Jan Spears

Here is a very good featurette about the making of Straight Jacket: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Rz1lpIcBGs Diane Baker, who starred opposite Crawford in Straight Jacket (and 1959's The Best of Everything), makes some particularly perceptive comments about Crawford. Crawford was definitely too old for the part and this was the point where Crawford started playing characters who were meant to be younger than her actual age at the time. But, she peels paint in her scenes with Sydney Greenstreet. And she sure is believable in the nighttime carnival scenes with Zachary Scott. It's hard to know in those scenes where Lane begins and Lucille/Billie the showgirl ends.

Love this photo of Joan and Norma together again at an event in 1959: http://www.joancrawfordbest.com/59joannormawaldhwood.htm During that period (1925-1942) when their careers overlapped at MGM, Joan and Norma were rarely photographed together -- the publicity photos for The Women being the big exception. But by 1959, passions had cooled and, while they would never be friends, I like to think that a certain conviviality had developed between these two survivors of the hothouse atmosphere that was MGM during its Golden Age. (The man seated to Crawford and Shearer's left was Jerry Wald, who was a great friend to Crawford and produced some of her greatest films at Warner Brothers -- Mildred Pierce (1945), Humoresque (1946), Possessed (1947), Flamingo Road (1949) and The Damned Don't Cry (1950). It was Wald who convinced Crawford to take the supporting part of 'Amanda Farrow' in his 1959 production of The Best of Everything to help her take her mind off of Al Steele's recent death and because she needed the money.)

I rewatched Flamingo Road (1949) with Crawford, Sydney Greenstreet and Zachary Scott (Crawford's co-star in Mildred Pierce) this weekend. I love the first 45 minutes or so as the movie exerts a steadily building pressure. But I find that the pressure begins to evaporate at the halfway mark as not enough time is devoted to Crawford and Greenstreet going toe-to-toe. Instead, there's too much of Crawford's romance with David Brian and too much of political corruption involving Greenstreet and Brian. It's as if the director/producer/writer couldn't make up their minds as to what kind of picture they were making in the second half. Was it a film noir? A "women's picture"? A message picture about political corruption? That being said, Crawford is great during the first half, especially when she meets Scott at night in her carnival tent and she gives her speech about being tired of life as a carnival dancer.

Garbo was able to sail above the fray almost from the moment she stepped on the MGM lot. She hit in a big way almost immediately and wasn't the least bit intimidated by Mayer, Thalberg and the rest of the front office. For all that Crawford felt that Shearer had an unfair advantage because of her marriage, Shearer -- as caracas1914 noted correctly -- had had to overcome some notable physical deficiencies including a cast in one of her eyes that gave her the appearance of being cross-eyed. Also, as Irene Mayer noted, Shearer didn't always get the roles she wanted. Even with The Divorcee, Thalberg had originally turned down his wife's request for the part because he didn't think she was sexy enough (!!!). (I can only imagine what his home life was like after he told Shearer that.) The only reason it worked out in Shearer's favor is that her fellow MGM star and friend, Ramon Novarro, had started working with George Hurrell in 1929 and he showed Shearer the extraordinary photos Hurrell had taken of him. That was how Shearer hit on the idea to work with Hurrell to change her image enough to convince Thalberg to give her the part. Greer Garson's emergence at MGM in the early 1940s as the top dramatic actress at the studio surely infuriated Crawford. But I have a hard time seeing Crawford in Garson parts like Madame Curie. And I doubt that Crawford's fans really wanted to see Crawford discovering radium!!!

There's some justification for her feeling that way as, during the 1932-37 period, her movies were (somewhat) more modestly-budgeted than those of Garbo and Shearer but earned more for the studio than those of the other two did . Crawford had to have felt that she was subsidizing the lavish prestige pictures of Garbo and Shearer. But, as Irene Mayer alluded to in her memoir, Crawford chose to ignore the fact that Garbo and Shearer were big earners for the studio in the period 1925-1932 and had earned those prestige pictures. (And, truthfully, I think Garbo hit her peak during the 1932-37 period with Queen Christina (1933), Anna Karenina (1935) and Camille (1936). So, I'm not unhappy that Crawford may have helped pay for those pictures.)

