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| Adventure and excitement await Jake Cutter and the cast of TALES OF THE GOLD MONKEY. Images: FABULOUS FILMS/UNIVERSAL. |
TALES OF THE GOLD MONKEY: THE COMPLETE SERIES DVD (six-disc set)
Starring Stephen Collins, Jeff MacKay and Caitlin O’Heaney
Created by Donald P. Bellisario
Available from FABULOUS FILMS
Reviewed by Scott Weller
Enduring beyond its original one-off series, the Cutter’s Goose and her fortune and glory hero pilot Jake Cutter soar back into exotic high seas, high-stakes adventures re-capturing the hearts and minds of fans, as TALES OF THE GOLD MONKEY enjoys a healthy dose of reawakened nostalgia on DVD (courtesy of a lovely release from FABULOUS FILMS), firmly keeping the spirit of old-time heroism and evocative adventure alive.
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| Fortune and glory for Jake Cutter (Stephen Collins) and his loyal friend Jack the Dog. |
A weekly series idea that had existed in creator Donald Bellisario’s mind since the late seventies, of which he originally couldn’t get any TV networks interested (due to issues of costs in recreating the 1930’s action/adventure cliff-hanging genre, as well as their thinking that viewers wouldn’t be in interested in a period piece), GOLD MONKEY’s ultimately lavish pilot episode would hit the ground running in 1982 after the success of the first breathless INDIANA JONES adventure, 1981’s RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, and was then quickly given a go to weekly 20 episode series commission by the ABC network with UNIVERSAL STUDIOS.
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| The original cast of the TALES OF THE GOLD MONKEY pilot. |
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| The original Bon Chance Louie (Ron Moody) with Jake Cutter (Stephen Collins). |
The influence of RAIDERS is certainly clear to see, though that too had its roots in the past- a homage to the classic, breathless REPUBLIC cliffhanger series of yesteryear, so the more the merrier when something like TALES would prove so well-staged and written for the small screen, what with its own unique mixture of Humphrey Bogart’s CASABLANCA and THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE, juxtaposed with a little bit of H. Ryder Haggard and a healthy dollop of Indy’s escapism and heightened fantasy thrown in for good measure (the pilot episode even affectionately mentions the Lost Ark of the Covenant at one point, in a nice nod to that other hatted hero with the bullwhip!). Primarily, though, Bellisario would cite his fondness for the popular 1939 Cary Grant staring, Howard Hawks directed movie ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS, set in a remote South American trading port, as the primary source of inspiration for the antics of Cutter and co.
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| Jake and Jack enjoy their time on the Boragora island. |
Searching for a classic leading man showing vulnerability, heroism, occasional good old fashioned rogue charm, and requisite toughness, fresh-faced Stephen Collins- departed from his one-time only appearance as Commander William Decker on the bridge of the starship Enterprise in 1980’s STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, handles his first series lead duties well as former Flying Tigers ace now pilot-for-hire adventurer Jake Cutter, a key resident in bringing supplies to the lives and existence of the lush tropical island of Boragora, carrying on the best tradition of classic big and small screen fortune and glory hunters, and providing the requisite story narration through the series in the best noir traditions.
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| The spy who loved him. Caitlin O'Heaney as Sarah Stickney White in the pilot episode. |
Adding beauty and plucky courage as Jake’s overall love interest, attractive American actress Caitlin O’Heaney adds stereotyped British accent charm, alongside some killer legs, as the seemingly stranded singer/entertainer, Sarah Stickney White, who’s actually a spy for the Uncle Sam’s red, white and blue in the build-up to World War II. At first antagonistic towards each other, Jake and Sarah soon come together as best friends and occasional lovers after the bizarre and terrifying events that lead them to the Monkey Island perils of the series feature-length pilot.
