Want to see a later day Joan Crawford performance? Well, this isn't the great showcase you might hope for. Season four finds Route 66 struggling to weave some of it's magic and there's hope that a former screen icon may help. Only thing is the whole affair is hobbled by a dark and unmoving story.
Tod and Linc find themselves working at a dated historic Polish Springs Hotel and Resort with Tod assuming the role of the social director and Linc being the youth director. Joan Crawford stars as an aging woman of some social standing who has returned home to spend her later years where it all started for her. She is a dark complicated lady who never got the life she envisioned when she left with the young man who romanced and wed her only to wreck both of their lives. Linc is immediately drawn to her in a strange attraction where he seems to want to be a type of savior in her healing. He gets his chance as Morgan's estranged husband returns in a very creepy way. He seems to want to paint the masterpiece with her as the subject standing by a furnace no less, one that he fires up every chance he gets. In his quest to get his paramour in the right backdrop he ends up stalking her and killing a man in the process. The writers try for some comic relief with Tod staying busy fending off a young sixteen-ish gal who is vacationing with her parents to no avail - neither in the way of comic relief or a relationship that makes any sense. Sound convoluted? It most certainly is and in that there is no compelling entertainment despite some scenic and historic Poland Springs landmarks.
One thing is certain and that is Sterling Silliphant is fearless in his attempt to write heavy themes into Route 66. Mostly, throughout the previous three seasons he has succeeded, but when it falls flat, as it does here, it really lands with a "thud". To her credit, Joan Crawford plays the part she is given with sincerity, but, ultimately, her performance fails flat due to the script she is handed. Noteworthy only due to her appearance this episode is otherwise not recommended, particularly not for casual viewing.
Tod and Linc find themselves working at a dated historic Polish Springs Hotel and Resort with Tod assuming the role of the social director and Linc being the youth director. Joan Crawford stars as an aging woman of some social standing who has returned home to spend her later years where it all started for her. She is a dark complicated lady who never got the life she envisioned when she left with the young man who romanced and wed her only to wreck both of their lives. Linc is immediately drawn to her in a strange attraction where he seems to want to be a type of savior in her healing. He gets his chance as Morgan's estranged husband returns in a very creepy way. He seems to want to paint the masterpiece with her as the subject standing by a furnace no less, one that he fires up every chance he gets. In his quest to get his paramour in the right backdrop he ends up stalking her and killing a man in the process. The writers try for some comic relief with Tod staying busy fending off a young sixteen-ish gal who is vacationing with her parents to no avail - neither in the way of comic relief or a relationship that makes any sense. Sound convoluted? It most certainly is and in that there is no compelling entertainment despite some scenic and historic Poland Springs landmarks.
One thing is certain and that is Sterling Silliphant is fearless in his attempt to write heavy themes into Route 66. Mostly, throughout the previous three seasons he has succeeded, but when it falls flat, as it does here, it really lands with a "thud". To her credit, Joan Crawford plays the part she is given with sincerity, but, ultimately, her performance fails flat due to the script she is handed. Noteworthy only due to her appearance this episode is otherwise not recommended, particularly not for casual viewing.
