44-09-20 Rev. Cook's Dun Letter

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND DAVID WHITEHOUSE

In the mail, Sade gets a letter addressed to the "Reverend V. Cook" - and opens it, thinking the letter is to her. After reading the letter, she knows she made a mistake but feels embarrassed at the damaging things she's learned and doesn't know what to do next.

Vic provides lots of unhelpful advice and Russell provides a dark background to what might happen...

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Between the years of 1941 and 1946, America cinema would be greatly influenced by the pulp writers and darker, more psychological films would be produced by the handfuls. We look back on these and call them film noir. It seems as though Russell was actually more influenced by this type of film rather than Gloria Golden or even some of his more favorite cowboy features.

This odd eipsode of Vic and Sade seems to yell at the influence of film noir as the plot (and especially Russell's idea of where it could all wind up.) This is not "a funny episode" but memorable all the same for it's flavor. There's a darkness to it. Sade's guilt seems real. Knowing that the pastor has a secret debt is damaging (even if unspoken) and could be volatile to the pastor and community (hey, this was 1944!)

For fun, let your imagination go as to what damage Sade could do with the information if she wanted to.

Trivia:

+ For the first time ever, Sade calls Russell, "Willie baby."

+ The Reverend's first name is "Vincent."

+ Mr. Kleeburger's first two initials are "N.S."

+ Vic says he has gotten letters addressed to the Reverend at Consolidated Kitchenware. Seems unlikely, but...

+ The Reverend owes $4.50 to Kleeburger's and has for at least 3 months; he's made one payment of fifty cents!

+ Vic's advice to Sade is to "throw the half-wit letter away!"

+ There's a half-told story in this episode which could have dire circumstances: Ike Kneesuffer's brother-in-law had wanted to borrow from him a length of piano wire. Piano wire has often been associated with assassination/strangulation.

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