I've always thought that the "feud" between Crawford and Shearer was a one-sided one emanating entirely from Crawford's direction. I do think the Shearer-Thalberg marriage bothered Crawford as, in her view, it put her at a competitive disadvantage. But Crawford and Shearer were very different performers and personalities and I really don't see many instances where one could have substituted in the repertory of the other. During that portion of the silent era when Crawford and Shearer's careers at MGM overlapped (1925-29), Shearer was playing "nice girls" and Crawford hit it big in 1928 playing the flapper in Our Dancing Daughters. During the sound era, they largely went their own ways with Crawford playing shop girls on the rise and Shearer increasingly moving into "prestige" pictures based on historical or literary characters (i.e. Romeo & Juliet, Marie Antoinette). The one instance when Crawford probably did have a legitimate complaint about the Shearer-Thalberg marriage and the effect it had on the studio involved the 1930 movie, The Divorcee. It was a much sought-after role and it might have gone to Crawford, whose image at the point would have made for a good fit for the part. But Shearer wanted the role and, with the aid of now-legendary photographer George Hurrell, transformed her image in a number of highly sexual photos that convinced Thalberg to give his wife the part. The rest is history: The Divorcee was a big, big hit in 1930 and Norma Shearer won the Best Actress Oscar for the part. Adding insult to the injury of Shearer's Oscar win was the fact that the studio never secured an Oscar nomination for Crawford in the entire time she was at MGM. This during a time when the industry nominated Shearer 6 times and Garbo 4 times. Still, LB Mayer's daughter, Irene, had the best take on the Crawford-Shearer "feud" in her memoirs: "Joan tried harder than anyone else had ever tried. With increasing recognition, her determination became almost tangible. She blamed her overwhelming sense of rivalry on the preferred position Norma Shearer came to hold as Irving's wife, ignoring the fact that even Norma didn't always get the roles she wanted. She also overlooked the fact that Norma had been with the company since early Mission Road and had traveled a long way. The truth was that, as the ever-growing group of MGM actresses reached stardom, each found the competition intense. Every one of them had come up through the ranks except Garbo; she began as a star."

I continue to be impressed at the use of very real Hollywood events in the dialogue to add period flavor to the episodes. For instance, when Joan Blondell (Kathy Bates) was recounting how MGM pushed Crawford out in 1943 after 18+ years with the studio, she referenced Greta Garbo and Norma Shearer. Of course, Crawford, Garbo and Shearer were the great troika at MGM from the mid-1920s to the late-1930s. (Shearer was at the founding of the studio in 1924 and Crawford and Garbo joined the following year.) As late at 1939, they were still having big hits for the studio -- Crawford and Shearer with The Women and Greta Garbo with Ninotchka (for which Garbo was Oscar-nominated.) In the early 40s, though, they started to run cold. Garbo's primary audience was in Europe and that was lost to her with the start of World War II. She and Louis B. Mayer agreed to wait out the war before filming the final movie under her contract but, before the war ended, they agreed by mutual consent to void her contract. Shearer, without her husband Irving Thalberg (legendary chief-of-production at MGM who died in 1936) to guide her career and at odds with Mayer, opted to retire in 1942. Crawford hung on until 1943 but, by then, the studio had lost interest in her and the best dramatic scripts were going to Greer Garson. (You saw a little bit of that competition with the scene in Mayer's office where Crawford requested the lead in Madame Curie, which went to Garson and who received an Oscar nomination for the part.) So, that little bit of narrative recited by Bates/Blondell was all true and accurate. I also liked how the show introduced an (unseen) Louella Parsons, who was Hedda Hopper's great rival for dominance as the top gossip columnist in Hollywood. And how Crawford effortlessly played them off against one another to forward her own agenda. So many great performances in this series. I can see Lange and Sarandon getting nominated for Emmy's for Best Actress and Bates, Davis and Hoffman getting nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Al Steele didn't own Pepsi. He was Chairman of the Board and CEO. When he died in 1959, he left an estate of some value to Crawford. But, estate taxes diminished the value of the estate to almost nothing. Also, he and Crawford had undertaken a very expensive renovation of a New York apartment at the time of his death. So, she really was cash poor in the run-up to the making of Baby Jane. She took a part in the 1959 movie The Best of Everything for the money. It was a supporting part and it was seen by Crawford and the rest of Hollywood as a comedown after 30 years of playing leads. (The irony of it was that she stole the movie from the ostensible leads.) She didn't make another feature for three years after that. Pepsi was also trying to get rid of her during this time and she had to fight like hell to stay involved with the company.

