Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Rexanne It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

John T. Ryan This is a creation of the quite prolific Roy Huggins for Warner Brothers Television. Perhaps we could shorten this write-up, as well as so many others, simply by creating a list which would enumerate all of the Motion Pictures and TV Series which Mr. Huggins did NOT have a hand in creating. This man was simply prolific and, we presume, $ort of Wealthy.We really mean this. In looking over Mr. Huggins' resume, we find it to be not only extensive, but also quit eclectic; having credits in many genre and multi-media. The Huggins Output includes Motion Picture Comedies: THE FULLER BRUSH MAN (Columbia, 1948) with Red Skelton and THE GOOD HUMOR MAN (Columbia, 1950) with Jack Carson as well as such varied TV Series as: MAVERICK (Warner Brothers TV/ABC, 1957-60) with James Garner (Bret) & Jack Kelly (Bart), 77 SUNSET STRIP (Warners/ABC, 1958-64) co-starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith & Edd Byrnes, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE (Roncom/Universal TV/National Broadcasting Company, 1965-68) with Ben Gazzara, THE FUGITIVE (Quinn Martin Prod./United Artists TV/American Broadcasting Company, 1963-67) Mr. Huggins' Pinnacle with David Jansen, THE OUTSIDER (Universal TV/NBC, 1968-69) with Darren McGavin, CITY OF ANGELS (Roy Huggins-Public Art Prod./Universal/NBC, 1976) with Wayne Rogers, THE ROCKFORD FILES (Cherokee/Roy Huggins-Public Art/Universal TV/NBC, 1974-80) which is right up there with FUGITIVE & starred Jim Garner and HUNTER (Stephen J. Cannell Prod./Lorimar/NBC Network, 1984-91) with Fred Dryer & Stephanie Kramer.Additionally, when in-between projects, he contributed scripts to many an other series. So, here's the list-don't ask again! AS for 77 SUNSET STRIP, Mr. Huggins called upon his experience in mystery & hard-boiled detective Noir stories and novels to give Warner Brothers TV and we, the spoiled, pampered, oversexed, overpaid and under-appreciated Viewing Public a right now, happening and super-cool Private Detective show. Setting the show in Los Angeles; the creator disdained the obvious taking the sleazy route in favor of a couple of real "Class Guys" in Stu(art) Bailey (Mr. Zimbalist) and Jeff Spencer (Roger Smith). I mean these guys were smart William F. Buckley Jr., classy like Olivier but tough like Ralph Meeker.IN giving the series a comic relief component, young co-star Eddy Byrnes was recruited to portray 'Kookie" a young (but not that young) as a concession to the Female Teenie Boppers and to give us a character to assist the big guns and thus keep that old storyline moving along..Jacqueline Beer (love that surname!) appeared as "Fronch-speaking" secretary-receptionist, Suzanne and Louis Quinn as societal bottom feeder, Race Track hustler and first class informant, Roscoe! THE tone of the stories varied greatly from week to weekly episode. Some stories were deadly serious; whereas others were true Farce. Some scripts seemed to be strictly that; that is type of story that sort of marks time and operates like the menu in a Chinese restaurant. You know what we mean; two from column A, 1 from column B and before you know it, whah-lah, we have enough elements for a story.The second type is very serious; sort of like a big time Film Noir Movie that failed. Certain aspects are damn near brutal, too violent for TV. Murders abound and the Private "I" always seems to find himself out in a sort of limbo between the sleaze of the underworld and the bright light world of the straight and narrow.The third type is very similar to a typical MAVERICK Script in that it's all played for laughs; almost being a parody of the Detective Genre.Whatever the variety that we were shown on a particular week, it was a sure-fire, lead-pipe cinch that the combination