Tag: Season 1

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S01 E20 – Who Killed Carrie Cornell? (1964)

Burke’s Law

DirectorByron Paul
ProducerAaron Spelling
Production CompanyFour Star Television, Barbety
AiredFebruary 14th, 1964, ABC
CastGene Barry (Cpt. Amos Burke), Gary Conway (Det. Tim Tilson), Regis Toomey (Sergeant Les Hart), Leon Lontoc (Chauffeur Henry), Michael Ansara (Big Bwana Smith), Jim Backus (Pork Pie Hannigan), Fernando Lamas (El Greco), Diana Lynn (Marion Van Martin), William Shatner (Arthur Reynolds), Joanie Sommers (Pee Wee Wilson), Fred Barry (Robert), Percy Helton (Hudkins), Amzie Strickland (Woman), Michael Fox (Coroner), Diana Birk (Annabelle), James Secrest (Jennings), Bill Catching (Keeler), Maria Tsien McClay (Madam Butterfly/Amiko, a Japanese girl), Lou Byrne (Woman)
Maria McClay as Japanese girl Amiko aka “Madam Butterfly” just before Amos Burke (Gene Barry) must leave in his Rolls to investigate another murder.

Carrie Cornell, singer and model, is found murdered on a beach. A photograph of her in “Girlicue” magazine links her to sleazy millionaire Martin Van Martin and he has disappeared.

As always, almost-but-not-quite-James-Bond, captain of the LAPD homicide division and millionaire Amos Burke must leave a beautiful woman and hop into his waiting Rolls Royce to investigate a terrible crime. In this case the beautiful woman is Maria McClay in the role of a Japanese girl who left a message for Amos in lipstick on a mirror, signed “Madam Butterfly” and then another, signed “Amiko”.

Maria had played alongside Gene Barry 5 years earlier, in 1959, in the episode “To The Manner Born” of the Western television series “Bat Masterson”, in which Gene played the main character of the same name. Here her scene culminates in the exchange “You’re flitting away like butterfly?” – “I have to. Butterfly have short mating season.” “If it got any shorter butterflies will become extinct!”.

Other notable appearances in this episode include Diana Lynn as drunk millionaire’s wife Marion van Martin, trying to use one of those strange Walton Belt Vibrator machines that were supposed to shake loose and disappear body fat. And a strange beatnik folk performance in a dark club with everybody wearing sunglasses. And also William Shatner (yes, that William Shatner) as crazy artist and sculptor Arthur Reynolds.

Scenes Featuring Maria

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S01 E24 – Square Cop (1962)

87th Precinct

DirectorJames Sheldon
ProducerWinston Miller, Boris D. Kaplan
Production CompanyHubbell Robinson Productions, Revue Studios, MCA TV
AiredMarch 12th, 1962, NBC
CastRobert Lansing (Det. Steve Carella), Ron Harper (Det. Bert Kling), Gregory Walcott (Det. Roger Havilland), Norman Fell (Det. Meyer Meyer), Lee Tracy (Otto Forman), Jack Hogan (Johnny Forman), Dennis McCarthy (Joe), Paul Genge (The Lieutenant), Paul Smith (Ed), Victor Creatore (Edward), Faye Nuell (Millie Haines), Allen Jung (Mike), James Hong (Mike II), Maria Tsien McClay (Mary), Gene Roth (Cassidy), William Bakewell (Mr. Somers), Dorothy Kingston (Mrs. Somers)
Maria McClay as shop clerk Mary being grilled by Det. Steve Carella (Robert Lansing) and Det. Roger Havilland (Gregory Walcott).

Veteran patrolman Pat Forman, who is due to retire in a few days, is out on the beat showing the ropes to his replacement, Eddie Haines. A jangling burglar alarm sends them running to a
supermarket where Eddie is gunned down by the fleeing thief. What does Pat Forman know and how is he involved in this crime?

Maria plays Mary, a shop clerk and reluctant eye witness to a murder, being interviewed by the detectives. Understandably she is rather worried about retribution from the mob and about having to go to court and testifying in public. The detectives try to reassure her.

