The Last Page (2.20)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the second season

Moderator: Styles Bitchley

How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
3
3%
9.5 (One of the Best)
5
5%
9.0 (Excellent)
28
31%
8.5 (Very Good)
27
30%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
14
15%
7.5 (Decent)
8
9%
7.0 (Average at Best)
2
2%
6.5 (Not So Good)
1
1%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
1
1%
5.0 (Just Awful)
2
2%
 
Total votes: 91

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J.J. Walters
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#21 Post by J.J. Walters »

Thanks Sam!

Bar 35 definitely wasn't around in the '80s. I can't seem to find any indoor pictures online of any of the clubs/bars on Hotel Street circa 1970s or 1980s (or any era for that matter). You would think that a picture or two of Club Hubba Hubba, or The Swing Club, or Tammy's Lounge (or any of them) would have found its way to the Net at some point by now, but alas, that doesn't appear to be the case (although I havn't done an exhaustive search). Although I guess it's not too surprising. I would imagine pictures were probably frowned upon by the owners/bouncers of these kinds of "establishments". A camera flash was probably met with a quick kick out the door! ;)

I really do think that the scene in "Laura" was filmed at the same place as the one in "The Last Page". The lighting was much darker in the scene in "Laura", but the general layout (from what we can see) is very similar. In "Laura", Frank Sinatra is seen entering and exiting The Swing Club, but we don't for sure if the scene that was filmed inside was actually the same place. It could very easily have been a different place.

I'm dying to know what place they used!
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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#22 Post by Sam »

I've been researching the buildings on that block of Hotel St.trying to find a history of the former names and the current names of the businesses.Then I'll look for photos but I don't think cameras were allowed in the strip clubs.

The buildings and address now are....all N hotel st

Club Hubba Hubba........25.....closed in 1997 and still closed

Nikki's Arcade................31

Bar 35................................35

Thirtynine Hotel....................39

Next Door............................43

Amy's Place..........................49 n hotel
Last edited by Sam on Wed Nov 03, 2010 6:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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#23 Post by Sam »

Hi James,

I saw this on a Hawaii Forum..
If I get time today I'll register on the forum and leave the video link.Hopefully someone can identify the locations,

http://www.hawaiithreads.com/index.php







Quote:
Originally Posted by Exhaulted_Ruler
Anyway, back on topic...Club Hubba Hubba (live Swing music)...never been in there, but a friend of mine's dad used to own that place. Now it's the swank Club 35 or sumtin like that...the one with the tree in the back alley.

ER

No. Club Hubba Hubba is all boarded up. Club 35 used to be the The Swing Club owned by the late Chis Vicari. His daughter now owns the buildings which houses Club 35, Next Door, Amy's, Nicki's Arcade, Mini Garden and Little Village. Also, the old Risque theater building that was burned and now vacant.

The Hubba Hubba building is owned by Alan Stack and family. It will be remodeled soon. The Restaurant where Benny's was will also brought back to it's prime condition. Project is to take at least 1-1 1/2 years.

Auntie Lynn

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#24 Post by Sam »

OOPS..The Swing Club/ Bar 35 is located here...red x..not green circle.

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#25 Post by J.J. Walters »

Thanks again Sam. That looks like a really good Hawaii forum! If you do post the question(s) there, please add these pics from "Laura".

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

From the outside, we see Frank enter/exit the Swing Club and Magnum enter/exit Club Hubba Hubba. The inside area near the entrance is very similar in both, but it appears to be two different places (we're led to believe that in the sequence, as well). It wouldn't surprise me at all if these were both filmed at the Swing Club and Club Hubba Hubba. In Frank's scene, you can see an adult book/movie store sign through the open door. This sign doesn't appear anywhere on the side of the street where Swing and Hubba (hehe) are located, so that would be further evidence that the indoor scene was filmed there. Benny's Danceland is also a candidate, as that was right next to Hubba.

I'd be willing to bet anything the scene in "The Last Page" was filmed at one of these two places.

Hotel Street. What a time, what a place. The Times Square of the Pacific. ;)
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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#26 Post by Sam »

Hi James

I sent the video from "Laura" to the cats at Bar35.Got a reply today.

Hi George,

This may seem like a strange request but I have a question for you.

