I'll write this episode is enjoyable - because it is, in a variety of ways - with an acknowledgement its theme is sad, bordering on melodrama. Despite the plot dabbling with being overwrought, the show is well-acted, and it's an interesting historical document of Butte, MT, which is an American landmark with a very interesting history. Part of the show is spent with Buz and his love interest, very well-acted by Anne Francis, at Columbia Gardens, which opened in 1906 and closed in 1973.
One particularly radioactive example of the problems with this episode is that Tod listens in on what is essentially a confession because he's afraid of leaving and being caught eavesdropping.
Despite its flaws, "A Month of Sundays" is among the top 10 best shows in the series.
5 Reviews
Superb opener for "Route 66's" second season.
mbrachman2 August 2014
Warning: Spoilers
The place is the unglamorous town of Butte, MT, where Todd (Martin Milner) and Buzz (George Maharis) are currently working at a copper-mining operation. A beautiful young local woman, Arline Simms (Anne Francis, luminous and excellent as ever), who some years before shook the dust and copper tailings off and left for the big city to follow her dream to be an actress, has returned to town for mysterious reasons, given that she has succeeded in her profession and is the toast of Broadway. But she has returned to Butte and plans never to leave. Meanwhile, Buzz spots and pursues her and they fall in love. But Todd has learned her secret and why she has returned to her hometown, and fears that his friend Buzz will be hurt. A fine episode with excellent acting. Warning- you may need a box of Kleenex to watch this one.
Strong Dramatic Entry
dougdoepke26 February 2015
A strong dramatic episode, but considering the elegiac nature, it's an unusual choice for a season opener. Why has the beauteous Arline (Francis) returned to hometown Butte, thereby abandoning a soaring New York stage career. She refuses to say, but Tod finds out by eavesdropping in a not-very-convincing scene. Still, what guy wouldn't be awestruck by Arline's luminous presence. Needless to say, both the guys fall for her, but it's Buzz who's out on a limb since he doesn't know her secret.
Francis is one of the fine unsung actresses of her era and that's very much in evidence here. There's some unusual local color from copper mining town Butte, Montana. Note, in passing, the huge "open pit" excavation as the credits roll. Also note the local folks making up the crowded dance floor. No movie extra's here. All in all, a superbly blended entry that manages not to compromise its tricky premise.
Francis is one of the fine unsung actresses of her era and that's very much in evidence here. There's some unusual local color from copper mining town Butte, Montana. Note, in passing, the huge "open pit" excavation as the credits roll. Also note the local folks making up the crowded dance floor. No movie extra's here. All in all, a superbly blended entry that manages not to compromise its tricky premise.
9/22/61: "A Month of Sundays"
schappe126 April 2015
Warning: Spoilers
In 1970, Arthur Hiller directed the mega-hit "Love Story" about a beautiful young woman a guy falls in love with who has a terminal illness. Nine years before he'd directed this episode of Route 66 in which the same thing happens. Hiller as a movie director had a reputation for being kind of a journeyman: he could deliver the goods but without much flair. There's plenty of flair in this episode. It takes place in Butte Montana where the boys are working for the Anaconda Copper Company and staying in a boarding house. In every possible shot, the city of Butte is looming in the background. It's sort halfway between a small town and a small city and seems to rise starkly out of the surrounding planes, symbolizing both civilization and isolation at the same time. It looks like the sort of place people would huddle together to protect each other against the elements. He has other touches like filming a truck moving into the mine from underneath. Even the shots of the huge strip mine seem to be symbolic of something, perhaps digging deep into a person's psyche.
Anne Francis, (previously in "Play if Glissando"), is a native of the place who went off to become a famous Broadway actress and glamour girl, (there's no discussion of movies). She used to live in the boarding house the boys are in, before it was a boarding house and moves back in to live with her aunt. The boys vie to see who will take her out but she isn't looking for romance. What exactly she is looking for is unclear until she talks to a local priest, (played by the excellent Conrad Nagel, who we last saw in "A Fry Slinging Flame", where he played a scientist with a priestly demeanor). She's dying, not of cancer, as Jennie Cavalleri was in Love Story, but of lupus. I assume they researched what terminal illness would allow the victim appear healthy until the very end and this qualified, (I don't know enough about it myself.)
It's a great "Buz" episode. George Maharis does a wonderful job depicting a man falling in love with his dream girl. Tod overheard what the priest heard and backs off, not wanting to deprive Buz or the lady of a few days of happiness. It might have been nice to have a wrap- up scene after her death but I guess they didn't have time for it. It's the only thing missing in a memorable episode which is a great start to the memorable second season of a great show.
Anne Francis, (previously in "Play if Glissando"), is a native of the place who went off to become a famous Broadway actress and glamour girl, (there's no discussion of movies). She used to live in the boarding house the boys are in, before it was a boarding house and moves back in to live with her aunt. The boys vie to see who will take her out but she isn't looking for romance. What exactly she is looking for is unclear until she talks to a local priest, (played by the excellent Conrad Nagel, who we last saw in "A Fry Slinging Flame", where he played a scientist with a priestly demeanor). She's dying, not of cancer, as Jennie Cavalleri was in Love Story, but of lupus. I assume they researched what terminal illness would allow the victim appear healthy until the very end and this qualified, (I don't know enough about it myself.)
It's a great "Buz" episode. George Maharis does a wonderful job depicting a man falling in love with his dream girl. Tod overheard what the priest heard and backs off, not wanting to deprive Buz or the lady of a few days of happiness. It might have been nice to have a wrap- up scene after her death but I guess they didn't have time for it. It's the only thing missing in a memorable episode which is a great start to the memorable second season of a great show.
Arthur Hiller's precursor to "Love Story"
lor_8 February 2024
A decade after directing this dramatic "Route 66" episode, Arthur Hiller made Erich Segal's "Love Story", the most successful "little romantic movie" in film history, outgrossing many a big-budget blockbuster. It starred Ali MacGraw as the lover dying of an invisible fatal illness, her beauty untouched by the disease. Here we have Anne Francis guest starring as a Broadway star who suddenly drops everything to return to her home town of Butte, Montana, dying of lupus, also her beauty and vitality seemingly intact.
She sees her aunt (Betty Garde) who runs a boarding house where Maharis and Milner happen to be staying and also visits her kindly local priest (Conrad Nagel). That's it for the supporting cast in an episode that doesn't deal with the local culture and problems at all. Instead it focuses squarely for the hour on Francis' character, and M & M doing their best to try and help her.
Silliphant eloquently uses this segment to make explicit a major theme of the series: Maharis' Buz quest for freedom and to live life in the moment, not tied down to any rat race. And it is Milner who delivers that message, as he urges Francis' character to live fully every moment rather than fall prey to fatalism. There are a couple of solid plot twists in the final reel, as the show climaxes at a local dance set at a Butte amusement park.
She sees her aunt (Betty Garde) who runs a boarding house where Maharis and Milner happen to be staying and also visits her kindly local priest (Conrad Nagel). That's it for the supporting cast in an episode that doesn't deal with the local culture and problems at all. Instead it focuses squarely for the hour on Francis' character, and M & M doing their best to try and help her.
Silliphant eloquently uses this segment to make explicit a major theme of the series: Maharis' Buz quest for freedom and to live life in the moment, not tied down to any rat race. And it is Milner who delivers that message, as he urges Francis' character to live fully every moment rather than fall prey to fatalism. There are a couple of solid plot twists in the final reel, as the show climaxes at a local dance set at a Butte amusement park.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
