Veteran actor Myron McCormick and young Linda Lawson play a piano player and a chanteuse in a popular nightclub owned by a guy named Joey (Will Kuluva). Unfortunately for the duo, a "regular customer" is a local mobster named Little Dandy (Frankie Darro) who shows up with his henchmen and immediately begins to hit on Ms. Lawson---and he doesn't take "no" for an answer. After withstanding all his unpleasant advances, Little Dandy finally grabs her roughly while she's walking towards the stage and she ends up dumping her drink on his head. A brawl ensues with McCormick jumping in to aid his singer. The two entertainers have a sort-of father-daughter relationship and he does his best to keep her safe from hoodlums like Little Dandy. But then the story takes a very bleak detour. Ms. Lawson is beaten to death a few days later by an unknown assailant and McCormick is warned by a detective that he may be next to get "hit." An "Insurance Salesman" (Pat Harrington Jr. from "One Day at a Time" fame) also appears at the bar and threatens McCormick with bodily harm. In the end, this dour and violent tale has nowhere to go except to kill off McCormick. Without his lovely singer, he didn't have much to live for anyway. This episode was directed by the competent Alan Crosland Jr. but there isn't much he can do with the limited script. Ms. Lawson had a long and productive career as did Mr. McCormick. Of course, Pat Harrington's "Schneider" on "One Day at a Time" is one of television's more memorable comic roles. This is one of those few Hitchcock entries that totally lacks suspense. The "surprise" ending is anything but, and the plot itself is weak and pointless. Two nice people get killed for nothing more than defending themselves. End of story.
Review of I Can Take Care of Myself
