On this occasion, Stan Robertson had underestimated the audience. The irony was rich, the surprise a delight. But, because of the NBC man’s concerns, Gene Coon did one further script polish -- the Final Draft from October 26 -- snipping out a few things and clarifying a few others.
Robertson seemed a little less irked. Not so for Justman. His next memo hit Coon’s desk in less than 24 hours, complaining:
Gene, I am going to carp again about Opticals. I know in my bones that we are in deep trouble with this show. And you may be able to detect from the tone of this memo that I am pissed off to beat the band. Not necessarily about this show, but what has been happening on the previous show and the one before that. I’ll have to fill you in later on what happened at a little after 7 o’clock when I got a call from Location, but suffice it to say I am beginning to have fears that I have to sit personally on every God-damn shooting hour of this show. And if I have to, then this whole setup is incorrect. The time to ensure our getting as good a show for the money and in as decent amount of days and hours as possible is prior to shooting. (RJ18-3)
The 7 p.m. phone call from the day before concerned the final day of filming at Vasquez Rocks for “Shore Leave,” as director Sparr failed to film the elephant that had been paid for, and failed to get any shots of the tiger -- the one that terrorized cast and crew – without the chain around its neck now clearly visible to the camera, and was, at that moment, trying to get his last daylight locations shots in the pitch black of an October night ... with the final shot finally taken at 8 p.m.
Justman hadn’t completely lost his sense of humor. He added:
If we transport McCoy, Jaeger and DeSalle down to the surface of Gothos in the orange space suits that we used in “The Naked Time,” then the audience will take a full half hour to stop laughing from what our people look like. Perhaps I am jumping to conclusions because yesterday I saw Bill Theiss showing you one of those orange suits as I passed by. Please, please do not go with those outfits. (RJ18-3)
Coon took a look at the teaser from “The Naked Time.” After he stopped laughing, he changed the script to indicate that the landing party would not wear environmental suits but would instead don oxygen masks.
Pre-Production
(Director’s prep: two days -- October 26 & 27)
William Campbell in 1955 Universal-International publicity photo
Don McDougall, who had directed 26 episodes of The Roy Rogers Show, 20 of Johnny Weissmuller’s Jungle Jim, 39 of Robert Culp’s Trackdown, 20 of Steve McQueen’s Wanted: Dead or Alive, and 31 of Bonanza, was brought in for his only Star Trek.
For Trelane, McDougall and casting director Joe D’Agosta wanted Roddy McDowall. Gene Coon had someone else in mind -- William Campbell, who appeared in an episode he produced for The Wild, Wild West.
Campbell, 39 at this time, had been gaining attention with prominent billing in big screen hits like Escape from Fort Bravo, Man Without a Star, Backlash, and Love Me Tender. He was known for playing contemporary punks and thugs, not flamboyant characters teetering between malicious intimidation and comical innocence. Regardless, after reading the script, Campbell knew he could handle the part.
“It was a fantastic character,” Campbell said. “It would be very easy for any actor who had any training to play the Squire of Gothos. The character was so well written and, of course, it was the show.” (27-2)
After Campbell recited only a few lines of dialogue to Don McDougall and Joe D’Agosta, Roddy McDowall was out and Campbell was told to report to wardrobe.
Richard Carlyle, as Lt. Karl Jaeger, was 46. He had appeared over a hundred times before the camera and had his own short-lived series, Crime Photographer, in 1951.
Model Venita Wolf poses with Shatner for NBC publicity photo (Courtesy of Gerald Gurian) Hill Street Blues, for which she would win an Emmy.
Venita Wolf, making her television acting debut as Yeoman Teresa Ross, the one replacing Yeoman Rand in this episode, was a model and a former beauty contest winner. Following this, she was featured as the cover girl on the July 1967 issue of Playboy magazine. And then she married a wealthy nightclub owner and left show business.
Michael Barrier made three appearances on Star Trek as Lt. Vincent DeSalle. This was the first. He would return for “This Side of Paradise” and “Catspaw.”