One other piece of dialogue I liked was when the crew member, on the first day of shooting Baby Jane, enthused about Crawford's face and how, "you could film it from any angle." This was taken directly from legendary director George Cukor's tribute to Crawford after she died (see the first full paragraph): http://www.joancrawfordbest.com/cukortribute.htm

Agreed. If Lange and Sarandon tried to imitate Crawford and Davis too closely, they would resemble Crawford and Davis impersonators too much and the camp factor would overwhelm the underlying story the mini-series is trying to tell. Overall, I loved it. I thought Lange had the best scene when she was in her bedroom and she started recounting the slights (real and imagined) that she felt she had endured from Davis in particular and Hollywood more generally. You really saw that, beneath the formidable exterior, Crawford was a bundle of insecurities. I thought the period aspect was great and the producers/writers really did their homework with all the references. For instance, the dialogue about "Franchot" (Franchot Tone, who was an MGM star during the 1930s) was all true. Both women wanted to marry him in the 30s and Crawford did. (He was her second husband after Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) When Hedda Hopper snidely mentioned to Crawford that she knew she was selling her "William Haines custom furniture", she was referring to Billy Haines who was Crawford's fellow star at MGM during the silent movie and early talkie eras. His career petered out in the early 30s (while Crawford's continued to soar) not least because he refused to give up his life partner, Jimmie Shields, to contract a phony, studio-arranged marriage. (Crawford once said of Haines and Shields that, "they are the happiest married couple in Hollywood.") Haines reinvented himself as a successful interior decorator and one of his first clients was Crawford, which is how Hopper knew which dig to make with Crawford. It was little touches of dialogue like these that really added to the period flavor. Finally, loved Judy Davis as Hedda Hopper, especially the scene in which she none-too-subtly blackmailed Crawford into giving her the snippy quote about Marilyn Monroe.

I tracked down Sarah Bradford's 1996 bio of Elizabeth II for the exact quotes about Elizabeth and Margaret's education that I referenced earlier in this thread. Here's what she wrote: "The education of women was not considered important in royal and aristocratic circles, where it was regarded merely as a necessary tool for those unfortunates who would have to earn their living and irrelevant to the needs of girls whose destiny was marriage. Queen Mary seems to have been the only member of the family who was concerned that the girls should be well-educated. She remonstrated with her daughter-in-law over the fact that the children's education was confined to their governess. 'I don't know what she meant,' the Duchess of York told a friend. 'After all I and my sisters only had governesses and we all married well -- one of us very well . . ." (Bradford, p. 40) And this about Queen Mary's role in Elizabeth and Margaret's education: "To [governess] Crawfie's curriculum, which included the singing, dancing, music and drawing considered accomplishments suited to the education of a young lady . . . , Queen Mary insisted on adding subjects that she considered essential for royal children. 'Her Majesty felt that genealogies, historical and dynastic, were . . . for these children, really important. The Queen also suggested that the children should be taught the physical geography of the Dominions and India . . ." (Bradford, pp. 40-41) Bradford also includes this tidbit about Queen Mary and her sense of duty: "[Queen Mary's lady-in-waiting] Lady Airlie went so far as to say that her [Queen Mary's] sense of the duty of a monarch was so strong that she approved of Catherine the Great 'on the grounds that she loved her kingdom to the extent that she would go to any lengths for it, even commit terrible crimes'." (Bradford, p. 42]

I do think there's something to the idea that events overtook everyone. The abdication crisis came as a huge shock to the Royal Family not least to Princess Elizabeth's father, who considered himself completely inadequate to the task of being King. (As it turned out, he became a very good King and history has been kind to him.) Nazism continued to gain steam in the late-30s and then the War broke out in 1939. After the War ended in 1945, that might have been the ideal time to focus on Elizabeth's education but then she got engaged in 1946, married in 1947 and gave birth to Prince Charles in 1948 and Princess Anne in 1950. Her father's health also started to decline around this time. So, at least in part, Elizabeth's education -- or its lack -- may have been a victim of history. (I don't know what the excuse would be for Margaret, though.)

