Leo MacCarey, who first rose to prominence as a director and supervising producer for Hal Roach in the 1920s -- he is one of the many people who claim to have come up with the idea of teaming Laurel and Hardy -- returns to the fold for this episode of Roach's TV anthology of the middle 1950s. This one is a comedy drama.
Peter Lawford and Nancy Gates are fine as a couple who separate and go through divorce proceedings and long-time cinematographer Alfred Gilks manages the camera in a superior manner for 1950s television -- there are some nice understated moving shots that TV cameras always called attention to in this period. If there are any weaknesses, I find that the ending is a bit abrupt and Frank Fay is showing the effects of the long-term alcoholism that afflicted him.
But these are minor issues in the face of Arthur Q. Bryan. Bryan is best remembered for doing the voice of Elmer Fudd for cartoons for twenty years, and here he is dynamite as the divorce court judge. Some of his routine is a reprise of Granville Bates' performance in MY FAVORITE WIFE, but Bryan takes such evident pleasure in the role that he makes this story a pleasure.
Peter Lawford and Nancy Gates are fine as a couple who separate and go through divorce proceedings and long-time cinematographer Alfred Gilks manages the camera in a superior manner for 1950s television -- there are some nice understated moving shots that TV cameras always called attention to in this period. If there are any weaknesses, I find that the ending is a bit abrupt and Frank Fay is showing the effects of the long-term alcoholism that afflicted him.
But these are minor issues in the face of Arthur Q. Bryan. Bryan is best remembered for doing the voice of Elmer Fudd for cartoons for twenty years, and here he is dynamite as the divorce court judge. Some of his routine is a reprise of Granville Bates' performance in MY FAVORITE WIFE, but Bryan takes such evident pleasure in the role that he makes this story a pleasure.