Today we take another look at the Baretta episode “Set Up City”, directed by Curtis Harrington. It first aired on October 29, 1975. Grumpy jewel thief Joe Dineen inspects the swag from his latest heist.
Sure would be nice if the powers-that-be could get around to finally releasing subsequent seasons of Baretta on DVD (the first season is the only one commercially available). Then Timothy could get rid of that silly SUN TV logo that keeps showing up on his clothes.
Our pic today takes another gander at Curtis Harrington‘s What’s The Matter With Helen? (1971). Glamorous dance teacher Adelle (Debbie Reynolds) answers a knock at the door, thinking it’s her date (Dennis Weaver). It isn’t.
As we know, Harrington was very fond of Timothy, calling him “my favorite bogeyman”. They worked together once more after this film, in the Baretta episode “Set Up City” (10.29.75).
Very sad to hear of the death yesterday of Larry D. Mann, age 91. He was the Canadian character actor perhaps best known as the voice of Yukon Cornelius in the television Christmas classic Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964). He received a memorable manhandling from Timothy as T-Bone, the unfortunate used car salesman, in the Baretta episode “Set Up City” (10.29.75).
“There’s a scene in ‘Set Up City’ where Timothy roughs up a used car salesman,” the episode’s director, Curtis Harrington, told Penny Blood magazine. “Timothy was a bit out of control because he really hurt the other actor who later sued through the Screen Actors’ Guild.” I have no doubt that it was a case of Tim not knowing his own strength and not meaning any deliberate harm. We wish Mann peaceful rest and thank him for letting us know that “Bumbles bounce!”
To give [Robert] Blake his due, he was one of the few people who would allow me to hire my favorite bogeyman, Timothy Carey, and so again I had the pleasure of working with this incorrigible madman. This time, Timothy got a bit too out of control and actually hurt a fellow actor in a scene where he was beating him up. He also did a number of improvisational riffs on his dialogue that I found utterly fascinating but which may not have been appreciated by the producers. As usual with Timothy, the network insisted on cutting many of these bits of eccentric behavior that made him such a unique and refreshing presence on the screen. How the network executives hated the unconventional and the unexpected, and how equally they loved their comfortable little groove of mediocrity!
– Curtis Harrington, writing about the Baretta episode “Set Up City” (1975), from Nice Guys Don’t Work In Hollywood: The Adventures of an Aesthete in the Movie Business (Drag City Incorporated, 2013)
Our pic of the day is another one from the Curtis Harrington-directed Baretta episode “Set Up City.” It was first broadcast on October 29, 1975. Ill-tempered jewel thief Joe Dineen shows his displeasure with explosives expert Jake Hatch (Charles Durning) threatening to blow them all to smithereens, while a nervous Larry Block looks on.
Block was a familiar character actor in films and on television since the early 1970s. He also did frequent stage work and wrote poetry. Unfortunately he passed away last October.
Timothy gives the business to Larry D. Mann (the voice of Yukon Cornelius!) in “Set Up City” (10.29.75)EDITOR’S NOTE 09/22/13: Another one bites the dust. Sorry, folks.
This week’s video is the Baretta episode “Set Up City,” directed by Curtis Harrington and first airing on October 29, 1975. Timothy is at his grumpy, glowering best as jewel thief Joe Dineen. This is one of my favorite Carey performances; I predict it will become one of yours too, if it isn’t already!
This is the perfect opportunity to announce the formation of The Timothy Carey Experience channel at YouTube! I will be gathering up every video pertaining to Tim that’s already on YouTube that I can find. I hope to also add my own videos of my book-writing adventures. Please feel free to subscribe, tell your friends, etc.!
Today we revisit “Set Up City,” the second of four Baretta episodes in which Timothy appears. It premiered on October 29, 1975. He portrays grumpy jewel thief Joe Dineen, always on the lookout for that perfect job that will set him up for life and hopefully also get rid of that pesky Baretta character.
This was the second time Tim was directed by the great Curtis Harrington; they had previously worked together on What’s the Matter with Helen? (1971). Harrington admitted in an interview that before he met Timothy he was terrified of him! But once he got to know him, he said, “I took him into my heart.”
Today’s pic is another from the Baretta episode “Set Up City,” directed by Curtis Harrington and first aired on October 29, 1975. Tim and Larry Block are just a couple of jewel thieves enjoying a leisurely afternoon, setting up their next job.
Tim appeared in four Baretta episodes, the last of which, “The Marker” (1978), has so far eluded my grasp. I will find it…
Our pic for today (you know about clicking for embiggening, right?) revisits the great Curtis Harrington‘s What’s the Matter with Helen? (1971), starring Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters as two friends with a tragic past trying to get back on their feet in Depression-era Hollywood. Tim has a small but memorable role as a scruffy tramp depending on the kindness of Reynolds and her rich suitor Dennis Weaver.
Harrington was a fascinating character on the Hollywood scene. He began his career in association with the notorious Kenneth Anger, starting an independent film distribution company with him in the late 1940’s and appearing in Anger’s amazing short film Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954). He went on to direct such cult classics as Night Tide (1961), Queen of Blood (1966), Games (1967), How Awful About Allan (1970), Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? (1972) (which you can find on a double DVD with Helen), The Dead Don’t Die (1975), Ruby (1977) and Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell (1978). He directed Timothy again in the Baretta episode “Set Up City” (1975). He retained a lifelong interest in magic and mysticism. A Harrington biography would be most welcome; it’s long overdue.
The Timothy Carey Experience 