Barbara Babcock, 29, provided the voice of Trelene’s mother. She returned for more voiceover work in “Assignment: Earth,” “The Tholian Web” and “The Lights of Zetar.” Also for Star Trek: prominent on-camera roles in “A Taste of Armageddon,” and “Plato’s Stepchildren.” Her most famous role was 15 years away -as Grace Gardner on a future NBC show,
James Doohan said he made a dual appearance in this episode -- on camera and on the soundtrack. Some sources credit the voice of Trelane’s father as belonging to Barton LaRue, and for good reason -- it sounds remarkably like LaRue. The often-employed voice actor would indeed work for Star Trek, in four upcoming episodes. But, this time, the producers may have looked closer to home. That would also give them an excuse to allow Doohan to appear in “Squire.”
Robert Justman, trying to balance the budget, had been protesting this. He sent word to Coon:
James Doohan plays Engineer Scott. I have not seen the schedule yet, but I doubt that he works more than one or two days at the most. For that amount of work he will receive $850? (RJ17-3)
Figure $6,135 in 2013. So Doohan told this author he did double duty to earn his pay. He dropped the Scottish accent, a good amount of reverb was added, and he did a first rate impression of Barton LaRue.
Eddie Paskey, as Lt. Leslie, got his first turn in the command chair. Watch for him -he vacates the seat and makes way for Kirk after the Captain returns to the ship toward the end of Act 3.
Production Diary
Filmed October 28 & 31 and November 1, 2, 3, 4 & 7, 1966
(Planned as 6 day production, finishing one day late; total cost: $194,573).
Friday, October 28, 1966. You couldn’t go anywhere without hearing “96 Tears” by Question Mark & the Mysterians, the top playing record on U.S. radio stations. The two biggest selling record albums in the Nation were The Supremes with Supremes A’ Go-Go and The Beatles with Revolver. Ten bucks would get you both albums and the “96 Tears” 45, and pay for the gas driving to the record store, too. But if you worked at McDonalds, you were only making minimum wage, which was $1.25 per hour. Those two record albums and one single would cost you an entire day’s pay.
Hitting newsstands this day: the cover of Life magazine had the grisly image of a badly-wounded American soldier, fallen in a muddy field in Vietnam and being comforted by his grief-stricken comrades. Along with the latest death tolls in Vietnam, the morning papers were reporting that both China and the USSR had just exploded nuclear bombs in separate “tests.” Humanity seemed on the brink of annihilation and, the night before, NBC premiered “Miri,” a story about the end of Western civilization as we knew it … on a new series called Star Trek. The production company was now commencing the filming of an episode that would be less dark but every bit as poignant. Work took place on Stage 9 in the transporter room, followed by the bridge set. Director Don McDougall finished at 6:45 p.m., already a quarter-day behind.
A distant relative to the Salt Vampire from “The Man Trap” on display in Trelane’s drawing room (Courtesy of Gerald Gurian)
Day 2, Monday, was spent entirely on the bridge. William Campbell joined the cast this day for Trelane’s visit to the Enterprise. McDougall wrapped at 7 p.m., now one-third of a day behind.
Day 3, Tuesday. The company was on Stage 10, “Int. Trelane’s Drawing Room.” Paul Schneider recalled, “I was very excited that they built a whole special set for it; a totally round set, which was then kind of a new concept in itself. If you look at the episode, you’ll see that the camera goes all the way around.” (154)
Matt Jefferies was proud of this unique set, more so than any other he designed for the series’ first season. Th
e company would spend a total of three and a half days here. On this day, McDougall took his last shot at 7:10 p.m. He was now a half-day behind.
On Days 4 and 5, Wednesday and Thursday -- work continued in the drawing room. Venita Wolf and Nichelle Nichols joined the cast during these two days. Scenes shot included the one where Uhura plays the harpsichord. The song was “Roses from the South,” by Johann Strauss, Jr.
By the end of Thursday, the director had fallen further behind -- now by three-quarters of a day; his final shot taken at 7:30 p.m.. After wrapping the set, anyone wanting to get home in time to watch the premiere of “Dagger of the Mind,” the seventh episode of Star Trek to air, had at best 30 minutes to make the drive and warm up their color RCA.