of plot, characters & their interaction and some of the Coolest (though now seemingly badly dated) Music all added up to a great Friday's evening of enjoyable TViewing. (TV + Viewing = TViewing. We suspect it'll make it into Webster's this year.) BUT, if there's one thing that is certain in Television, it is that once "The Suits" in the front office start to monkey around with what has been a successful series; it usually means that the show is nearing the end of its run. We're not certain if the declining series prompts the changes or if the changes hurt the ratings of the show; although we suspect that either scenario is likely to occur and indeed has.IN its final season of 1963-64, the new Production Head of Warner Brothers' Television, old Sgt. Joe Friday (Himself!), Jack Webb decreed that two extreme changes should be implemented. First off, in order to attempt to ca$h in on the JAMES BOND Spy craze, Private Detective Stu Bailey (operating solo, without Jeff Spencer*), turned to international intrigue and espionage. Secondly, the story went to serialization. Though no Cliff Hanger Chapterplay type endings were employed, the stories continued from week to week. Also gone was any semblance of levity that had been a series hallmark for 77 SUNSET STRIP. The series left the air in February of 1964, pre-maturely cancelled.Mr. Jack Webb was soon shown the door at Warner Brothers as well; in no small way being due to that botched experiment of Detectives to Spies switcharoo.What with all of that adaption of old TV Series and Cartoon Shows into Live Action tidbits for the pleasure of a rapidly aging Baby Boomer Generation, we wonder if an adaptation of this great Detective Series can be far off! Whatta ya think, Schultz? NOTE: * Roger Smith had to leave the series and indeed all acting abruptly. He was compelled to go into an early retirement due to serious illness. About 20 years had passed and in 1985, he was pronounced as being in full remission.POODLE SCHNITZ!!

liscarkat This is a review of the 2-box, 24-disk DVD set of 77 Sunset Strip from thedvdplanet.org.This is the worst case of defective DVDs I've ever encountered. The set is worthless. I hope my review saves others from wasting their money.Out of the total of 24 disks, only one disk has no significant problems.One disk will not play or even display a menu.There are at least 17 episodes missing. The exact number is not ascertainable, because one of the disks, which probably contains six or more episodes, will not play or even open to the menu.There are 62 episodes that have picture and sound quality so poor that they are unwatchable. I understand that, given the sources of these recordings, pristine picture quality is not to be expected. However, by "unwatchably poor quality," I mean that objects and people are blobs of light and dark, often with unrecognizable faces, and on-screen credits and titles are often unreadable. The sound quality is often just as bad. The episodes that aren't this bad have fair to poor quality. None have good quality.Here is a breakdown of the defects in each disk: Disk 1: Casualty is not accessible from the menu, only by fast-forwarding.Casualty is recorded on the disk three times.The Bouncing Chip is missing from the disk.The other titles on the menu do not correspond with the episodes that play when they are selected.Disk 2: Hit and Run is not accessible from the menu, only by fast-forwarding.Disk 3: This is the only disk that does not have any significant defects! Disk 4: Strange Girl in Town is recorded on the disk twice.Mr. Paradise is missing from the disk.Disk 5: Menu titles do not correspond to episodes that play when they are selected.Sing Something Simple, and The Treehouse Caper are both unwatchably poor quality.Disk 6: Menu titles do not correspond to episodes that play when they are selected.The Widow and the Web, Secret