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| Jake's best buddies: Corky (Jeff MacKay) and Jack the Dog (played by Leo). |
Playing Jake’s kind-hearted, absent-minded, former alcoholic engineer and occasional co-pilot on the battered but beautiful amphibious ship (always on the brink of collapse and repair, she’s the Millennium Falconof the series), Jeff MacKay, already well known to Bellisaro for his appearances in the popular 198/79 TV sci-fi epic BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, and film-star Robert Redford’s cousin, would bring lots of light comedy and bundles of enthusiasm to his role of Corky, much loved by the cast and crew, in a part that would expand over the series run.
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| Jack's ego gets the better of him in Trunk from the Past. |
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| Jake and Jack: a terrific on-screen pairing. |
But Jack’s best friend and true partner in the skies, as well as his occasional conscience, has to be his gorgeous, scene stealing little dog- one eyed, eye-patched dog Jack, great for comedic value and often very brave- a charming and important part of the series success from the get-go. Lots of comedy and smiles come from the one-of-a-kind dog’s occasional grumpiness and antipathy towards Jack, especially for the continuing carelessness that his long-time human friend shows in losing his false eye, normally in high stakes poker games, and never letting him forget it. Beautifully trained animal actor Leo, who actually came out of retirement to work on the show after the originally cast dog sadly died, totally steals the limelight, of which his popularity soon gets him a well- deserved character placing in the series revised mid-season title sequence.
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| Popular with his "blessing" flock, German spy/priest Willie Tenboom (John Calvin). |
More delightful rogues surround our main cast in their idyllic aforementioned series setting of the island of Boragora, somewhere in the South Pacific in 1938, when Google Earth didn’t exist and magical islands and lost civilisations still did. Boragora proves a perfect sanctuary for people wanting to start their lives anew, or those needing to escape or forget their old existence. Stationed there is a not-so-well disguised German commander (John Calvin) acting as a Dutch priest, Reverend Willie Tenboom, happily giving daily “blessings” to the many beautiful young island girls, whilst looking out for the Fatherland in acquiring ancient relics and opportunities to serve his country and help Hitler win the upcoming war. His not overtly evil presence shows the Germans in a more comic strip baddie way, giving the actor lots of opportunity for humour and eccentricity.
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| Shapely Marta DuBois as the elegant and clever Princess Koji. |
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| Popular film and TV actor John Fujioka as Koji's loyal bodyguard, Todo. |
On the other side of the pond in the nearby Japanese controlled realm of Matuka, near the French controlled Maravella Islands, the esteemed Princess Koji, inhabited by the exotic and shapely Marta DuBois (very much in the Pamela Hensley/ Queen Ardala type of femme fatale role- a playfully dangerous adversary, and certainly, admirably, filling out some skimpily designed costumes from series designer Jean-Pierre Dorleac), and film and TV veteran John Fujioka, as her battle hardened, loyal to the grave Samurai warrior Todo, also become involved in Jake’s adventures, showing similar power craving objectives as the Nazi’s but happy to team up with our heroes whenever its suits their purposes (especially when there’s trouble and intrigue that needs to be unravelled inside her own royal court). Like Sarah, Koji has some considerable affection for the handsome Jake, though considers her rival to be an “undernourished skeleton”!
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| Roddy McDowall runs the Boragora Monkey Bar and hotel as Bon Chance Louie. |
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| Wheelchair bound Gushie (Les Jankie) tries to save friend Louie in Last Chance Louie. |
Rounding off the cast, replacing Brit-star Ron Moody after the pilot episode (due to apparent behind the scenes personal conflicts) is Roddy McDowall, recommended to the producers by Stephen Collins-a genuine golden monkey of another sort for his previous sixties/early seventies iconic portrayals of hairy heroes in the PLANET OF THE APES films and TV series, now mercifully removed from John Chambers inventive makeup, and bringing the series some extra class as the patriotic French bar owner and island law magistrate "Bon Chance" Louie, his shady and diverse past including surviving a trip to Madame Guillotine’s a few years prior. Louie often hires Jake to do his supply runs, but with so much of his stock lost in later episodes, I’m surprised he still uses him! In the bar, the immaculately white-suited host is helped by the kindly wheelchair bound Gushie (an enthusiastic Les Jankey, in one of the first series roles written for and played by a disabled actor).
