Burke's Law: Who Killed Harris Crown? (1963) - Star of the month... Juliet Prowse

"Who Killed Harris Crown?" is episode #1.04 of television series "Burke's Law" (1963), first airing 11 October 1963.

"Burke's Law" stars Gene Barry as Capt. Amos Burke, Gary Conway as Det. Tim Tilson, Regis Toomey as Det. Les Hart and Leon Lontoc as Harry. The episode was produced by Aaron Spelling.

The episode guest stars Juliet Prowse, Eva Gabor, Joan Blondell, Barbara Eden, Lola Albright, Gene Nelson, Don Rickles, Ruth Roman and Charles Lane.

Capt. Amos Burke from Homicide (played by Gene Barry) informs Angel Crown (played by Juliet Prowse) her husband, Harris Crown has been killed in a car crash. determining whether it was an accident or not.

Among the suspects are Shirley Mills (played by Lola Albright), Rich Mason (played by Gene Nelson), Lily Bentley (played by Eva Gabor), Marnie Lee (played by Barbara Eden), Elinor Albrick (played Ruth Roman), Lou Kronkeit (played by Don Rickles),  and Dr. Lusk (played by Charles Lane).

Good murder mystery keeps you guessing, and we even get an exciting police chase scene when the murderer attempts to flee from the police.

**Note -
Juliet Prowse also guest starred in episode #2.10 of "Burke's Law" called "Who Killed the Tall One in the Middle?" (playing a different character) - I was unable to find this episode online to view and blog

Another Evening with Burt Bacharach (1970) - Star of the month... Juliet Prowse

'Another Evening with Burt Bacharach' is a 1970 musical television special starring Burt Bacharach with Juliet Prowse, Dusty Springfield & Mireille Mathieu.

Here are some clips:

Song: "Beatles Medley" - Juliet Prowse, Dusty Springfield & Mireille Mathieu (backed by Burt Bacharach on piano)

• "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" - Juliet Prowse, Dusty Springfield & Mireille Mathieu
• "Life Goes On" - Juliet Prowse, Dusty Springfield & Mireille Mathieu
• "Gotta Get You Into My Life" - Juliet Prowse, Dusty Springfield & Mireille Mathieu
• "Eleanor Rigby" - Juliet Prowse, Dusty Springfield & Mireille Mathieu
• "For No One" - Mireille Mathieu
• "Ticket to Ride" - Juliet Prowse, Dusty Springfield & Mireille Mathieu
• "Come Together" - Dusty Springfield
• "Yesterday" (French version) - Mireille Mathieu
• "Let It Be" - Dusty Springfield"
• "Something" - Juliet Prowse, Dusty Springfield & Mireille Mathieu
• "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)" - Juliet Prowse, Dusty Springfield & Mireille Mathieu
• "All You Need is Love" - Juliet Prowse, Dusty Springfield & Mireille Mathieu

Song: "A House Is Not A Home" - Burt Bacharach & Dusty Springfield

This is Tom Jones: Juliet Prowse (1969) - Star of the month... Juliet Prowse

On 29 May 1969, Juliet Prowse guest starred on the "This is Tom Jones" show.


"You Got A Long Way To Go From St. Louis" - Juliet Prowse & Tom Jones

"I Get A Kick Out of You" - Juliet Prowse & Tom Jones

The Hollywood Palace: Juliet Prowse (1964-1966) - Star of the month... Juliet Prowse

Between 1964 and 1966, Juliet Prowse made several appearances on the variety show "The Hollywood Palace".

Here are some highlights:

"Stop, Stop, Stop" - Juliet Prowse, Ed Kerrigan & Don Rehg:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLc5rd8CJ48



"Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" - Juliet Prowse, Howard Parker, Currie Pederson & the Tom Hansen Dancers (introduction by Kate Smith):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bZAtr6Iz7Y

"The Andy Williams Show: Juliet Prowse & Vic Damone" (1966) - Star of the month... Juliet Prowse

On 18 September 1966, Juliet Prowse guest starred on "The Andy Williams Show".

Although I was unable to access the full episode, here is a clip of Juliet singing "It's Today!" with Andy Williams and Vic Damone.

What I particularly like about this clip is that it highlights Juliet's singing voice, which we didn't often hear on screen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpKiB5BMjg4

The Frank Sinatra Show: Juliet Prowse (1957-1958) - Star of the month... Juliet Prowse

Juliet Prowse made several appearances on "The Frank Sinatra Show" from 1957 to 1959.

Although I wasn't able to find complete episodes online, here is a clip you may enjoy...

Includes:

• Frank Sinatra sings "It's All Right With Me" to Juliet Prowse
• Frank Sinatra introduces Juliet Prowse & wishes Cole Porter a recovery
• Juliet Prowse dances to an instrumental medley of Cole Porter songs (including "Love of My Life", "Anything Goes", "Too Darn Hot", among others)

G.I. Blues (1960) - Star of the month... Juliet Prowse

"Gi Blues" is a 1960 musical comedy directed by Norman Taurog and starring Elvis Presley, Juliet Prowse and Robert Ivers with Letícia Román, James Douglas, Edson Stroll and Jeremy Slate.

