And The Barefaced Witness was on MeTV this
past night. The television version has never made a great deal of sense to me and I’ve
had the feeling that it’s one of the most cut-up episodes, so I decided it
would be the perfect time to watch the uncut version.
I was definitely right about it being chopped up.
So many scenes were missing, specifically almost everything that specifically
showed or mentioned that ridiculous festival the town was having. And since
that was kind of pivotal to the whole plot, even being brought up in the
episode’s title, it’s absolutely preposterous that those scenes were removed!
I think that concerning that subject, the cut
version of The Barefaced Witness only keeps the scene in the café where
Paul looks at the list of the nine clean-shaven people arrested during the
festival week. But it’s so weird for that to be the only mention of the
festival. That makes it seem such a throwaway thing when it’s actually
important to the solution of things. I don’t recall the opening sequence at
all, which showed the silly signs about clean-shaven people being arrested and
guys walking around with beards. And the scene with Paul arriving and ending up
being forced to take part in the mock arrest for being clean-shaven was
certainly missing.
Paul sure was a good sport about that. The police
were pretty nice, contrary to the visions that have been dancing through my
mind for years, and it all seemed to be in good fun. I wonder, though, what
would have happened had someone not wanted to participate in the silliness.
Someone could have arrived not knowing about the festival and have needed to meet
someone in a hurry, and I doubt they would have liked being sidetracked into
being arrested and fined for such a nonsensical reason! And it wouldn’t have
seemed very fair, either. It didn’t seem fair as it was to fine people who didn’t
even know anything about it.
One thing that seriously amuses me is that the
local reporter played by Adam West apparently refused to be part of things. I
suppose he was fined, but he must have been okay with that and preferred it to
wearing a fake beard all week or growing a real one.
Adam West’s Perry characters seem to
follow a pattern of being very protective of the girls they like. Both this guy
and the character Adam plays in The Bogus Books are like that.
One intriguing thing about this episode, which
isn’t as clear in the cut version, is that it’s really a Paul vehicle. Perry
appears in the scene where Paul’s client wants the folder found, and then he
goes to look for it when Paul isn’t available, but other than that, he doesn’t
even appear again until they’re actually in court! There’s not even a scene of
him talking to the defendant before court convenes. The whole mystery starts
because of a past case of Paul’s, as the client is coming to him about some new
twists, and Paul is the main player until the case goes to court. That’s neat;
I like episodes that cast more of the spotlight on the other characters.
Another thing I was specifically looking for in
this episode was the district attorney, Mr. Hale. I found it interesting that
the first witness says his name straight-out while being questioned. It
certainly shows how laid-back and familiar they are in that town. But I wonder
if it was also there because the writer wanted everyone to know that yes, the
D.A. was indeed Mr. Hale from earlier episodes and not just another character
played by the same actor.
I like Paul Fix and his character is interesting
in how he definitely brings a rural, laid-back manner to the courtroom. I
wonder if that was why they used him multiple times, to make quite the contrast
with Perry the “big city” lawyer.
The episode has never been a particular favorite
of mine, but that’s always been partially due to being so puzzled by the cut
version. Knowing it’s a Paul episode makes it more intriguing to me. And I like
Adam West, both from The Bogus Books and from Batman, so I enjoy
seeing him guest-starring. It will probably never rank among my most favorite
episodes ever, but in its uncut form I will probably enjoy seeing it now and
then, especially in order to see a lot of Paul in action.
And today is Joseph Campanella’s 90th birthday!
Awesome! I wish he was a Perry alumnus, but unfortunately he never
appeared on our show. He does have a Raymond Burr connection, having appeared
on four Ironside episodes. I saw The Happy Dreams of Hollow Men
last month when MeTV aired it and I was thoroughly impressed anew by his acting
abilities. He and Raymond Burr are the main players and carry most of the episode
alone. It’s highly intense, as Joseph’s character descends into drug withdrawal
and desperation and Ironside tries to keep him grounded in reality.
I’m still repulsed by the character flipping out
and pitching Ironside to the floor, and later threatening him with a rifle, and
it shows what a wonderful and loyal friend Ironside is, to keep believing in
his friend amid all of that. The way the episode ends, with Ironside going to
him as he sobs on the floor in despair and telling him to lean on him as they
leave, is very powerful and poignant.
I
will always wish Joseph had been on Perry, but I’m glad to have the four
Ironside episodes to showcase his interaction with Raymond Burr and the
other excellent cast members.