Island, The Texas Doll, and Created He Them are all unwatchably poor quality.Disk 7: Publicity Brat is not accessible from menu, only by fast-forwarding.Menu titles do not correspond to episodes that play when they are selected.Who Killed Cock Robin, and Safari are both unwatchably poor quality.Disk 8: Fraternity of Fear, and Spark of Freedom are both unwatchably poor quality.Disk 9: The Duncan Shrine is unwatchably poor quality.Disk 10: The Rice Estate is unwatchably poor quality.Disk 11: Mr. Goldilocks, Face in the Window, and The Space Caper are all unwatchably poor quality.Disk 12: The Legend of Leckonby, The 6 Out of 8 Caper, and The Celluloid Cowboy are all unwatchably poor quality.Disk 13: Caper in E Flat, Hot Tamale Caper (Part 1), Hot Tamale Caper (Part 2), and The Positive Negative are all unwatchably poor quality.Disk 14: The Unremembered, Big Boy Blue, and The Missing Daddy Caper are all unwatchably poor quality. Disk 15: None of the episodes are accessible from the menu, only by fast-forwarding.The Inverness Cape Caper is recorded on the disk twice, and its visual quality is unwatchably poor.The Rival Eye Caper also has unwatchably poor quality.Disk 16: All of the episodes on the disk, consisting of The Turning Point, The Navy Caper, Bullets for Santa, The Chrome Coffin, The Down Under Caper, and Mr. Bailey's Honeymoon, have unwatchably poor quality.Disk 17: The Steerer, and Baker Street Caper are both missing from the disk Menu titles do not correspond to episodes that play when they are selected.Twice Dead, Jennifer, The Long Shot Caper, Violence for Your Furs, and The Lovely American all have unwatchably poor quality.Violence for Your Furs is recorded on the disk twice, and is missing its opening scene and title.The Lovely American, and The Gemologist Caper are on the disk, but are not on the menu.Disk 18: None of the titles on the menu correspond to the episodes that play when they are selected.Framework for a Badge, Pattern for a Bomb, Upbeat, and Nightmare are all on this disk, but not on the menu.The Lovely American, and The Gemologist Caper are on this menu, but they are on another disk (Disk 17).Flight From Escondido, Pattern for a Bomb, and Nightmare have unwatchably poor quality.Disk 19: This disk will not display a menu, and will not play. All of the episodes (titles unknown) that should be on this disk are missing.Disk 20: None of the seven titles on the menu are on the disk (or on any other disk). All seven episodes are missing.Five of the episodes that ARE on the disk, consisting of The Snow Job Caper, Terror in Silence, Dial S For Suspense, Nine to Five, and The Man Who Wasn't There have unwatchably poor quality.Disk 21: Target Island, Our Man in Switzerland, and Never to Have Loved all have unwatchably poor quality.Disk 22: "5" (Part 3), and "5" (Part 4) both have unwatchably poor quality.Disk 23: White Lie, Don't Wait for Me, and By His Own Verdict all have unwatchably poor quality.Disk 24: All seven episodes on the disk, consisting of The Fumble, Bonus Baby, Paper Chase, Lover's Lane, Alimony League, Not Such a Simple Knot, and The Target have unwatchably poor quality.

Janet Harbison Warner Brothers had a hit with this show. Efrem Zimblist Jr. was wonderful as Stu Bailey. Roger Smith played his partner Jeff. Edd Byrnes played Kookie. And for one season 1960-1961 a character was moved from one show to another. It was the first time this had ever happened. Rex Randolph played by Richard Long came on board and helped take some of the burden off of Stu. Although he didn't stay but one season and only appeared in eleven episodes including a two parter, Long was wonderful as Rex. He and Jeff seemed to always get into one mess after another when they worked together on a case. But they usually solved them. I look forward to this show being issued out on DVD someday. It is truly a classic.