Scenes Featuring Maria

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S01 E17 Night Cry (1961)

Hong Kong

DirectorWalter Doniger
ProducerArt Wallace
Production Company20th Century Fox Television
AiredJanuary 25th, 1961, ABC
CastRod Taylor (Glenn Evans), Lloyd Bochner (Neil Campbell), Liam Redmond (Marriott), Michael David (Bartley), Antoinette Bower (Laura), Dean Harens (Hal Spencer), Maria McClay (Sou Mei), Peter Chong (Old Chinese Man), Barney Phillips (Crane), Victor Sen Yung (Tung Poy)
Maria McClay as Sou Mei, putting the squeeze on a murderous cop in Hong Kong.

Where is Rod Taylor? The headlining star is almost completely absent during the one episode of the series that Maria played in. Instead this episode is about his friend, Inspector Neil Campbell (Lloyd Bochner in official Hong Kong police shorts) who must track down a bad cop who kills guy and then frames an old friend of the police chief.

Maria’s character, Sou Mei, helps out by pretending to blackmail the murderous cop in order to get him to confess or give himself away otherwise. While this is definitely one of her shorter appearances in a TV show, she actually not only has a lot of lines but is able to show off a considerable range all the way from sweet and submissive to hard-nosed and intense as she clearly enjoys squeezing her victim for all he’s worth.

This is also the first time, at least as far as what we’ve been able to determine, that she appears in the credits as Maria McClay rather than Maria Tsien or Maria Tsien McClay.

Scenes Featuring Maria

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S01 E17 – China Doll (1958)

The Californians

DirectorByron Haskin
ProducerFelix Feist
Production CompanyCalifornian Film Enterprises, Desilu Productions
AiredJanuary 21st, 1958 on NBC
CastAdam Kennedy (Dion Patrick), Seán McClory (Jack McGivern), Nan Leslie, Keye Luke, John Anderson, Maria Tsien (Mei Soong), Kam Tong, Richard Cutting
Maria McClay as Mei Soong is being placed as a bet during a high stakes poker game.

Dion Patrick (Adam Kennedy) and the vigilantes are investigating human trafficking in San Francisco’s China Town. While making inroads with the community Dion wins Mei Soong, played by Maria, from a dubious Chinese business man.

In the end he manages to return her to her true love, his Chinese guide during his investigation, and, with help from both, takes down the true villain: the white English teacher in a school for Chinese children.

Maria McClay as Mei Soong finds herself in a confusing situation while being kept safe at Dion’s home.

Maria didn’t get to many lines in this role but had plenty of screen time. While there are still plenty of racial stereotypes in play in this show at least it was surprisingly low on Yellow Face and had a comparably high number of non-white actors in Asian roles for its time.

Scenes Featuring Maria

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S01 E10 – Local Hero (1956)

The Man Called X

DirectorLeon Benson
ProducerEddie Davis, Maurice Unger
Production CompanyZiv Television Programs
AiredMarch 30th, 1956, WCAU-TV, Philadelphia, Channel 10
CastBarry Sullivan (Agent Ken Thurston), Marie Tsien (Sou Hei), Rolfe Sedan, Alex Montoya, Stella Lynn, George T. Lee, James Hong, Leslie Banning, Harold Fong, W. T. Chang, Joy Lee, Sammee Tong, Edwin Luke, Lawrence Ung
Maria McClay as Sou Hei, speaking with her husband.

Maria’s character, Sou Hei, finds herself with her husband among a group of refugees, desperately trying to escape from China. But a no-good traitor lurks among them. Agent Ken Thurston, the man called “X”, played by Barry Sullivan, is assigned to find the rat in the group and help them make it across the border alive. Among them a suspicious white lady, and thinly veiled love interest for Mr. X, whom none of the other members of the group trust as far as they could throw her.

Maria McClay as Sou Hei, expressing her distrust of the suspicious white lady in no uncertain terms: “She must die too!”

Compared to other shows and movies of the era, including many of the ones Maria appeared in, this episode has a surprisingly low amount of yellow face, though it is certainly not free of it. It also features a surprisingly high number of non-white actors in speaking roles.

Scenes Featuring Maria

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‘Crusader’ Probes Real Story of Quote

Jefferson City Post-Tribune, Jefferson City, Missouri, USA, March 2nd, 1956

(Unknown Author)

Maria appears in a brief blurb about a new episode of the show “Crusaders” in which she has a role. The Episode must be “Pressure” (S01 E22) for which we have not been able to find video clips yet.

'Crusader' Probes Real Story of Quote‘Crusader’ Probes Real Story of Quote 02 Mar 1956, Fri Jefferson City Post-Tribune (Jefferson City, Missouri) Newspapers.com

Maria McClay