What a hoot! McNear is perfect as the ditzy Horatio Smeddler. Seems the old guy's unhappy with his bank's lack of a pension plan. So as a long-time employee, he embezzles the bank's money, offering to return it if they establish a good pension plan. Meanwhile, a couple gangsters try to cut themselves in. Pete's hired by Smeddler as a go-between with the bank.
It's a droll 30-minutes, with a humorous touch. Mc Near makes a perfect pixilated embezzler, much like his Floyd the barber on the Andy Griffith Show. His duel of wits with the pompous bank president (Petrie) is delightful, sort of like Cratchett and Scrooge, which may have been the inspiration for this X-mas 1960 episode. Note presence of legendary Hollywood bad boy Lawrence Tierney as the chief bad guy. Too bad he couldn't leave off the booze since he was a strong screen presence. In passing—ever notice how Hollywood tailors names to fit certain characters. In short, there's never a jet pilot named Horatio or Egbert, or a nerd named Lance or Buzz. Anyway, the entry's not typical Gunn, but remains a clever, well-done departure.
It's a droll 30-minutes, with a humorous touch. Mc Near makes a perfect pixilated embezzler, much like his Floyd the barber on the Andy Griffith Show. His duel of wits with the pompous bank president (Petrie) is delightful, sort of like Cratchett and Scrooge, which may have been the inspiration for this X-mas 1960 episode. Note presence of legendary Hollywood bad boy Lawrence Tierney as the chief bad guy. Too bad he couldn't leave off the booze since he was a strong screen presence. In passing—ever notice how Hollywood tailors names to fit certain characters. In short, there's never a jet pilot named Horatio or Egbert, or a nerd named Lance or Buzz. Anyway, the entry's not typical Gunn, but remains a clever, well-done departure.
