Each week the gang on Friday the 13th: The Series tangled with the discovery of yet another destructive, escaped object from their antique store. Similarly, every Sunday night for three years, Hardcastle & McCormick were trafficking in lost items of their own. Of course, this duo’s artifacts were of the human variety – felons and bail jumpers. Sometimes, they even had a special guest or two to help them out.

Inquisitive senior citizens have long played a part in horror – From Olivia de Havilland’s shattered matriarch in The Screaming Lady to the overwhelmed & curious residents of the more recent Bingo Hell. Unsurprisingly, the quirkily divine Mildred Natwick was often found playing investigative elders. In the early ‘70s, she, along with the legendary Helen Hayes, was one of the crime solving The Snoop Sisters. Then in 1985, on the detective show Hardcastle & McCormick, she returned to that familiar territory. This time her co-star was the equally renowned Mary Martin, who joined her as one of the gruff Hardcastle’s (Brian Keith) aunts on the (unsurprisingly titled) Hardcastle, Hardcastle and McCormick episode. 

Ever quick to accuse an innocent gardener of burying bodies, May (Narwick) and Zora (Martin) have a hard time convincing their nephew and Mark McCormick, his ex-con ward (Daniel Hugh Kelly), that they have overheard a murder plot when wrapping up their stay with them. Forcing the reluctant Mark into action, they soon find the intended victim floating in his pool. Of course, this planned one shot kill hits a snag as the curious women uncover more and more and find themselves in the line of the murderer’s fire.

As expected, these seasoned pros – Natwick was nominated twice for a Tony Award while Martin won three – have great chemistry with Kelly, who nicely mixes exasperation and affection when dealing with the overreaching arms of their characters’ curiosity. The ladies, of course, eventually make it out of these dangerous circumstances alive, ending their visit on a note of humor. As both women leave, they affirm that Hardcastle’s promise to come stay with them soon is met on deaf ears – he is way too unpredictable and hard to control for a drawn-out vacation with them! Thus, as Martin’s last acting credit ends, one is filled with a true sense of fun if not artistic significance.

Horror Hall of Fame:

Most of Martin’s work was done on the stage while (series regular) Brian Keith made an appearance in a 1982 television film adaptation of John Saul’s Cry for the Strangers. Natwick, meanwhile, made many appearances on such classic genre anthology shows as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Evil Touch and Suspense. Kelly, whose major motion picture debut film was as the cuckolded husband in Cujo, also has multiple terror credits (The Monkey’s Paw, Devil May Call, Mischief Night).

Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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