Penthouse on Skid Row

This episode of 77 Sunset Strip has Jeff Spencer going undercover as a ham actor and living in a very unusual house. It's the idea of Salvation Army worker Lewis Charles who lives there with a group of people who haven't really had good breaks lately. A former jockey, a has been prizefighter, a retired stripper, folks like that. Someone is pushing them around. They've pooled their money and they own it together like a commune, but someone on the inside is betraying them.

Roger Smith brings in Louis Quinn as a fellow boarder and he and Mae Questal hit it off great. She knows him as a racetrack tout, nothing more. Edd Byrnes pairs off with show business hopeful Grace Lee Whitney and is around when she gets framed on a narcotics rap.

Eventually the informer is discovered and it really is no surprise. I kind of liked the idea of this communal house for these people. This one is worth looking at.

More of a dramatic slant here, but an excellent story which finds Jeff going undercover as an eccentric actor (a poor man's John Barrymore?), assisting the denizens of an old Hollywood mansion. The good folks living there are being harrassed, and it's a possibility greedy land developers want the property for themselves. Roscoe also tags along.

A terrific cast, and in a wide variety of over the top roles. Character actor Lewis Charles plays Rocky, who hires Jeff to nail the big bad wolves. Charles appeared three times on the series. Best of the bunch is legendary voice actress Mae Questel (as Cuddles), who also runs a Hollywood diner. Questel gained fame as the voice of BETTY BOOP and OLIVE OYL in cartoons.

Look for Stanley Clements, playing Red, one of the BOWERY BOYS and still looking about the same. Big guy Biff Elliott guest stars as does 50s sci fi star Paul Birch (with a moustache), playing Dan Crawford, a real estate big shot.

The only episode written by Warren Douglas, who concentrated more on tv westerns at Warner Brothers.

Highlight: watch Kookie do the twist at the local dance joint (Cloud NIne Dance Hall), but there's another guy who is off the charts. Directed with style by George waGGner (the famous two G's), never to disappoint an audience. For sure.

From SEASON 3 EPISODE 18 remastered WB dvd box set. Some sets were produced in Europe. Be sure to check with the seller for Region 2 playback. Thanks much to METV Plus for running these oldies Sunday nights.