No Way to Treat a Lady, the Murray Hamilton scenes

Another Murray Hamilton in a suit at a desk performance:

Age 44 during shooting in the summer of '67, MH plays Inspector Haines in homicide, which he always pronounces with a long O. [I can’t imagine Karl Malden shouting it into the phone that way every time he’d answer with “Homicide! Stone!” Even though Murray Hamilton appeared on “The Streets of San Francisco” as Stone’s former partner. That is an amazing hair episode!]

We first see him and his great hair sitting at a desk, smoking, being displeased with the situation.

Things you get to hear Murray Hamilton say:
“Then you didn’t state that he’s a sexual pervert?”  and “placate.”

In his second scene, he does his “little barrel” walk from the desk and reluctantly puts Segal back on the case. Almost looks like they're line dancing.

A few comments on the film “No Way to Treat a Lady”:

Rod Steiger is a joy to watch, no matter how awful his character is. 

Some viewers probably consider him a ham. My absolute favorite to watch is Jack Barrymore, so Rod Steiger is an absolute delight. Using a variety of disguises and accents, Steiger’s character goes around murdering women of a certain age. Horrible, absolutely horrible, but it's hard to hate this monster because it’s Rod Steiger, and he’s so much fun!

Top Steiger recommendation: As Joyboy, the embalmer, in “The Loved One.” 

Steiger later played the lead priest in “The Amityville Horror,” where he and Murray Hamilton have a scene together.

If you’re among those who first learned George Segal’s name as TV character “Jack Gallo” on “Just Shoot Me!” here’s a chance to see him in his early thirties. [He passed away fairly recently, March 23, 2021, just one day before what could have been Murray Hamilton’s 98^th birthday.]

Here Segal’s shoulder is just blocking my actual birthday on the calendar. You can see August 15th, but mine was the 17th.

“Miguelito Loveless” has a great scene in the film. Actor Michael Dunn comes in to confess to something he didn’t do.

David Doyle, “Mr. Bosley” to my generation, is among the cast.

 

A real “Hey, it’s that guy!” actor, Val Bisoglio, is just 41 in this film. He was born in 1926 and also passed just recently in October 2021 at 95. Oddly, this clearly Italian man is cast as an Irish cop.

Beautiful Lee Remick plays the female lead. Although she was in the same courtroom with Murray in “Anatomy of a Murder,” I’m not sure if that counts as having had a scene together.
 
The film also shows a lot of New York City in the summer of 1967. 

Murray Hamilton at 21 in Maid in the Ozarks

Murray Hamilton spent 1944 on stage in Los Angeles; seen here at the age of 21 in "Maid in the Ozarks." Fans who first associate character actor Murray Hamilton with Mayor Vaughn in "Jaws" might not realize he was making a name for himself in theater during the War. Here are three made-you-smile photos of young Murray Hamilton in Los Angeles at the age of 21 starring in "Maid in the Ozarks." Such great hair!

It kills me that theater happens, and it's gone. Imagine if Jack Barrymore's "Hamlet" had been preserved on film. At least we have these photos. Murray Hamilton's hands-on performance in "Maid in the Ozarks":

Coming from a Southern family myself, I am tempted to go off on what a slur "hillbilly" is, but instead I'll keep laughing about young actress Elberta Casey having her face nearly collide with a barefoot Murray Hamilton's rear end night after night. 

I have a lot more theater coverage for future posts, but these three photos are the classics. And the hair!

Happy Birthday, Murray Hamilton

Happy Birthday, Murray Hamilton. Although character actor Murray Hamilton hasn't actually celebrated a birthday since the 80s, if he were still with us, he would be 99 today. 

For the occasion, I put together 10 screen captures from a variety of his work.

Please also check the video clips I assembled on Youtube: https://youtu.be/qroXXB5XAgs

Murray Hamilton in Seconds, 1966 John Frankenheimer film

Although the lead character in this surreal film was named Arthur Hamilton, Murray Hamilton played his best friend from youth, Charlie. This is a black and white film with surreal photography by the legendary James Wong Howe. 

Both of Murray Hamilton's scenes are in the same room although we do hear his voice on the telephone a few times. 

The title "Seconds" refers to a second chance, or two times around, and not an amount of time. 

Murray Hamilton would have been 42 when this was filmed. He didn't do any onscreen smoking in this one.

Oscar Goldman had Robert Duvall's head! Who knew!

Murray's screen time:

His conversation with Rock Hudson is largely in whispers. 

On occasion he morphs into "Frank" Larry Linville on MASH.