Tulsa McLean (played by Elvis Presley) is an American singing G.I., based in Germany. Tulsa aspires to open his own nightclub in America, but to do this he must raise $600. In an attempt to raise the money, he makes a bet he can spend the night alone with local nightclub dancer Lily (played by Juliet Prowse), in her apartment. Lily has a reputation for playing hard to get, and is even referred to by one G.I. as a "steamboat on the outside, but an iceberg inside".

Musical program

The original soundtrack album for "G.I. Blues"

• "What's She Really Like" - performed by Elvis Presley
• "G.I. Blues" - performed by Elvis Presley
• "Doin' the Best I Can" - performed by Elvis Presley
• "Blue Suede Shoes" - performed by Elvis Presley
• "Frankfort Special" - performed by Elvis Presley
• "Shoppin' Around" - performed by Elvis Presley
• "Tonight Is So Right For Love" - performed by Elvis Presley
• "Wooden Heart" - performed by Elvis Presley
• "Pocketful of Rainbows" - performed by Elvis Presley & Juliet Prowse (her singing is dubbed by an unknown vocalist)
• "Big Boots" - performed by Elvis Presley
• "Didja Ever" - performed by Elvis Presley

Blink and you'll miss...

• A young Britt Ekland in a very small cameo as the red-head Britta (approx. 10 mins into the film)
• While Tulsa is singing "Doin' the Best I Can", another solider puts a coin into a juke box and plays a song called "Blue Suede Shoes" recorded by a singer called Elvis Presley
• The G.I.s are all wearing underwear in the shower
• The number of the sky lift at Rüdesheim which Tulsa & Lili ride is 76

Did you know...

• This was Elvis' first film after servicing two years with the army - the film prior to this was "King Creole" (1958)
• Juliet Prowse's singing was dubbed by an unknown vocalist
• Elke Sommer, Ursula Andress and May Britt were all considered for the role of Lili
• Anna-Maria Alberghetti was considered to play the role of Tina
• Russ Tamblyn, Frank Gorshin, Carleton Carpenter & Johnny Carson were considered for the role of Cookie - Carpenter was eventually cast but later replaced by Robert Ivers
• The film was primarily shot at Paramount Studios, Hollywood, with some pre-prodution scenery shot on location in Germany (prior to Elvis' release from the army) - Elvis was not involved in any location filming, with all his filming completed in Hollywood
• Tulsa's regiment is the 32nd armored, which was also Elvis' real life regiment with he was in the army
• The army tanks and vehicles were supplied by the U.S. Army, who appointed public information officer John J. Mawn as technical advisor
• Although panned by critics, the film was the 14th biggest box office grossing film of the year, grossing $4.3million
• A riot following a screening of "G.I. Blues" in Mexico City, resulted in the Mexican government banning Elvis movies
• The original title for the film was "Cafe Europa" - which is what the film is still called in some European countries (i.e.: Italy, Germany, etc.)
• The boat in the film ("Bonn"), is now located in Karlshamn, Sweden, and is used as a disco
• Michael Curtiz was originally intended to direct this film - Curtiz had directed Elvis' previous film, "King Creole" (1958)
• While filming the sky lift scene at Rüdesheim, director of photography Loyal Griggs fell out of his cart, plunging 30 feet - fortunately he was not seriously injured

Award nominations...

• Grammy Award nomination for Best Soundtrack Album
• Grammy Award nomination for Best Vocal Performance Album, Male (Elvis Presley)
• Writers Guild of America nomination for Best Written American Musical
• Golden Laurel Award 2nd Place (runner up) for Top Musical of 1960
• Ranked at #2 on the Variety Weekly national box office chart in 1960

Closing remarks

Although "G.I. Blues" is yet another awful entry in Elvis' filmography, there is something very exciting about this particular film... the presence of Juliet Prowse.

Juliet Prowse was an extraordinary dancer and a wonderful talent, who is unfortunately often forgotten today. Although she didn't make many films, she is still one of my favourite dancing actresses along with Ann Miller, Ginger Rogers, Cyd Charisse and Leslie Caron.

As usual, we get the standard-stock shallow plot, which follows the basic formula for almost of all Elvis' films... Elvis meets girl; girl plays hard to get; Elvis eventually gets girl. Along the way, Elvis sings all the songs from his latest album. 

Speaking of which, despite the myriad of Elvis songs in this film, the musical highlight for me is Juliet Prowse's solo dance number. I really like the way the camera focuses solely on Prowse for the entire sequence, and treats us with the opportunity to appreciate and enjoy her dancing talent. We are fortunate to also experience something similar with another of Elvis' leading ladies, Ann-Margret in Elvis' later film "Viva Las Vegas" (1964). 

Overall a weak and rather slow film - it takes approx. 30 mins for the storyline to kick off. That said, this film is one of a handful of Elvis' films I would recommend watching, solely to see Juliet Prowse's most memorable screen appearance.