Route 66 (TV Series) Is It True There Are Poxies at the Bottom of Landfair Lake? (1964) User Reviews

SUPERB TEN-MINUTE MONOLOGUE by GEOFFREY HORNE

[lrrap · 5/10 · 17 April 2020]

He's really good in it; I'm tempted to refer to it as a "tour-de-force".

After so many "crazy lady" plots in Season 3, we finally get a story that centers around a GUY who's a major nut-case, whose touchiness about his humble background REALLY gets the best of him after a couple of elaborate practical jokes by his army buddies.

I agree with much else that has been posted here. John Peyser accomplished wonders in so many episodes of "COMBAT", and does his best with the material. I certainly do NOT agree with the criticism which faults his direction because we don't get to see enough of Savannah in this show; that's just silly. Peyser did not write the teleplay. That being said, the drabness of the setting is continually obvious---- but it's part of the plot.

Despite his bravura performance, I also feel that Geoffrey Horne is miscast. He was considered to be among the James Dean-era "angry young men", yet his overall presence was far too gentle and soft-featured, and had a much too cultured, Ivy-League air about it. So the fact that his dilemma centers on his "country-bumpkin" qualities never rings true. Still, he does a fine job in the part.

What's also odd is the fact that Collin Wilcox (who had recently become Mrs. Horne) and Crahan Denton-- both fine performers-- were given special billing status in the opening credits, despite their small roles. Very often in Rt 66 and its sister show, Naked City, actors portraying much more prominent roles are relegated to "closing-credit" status.

All in all, not a strong show---but worth scrolling through to watch Horne's big monologue. LR

PS-- Watch that falling deer-head trophy!

Re: rwint's review

[tpence · 15 June 2009]

Actually I thought Geoffery Horne's monologue was riveting (it's actually ten minutes long, time it). It was extremely unusual on series television either at the time or today to have a character deliver a ten-minute monologue. Whether or not you felt it was a success or failure, you have to take your hat off to the series for even attempting such a thing.

An additional factor to consider: the Route 66 crew had just started shooting this episode on November 22, 1963, the fateful day when John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Whatever you may feel about Geoffery Horne as an actor, delivering a ten minute monologue in front of the camera shortly after learning of JFK's death is nothing to shrug at (Horne later said it was the toughest thing he ever had to do as an actor).

One final note of trivia: screenwriter Alvin Sargent later went on to work on the recent Spider- Man films! Although, Peter Parker never got a ten-minute monologue in any of them.

Unimaginative Direction Sinks this Episode

[rwint1611 · 4/10 · 13 October 2008]

This episode takes a look at the people who inhabit small towns focusing on those who are bored with it and looking to 'escape' while also looking at those who come back to it because the corrupt and fast lifestyles of big city ways isn't for them.The main character of this story is a young man (Horne) who got humiliated by an elaborate practical joke while he was away in the army and how his inability to get over this effects him and all those he comes into contact with. Unfortunately this is where the episode begins to fall apart.

One of the problems is that he decides to invite the woman who was a part of the practical joke (played by his then real life wife Wilcox) back to his hometown so he can prop her up in front of all the townspeople and expose her for what she really is. However it is just not real plausible why this woman, or anyone for that matter, would be so gullible as to agree to take a long ride in on a bus from a completely different area simply to be used as bait for what is a very obvious set-up.

The second problem is actor Horne himself. He seems to be a good actor, but not for this part. He is supposed to be portraying a 'country bumpkin', but his face seems too expressive and he is way too articulate and well spoken.

The direction in this episode is also poor, which makes for the third problem. It was filmed in historic Savannah, Georgia and yet we don't see hardly anything of the city. Most of the action is confined to a very dingy, windowless bar that has no atmosphere or ambiance about it. The camera also stays locked on Horne too much as he tells everybody about the details of the joke, which seems to take almost twenty minutes for him to do. The use of flashbacks could have made this segment much more interesting.

This is one of the series weaker episodes.

Grade: C +

Good episode but not for the faint of heart

[rmj142 · 8/10 · 15 October 2013]

Simon Devereaux is country boy who did not adjust well to life outside his home town. While in the Army he was the butt of several elaborate practical jokes and he has not handled that well. In fact he seems to be in an extended temper tantrum for almost this entire episode. Because he was a sort of minor league hero when he was a kid, the townsfolk put up with an unusual amount of his nonsense.

Geoffrey Horne is somewhat miscast for this role (not because he had an expressive face or was articulate, oddly enough people who live in rural areas often have expressive faces and are articulate) but because his voice is clearly not deep south. He sounds more Boston than Savannah once you get past the weak attempt at a southern accent.

The high point of this episode is an amazing ten minute monologue given by Horne that explains to the town why he is so angry. It culminates in Simon attempting to shove dollar bills into a young woman's mouth while the crowd sits in dumbfounded paralysis. It is easily one of the most wrenching scenes I've ever seen. I became physically uncomfortable as the scene reached its climax.

Like many Rt. 66 episodes there are issues left unexplained. Simon's father played by Crahan Denton, is an episode unto himself in that regard. Todd and Linc play subsidiary roles here and spend much of their time repairing a neon sign.

One additional note, be sure to notice Graham Jarvis as Mr. Denker, he is a spitting image doppelganger for Wayne Duvall as Homer Stokes in "O Brother, Where Art Thou".

1/10/64 "Is it True There are Poxies at the Bottom of Landfair Lake?" (spoilers)

[schappe1 · 17 February 2016]

This television era is known for its strange, verbose episode titles but this one might take the cake. The boys are still in the Savannah area, but in a small town outside it. They are working for a sign company and delivering a large neon sign for a local store. It's a big deal in the sleepy little community and everybody is looking forward to seeing it all hooked up. All except Simon Devereaux, (Geoffrey Horne) an embittered Army veteran who hated the way he was treated in the service, (like a country bumpkin) and who now wants to live in the unchanged town of his childhood. He lassos the sign and drags it with his tractor, damaging it. But it's not beyond repair and Tod and Linc work on it in a local machine shop to fix it up so the town can still have its big night.

Simon has a big night planed of his own. He invites everyone to a party-his party. He also invites a woman he met win the service, (played by Geoffrey Horne's wife Colin Wilcox-Horne: they were married 6/28/63, around the probable filming time of this episode). This lady participated in a gag that was pulled on him, pretending to be his girlfriend and to get married to him. The marriage was a fake with a fake minister. Horne has a long, dramatic monologue about his army experiences and how they twisted him. Eventually, after venting his rage, he calms down and asks Tod and Linc if they can take his sister to Savannah. She wants to see the big world.

It's one of the stronger dramatic episodes, although lacking the sentimentality of the best ones.