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| Island of the apes! Jake runs into trouble. |
One of the most expensive pilots ever made, the enthusiastic series launch makes the most of its beautiful locales and attractive cast, with lots of nice character moments and humour, plus some good action/adventure, courtesy of Ray Austin, a British TV and film veteran, as well as iconic THE AVENGERS stuntman and fight coordinator. Half shot on location in Hawaii (the regular series would have its many exteriors filmed on a series of lovely recreated outdoor sets at UNIVERSAL STUDIOS Los Angeles), the series would also boast some great studio set design, what with the hostile, legendary monkey island of Baku, with its impressive and scary for their time simians swinging about and carnivorously threatening their prey- the story’s quite dark opening moments showing them killing two German explorers who have discovered their territory.
As the search for their island begins and our unique heroes gather together for the first time, MAGNUM’s John Hillerman guests stars as nasty, knife-wielding Gestapo spy that they must fight- the Monocle Man- after the secret alloy that could help whoever’s side win the upcoming war.
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| Original US TV GUIDE magazine advert for the new series. |
Into a lair of murder and watery action, the episode’s final scenes again evoke the kind of ancient mystery seen with Raiders, showing us the true island location of the monkeys and the intriguing gold/alloyed home they reside in- far removed from the fake brass animal statue our heroes take back with them to Boragora. Greatly assisting the series period charm, special attention should also be given to the series matte artist Syd Dutton and matte photographer Dennis Glouner, whose work contributes much to the overall atmosphere, especially the all-important pilot.
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| Some lovely matte photography from the series first regular episode. |
With a terrific mood-setting opening theme from HILL STREET BLUES and many other US TV series veterans Mike Post and Peter Carpenter, capturing the warm heart and thrill-a-minute spirit of the series (with future incidental music from Frank Denson), successive weekly series episodes of TALES would make the most of UNIVERSAL’s classic stock footage and props archive of exploding volcanoes, lost tribes, jungle island, old ships and run down bars, as our band enjoy their smaller scale but equally enjoyable adventures, capably steered by Bellisario, producers Donald A. Baer and Leon-Ortiz Gill, and story editor George Geiger, who also deepen and develop the characters and their inter-relationships further by the end of the run.
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| The originally titled, but changed, Tales of the Brass Monkey wouldn't have quite worked! |
Immersed in this detailed hotbed of spies, glamorous women, despicable villains, weaved in real-life VIPs, barroom brawls, lost tribes, and political intrigue are a wide variety of memorable guest stars for the series, including the likes of 24 and NIKITA’s Xander Berkeley (as a Devil’s Island convict), Lance LeGault, William Forsythe, Anne Lockhart (playing an Amish widow), Nicholas Pryor, V’s Faye Grant (future wife to Stephen Collins), Pamela Susan Shoop (as a former old flame of Jake’s who becomes a Chinese gold smuggling Nun!) and SEX AND THE CITY vamp Kim Cattrrall (as a journalist and friendly rival to Sarah). Guest directors bringing some verve and pace include Michael Vejar, Alan J. Levi, Winrich Kolbe and Victor Lobl.
A very successful series incredulously cancelled by ABC (much to the delight of nervous rival channels- NBC apparently threw a celebratory party for their execs with the news of the shows non-renewal!), due to their continuing volatile relationship with creator Bellisario over the tone of the show, and its high production costs, despite strong ratings and beating off competition from the similar period adventure series BRING ‘EM BACK ALIVE (starring Bruce Boxleitner), TALES would become a fondly remembered treasure by viewers for its era romanticism and character camaraderie (a chemistry that was present off set amongst the actors as well). Beyond America, TALES was also a big international success, especially in Australia and the UK (where it aired Monday nights on the BBC 1 channel).
