Ken Swofford as gossip columnist Frank Flannigan isn't bad. He livens up a rather dull episode. So does Tom Reese as Sgt. Velie, who manages to steal every scene he's in. Kudos to veteran second banana Tom Reese, and Swofford as well. Swofford brings some nuance to Flannigan, who is a blowhard but manages to be three-dimensional. Unlike Simon Brimmer in his first appearance a few episodes ago. I like how Flannigan kinda/sorta apologizes to Ellery for "ruining his reputation"... but doesn't. Like blaming his editor for not publishing his apology, rather than him (or the script) just coming out and saying that he didn't want to publicly admits that he was wrong. And when he admits that he hasn't written his own ghost-written autobiography.
I also liked the scene where Richard catches Flannigan breaking into the Queens' apartment. Credit to both actors.
The plot itself doesn't make much sense. How did the killers initially know that Ellery had no alibi for the time of the murder? Later, when they frame him, it makes sense (sorta: is it public knowledge?) that they know Ellery doesn't have an alibi. But early on?
And as Richard and the production staff gaslight, Bud's dying clue doesn't make any sense. He crosses out the lettering to both indicate that Ellery should look into his murder, and Kenny the letterer isn't the killer. And Bud is trying to incriminate the three men who shot him? Even if Bud didn't have time to write down the first letters of his three killers' name, couldn't he have made three lines to indicate three killers? Instead he makes two lines to cross out Ellery's name. Is this the kind of thing a dying man would think? "Three men killed me, so I'll cross out the lettering of the one staff member who didn't kill me?" Huh.
Lynda Day George appears to be having a ball, so good for her. She plays the flighty compulsive liar who inadvertently does everything to make herself guilty. Like lying to Richard because "he won't believe her". Yeah, lying to the police in a murder case is a good idea. Not.
There are some feeble jabs at cartoon violence in the 40s. Ooh, how topical. Donald O'Connor makes a good Walt Disney stand-in, even though his characterization is all over the place. He goes from a mild-mannered letterer, to a tyrannical boss, then at the end mellows again when Alma confirms he's not a sexual harasser like Bud.
And Ellery gets some mild characterization, hating the two-fisted hard-boiled PI that Bud has turned him into for the comics. But apparently he's an avid comic book fan: note his glee reading comic books in the jail cell. His punching Lyle at the end comes out of left field: when did he become a two-fisted fighter? Alma's sound effects as Ellery punches Lyle as just too cute.
Overall, other than Swofford's performance, the episode is kind of a drag. It gives Ellery a personality, but the punching part is at odds with the character. The dying clue is incomprehensible, and the plot borrows heavily from "Murder on the Orient Express". Granted, Ellery solving the dying clue doesn't break the case, but it does show the killers are kinda dumb. What was the point of buying the bullets but not the gun? Particularly when the bullets are just incriminating: the mystery is who-dunnit, not how-did-they-do-it?
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
I also liked the scene where Richard catches Flannigan breaking into the Queens' apartment. Credit to both actors.
The plot itself doesn't make much sense. How did the killers initially know that Ellery had no alibi for the time of the murder? Later, when they frame him, it makes sense (sorta: is it public knowledge?) that they know Ellery doesn't have an alibi. But early on?
And as Richard and the production staff gaslight, Bud's dying clue doesn't make any sense. He crosses out the lettering to both indicate that Ellery should look into his murder, and Kenny the letterer isn't the killer. And Bud is trying to incriminate the three men who shot him? Even if Bud didn't have time to write down the first letters of his three killers' name, couldn't he have made three lines to indicate three killers? Instead he makes two lines to cross out Ellery's name. Is this the kind of thing a dying man would think? "Three men killed me, so I'll cross out the lettering of the one staff member who didn't kill me?" Huh.
Lynda Day George appears to be having a ball, so good for her. She plays the flighty compulsive liar who inadvertently does everything to make herself guilty. Like lying to Richard because "he won't believe her". Yeah, lying to the police in a murder case is a good idea. Not.
There are some feeble jabs at cartoon violence in the 40s. Ooh, how topical. Donald O'Connor makes a good Walt Disney stand-in, even though his characterization is all over the place. He goes from a mild-mannered letterer, to a tyrannical boss, then at the end mellows again when Alma confirms he's not a sexual harasser like Bud.
And Ellery gets some mild characterization, hating the two-fisted hard-boiled PI that Bud has turned him into for the comics. But apparently he's an avid comic book fan: note his glee reading comic books in the jail cell. His punching Lyle at the end comes out of left field: when did he become a two-fisted fighter? Alma's sound effects as Ellery punches Lyle as just too cute.
Overall, other than Swofford's performance, the episode is kind of a drag. It gives Ellery a personality, but the punching part is at odds with the character. The dying clue is incomprehensible, and the plot borrows heavily from "Murder on the Orient Express". Granted, Ellery solving the dying clue doesn't break the case, but it does show the killers are kinda dumb. What was the point of buying the bullets but not the gun? Particularly when the bullets are just incriminating: the mystery is who-dunnit, not how-did-they-do-it?
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?