The Snoop Sisters
Director: Leonard J Horn
Year:
1972
Rating: 5.0
Corpse and Robbers
After watching three Miss Marple episodes,
I was still in the mood for watching another old biddy detective show. Two
of them in fact, The Snoop Sisters - in name and hobby. This was part of
the Wednesday Mystery Night series - a pilot and four episodes. It is actually
rated 7.8 on IMDB which I admit from seeing this first episode is a bit of
a surprise. It is fodder for senior citizens like Murder, She Wrote was.
This was ok but has the excitement or mystery of a day at the park on a rainy
day. I expect the high ratings were an outgrowth of affection for the two
actresses who play the Snoops. Helen Hayes and Mildred Natwick. Hayes was
called the First Lady of the American Theater but was often seen in films
as well. She played Miss Marple twice in TV films. That is a lot of snooping.
Natwick had been in films since the later 1930s - never as best as I recall
a leading lady but usually an aunt or disapproving neighbor.
They are mystery writers and quite well
off living in a beautiful brownstone in Manhattan. One of them gets a late
night call from an old friend who runs a toy factory. They are thus taken
aback when they find out he died four months previously. Being the busybodies
they are, they have to look into it by breaking into places and impersonating
others. It is cuter than anything and they are wonderful and have terrific
chemistry. Bert Convey plays their policeman nephew in the series and other
guest stars in some of the other episodes are Vincent Price, Jill Clayburgh,
Bill Dana, Sam Jaffe, Walter Pidgeon, Joan Blondell, Bernie Casey and Tammy
Grimes. A pleasant time killer.