Here is a short video of Frank Sinatra from a 1986 episode of Magnum PI. that appears to show him in the Swing Club

My research shows that Stewarts Bar35 was once the Swing Club...Can you tell from the video if that was indeed the case...also Selleck enters a bar..Was that the Club Hubba Hubba??? Are the interior shots taken in Hub Hub?

http://magnum-mania.com/Video/Tonight_T ... night.html


Thank You
Sam


Sorry for the delay... We had a few people take a look. We think it's definitely the outside of the Swing Club, and we're pretty sure it's some of the inside. As for Hubba Hubba, looks like the outside... but I remember them having a fabulous large stage. I don't see that in the clip. Wish we could be more help.

Miki

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#27 Post by J.J. Walters »

Cool, thanks Sam!

I've seen other mentions of Club Hubba Hubba having a large stage, as well. So, it appears to be the Swing Club!
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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#28 Post by Little Garwood »

I voted this a [9.0]. An excellent episode that had me teary eyed by story's end, particularly the B&W still shots of Hurst and Eddie. I could empathize with how losing a comrade in that way could be devastating. Hurst's sobbing over Eddie was deeply moving. I hate to see a grown man cry.

The ending was worthy of Hawaii Five-O, which never shied away from a downbeat finale. Is it a coincidence that longtime Five-O alum Kam Fong was also involved here? Probably, but I love seeing Five-O cast members on MPI, especially in an intense episode like this.
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#29 Post by MaiTaiMan »

Very good episode! The Vietnam backstory was done very nicely, and everyone gave awesome performances. I'll always remember Joanna Kerns as Mrs. Seavers from "Growing Pains"...but it's interesting to see her in more serious roles--and she's so young here! :o

I also love the tie-ins with "Hawaii Five-0". In this episode you see the WoFat Chop Sui restaurant that "5-0" creator Leonard Freeman saw and used the name for McGarrett's main nemisis--WoFat! Also guest starring is former "5-0" cast member Kam Fong--this time playing (and superbly I might add) a bad guy/drug lord.
"It was more ironic than a Robin Masters novel--she thought he was dead, he thought she was dead...and only the chauffeur knew the truth! He should have been the butler!" "Lest We Forget"

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#30 Post by Croix de Lorraine »

IslandHopper wrote:5. While Rick is trying to get information on Kam Chung from Mr. Hiramoto, he is getting a massage and he tells Mr. Hiramoto that he doesn't expect the information "gratis" and that if Mr. Hiramoto is ever in Brooklyn and needs anything to give him a call. Brooklyn? I thought Rick was from Chicago. I don't recall any other geographical reference to Rick, other than Chicago and Vietnam. :?
Actually, this isn't the only time they mention Brooklyn as Rick's home town. In season 1 episode The Ugliest Dog In Hawaii he tells the gangster he knows him from Brooklyn, though it might be just one of his bullshit stories.

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#31 Post by TheLads »

robspace54 wrote:I justed watched this espisode from the DVD and it certainly is powerful. It has no breast beating scenes - things just play out.

The final lines where she asks, "When will the war end?" and TM answers - "I don't know" say SO much. For some it never ended, and never will.
I don't think Taylor getting blown up at the end was all that accidental. He must have known that he'd be going to his death, and part of him probably wanted to, because he'd finally be free of the responsibility he felt over Ed's death, and the war.

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#32 Post by Seaver41 »

awesome episode that does slip under the radar. In that almost final scene at the gravesight, Magnum mentions how surviving is sometimes the tougher part to handle..........something we see with EVERY war. Definitely a moving scene at the end.

All in all.......Season 2 is pretty damn good.

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Re: The Last Page (2.20)

#33 Post by ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan) »

An excellent episode!!

Now that I'm done with season 2 I can say that it's definitely a top 5 episode of the season. In fact probably top 3. "Memories are Forever" is easily the best of the season and "The Jororo Kill" is probably the second best. I'd probably place "The Last Page" at #3. As you can see I love episodes that deal with Magnum's past in 'Nam. And all 3 of those episodes have connections to Vietnam. Donald Bellisario definitely had a thing for 'Nam since his next show AIRWOLF also dealt heavily with the trauma of the Vietnam war and the hero (Stringfellow Hawke) using Airwolf on various occasions to try to locate his brother St. John ("Sinjin") believed to be MIA.