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| Stephen Collins and Caitlin O'Heaney fondly remember the series in a making-of documentary. |
The sadly one and only series of 22 episodes (including the pilot as a two-parter) has been on Regions 1 and 4 DVD for a while now from the UK’s FABULOUS FILMS and they’re well worth a look, paying special tribute to the late Jeff MacKay alongside a wealth of bonus materials, including extensive series notes, stills galleries, costume and prop galleries, biographies, a lovely half-hour documentary (including warm contributions from Stephen Collins (recalling the high quality experience and real-life stuntwork dangers of playing Jake), Caitlin O’Heaney, writer Tom Greene, and director Harvey Laidman) and five equally affectionate episodic commentaries.
Here’s a look back at KOOL TV’s favourite/notable episodes past the lively pilot episode…
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| Another great TV GUIDE promo for the weekly series. |
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| Corky is captured by a pirate slaver in Shanghaied. SHANGHAIED (Series Opener) Corky is kidnapped by a modern day pirate slaver, nicknamed Arab (played by Guy Stockwell). Despite being Ill with a recurring bout of malaria, a dogged Jake goes in pursuit, accompanied by Jack, Sarah and Princess Koji, who has an intriguing connection to the villain… Donald Bellisario crams a lot into forty-six minutes with this splendid first episode launch - very much an adventure story with the kind of pulp elements and action you want to see in the series. Capably directed by UNIVERSAL series veteran Alan J. Levi. BLACK PEARL The discovery of a sea-lost outrigger with dead islanders, and a mysterious silver canister with unusual power leads Jake, disguised as an American scientist double agent, into a dangerous volcanic underground realm containing a Nazi superbomb… Another RAIDERS style homage adventure, efficiently directed by Victor Lobl, with a strong gust cast including Cliff Potts and British actor Barrie Ingham, giving a memorable performance as an ambitious, fencing loving Nazi scientist. LEGENDS ARE FOREVER His quest for the legendary Shangri-La seemingly over, fortune and glory hunter Gandy Dancer (William Lucking, who makes a second worthwhile appearance later in the series) enlists his old Flying Tigers buddy Jack in a mercy mission to help some relocated African warriors. But is he really searching for the lost gold of King Solomon’s Mines, instead? |
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| Jared Martin (far left) joins Sarah and Corky in Trunk from the Past. TRUNK FROM THE PAST The arrival of an ancient trunk, linked to her murdered fathers disastrous expedition to Egypt a year previously, sends an anxious Sarah into taking up the challenge of finding the lost pyramid tribe of Ka, whose secret location may indeed be in the South Pacific’s Maravellas. Alongside her former fiancée, played by fantasy TV series veteran Jared Martin, the search begins. But the fearsome visage of the god Anubis is not too far behind. Though not a classic, the story does have some memorable moments and is quite fast paced. |
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| Wedded bliss for Corky in Honour Thy Brother. HONOUR THEY BROTHER Surviving several attempts on his life, Jake discovers a Japanese pilot (Soon-Tek-Oh) wants revenge on him for the loss of his brother in aerial combat a year before. Meanwhile, Jack gets his eye back, and Corky finds himself married! Note: This episode features a flashback with William Lucking as Gandy Dancer. THE LATE SARAH WHITE Our trio travel to Manila to investigate the sudden and inexplicable death of Sarah, last seen on a mission involving the legendary General MacArthur. Cliff Potts returns as American spy Johnny Kimble, last seen in Black Pearl. |
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| The Ape Boy makes his presence known... APE BOY Me Tarzan, you Sarah! Forced to land on a remote island, our heroes discover a colony of Apes who have adopted a lone orphan boy as one of their own. Soon mistaken for his human parents, Jake and Sarah have to protect him from a band of hunters out to win the one-of-a-kind ape boy for profit and fame. |
