I am not a regular watcher of the "Angels"; but I enjoy the three original principals, Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith, and Farrah Fawcett. These three provided the chemistry with distinct looks and personalities that made the show work best, in my opinion. This episode provides a fairly high level of suspense and action, and seems to me to be a solid entry in the series. Mostly, I stayed with it to see what I read on IMDb was Ida Lupino's final TV appearance. Wow. No apology or concessions required here. Maybe its the British factor, they just seem able to know how to act. It's subtle, but she plays her part so believably; reminds me of the soon to be legendary Toni Colette. "There's acting and then there's ACTING"." I couldn't agree more.
4 Reviews
"The Heart of New York" ??
moonspinner5519 February 2009
Leisurely-paced episode from the classic television series finds the Angels attempting to protect a legendary movie actress from someone who is apparently trying to drive her crazy. Ida Lupino plays the Norma Desmond-like movie star who has fallen on hard times, but is about to make a comeback in a remake of one of her old classics ("The Heart of New York", which looks as though it's being shot all on one set!). Farrah Fawcett-Majors' Jill has a sketchy role: she has press credentials and snoops around on the movie set, but only the guilty parties seem to take notice of her; Kate Jackson's Sabrina plays secretary (a role Sabrina took on too often); Jaclyn Smith's Kelly uses her feminine wiles to get an extra's union card and works on the picture playing a barmaid (!). David Doyle as Bosley has very little to do, while Lupino chews the scenery ("There's acting--and then there's ACTING!"). Two interesting details: Lupino's Gloria Gibson is rather curt with Jill but seems okay with Sabrina and Kelly, while Kelly is shot at three times near the climax and narrowly escapes with her life (which is then shucked off as 'all in a night's work'). Lax episode is a bit annoying and hugely unbelievable.
Elegant and educated Sabrina
neilclack11 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Thunder, lightning, driving rain, weird noises, and a horror film voice - not the usual Charlie's Angel's opening.
"I hope you can help her, Angels", says Charlie on the speaker phone, "I'm a long-time friend and fan" - someone is gas lightning ageing Hollywood actress Gloria Gibson (played by Ida Lupino). Or maybe she's just going senile, flashing back on her old films? The Angels aren't too sure.
When the Charlie's Angels series was first conceived, the writers decided the character of Sabrina would be 'elegant, refined, educated, a fashion plate'.
As the series developed though, each of the actresses moulded their individual characters to their own style, taking them on different tangents from the original ideas, but here we see Kate Jackson definitely playing Sabrina as elegant and educated, and that's particularly expressed in her dress. I don't think there's another episode, in which Sabrina has so many changes of outfit (seven in total) - and there's a prolifacy of the silk neck scarf, a symbol of high class sophistication and education, I guess?
1. When the Angels visit Gloria's house for the first time, Sabrina wears a white jacket with matching long white skirt, a light yellow patterned neck scarf, stockings and heels. She reveals her knowledge of art by instantly recognising the large painting on the wall as a Botticelli Fresco.
2. Next, staying at Gloria's, Sabrina is in garish green silk pyjamas when Gloria believes she sees a ghost in the bathroom.
3. Sabrina accompanies Gloria to the film studios in Charlie's Mercedes, which he has lent Gloria as she's broke, and Sabrina's now changed into a black jacket, with a white large-collared blouse, and grey-chequed knicker bottoms/breaches that are so flared that they look like a skirt at first, with black boots.
4. Next it's a claret jacket, with a purple neck scarf, and a grey and purple long skirt. Good colour coordination.
5. Relaxing back at Gloria's house, Sabrina wears a brown jumper, with a torquoise neck scarf, the knot tied at the front, which gives her the air of an art critic, rounded off with Kate Jackson's favourite pair of flared jeans which she's worn in a number of previous episodes
6. For the concluding scenes, it's a white boiler suit with an elastic belt around Sabrina's slim waist, and, this time, the obligatory neck scarf is orangy brown - the outfit is not a million miles away from the white motor racing suit Sabrina wore when racing cars in Hellride, the first Charlie's Angels episode. "I've got it, by George, I think I've got it", Sabrina declares looking at the Botticelli fresco, 'the smart one', having worked out it's not a representation but the original painting, and thus solving the whole motive for the gaslighting of Gloria, which had flummoxed everyone up until then.