Day 6: Jerry Finnerman’s “lighting gags” puts a surreal noose on the wall (Unaired film trim courtesy of Gerald Gurian)
On Day 6, Friday, McDougall took his last shots in Trelane’s drawing room proper, then had a section of the room redecorated to include the judge’s bench and the lighting trick that cast the shadow of a gallows noose on the wall.
William Campbell recalled that Gene Coon proved to be “awfully fair” over a dispute during filming. The problem occurred when a wig Campbell was to wear arrived. The Squire was to be dressed as an old world English barrister who pronounces judgment on Kirk.
“They started that scene late in the day,” Campbell said. “They called for the wig, and the makeup person comes over and puts [it] on and I look like an old Shirley Temple. It was a French period wig, very curly and full. I immediately told them, ‘You’ve got the wrong wig.’ And I remember Bill [Shatner] had been working his blank off, and he came over and said, ‘What difference does it make? Nobody’s going to know that.’ I said, ‘It does make a difference to me. It’s not only a difference in the acting that I would do, but it isn’t right.’” (27-2)
Don McDougall was put in the awkward position of taking sides with either the star of the series or a mere guest performer. McDougall chose not to have an opinion.
Next, Gene Coon was called to the set. Campbell said, “Gene didn’t take two seconds to say, ‘Campbell’s right; get another wig; go to another sequence’ -- which is exactly what we did, and it didn’t hold up anything. That’s the kind of guy he was. He was very sensitive about the quality of the show [and] how it was done.” (27-8)
That other sequence was the beam down of McCoy, DeSalle, and Jaeger in the woodsy area outside Trelane’s castle. The company then returned to Trelane’s drawing room for the mock trial scene, this time with a proper wig for William Campbell.
McDougall stopped filming at 6:52, now a full day behind.
Day 7, Monday, November 7. The exterior of the castle was used for the final day of production on Stage 10. This was where the re-enactment of The Most Dangerous Game took place. William Shatner, being chased by the sword-wielding Campbell, had a stuntman to take the falls for him. Campbell did not, since Trelane had no planned falls. Campbell, however, thought it would be a good idea if his character also went to the ground at some point. There was a problem. The “ground” on a sound stage, no matter what else it appears to be, is made of concrete. Campbell’s shoulder popped out of joint, resulting in a further delay in production as a doctor was called to the set to pop the shoulder back into place. And this resulted in the unplanned seventh day of filming not wrapping until 7:15 p.m.
Despite steering clear of the argument between Campbell and Shatner, and doing a first rate job at directing, McDougall was not invited back.
Post-Production
November 11 to December 20, 1966. Music score: tracked.
Bruce Schoengarth and Edit Team #2, following the difficult chore of splicing together and resequencing scenes from “Court Martial,” had a less problematic assignment this time out.
The music was effectively recycled from past episodes. A nice touch on the part of sound editor Doug Grindstaff was adding in a music cue from “The Man Trap” just as McCoy gets a look at the Salt Vampire on display in Trelane’s drawing room. It was same cue used in the former episode whenever the creature, in the guise of a crew member of the Enterprise, lurked about the ship.
Film Effects of Hollywood was the primary supplier of the photographic effects, including those of the planet Gothos chasing the Enterprise through space. It was not a perfect job. Some stars can be seen bleeding through the planet as it comes at the Enterprise on the main view screen. One effect called for in the script could not be accomplished. When Kirk fights Trelane at the end, he knocks the saber from Trelane’s hand, picks it up and slashes at his tormentor. The script instructed: “CLOSE ON TRELANE. The saber blow cuts right through him, without leaving a sign of the passage. Frozen with surprise and frustration, Kirk stares at him.” Director McDougall had shot the sequence properly, shooting with a tied down camera for a split screen process. One shot had the two men facing one another. Shatner begins his swing of the saber. In the next shot, Campbell steps out of the shot while Shatner, standing in the same position, slashes the sword through thin air. Combining two shots like that with today’s technical tools is a snap. In 1966, they were not able to make the sword pass through Trelane’s body properly and, instead, chose to have him pop out of the scene as the saber slashes out, then pop back in. Broadcast Standards breathed a sigh of relief. This was one of the shots called for in the script which had concerned them as being too jarring for the tastes of the NBC viewing audience.