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| Monkey business for Jake, Sarah and Corky in Ape Boy. A fun TARAZAN/GREYSTOKE variation, which makes sturdy use of some of the locations/sets and ape costumes from the original pilot. Playing the ape boy of the title, Shane Sinutko gives a good performance and has some sweet character moments, especially with Sarah and Jack the dog. |
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| Trouble on the Queen Victoria liner in God Save the Queen. GOD SAVE THE QUEEN Jack, Corky and Jake come to the aid of a stricken British luxury liner- the Queen Victoria- threatened by the villainous, caddish bomber, Lord Hedriks (BEAUTY AND THE BEAST’s Roy Dotrice), planning to blow up the ship unless he receives the secured jewels of the British Royal Family. Despite some clichéd stereotyping of Brits, this is a solid story from script editor George Geiger, with a guest cast including DARK SHADOWS Kathryn Leigh Scott as a glamorous and sexy Duchess, and POLICE ACADEMY’s Bubba Smith. The episode makes the most of location filming within the now permanently docked Queen Mary liner in Los Angeles- a popular place for period drama filming that’s literally on Hollywood’s beach doorstep. |
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| The beloved Cutter's Goose in flight. HIGH STAKES LADY The odds are seemingly stacked against Jack and his new girlfriend Sabrina (Shelley Smith), a card shark and soon revealed secret agent, as the pair are caught in a dangerous conflict over a secret microfilm that goes beyond Tagataya island’s regular poker championship. |
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| Card playing danger for the High Stakes Lady. Enjoyable romp with a few twists and turns, guest starring TV veteran Charles Napier and V - THE SERIES regular Aki Aleong as the two main rivals for the top-secret information. |
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| Louie has his gun sight primed in Last Chance Louie. LAST CHANCE LOUIE Murderous events after a Pistols at Dawn challenge against an old foe- a once friend turned turncoat traitor from Louie’s World War One past, leads our bartender/ magistrate to a date with Madame Guillotine unless Jake can find the real truth behind the murder. |
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| V's Faye Grant soon captured Stephen Collins heart off-screen. Featuring Stephen Collins future wife, V’s Faye Grant, as the daughter of the dead man, and Henry Darrow as a prosecutor with an axe to grind against Louie, this is a rather serious and interesting entry for the series, which gives Roddy McDowall more of a chance to get some of the series limelight. |
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| Words of warning from Lucienne (Jose De Vega-right) in A Distant Sound of Thunder. A DISTANT SOUND OF THUNDER A series of strange phenomenon rocks Borgagora, as religious opportunist Lucienne (Jose De Vega, in an unnerving performance) predicts disaster linked to a geological survey and Sarah’s discovery of an ancient God idol. Soon, with the signs and portents growing around her, our English heroine starts to believe that she herself is the reason for the natural disasters, as do the islanders, who, egged on by Lucienne, want to throw her into the local erupting Volcano so as to please their angered gods! |
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| It's Sarah versus the volcano! A series finale of sorts (likely the last episode filmed too), the story, which kind of has some of the more fantastical elements that we haven’t seen in the show for a while, gives us some effectively creepy moments (notably the Monkey Bars statues covered in blood in a Stigmata prophecy, and the teary-eyed god idol found by Sarah). Overall, a well-staged episode from writers Tom Greene and George Geiger, and director James Fargo. Watch out for a brief cameo from Donald Bellisario and his young son as two visitors to the island. |
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| Trouble for Princess Koji in the final screened episode, Mourning in Matuka. MOURNING IN MATUKA Joining her friends and family in birthday celebrations, Jake unwillingly becomes protector bodyguard to Princess Koji after a thankfully failed assassination attempt, though Todo is seriously injured. But with such a varied guest list, including a Japanese general who blames Jake and the Flying Tigers for the death of his son, as well as Koji’s scheming Irish-born sister, just who can our hero trust in the complex business of unmasking the assassin? |
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