dencar_1 77 SUNSET STRIP was so cool that the breeze from the show could air condition your living room every Friday night from 1958--1964. This series had it all: two cool private detectives, gumshoe intrigue against the backdrop of Hollywood environs, a bee-bop-speaking parking lot attendant who became an overnight teen sensation, and not to be forgotten---one of the sexiest musical scores ever. Whether 77 SUNSET STRIP was the best all-around private-eye series on television might be debatable, but what can't be debated is the hipness the series delivered to its loyal fans once a week. The formula wasn't rocket science: a damsel in distress who turned out to be fashioning grand larceny, a ten-cents-a-dance ballroom where a maniac slipped beautiful girls a mickey, a run-a-way beauty with a millionaire grandpa. Effrem Zimbalist, Jr. (Stuart Baily) and Roger Smith (Jeff Spencer) were the two suave PI's who ran the Sunset Strip detective agency. Zimbalist was the more cerebral of the pair; Smith was the unabashed playboy who never saw a pair of shapely legs he didn't like. Then, to top it off, Ed "Kookie" Byrnes stunned Warner Brothers executives when he became a teen sensation as the hip parking lot attendant who combed his locks and called everybody "Daddy-O." When Byrnes recorded KOOKIE, LEND ME YOUR COMB with Connie Stevens, his place among teen-heart-throbs was cinched. In fact, his fame catapulted the ratings so dramatically, he was finally promoted to private investigator with his own office. There was the sexy French receptionist Suzzanne (Jackqueline Beer) and Roscoe (Louis Quinn), the part-time gopher and race track addict who supplied comic relief. And if all this wasn't enough, just across the parking lot there was swinging Dino's-- Dean Martin's real life watering hole where the Frankie Ortega jazz trio pounded out tunes like "I Get A Kick Out Of You." Sadly, in the final years of the series, Roger Smith developed brain disease and was replaced by Richard Long. SUNSET STRIP was never the same after that. Moreover, it didn't seem right to see a suddenly mature "Kookie" sitting at a desk in a three-piece suit replaced by Robert Logan who was now parking the cars. The show went off the air in 1964 after seven seasons. While many of the episodes are available on tape and DVD, it is hard to understand why 77 SUNSET STRIP is not shown more often on nostalgic television. For it's fan base remains solid and it is one of the most watchable of the older detective shows. PETER GUNN, RICHARD DIAMOND, and BOURBON STREET BEAT may have been solid competitors, but if you place them side by side, it's not really a contest. Has any other show ever compared to the cool temperatures of 77 SUNSET STRIP? As Kookie would say: "It's really the ginchiest..."Trivia: It is rather remarkable to consider the impressive pantheon of Warner Brothers successful television series in the 1950's: MAVERICK, CHEYENNE, SUGARFOOT, HAWAIIAN EYE, SURFSIDE SIX, BOURBON STREET BEAT, COLT 45, LARAMIE--all had strong ratings in the 1950's and early 1960's....Moreover, it has often been said that when it came to the movies, WARNER BROTHERS owned the detective genre (Cagney, Bogart, Robinson); and MGM owned fantasy (Astaire, Kelly, Garland). Apparently, this was also true of television where WARNER BROTHERS invested heavily in westerns and detective shows....After Roger Smith developed a brain disorder and left the show, he later developed MLS! But he appears to be doing well today. He married actress Ann Margaret many years ago and when he retired from acting, managed her career...Effrem Zimbalist, Jr. went on to play Inspector Erskine in THE F.B.I. series in the early 1970's...Jacqueline Beer, who played the sexy 77 SUNSET STRIP office receptionist, was Miss France, 1954, and married explorer Thor Hyerdahl...As for Kookie (Ed Byrnes): his late '50's recording of KOOKIE, LEND ME YOUR COMB with Connie Stevens resulted in some 15,000 fan letters a week to Warner Bros....During the height of the series, Byrnes had a serious studio contract dispute with Warner Bros. who refused to allow the actor to do outside films such as Rio Bravo with John Wayne. But the dispute was settled and Byrnes re-appeared in the series as an investigator, not a parking lot attendant. Ratings, however, nosedived and it wasn't long before the series tanked....Byrnes also had a rather severe bout with drug addiction which he describes in an autobiography...Dino's nightclub, just across the parking lot from 77 SUNSET STRIP, was very real and was owned by Dean Martin for years...But there was never really a marquee reading 77 SUNSET STRIP in the way the series portrayed: the interior shots were all filmed at WARNER BROTHERS. In fact, if you pass by 8524 Sunset Blvd. today and look in front of the doorway of the building there now, you'll see a plaque stating that it was once the site for 77 SUNSET STRIP, filmed from 1958--1964....Dennis Caracciolo