7. Finally, back in the Townsend Agency office for the end of episode debrief, Sabrina changes back into outfit number 5, the casual brown pullover and her favourite jeans, but it's yet another neck scarf, this time a classical paisley tan pattern.
Jill (Farah Fawcett) was always the sporty Angel right from the show's conception, and she wears a black leather jacket, with a low cut revealing red blouse in the early scenes.
Kelly (Jaclyn Smith) is given this episode's most bizarre and comedic scene when she goes to the 'Bits and Extras' agency, and finds that the two partners who run the company, apart from hiring Bit players for films, also work as Bit players themselves, so Kelly is interviewed by a bare-chested Samoan warrior with a bush on his head, and then a red Indian. Kelly lands a bit part waitress role that, of course, involves her having to wear some kind of red bunny girl outfit with black stockings and red knickers.
Apparently the Angels got to keep the clothes they wore on the programme, so what a pity for Kate Jackson that 1977 flared trousers and wide collars went out of fashion so quickly after this episode was made.
"I hope you can help her, Angels", says Charlie on the speaker phone, "I'm a long-time friend and fan" - someone is gas lightning ageing Hollywood actress Gloria Gibson (played by Ida Lupino). Or maybe she's just going senile, flashing back on her old films? The Angels aren't too sure.
When the Charlie's Angels series was first conceived, the writers decided the character of Sabrina would be 'elegant, refined, educated, a fashion plate'.
As the series developed though, each of the actresses moulded their individual characters to their own style, taking them on different tangents from the original ideas, but here we see Kate Jackson definitely playing Sabrina as elegant and educated, and that's particularly expressed in her dress. I don't think there's another episode, in which Sabrina has so many changes of outfit (seven in total) - and there's a prolifacy of the silk neck scarf, a symbol of high class sophistication and education, I guess?
1. When the Angels visit Gloria's house for the first time, Sabrina wears a white jacket with matching long white skirt, a light yellow patterned neck scarf, stockings and heels. She reveals her knowledge of art by instantly recognising the large painting on the wall as a Botticelli Fresco.
2. Next, staying at Gloria's, Sabrina is in garish green silk pyjamas when Gloria believes she sees a ghost in the bathroom.
3. Sabrina accompanies Gloria to the film studios in Charlie's Mercedes, which he has lent Gloria as she's broke, and Sabrina's now changed into a black jacket, with a white large-collared blouse, and grey-chequed knicker bottoms/breaches that are so flared that they look like a skirt at first, with black boots.
4. Next it's a claret jacket, with a purple neck scarf, and a grey and purple long skirt. Good colour coordination.
5. Relaxing back at Gloria's house, Sabrina wears a brown jumper, with a torquoise neck scarf, the knot tied at the front, which gives her the air of an art critic, rounded off with Kate Jackson's favourite pair of flared jeans which she's worn in a number of previous episodes
6. For the concluding scenes, it's a white boiler suit with an elastic belt around Sabrina's slim waist, and, this time, the obligatory neck scarf is orangy brown - the outfit is not a million miles away from the white motor racing suit Sabrina wore when racing cars in Hellride, the first Charlie's Angels episode. "I've got it, by George, I think I've got it", Sabrina declares looking at the Botticelli fresco, 'the smart one', having worked out it's not a representation but the original painting, and thus solving the whole motive for the gaslighting of Gloria, which had flummoxed everyone up until then.
7. Finally, back in the Townsend Agency office for the end of episode debrief, Sabrina changes back into outfit number 5, the casual brown pullover and her favourite jeans, but it's yet another neck scarf, this time a classical paisley tan pattern.
Jill (Farah Fawcett) was always the sporty Angel right from the show's conception, and she wears a black leather jacket, with a low cut revealing red blouse in the early scenes.
