"The Rice Estate" is a deceptively bland title for this terrific, innovative episode of my favorite private-detective series, as much fun today as it was 58 years ago. It begins promisingly enough, with Efrem Zimbalist summoned on a dark and stormy night to an isolated mansion whose sole inhabitant, the delicious Peggy McKay, has been scared out of her wits by a series of letters and phone calls threatening her with death if she dares to sell the palatial estate she has just inherited from its eccentric, recently-departed owner. But what follows, instead of the expected whodunit, is a series of events that include every single element that have made this TV show so memorably unique: For starters, it's not solely Zimbalist's case; when he and McKay quickly find themselves falling in love, they throw an impromptu midnight masquerade champagne cocktail party that very same night. Among the guests are every single member of the "77" team, including Roger Smith (who shows off his impressive singing talents by accompanying himself on his guitar and delivering a fine version of the standard "Just One of Those Things"; Edd Byrnes (who saves Efrem's life by instigating a fist fight that finally reveals the identity of the villain); Louis Quinn (a riot, as always); and the delectable Jacqueline Beer (the French actress who portrays the boys' good-natured secretary/receptionist Suzanne, and gets to say the show's priceless final lines, an hilarious plug for one of Warner Bros.' popular-at-the-time TV Westerns).
I must add my belated thanks to Montgomery Pittman, a gifted writer/director responsible for several of the show's finest episodes (who died tragically at the young age of 45). Also, this episode is refreshingly free of murders, and the mayhem is kept to a humorous minimum, albeit there is no shortage of suspense. It is also, I believe, the first (and possibly last) chapter in the series where Zimbalist actually falls in love with one of his clients (in another outstanding, similarly touching episode, Roger Smith & Ms. Beer realize they are deeply in love and Smith asks her to marry him). The exterior and interiors of the palatial mansion are a set-designer's eye-filling dream.
Best of all, "The Rice Estate" captures the obvious warmth and comradery the entire cast of "77 Sunset Strip" had for each other. Whether intentional or not, the fact that this episode was originally telecast only one day before New Year;s Eve of 1960 seems highly appropriate. When "The Rice Estate" was filmed, "77 Sunset Strip" was at the peak of its popularity, but its abundance of high spirits and sheer all-out fun are usually only found in a hit show or movie's celebrated (but never filmed) 'Wrap Party'!
I must add my belated thanks to Montgomery Pittman, a gifted writer/director responsible for several of the show's finest episodes (who died tragically at the young age of 45). Also, this episode is refreshingly free of murders, and the mayhem is kept to a humorous minimum, albeit there is no shortage of suspense. It is also, I believe, the first (and possibly last) chapter in the series where Zimbalist actually falls in love with one of his clients (in another outstanding, similarly touching episode, Roger Smith & Ms. Beer realize they are deeply in love and Smith asks her to marry him). The exterior and interiors of the palatial mansion are a set-designer's eye-filling dream.
Best of all, "The Rice Estate" captures the obvious warmth and comradery the entire cast of "77 Sunset Strip" had for each other. Whether intentional or not, the fact that this episode was originally telecast only one day before New Year;s Eve of 1960 seems highly appropriate. When "The Rice Estate" was filmed, "77 Sunset Strip" was at the peak of its popularity, but its abundance of high spirits and sheer all-out fun are usually only found in a hit show or movie's celebrated (but never filmed) 'Wrap Party'!