Princess Victoria (Vicky) was very well-educated during the 1840s and 1850s. Her letters to Queen Victoria have been published and they reveal just how intelligent and educated she really was. The educations of Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret were a major point of contention between Queen Mary and her daughter-in-law, the future Queen Elizabeth. Queen Mary didn't hesitate to point out what she felt were the sizeable gaps in the two princesses' educations. For her part, Queen Elizabeth professed to be puzzled by Queen Mary's criticisms. She said something to the effect that neither she nor any of her sisters had had much in the way of formal education and that we all married well -- one of us very well. I'm not sure when Queen Elizabeth said this -- it may have been before the abdication crisis. But her attitude reveals just how little value she (and her husband) put on any kind of extensive education for young girls.

Episode 25 - One Love . . . Two Angels (Part 2) - 05/07/80 Note: This episode picks up exactly where the first part left off. Synopsis: Kelly survives a murder attempt but she and Kris discover they have both fallen for the same man (Patrick Duffy). Meanwhile, Tiffany and Bosley are forced to solve the case and keep the team from fracturing completely. I hate this episode with an absolute passion and I hate it because the core story -- two Angels fighting over some guy like they are in junior high school -- directly contradicts the show's central premise as established over four seasons. That premise depicts three articulate, capable female professionals working together to achieve a common purpose, and doing so as friends whose friendships with one another trump everything else in their lives. By having Kelly and Kris fighting over some guy they have only known for no more than a few weeks (based on the progression of the story), they come across as juvenile idiots. When Bosley lays into the Patrick Duffy character for breaking up the team and destroying a friendship, I can't help but think that he should be saying this to Kelly and Kris. Infuriating! I also hate how Robert Reed's character murders Patrick Duffy's character during the episode. It's a cheat because it helps Kelly and Kris avoid having to choose between their friendship and this guy. (That Duffy's character comes across as an emotional five-year-old only contributes to the head scratching notion of why Kelly and Kris would have fallen in love with him in the first place.) The person who really comes across well in this episode is Tiffany, who actually remembers that she is a professionally working detective. She is the one who does the legwork on this case and figures out that the whole thing has been a con all along. Ironic that Shelley was let go prior to the filming of this episode and yet this is one of Shelley's (and Tiffany's) best episodes in Season 4. Aaron Spelling and company treated Shelley very poorly with her dismissal but at least she went out on a high note. The only other mitigating factor in this episode is Robert Reed's performance. We're so used to seeing him as Mike Brady that it's jarring to see him as such a cold-blooded villain. Grade: F (as a Charlie's Angels episode. If you ask me what the "Jump the Shark" moment was for this show, I would say this episode -- and not 'Exit Stage Left . . . Kate Jackson' or Shelley and Tanya Roberts joining.) Grade: A (as Tiffany's farewell episode) Grade: A (for Robert Reed's performance. He was so much more than Mike Brady.)

Episode 24 - One Love . . . Two Angels (Part 1) - 04/30/80 Synopsis: A lawyer contacts Kelly and suggests that she may be the long-lost daughter of a wealthy man. Prior to his murder, the man embraces Kelly as his daughter Margaret but Kelly engages the Angels and Bosley to find out the truth. For all intents and purposes, this is another Kelly solo episode. With the exception of a brief team scene at the beginning of the episode, Kris, Tiffany and Bosley don't reappear until the 37 minute mark. The three of them have a team scene together and then Shelley has a scene with Jaclyn and Cheryl has a scene with guest star Patrick Duffy (as the lawyer.) While delving into Kelly's background as an orphan is interesting, this episode might as well be from a Kelly spin-off series. One super irritating thing about this episode is when Kelly says that Kris, Tiffany, Bosley and Charlie are the only family she has. I'm sure Sabrina and Jill would love to have heard that! It's weird to think that guest star Patrick Duffy was filming on an ABC show when the 'Who Shot JR?' episode on Dallas was aired right around this time. Interesting appearances: In addition to Duffy, veteran film star Ray Milland plays Kelly's potential father. Robert Reed, fresh off the legendarily bad Brady Bunch variety show, appears as a villain. Grade: B+ (as a Kelly origin story) Grade: C (as a Charlie's Angels episode. The rest of the team is even less useful in this than they were in An Angel's Trail.)