Kelly (Jaclyn Smith) is given this episode's most bizarre and comedic scene when she goes to the 'Bits and Extras' agency, and finds that the two partners who run the company, apart from hiring Bit players for films, also work as Bit players themselves, so Kelly is interviewed by a bare-chested Samoan warrior with a bush on his head, and then a red Indian. Kelly lands a bit part waitress role that, of course, involves her having to wear some kind of red bunny girl outfit with black stockings and red knickers.
Apparently the Angels got to keep the clothes they wore on the programme, so what a pity for Kate Jackson that 1977 flared trousers and wide collars went out of fashion so quickly after this episode was made.
Cinematic Angels
adamcshelby24 May 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This episode gets dinged for the sheer preposterous nature of its plot. An old time movie actress played with scenery-chewing aplomb by Ida Lupino is being terrorized in her Hollywood mansion. Being an old friend of Charlie's, the Angels are soon put on the case.
Sabrina stays with Ida's character (Gloria) to keep her safe, but it still doesn't prevent a dead body from showing up in her bathtub that conveniently disappears the moment Sabrina looks. It's never explained what happened to the body beyond 'Hollywood effects magic'--- in other words, a narrative cheat.
The other Angels get jobs on the set of the movie that Gloria is shooting, Kelly as an alluring extra, Jill as a movie journalist (the journalist cover is one that pops up over and over in CA episodes). On Gloria's first day on set she gets trapped inside her movie trailer, which unfortunately has been set on fire. What's strange is that one of the men involved in the scheme to frighten her is the one who uses a crowbar to rescue her from the trailer. Why he did this makes zero sense, and only serves to cast suspicion on him by an observant Jill.
Then later another man in on the scheme tries to drop a 5K light on Jill's head, only to fall to his death from the rafters of the soundstage. This kind of stupid behavior happens over and over, criminals doing things that only bring more attention to their crimes. It's completely ludicrous.
Later we find out the reason for the shakedown of Gloria. The perpetrators want to force her to sell the house she lives in because it contains an original art masterpiece that Gloria believes to be a reproduction which is in fact the real deal. Considering that one of the schemers is Gloria's agent/manager, why doesn't he just arrange for the artwork to be stolen instead of going through this foolish attempt to frighten her? ... or was it to kill her? Since they tried to do both, even their modus operandi is unclear and contradictory.
The episode ends with a decent action set piece with Gloria no where to be found. In fact, by episode end she is practically forgotten about. Just a ham-fisted and slow moving plot with no discernible concern for reality.
Sabrina stays with Ida's character (Gloria) to keep her safe, but it still doesn't prevent a dead body from showing up in her bathtub that conveniently disappears the moment Sabrina looks. It's never explained what happened to the body beyond 'Hollywood effects magic'--- in other words, a narrative cheat.
The other Angels get jobs on the set of the movie that Gloria is shooting, Kelly as an alluring extra, Jill as a movie journalist (the journalist cover is one that pops up over and over in CA episodes). On Gloria's first day on set she gets trapped inside her movie trailer, which unfortunately has been set on fire. What's strange is that one of the men involved in the scheme to frighten her is the one who uses a crowbar to rescue her from the trailer. Why he did this makes zero sense, and only serves to cast suspicion on him by an observant Jill.
Then later another man in on the scheme tries to drop a 5K light on Jill's head, only to fall to his death from the rafters of the soundstage. This kind of stupid behavior happens over and over, criminals doing things that only bring more attention to their crimes. It's completely ludicrous.
Later we find out the reason for the shakedown of Gloria. The perpetrators want to force her to sell the house she lives in because it contains an original art masterpiece that Gloria believes to be a reproduction which is in fact the real deal. Considering that one of the schemers is Gloria's agent/manager, why doesn't he just arrange for the artwork to be stolen instead of going through this foolish attempt to frighten her? ... or was it to kill her? Since they tried to do both, even their modus operandi is unclear and contradictory.
The episode ends with a decent action set piece with Gloria no where to be found. In fact, by episode end she is practically forgotten about. Just a ham-fisted and slow moving plot with no discernible concern for reality.
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