Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Episode 3: A Bar in Montevideo



Wednesday, June 29, 1966



My name is Victoria Winters.

Collinwood—strange, dark mansion, brooding on the crest of a lonely hill. It’s my home now, and the outside world seems a million miles away. Yet I know there are homes and warmth in Collinsport. I know there are people with hopes and dreams—and unexpressed fears.

Roger Collins arrives at a house and proceeds to pound on its door, demanding that it be opened by the “drunken bum” he believes is within, but to no avail. He gets back into his car and leaves.
Victoria, in robe and pajamas, is trying to write a letter between banging windows (Liz had previously mentioned the faulty latch) and visiting heiresses. Carolyn welcomes her to “the House of Usher” and advises her to write “Hehhhlp” in her letter to her friend, and, given the choice between calling the new resident “Victoria” or “Vicki,” opts for the latter. We might as well follow her lead, at least for now.
Interestingly, her “House of Usher” reference is not long after followed by an admission of Carolyn’s creepy crush on her Uncle Roger. “Vicki, Roger Collins has more charm in his right ear lobe than all the characters in this icky-sticky town. He sends me, he really does. And you know who my mother wants me to be hung up on? Joe Haskell. A fisherman, yet! Oh, sure, Joe’s a nice guy, but—well, let’s face it, Vicki, if you had the choice between a charmer like Uncle Roger and the homegrown variety, which would it be?”
I might have said I’d go with the one who’s not my uncle, but Vicki gamely notes that she didn’t know Carolyn had the choice. Are we in some alternate dimension in which Carolyn marrying her uncle would be peachy keen?
Carolyn admits she doesn’t have the choice or (sulkily) any choices. I wonder why they can’t send her off to college, although she is entertaining. Of course, she warns Vicki that she should leave, just like almost everyone, but Vicki says she’ll stay. She wants to know about Burke Devlin, but Carolyn doesn’t know who that is. He didn’t give out his name when he was threatening to spank her, you know.

Joe Haskell has gone back to the Blue Whale, as requested, to meet Burke.

Roger arrives at the restaurant to query Maggie Evans about her father’s whereabouts. I like blonde plain-speaking Maggie, and she and Roger do have a bit of chemistry. They reminisce about Burke, who used to pose for Maggie’s father, an artist.

Carolyn can’t believe Uncle Roger could be frightened by the mention of Burke Devlin’s name—or anything, really. Vicki says she’s never seen a man so frightened. I wonder how many frightened men Vicki has seen, raised and, until recently, working and living in the foundling home. Did she have dates? Did she and her co-workers have nights out on the town? Even if they did, how often would she have seen frightened men on these jaunts?
Carolyn takes Vicki on a tour of the house. They stop at the portrait of Uncle Isaac, who started it all: “built the fishing fleet, founded the town, gave it a name, the works. He must really have been something.” Of course he reminds Carolyn of Uncle Roger. (At least he’s more distantly related.)
One of the double doors opens while Carolyn and Vicki are talking. Vicki insists she closed it. Carolyn says it must have been the wind. Vicki objects that there is no wind in here. “Vicki,” Carolyn says, “you might have to try to get used to doors like that. It isn’t easy, I know. But you’ll have to try.”

Burke tries to bribe Joe to spy for him. Joe would have enough money to marry Carolyn then.

Bill Malloy shows up at the diner looking for Roger. Maggie tries to tell him they’re closed (she has been letting Roger know he can’t stay), but he rather rudely states that the door is open (unlocked). He is the manager of the Collins fishing fleet, as Roger helpfully informs us when Malloy says it’s not about business (“Oh, of course, the manager of our fishing fleet talks business with no one but my sister”). Roger assures Malloy he is not worried about Burke, by turns saying maybe they’ll be friends again or that he is simply unimportant. Malloy tells Roger he is either brave or a fool.


Burke is on the phone with his private eye, letting him know he’s getting a bonus, when Joe returns to continue their discussion. Joe is not interested in his bribe.

“Have you ever been to Montevideo?” Burke asks him. “There’s a bar in Montevideo. Crummy joint. Bugs all over the place. Glasses look like they haven’t been washed in a year. Would you believe it, Joe, in that filthy hole was where I first started to make it big? Do you know why? A character came over to my table, sat down, made me a proposition, and I didn’t think. I didn’t think for a minute. I snapped at it, and I was on my way.”
Despite Burke’s pushing, Joe says no to his proposition.
Bill Malloy comes in and interrupts. He’s hitting all the Collinsport hot spots tonight. He sends Joe away. Then Burke says, “Mr. Malloy, when I was a kid, I used to go up to Collinwood looking for ghosts. We all used to think it was haunted. Well, I didn’t find any of them, but there they are. You know it, and I know it. They creep out of every corner, and hide under every bed. Well, I didn’t put them there, Mr. Malloy, but I’m sure gonna do everything I can to dig them up.” Burke says he expects Joe to tell Carolyn about his proposition, “she’ll tell Uncle Roger, and who knows, pretty soon, those ghosts’ll start moving around again.” Malloy wants him to leave the family alone, wants to know what good it will do him, and Burke says, rather bizarrely, “It might give me back a lot of time I’ve lost.”

In Vicki’s room, the letter she put in her desk drawer has been moved to the bed. Carolyn tries to convince Vicki that maybe she moved it, the same way she tried to convince her that maybe she left the door open downstairs. But we know Carolyn realizes who might have done it from a change in her facial expression when momentarily turned away, and she advises Vicki to get some sleep because tomorrow she will need to be rested.

Cast, In Order of Appearance


Victoria Winters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alexandra Moltke
Roger Collins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Louis Edmonds
Carolyn Stoddard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nancy Barrett
Joe Haskell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joel Crothers
Burke Devlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mitchell Ryan
Maggie Evans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Kathryn Leigh Scott
Bill Malloy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Frank Schofield




Fashion by Ohrbach’s
Directed by Lela Swift
Story created and written by Art Wallace

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