Remembering Elizabeth Montgomery on Her Birthday

Actress Elizabeth Montgomery would have been 83 today had she not left us in 1995 due to rectal cancer. She co-starred in several high-profile studio feature films including The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell, Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed, as well as guest starring on many top tv series of the '60s. She is the daughter of actor Robert Montgomery.

Of course, she is best known and loved for her starring role on the hit tv series Bewitched. The sitcom ran for eight years from 1964 - 1972. It was ABC-tv's biggest hit at the time. It seems to have been loosely inspired by the 1942 film classic, I Married a Witch starring Veronica Lake and Fredric March.

The show had an impressive line-up of co-stars and recurring guest roles, first and foremost Agnes Moorehead as Samantha's mischievous mother, Endora.

Paul Lynde, Marion Lorne, Maurice Evans among others popped up on the show from time to time. There were two Darrens (Dick York, then Richard Sargent)  and two Gladys Kravitzes (Aice Pearce and, after her death, Sandra Gould).

My whole family enjoyed tuning into Bewitched every week almost without fail.

After Bewitched, Elizabeth made some great tv-filmms, especially The Legend of Lizzie Bordon and A Case of Rape.

Montgomery was also a tireless political advocate. A liberal Democrat, she was a great friend of the gay community with her work championing equal rights for the LGBT community and being an early AIDS activist. In fact, she and 2nd Darren, the openly gay Dick Sargent, were grand marshals at the L.A. gay pride parade.

Happy birthday in Heaven, Elizabeth Montgomery!

Video Beaverhausen: Agnes Moorehead, Vincent Price in The Bat

The Bat (1959) is one of the films I remember fondly from tv, it being in frequent rotation on the old Million Dollar Movie. It is handsomely filmed in black-and-white and has a strong cast. Vincent Price is in this as are Agnes Moorehead, well before she became identified with Endora on Bewitched, and Darla (Hood), of Little Rascals fame, herein a lovely young lady who never went on to make more films.

This is a trim little thriller running 80 minutes, so it's fast-paced. It's based on a Mary Roberts Rinehart mystery and was filmed previously in 1925. It was also a Broadway and West End play.

Most of the film is set inside an old mansion where the house's owner, a bank president, has stashed a lot of embezzled cash. Unfortunately, he comes to a bad end. But somebody is determined to get the loot -- no matter whom they have to kill to get at it.

Agnes plays mystery writer Cornelia van Gorder, current tenant at the mansion.  Comic relief is provided in her scenes with her feisty assistant, Lizzie Allen, played by character actress Lenita Lane. The acting in this suspenseful whodunnit is uniformly good, especially by its two leads.

The cliche of the old, dark house and its trap doors and secret passageways are actually part of what appeals to me in The Bat. Give this film a try. The camp factor's high, there's plenty of tension and it moves at a clip. The killer's clawed gloves are to die for -- literally.

Best viewed at home on a rainy night with the blankets on and popcorn by your side.