After all these years, THE MONKEES never fail to get a few laughs. A big thank you to CATCHY TV Net for rerunning the entire series all weekend, and especially a fun watch with late night pizza.
"Monkees in a Ghost Town" is one of the best episodes of the short-lived series, and well directed by James Frawley, who handled a ton of prime tv shows, including CAGNEY AND LACY and of course, THE MUPPET MOVIE. Frawley's biggest claim to fame was his name. He, unfortunately, was NOT the son of William Frawley (Fred) on I LOVE LUCY, though many reviewers kept on claiming it and he had to keep on denying it!
Surprise! The fab foursome turn up in a ghost town, held hostage by two goofy gangsta's. In a terrific casting move, the great Lon Chaney, Jr plays "not to bright" Lenny, which obviously was a take-off on his famous film role (OF MICE AND MEN). Chaney was a tv and movie favorite, especially in westerns, and this had to be a labor of love. The other baddie is none other than Len Lesser, as George (the smarter goofy guy), best known as rascally Uncle Leo on SEINFELD. Lesser worked for decades in many cop shows, usually as some shifty types.
Best of the rest is a surprise visit by tv star Rose Marie, playing THE BIG MAN, who inherited the title for her late husband??? Rose Marie gets to sing here and trade wisecracks with the guys. You can tell everyone here is having a blast.
According to notes, legendary cartoon voice man Mel Blanc (BUGS BUNNY) makes the zany sounds for the Monkeemobile --as it runs out of gas in the ghost town. Blanc not only did crazy voices for years, but he was hilarious immitating car engines, planes, trains etc, a side gig he picked up during his years on radio comedy shows. The guy was an original and an inspiration to so many voice actors.
At the time, the Monkees were HOT. They had a number one hit with "Last Train to Clarksville", and ended the year (1966) with a second No. 1 hit, "I'm A Believer". In early 67, they peaked at No. 2 with "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You". Sit back and enjoy the 60s. SEASON 1 EPISODE 7 remastered dvd box set.