Another very unusual episode begins with a man barely escaping (by accident) a helicopter explosion meant to kill him. Months later, bored with more tedious assignments in "big city law enforcement", McCloud finds himself doing "follow-up" on an insurance investigation of a business exec who was killed in a "helicopter crash". As with most COLUMBOs, the audience spends most of this story knowing more than the hero, as he slowly winds his way into the case.
Robert Devlin (Cameron Mitchell in an unusually sympathetic role for him) ran a company that had big contracts with the military, and his sudden death had the F.B.I. investigating for months. His accountant is also believed to have made off with a pile of money. As McCloud questions insurance man Ira Mastin (Gabriell Dell), who seems overly proud of his old days as a nightclub entertainer, and retired General Ralph Touhy (Barry Sullivan), they both become concerned that under his laid-back country demeanor, that he's gotten more from reading the extensive F.B.I. reports than they'd like.
The one wild card turns out to be Devlin's secretary, Jennie, who may have been in love with Devlin, and who seems to believe he might still be alive. A gentle, sensitive soul with her head often in the clouds, Jennie spent months in a psychiatric ward after Devlin's demise, and in the time since, has changed her name hoping to put her past behind her. But in his most gentlemanly way, Sam slowly begins to get to the truth, and unfortunately this has bad consequences as the guilty parties decide it would be best if they could find a way to drive her BACK into the hospital, for good.
Jennie is played by Julie Sommars, and I'm pretty sure this was my first exposure to her. She returned a couple seasons later playing a very different character, but probably made her biggest dent on TV as a regular on 94 episodes of MATLOCK (like this story, produced by Dean Hargrove). But it was in this story she made the biggest impression on me. How could I not fall in love with her character? Also in the cast are Priscilla Pointer as "Shirley", the flirtatious manager of an art gallery who McCloud uses to check the identity of a supposed deceased painter; I thought I recognized her, around 20 years later she played Barry Allen's mother on THE FLASH! Also, among the girls at the General's estate is Anne Randall, Playboy Playmate of the Month May 1967.
Missing in action this time is Joe Broadhurst. If not for J.D. Cannon as Captain Clifford, Sam would almost be on his own this time out.
I saw this when it was first-run, but had almost forgotten it by the time I taped it off THE CBS LATE MOVIE. They used a very memorable (and creepy) scene in their promos, that of a figure appearing to step right out of a painting. It's the sort of thing one might have expected on Rod Serling's NIGHT GALLERY, which had its 2nd season at the time this story aired.
A major sub-plot, involving Sam going to a small town in Mexico trying to track down a man everyone else believes is dead-- based on a painting he did-- could well have been lifted from the film "THE FALCON IN Mexico" with Tom Conway. There was also a similar plot in an early episode of DANGER MAN, "View From The Villa". Clifford has his best line in the story when he tells Sam, "You've got TWO days. If you can't find him by then... keep riding south." (Don't come back now, hear?)
McCLOUD was my FAVORITE show at the time this aired, and stayed that way right to the end of the run. The 2nd year may not be my favorite, standing out as so "different" from the other 6 seasons, but I feel they're all worth seeing. On top of anything else, they bring back powerful memories for me of a very different time in my life.
Robert Devlin (Cameron Mitchell in an unusually sympathetic role for him) ran a company that had big contracts with the military, and his sudden death had the F.B.I. investigating for months. His accountant is also believed to have made off with a pile of money. As McCloud questions insurance man Ira Mastin (Gabriell Dell), who seems overly proud of his old days as a nightclub entertainer, and retired General Ralph Touhy (Barry Sullivan), they both become concerned that under his laid-back country demeanor, that he's gotten more from reading the extensive F.B.I. reports than they'd like.
The one wild card turns out to be Devlin's secretary, Jennie, who may have been in love with Devlin, and who seems to believe he might still be alive. A gentle, sensitive soul with her head often in the clouds, Jennie spent months in a psychiatric ward after Devlin's demise, and in the time since, has changed her name hoping to put her past behind her. But in his most gentlemanly way, Sam slowly begins to get to the truth, and unfortunately this has bad consequences as the guilty parties decide it would be best if they could find a way to drive her BACK into the hospital, for good.
Jennie is played by Julie Sommars, and I'm pretty sure this was my first exposure to her. She returned a couple seasons later playing a very different character, but probably made her biggest dent on TV as a regular on 94 episodes of MATLOCK (like this story, produced by Dean Hargrove). But it was in this story she made the biggest impression on me. How could I not fall in love with her character? Also in the cast are Priscilla Pointer as "Shirley", the flirtatious manager of an art gallery who McCloud uses to check the identity of a supposed deceased painter; I thought I recognized her, around 20 years later she played Barry Allen's mother on THE FLASH! Also, among the girls at the General's estate is Anne Randall, Playboy Playmate of the Month May 1967.
Missing in action this time is Joe Broadhurst. If not for J.D. Cannon as Captain Clifford, Sam would almost be on his own this time out.
I saw this when it was first-run, but had almost forgotten it by the time I taped it off THE CBS LATE MOVIE. They used a very memorable (and creepy) scene in their promos, that of a figure appearing to step right out of a painting. It's the sort of thing one might have expected on Rod Serling's NIGHT GALLERY, which had its 2nd season at the time this story aired.
A major sub-plot, involving Sam going to a small town in Mexico trying to track down a man everyone else believes is dead-- based on a painting he did-- could well have been lifted from the film "THE FALCON IN Mexico" with Tom Conway. There was also a similar plot in an early episode of DANGER MAN, "View From The Villa". Clifford has his best line in the story when he tells Sam, "You've got TWO days. If you can't find him by then... keep riding south." (Don't come back now, hear?)
McCLOUD was my FAVORITE show at the time this aired, and stayed that way right to the end of the run. The 2nd year may not be my favorite, standing out as so "different" from the other 6 seasons, but I feel they're all worth seeing. On top of anything else, they bring back powerful memories for me of a very different time in my life.