The other Angels do appear but just barely. Jaclyn and Shelley have no scenes with Farrah. Cheryl has a brief scene with Farrah in the second-to-last scene and David shares the concluding scene with Farrah.

Episode 23 - Toni's Boys - 04/02/80 Note: Toni's Boys was a back-door pilot for a potential Charlie's Angels spin-off series. Synopsis: When the Angels barely escape being blown to bits by a vengeful mobster who the Angels had testified against, Charlie engages the services of his friend Antonia Blake (the 'Toni' of the episode title) and the three male detectives who work for her to help with the case. Let's get the bad out of the way first. In a season where the Angels and Bosley were often by-standers in their own series, Toni's Boys is yet another episode where the full team only has a supporting role. And the role they play is by no means flattering. Tiffany stupidly goes to a modeling agency that is one of the mobster's front organizations and promptly gets recognized and taken hostage. Later in the episode, Kelly and Kris stupidly let themselves get taken prisoner at a wine show. Not the Townsend Agency's finest moment, to be sure. That being said -- I love this episode. Introducing a reverse-Townsend Agency with a female boss and three good-looking male detectives is a fun idea and it makes for an entertaining episode. Barbara Stanwyck plays Toni and she is perfectly cast in this. The three guys are Stephen Shortridge as cowboy Cotton Harper, Bruce Bauer as master-of-disguise Matt Parrish and U.S. Olympic gold medalist Bob Seagren as Olympic athlete Bob Sorensen. The guys work well with each other, Stanwyck and the Angels and it's tempting to speculate what the spin-off show would have been like if it had been picked up for the 1980-81 season. (It couldn't have been any worse than Season 5 of Charlie's Angels.) We'll never know now although, based on this episode, my guess would be that there would be many more fight scenes involving all three guys (and even Stanwyck, who looks like she's having a ball mixing it up in this episode's big fight scene.) In any event, this was probably a case of Spelling Productions trying to launch a spin-off at least one year too late. The show had already started to cool in Season 3 and was cooling further in Season 4. ABC no doubt concluded that the premise -- in either iteration -- was wearing thin at this point. On a different episode, kudos to Jaclyn, Cheryl and, especially, Shelley for getting through what must have been a difficult shoot without letting it affect the on-screen work. I guess that's why they call it acting. Interesting appearances: Veteran character actor Robert Loggia plays the mobster. Roz Kelly appears for the second time this season as the proprietor of a male strip club. Grade: C (as a Charlie's Angels episode) Grade: A (as a potential spin-off. Ah, what might have been!)

Angels on the Street is definitely the worst in that regard. I like the episode but them sitting together in the diner makes them all look so incompetent. I almost find myself admiring the sinister waitress for catching on right away and causing trouble. Angels at the Altar doesn't bother me as much because they could at least pretend like they all just happened to get a refreshment at the same time (maybe not so much for Kris, who was supposed to be a maid.) And, it does lead to Kris duking it out with the evil bridesmaid inside the house, which is one of the best parts of the episode.

Episode 22 - Three for the Money - 03/12/80 Note: It was at this juncture, with three episodes left to film, that Aaron Spelling Productions notified Jaclyn, Cheryl and David they would be back for a fifth season. If the stories are true, Shelley found out she wouldn't be back from a reporter. Synopsis: A con man cheats a widow, a college professor and a mechanic out of sizeable amounts of money. The Angels and Bosley swing into action by performing three counter-cons designed to get back all of the lost money. Jaclyn pretends to be a rough-around-the-edges crook, Kris poses as a wealthy woman attending her high school reunion, Shelley does double duty as a politician's aide and a garage mechanic, and Bosley also does double duty as a an appraiser of fine art and a waiter. In a season where the scripts were hit-and-miss in terms of shaking up the formula that prevailed in the first three seasons, Three for the Money can be counted as a "hit". All concerned appear to be enjoying themselves as they implement the three separate -- but related -- cons. The best bit is when all three Angels wind up in the con artist's home at the same time and each acts aggrieved that the con artist has been two-timing them. And Shelley looks ravishing in red. The ending is too jokey by far as the script treats the con artist's fate, which could very well be his death, as a joke. Otherwise, this is a highly entertaining team episode that, like Nips and Tucks, finds everyone contributing. Interesting appearances: Vincent Baggetta who specialized in playing morally dubious characters plays the con artists. Carol Bruce, so memorable as Mother Carlson on WKRP in Cincinnati around this time, plays one of the victims. Grade: A- (Fun episode that breaks from the standard formula.)

