THE JOURNAL-NEWS, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 1975
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Talk about whodunits! Not even the actors on “General Hospital’’ know who’s guilty. Guilty of murder, that is. One is required to add that clarification because characters on soap operas are always guilty of something. The crime is the recent murder of Dr. Phil Brewer, that cad of a character who had upset so many lives over the years, breaking up marriages, fathering illegitimate children, double crossing friends — you know, the usual things that soap opera villains do. There are five characters with excellent motives and each has been filmed committing the foul deed. Only one version will be seen by viewers at home. Which one? (The five suspects were Jessie, Peter, Diana, Jim and Augusta)
“It’s the best kept secret ABC has ever had,” says Emily McLaughlin, the actress who has played nurse Jessie Brewer since the serial debuted on ABC nearly 12 years ago. , The only people who know are “General Hospital” producer James Young and writers Jerome and Bridget Dobson. And they are not talking.“It would be kind of stupid if I did, wouldn’t it?” remarked Young. “I’ll tell you the mechanics of it, but no more. That's the game. If you’re going to have a mystery, let’s have one. Agatha Christie doesn’t give you the answer to her mysteries in the front of the book.” In most film and television mysteries, everyone connected with the production knows from the outset who the murderer is because it’s in the finished script. The nature of soap operas is much different, however. There is no finished script, for one thing; there’s only a script from week to week the story lines must be interesting and unpredictable enough to hold an audience — not just for two hours but day after day, week after week, month after month.
So Young’s feeling was that if only qne version of the murder had been filmed, word would have leaked out about the criminal’s identity and the dramatic impact would have been substantially reduced. Also, in all probability, the program’s ratings would suffer. Explains actor James Sikking, whose alcoholic Dr. James Hobart is one of the suspects: “If you’ve programmed the story for, say 90 days, and word about the ending gets out tomorrow, then your next 89 days are screwed if you’re basing them on suspense. ”
How long Young and the Dobsons will draw out the suspense on “General Hospital’’ remains undecided. Young says he’s hoping it will play for several months — including a trial — before the murderer’s identity must be revealed. But it all depends on how well they can maintain viewer interest. While the multiple endings and secrecy are sound ideas, the concept is a bit difficult for the three actresses and two actors whose characters are suspects. How do you play your scenes properly if you don’t know whether you’re innocent or guilty? Miss McLaughlin reflected on the problem one morning recently while having her make up put on for that day’s filming. “It’s an interesting idea but as an actress I want to know what I’m doing,” she said. I am playing innocence based on what I feel about my character. You have to go on some assumption and that’s mine.” Make-up man Joe Belasco paused from his task. “I think you’re innocent,” he deadpanned. “I’m giving you innocent makeup.” . Joking like that has become commonplace on the “General Hospital” set. The cast and crew even have a pool going as to who the culprit is.
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Paul Raven ·
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