User Reviews

"First-Class Mouliak" is a sensitively told story about the ties of family, community, and tradition. I won't bother recapping the plot as the other reviewers have already done so adequately. ROUTE 66 was well-known for bringing us down the highways and byways of America and into various ethnic communities. Here we get a glimpse inside a Polish-American neighborhood in Cleveland. The community is defined by its blue-collar (steel foundry) roots, Catholicism, strong family ties, food, and polka music. Two strongly ethnic characters are played by the extrovert Nehemiah Persoff and the more restrained Martin Balsam. The episode does a good job of immersing us in the ethnic atmosphere. Tod and Buz stand somewhat on the sidelines, aware of not quite fitting into this community; nevertheless, as always they manage to provide aid to those in need. The plot has murder, vengeance, guilt, reconciliation - all elements of a gripping drama.

A father/son conflict lies at the heart of the story. But it's the reverse of the stereotype, for here it's the father who wants the son to have a better life in a better part of town, while the son would rather stay, marry a local girl and work in the forge alongside his father. This is surprising and refreshing, and a sign of how ROUTE 66 managed to avoid cliché'.

In giving my rating I took into account the fact that - as another reviewer pointed out - the end of the story seems rushed. Also, fans of Robert Redford might be disappointed as the actor is not given great scope here apart from the climactic final scene.

Suddenly they are back in Cleveland and with Nehemiah Persoff back in the cast, just like the last episode of season 1, ("Incident on a Bridge"). It makes me wonder if this was intended to be a first season episode but they postponed it to the second season, perhaps because they didn't want Persoff to be playing different roles in successive episodes. This is famous as the episode with a young Robert Redford, who seems to have borrowed some of Richard Kimble's black hair dye. Redford was a contender to play Tod Stiles in this show but lost out to Martin Milner. The episode also has Nancy Malone, on loan from that other Leonard/Silliphant production. "Naked City", where she played Adam Flint's, (Paul Burke's) actress/girlfriend. Finally, this episode was directed by William Conrad, radio's Matt Dillon and TV's "Cannon".

The story is a simple one, almost abbreviated. Redford has a spat with his girlfriend, who runs from him not because she's in danger but just because she's upset, and falls into a ravine. She dies from the fall. That's a problem in itself but their fathers are business partners and best friends. This drives a wedge between them, especially since Redford has fled in fear, leaving the impression that he pushed the girl off the cliff. Our heroes are almost bit players, employees of the partners who help to find Redford and keep his father from strangling him so he can break down and explain. The episode then abruptly ends, before we can see how Balsam will react to this version of what happened.

What is a Mouliak? Here's an interesting discussion of the word, and the show: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Route_66TV/conversations/topics/ 9098 I'd guess it refers to what Persoff and Balsam's characters think of each other- at the beginning of the show.

One of the great things about Route 66 is that it was filmed in actual locations around the country. There are many people who remember when Route 66 came to their town. There's a lengthy thread on the message board for this show by Robert Spear that tells of his experiences helping the crew set up for a fourth season episode called "Same Frame, Different Picture". I came across a page on the web describing the locations used for "First Class Mouliak": http://www.ohio66.com/mouliak/ A great book could be put together of pictures and reminiscences such as this about when Route 66 came to the small towns across America.

Good strong drama coupled with local color make this an entry of the caliber that distinguished the series as a whole. Buzz and Todd are working in a Cleveland steel mill. A daughter of one of the ethnic Polish foremen (Balsam) goes missing. We know from the outset it has to do with the son (Redford) of the foreman's best friend (Persoff). So when the truth comes out, how will the friends and community react.

Fans of Redford must wait til the end for his big moment. Otherwise, he mostly skulks around in silence, a long way from his usual focal role, (is that black hair he has? It's certainly not the trademark blond). Good turns from Persoff and Balsam as ethnic types. That first part with an expansive Persoff is both charming and irresistible. Also, good views of real working class neighborhoods, generally absent from screens of the day. And that's along with hellish snatches of the foundry's erupting blast furnace. All in all, the entry's a superior story and script, with Buzz and Tod nicely blended in.

After some episodes that strayed from the Prime Directives of the Route 66 series, this ethnic tale in Cleveland returns us to crucial matters: M & M exposed to a close-knit, local culture and its strict folkways, and their intervention, helping to save the day. Even the issue of staying in your lane and heritage, or breaking out, hitting the road to search for your personal truth is part of John Vlahos's screenplay.

The basic story is simple and familiar: a romantic conflict that accidentally results in death, as Robert Redford's girlfriend Teresa falls off a cliff pre-opening credits. His guilt feelings and hiding the incident propel the deep emotions of both their families.

Most surprising to me in this great cast is that young Robert Redford, looking somewhat different with darker hair than the superstar we know and love, does not have a juicy or even major role. He plays the weakling, almost the generation gap, conflicted James Dean type ("Rebel WIthout a Cause") and only has one brief good scene at the show's climax, confronting his father.

And that father is not a pushover, no Jim Backus to James Dean, but Nehemiah Persoff in one of his finest roles. As a Polish steelworker, he's as ebullient and dominant as Quinn's Zorba the Greek, a real force of nature, and even gets to do a lively folk dance, trying to teach his co-worker at the forge Maharis how to dance!

Also powerful is Martin Balsam, more subtle as the dead girl's dad; Actors Studio alum Peggy Feury (like Persoff, previously terrific on the sister show "Naked City") solid as her mom; and especially Naked City regular Nancy Malone as Redford's sister, a terrific performance. Having grown up in Cleveland at the time this was made, I appreciate the local color on screen.