The Museum of Televison and Radio is having a John Cassavetes retrospective. Yesterday, I saw screenings of his detective show, Johnny Staccato. Johnny (Cassavetes) is this barfly and pianiast, who spends most of his time at a Greenwich Village night spot called Waldo's. We're not really sure where he gets his money, but it can't be from private detective work. He usually investigates crimes he happens to hear about while hanging out in some bar and, then, he just does it to help out a friend.

My favorite episode is "Nature of the Night." Near Waldo's, someone is slashing pretty blondes. When one of Waldo's bartenders, Dave (Dean Stockwell), is missing from behind the bar at the busiest time of night (the time of an attack), Staccato, dissatisfied with Dave's explanation that he went out for a smoke, stays at Waldo's after closing time to investigate.

The best part: Stockwell climbs out on a ledge and threatens to jump. The cops and a priest are brought in. Cassavetes goes out on the ledge to distract him, as a cop grabs Stockwell from behind and pulls him up. As Cassavetes climbs back up off the ledge, he almost knocks over the supposedly brick wall (really just a painted board). An unintentionally hilarious moment.

It wasn't live television, but it might as well have been because it looks like everything was done in one take. They really cranked out the programs in those days. They made 27 shows during the 1959-60 season. What the series lacks in polish, it more than makes up for in spontanaity and intensity. Intense is, in fact, the best word to describe Cassavetes' acting in these exciting, if sometimes emotionally overrought, episodes. If you're in the New York or LA area (there are branches in both cities), you should definitely check them out.