Episode 21 - Nips and Tucks - 03/05/80 Synopsis: The Angels and Bosley investigate an exclusive plastic surgery clinic where the surgeon may be altering the looks of criminals. Tiffany goes undercover at the clinic as a nurse, Kris pretends to be Bosley's obnoxious wife who wants him to have plastic surgery, and Kelly investigates the surgeon. Nips and Tucks is a fantastic team episode where everyone gets to do something. In particular, this is a great episode for Shelley, who is capable and resilient throughout this adventure. When the writers actually gave her something to do, Shelley rose to the occasion. Cheryl and David reprise their married couple routine from seasons past and prove that the old comic magic is still there. The only odd element in this is Jaclyn's reactions in certain scenes. She appears unusually subdued and not really responding to what's happening with her demeanor and facial expressions. Interesting appearances: The guest cast in this is very strong with 50s movie stars Louis Jourdan and Tab Hunter on hand, respectively, as the surgeon and the criminal who wants his appearance altered. Joanna Pettet is memorable as the female villain. Grade: A (One of Shelley's best episodes.)

Episode 20 - An Angel's Trail - 02/27/80 Note: This is Farrah's last episode of the series. Synopsis: Jill stumbles upon a robbery in a remote part of California and is taken hostage by a father (who is an escapee from prison) and his two sons, one of whom is developmentally disabled. As a 'Farrah Returns' episode, this episode is a compelling adventure with plenty of action (i.e. Jill suspended over a snake pit). The story is helped by regular Charlie's Angels guest L.Q. Jones, who had already appeared in Season 2's Angels in the Backfield and Season 4's Angel Hunt and who appears here as the father. My problem with this episode is that it barely qualifies as an episode of Charlie's Angels. The Angels don't have much of anything to do -- Kris cries about Jill, Kelly consoles Kris and Tiffany does research about the remote area where the criminal family have Jill. Even worse, there are no almost no scenes between Farrah and the rest of the cast. Farrah and Cheryl have a brief scene together (which reveals that the chemistry between the Munroe sisters is still intact) and Farrah and David both appear in the concluding scene. That Farrah has no scenes with Shelley is no great problem but there's no excuse for Farrah and Jaclyn not having a scene together. There is a funny aspect to this show in that Jaclyn has one hair style in the office and then has a completely different one when she arrives in the remote area (supposedly having come directly from the office.) Grade: B+ (if this was an episode of a Farrah spinoff show) Grade: C+ (as an episode of Charlie's Angels, The show could have eliminated Jaclyn, Shelley and David from this episode and it wouldn't have made any difference.)

Episode 19 - Harrigan's Angels - 02/20/80 Synopsis: When an electronics firm is robbed for a second time, the owner hires the Angels to investigate. They are paired with the bumbling, alcoholic private detective who was hired to investigate the first heist. Harrigan's Angels is part team episode and part Kris team-up with the detective (played by guest Howard Duff.) At first, the episode promises to be as annoying as the Season 2 episode, Angels on Ice, due to the way the script treats the alcoholic detective as an object of humor (much like the earlier episode did with the alcoholic character in that episode.) But as the episode progresses, the detective character becomes more poignant and less a focus of lowbrow humor. Also, there isn't a miracle cure for the detective's alcoholism at the end of the episode the way there was for some of the maladies found in Jaclyn's 'Solo Angel' episodes. The team-up between Cheryl and Howard Duff is an effective one and they really do appear to be enjoying working together. Kris is more mature-acting than she would have been just two years prior which shows that the characters could and did evolve over time. As for the rest of the episode, there are two car chase scenes -- the first with Kris and the detective; the second with Kelly and Tiffany. They are reasonably well done but, at this point in the show's history, car chases were becoming less and less effective. Shelley has the clunkiest dialogue in the episode but Jaclyn's facial expressions when hearing this dialogue are funny. Interesting appearances: In addition to Howard Duff, former Peyton Place and future Capitol star Ed Nelson appears as the owner of the electronics firm. Robert Englund, 4 1/2 years away from his signature role as Freddie Kreuger in the Nightmare on Elm Street series, plays one of the supporting villains. Grade: B (as a team episode) Grade: A- (Ladd/Duff chemistry)

