks with runaway slaves and Lansbury as a different character, definitely a much better watch).
Yet oddly enough, this episode isn't without its merits.
We get former child actor Jackie Earle Haley, twenty years before his Oscar nomination, and we get Pat Corley, who never failed.
And we get Dorian Harewood as the sheriff, and likewise Stuart Whitman, who doesn't really rise above the subject matter, but makes good with it.
Many of the actors do seem to outdo the plot, as ridiculous and clichéd as it is. I guess it would have been no different than if Jessica had driven into Roman emperor days.
And there is even Larry Wilcox of CHiPs fame, definitely leaving his good guy role behind and a little too easily stepping into the bigot role (Wilcox played second fiddle to a scene stealing latino on CHiPs, so clearly he was showing acting ability here).
The most out-of-place aspect must definitely be Craig Stevens and his love child, Brian L. Green. Why was this in this episode? To flesh it out? Worth noting, Green also appeared on the soap Another World.
Stevens appeared on Love Boat with Cyd Charisse, where Stephen Schnetzer was her son and Stevens love child there as well. Schnetzer would go on to appear on Another World as well.
This episode will definitely stand as one of the odd confections of what the south was about (in 1986, no less).