The final price tag was $194,573. This was $9,573 over the Studio’s new reduced per-episode allowance. The cash surplus was gone. The deficit was back, at $1,801.
Release / Reaction:
Premiere air date: 1/12/67. NBC repeat broadcast: 6/22/67.
RATINGS / Nielsen 30-Market report for Thursday, January 12, 1967:
“The Squire of Gothos” grabbed a strong second place for the entire hour, with the second half attracting 32% of the TV audience. The big winner: The CBS Thursday Night Movie’s television premiere of A Summer Place. The 1959 film with Richard Egan, Sandra Dee, and Troy Donahue had spawned a No. 1 Billboard hit -- “Theme from a Summer Place.”
Stan Robertson had fretted over whether “The Squire of Gothos” would be accepted and understood by the viewing audience. There had been no reason to worry. The episode, and the character of Trelane, proved to be immensely popular.
From the Mailbag
Received the week following the first airing of “The Squire of Gothos”:
Dear Mr. Roddenberry, I would like to tell you how very, very much I enjoy Star Trek. As a science-fiction buff from way back, I had almost despaired of ever seeing anything on TV that was not meant for children -- and not very bright children, at that. I sincerely hope your program will be continued next year. If not, I think I’ll kill all my present bras, and never buy another living one! With very warm wishes for your program and for you, personally. Edna Z. (Reno, Nevada).
(One of Star Trek’s sponsors at this time was Playtex, for their “ living bra” campaign.)
The reply:
Dear Mrs. Z., thank you for your delightful letter. Your first paragraph did provide our laugh of the day. Sincerely, Gene Roddenberry, Executive Producer, Star Trek.
Memories
William Campbell said, “In my lifetime, I met maybe five people I found impossible to dislike, and, strangely enough, two of those were on Star Trek: DeForest Kelley and Gene Coon.” (27-1)
As for the episode itself, Campbell said, “It was just a great role. It was sensational. I’ll never forget it.” (27-2)
27
Joseph Pevney into the “Arena”
Rock Hudson, Cyd Charisse and Joseph Pevney, Twilight of the Gods (1958, Universal-International)
Director Joseph Pevney was brought to Star Trek by Gene Coon, who knew him from when both worked at Universal Studios. In time, Pevney would tie with Marc Daniels for directing the most Star Trek episodes -- 14 each.
Pevney, like Daniels, began as a stage actor in New York
. What he really wanted to do was direct, and he got his chance in 1942 with Let Freedom Sing, a musical revue on Broadway, starring Mitzi Green. The play closed after only two weeks but was not a total loss --Pevney and Green married, beginning a 30-year union which led to four children and only ended as a result of Mitzi’s untimely death at 49.
Pevney returned to acting on Broadway in November 1942 with a plum role in Counselor-at-Law, starring Paul Muni. When the play closed, he went off to “fight” World War II -- as a staff sergeant in the Army Signal Corps, where he staged revues for the troops.
In January 1946, Pevney was back on Broadway, in Home of the Brave, for a prominent role as a shell-shocked soldier. Variety said, “Play, written by an ex-GI, has several ex-GIs in the cast, notably its leads, Joseph Pevney and Alan Baxter, so that it carries conviction.” Pevney was praised for showing “restrained poignancy.”
Soon Pevney was on the big screen and had fourth billing in the film noir Nocturne as Ned “Fingers” Ford, a wise-cracking nightclub pianist suspected of murder by “hardboiled detective” George Raft. Next came Body and Soul, which Daily Variety declared a “can’t miss.” Besides praising star John Garfield, the trade said, “There’s more good thesping by Joseph Pevney.” Pevney registered strongly in three more noirs: The Street with No Name, Outside the Wall, and Thieves’ Highway. During this time, he studied the mechanics of making films and continued to make connections. By August 1949, Universal-International Pictures signed him to a contract to direct low-budget B-pictures.
These Are The Voyages, TOS, Season One Page 73