Episode 18 - Dancin' Angels - 02/06/80 Synopsis: When a contestant in a 1940s-style dance contest disappears, the Angels and Bosley investigate. Tiffany and Bosley pose as contestants. Another week, another team episode! Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this episode is the script, which features characters in various stages of self-delusion. There is the aged band leader (very well-played by guest Cesar Romero) who wants life to return to the world he used to know in the 40s. There's also the shady club operator who talks like Humphrey Bogart or James Cagney in a 40s gangster movie. Ultimately, these characters come across as sad and delusional because they cannot accept that the world they long for is gone forever (or was never really real to begin with.) As for the Angels themselves, they all look splendid in Nolan Miller's 40s-inspired gowns. Shelley, in particular, looks ravishing. She and David are also great fun as contestants in the dance contest. Interesting appearances: In addition to Cesar Romero, actors Norman Alden and Lee Delano, who already had appeared in Seasons 2 and 3, appear again here. Actor Brad Maule, who would go on to play Dr. Tony Jones on General Hospital for many years, has a small part. Grade: B (Decent meat-and-potatoes episode thanks to Cesar Romero and Shelley and David's dancefloor antics.)

Episode 17 - Homes $weet Homes - 01/30/80 Synopsis: When priceless jewelry is stolen from an expensive Beverly Hills home that is for sale, the Angels and Bosley deduce that the real estate agency trying to sell the house is involved. Kelly does double duty as a Beverly Hills socialite and Bosley's significant other, Kris goes undercover at the agency, Tiffany pretends to be a wealthy owner of valuable letters and Bosley poses as a collector of rare -- and stolen -- letters. This is a nicely done episode where every single member of the team contributes something to the overall effort, including Kris who takes one for the team by slipping into her swimsuit for the climactic fight scene with the lead villain in and around his hot tub (!) Shelly has a lot to do in this and it's wonderful to finally see her display her wry sense of humor. I don't if this all came from her or the director encouraged her or the writers started writing to this aspect of her personality. Regardless, it's welcome to see. The other significant aspect of this episode is that everyone appears to be enjoying themselves. After the first half of the season, where a serious, even humorless mood prevailed (Cheryl being particularly somber), the old sense of fun is back in this episode. Interesting appearances: Dick Gauthier, who was all over TV during this era, plays the lead villain. Character actor Vito Scotti, whose name you may not know but whose face you absolutely would, is on hand. Grade: B+ (Not a classic but fun nonetheless.)

Episode 16 - Catch a Falling Angel - 01/23/80 Synopsis: When a young man looking for his girlfriend disappears, the Angels and Bosley investigate. They discover that the girlfriend is working in the adult film industry. Kris goes undercover as a would-be "actress". What a relief -- a team episode after so many Solo Angel/Angel-centric/Farrah Returns episodes! It's too bad that the episode isn't one of the better Season 4 team episodes. Catch a Falling Angel certainly pales in comparison to the similarly-themed Angels on the Street from earlier in the season. Probably the biggest differing factor between the two episodes is the lead guest. In Angels on the Street, the guest lead who is involved in the world of prostitution is compelling and there is a nice twist involving her character. In Catch a Falling Angel, the character the Angels are trying to help is so clueless and irresponsible that she gets her innocent boyfriend from back home killed. The episode tries to put a nice bow on things at the end but it's hard to care for such a witless character. That being said, there is a nice car chase/crash sequence involving Kelly and Tiffany and it's fun to watch Cheryl running through the Los Angeles countryside in pink spandex pants and porn star hair. Grade: B- (Nice to have a team episode but the lead guest character really works against this one.)