I thought Robert F. Lyons did a really good job as the troubled vet Taylor Hurst. He came across as a really likable guy and you really empathized with him. His scenes with Joanna Kerns and her son were also very good. Both Lyons and Kerns would guest star together the following season in THE A-TEAM episode "A Nice Place to Visit" - one of the best episodes of that show's first season! I loved the scenes at the Punchbowl Cemetery -- first at the beginning where Magnum meets Hurst and then at the end with Magnum and Joanna Kerns by Hurst's grave. Very poignant! Also the way the episode opens with the men on a mission in the helicopter in 'Nam and the black-and-white helicopter in 'Nam freeze-frame at the end. Powerful stuff! An added bonus for a huge FIVE-0 fan like me was seeing Kam Fong in a rather large role (compare it to Zulu's insignificant role as the hotel doorman in "The Jororo Kill") playing Cam Chung, which I must say Kam played superbly! The explosion at the end totally knocked my socks off. Did not see that coming!! It's the type of shocking ending that the best episodes of FIVE-0 were famous for.

Anyway, rounding out the top 5 for season 2 would be "Try to Remember" (always loved amnesia stories, plus we get Lt. Tanaka's debut) and "Italian Ice" (basically Play Misty For Me/Fatal Attraction in Hawaii, a story Bellisario used again in the AIRWOLF episode "The Truth About Holly"). Honorable mentions must also go to "Wave Goodbye" and "The Taking of Dick McWilliams" (yes I liked that one). "Billy Joe Bob" was pretty good too - probably because it was the first MPI I ever saw.

Then there were the overrated episodes which I couldn't really get into - like "Dead Man's Channel" (the kudu buck was its only saving grace) or "The Woman on the Beach" (Kenneth Mars as Josef the caretaker being the best bit there) or even "The Elmo Ziller Story" (which I had high hopes for considering that Hillerman would be doing double duty as both Higgins and Elmo, but which ended up being rather bland, especially in the second half with all the rodeo nonsense).

Worst episode of the season? Gotta be a toss-up between "The Sixth Position" (could that ballerina have been any more annoying and just plain ornery?) and "One More Summer" (what was the point of that one again? I guess it doesn't help that I'm not a football fan).

Oh and I quite liked the season finale "Three Minus Two". Nice to see former Bond girl Jill St. John (from DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER) as Jan Kona and Denny Miller is always a plus - here playing a punch-happy security guard named "Ox". Plus all the money shots - like the snorkel shot, the car blowing up, the almost dropping of the "Rolls Royce of cameras" :wink:, T.C. as Mr. Alex snapping away with the camera at the gorgeous models.

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Re: The Last Page (2.20)

#34 Post by Neil Peel »

SPOILER ALERT:- There is something puzzling about this episode which is probably obvious but hopefully one of you guys can explain. Early in the episode, Taylor gives Magnum the names of Linda Greer and Celeste to help in his search but where did he get these names from?
When Thomas is eventually "introduced" to Linda in the alleyway she denies all knowledge of Taylor. Thomas later states that he thinks she was telling the truth, so if that is the case, how did Taylor get her name? Are we to assume that Taylor visited the Wild Zebra Club beforehand and saw Linda with Kam, and if so, why didn't he subsequently track Kam himself? Similarly, how did Taylor know that Kam Chung was in Hawaii in the first place?

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#35 Post by Milton Collins »

Croix de Lorraine wrote:
IslandHopper wrote:5. While Rick is trying to get information on Kam Chung from Mr. Hiramoto, he is getting a massage and he tells Mr. Hiramoto that he doesn't expect the information "gratis" and that if Mr. Hiramoto is ever in Brooklyn and needs anything to give him a call. Brooklyn? I thought Rick was from Chicago. I don't recall any other geographical reference to Rick, other than Chicago and Vietnam. :?
Actually, this isn't the only time they mention Brooklyn as Rick's home town. In season 1 episode The Ugliest Dog In Hawaii he tells the gangster he knows him from Brooklyn, though it might be just one of his bullshit stories.

Interesting! And I noticed this comment/error on the massage table right away, I was like Rick from Brooklyn? Yeah right lol. While I greatly respect how this episode pays tribute to the men and women who served in Viet Nam and how they were most definitely effected long after, I wasn't crazy about this one. Not that it was bad (I gave it a 7.5) but season 2 was SO GOOD that this one just kind of came and went and didn't stand out. I've watched it a few more times over the years (including last night) and have had the same feeling, just not that great to me. It is interesting how some soldiers were killed by smugglers, drug lords, etc (I'm assuming there is some truth to this aspect of this story and obviously those countries are filled with that kind of criminal activity). I loved the cannon scene though, watching TM get shelled with blanks by Higgins toy cannon was great! By the way, Taylor seemed extremely familiar to me, I'll have to check out his IMBD and find out where I've seen him before.

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