Thomas Banacek(George Peppard) heads to Las Vegas to find a stage magician named Merrick(played by Jay Robinson) who literally disappeared during his disappearing act, with authorities on his trail on suspicion of Securities fraud. Gretchen Corbett plays his assistant/daughter who knows nothing about the disappearance, but someone else on the stage sure does... Least of the series is not that interesting or surprising, especially the obvious twist ending, though fans may find it slightly passable. Ironically titled too as this became the unintended series finale due to unfortunate personal reasons of George Peppard. Sadly, this memorable character would never be seen or heard of again...
5 Reviews
The final "Banacek" is good....not great.
planktonrules25 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
"Now You See Me, Now You Don't" is sadly the final episode of the "Banacek" series. Like many of the Mystery Movie installments of the 70s, this was not a weekly show but was shown periodically...with other mystery series appearing in between. As a result, the show only had 16 episodes...and according to IMDB, George Peppard left after the second season....and the networks wanted a third season. My feelings are mixed. While I love the uniqueness of this series, coming up with new mega-heist ideas would have been difficult and I think the series probably was nearing the end of its run anyway.
The story begins with a magic show for charity. Not surprisingly, something vanishes...in this case one of the magicians. And, along with him, $1.75 million in securities also vanished....and Banacek is willing to give up his vacation in order to fly to L.A. to investigate.
This is a good episode BUT the finale might come as anticlimactic if you are familiar with the actor, Jay Robinson. Plus, his 'magical transformation' isn't that dramatic and you do wonder how so many were fooled. Worth seeing....and the end.
The story begins with a magic show for charity. Not surprisingly, something vanishes...in this case one of the magicians. And, along with him, $1.75 million in securities also vanished....and Banacek is willing to give up his vacation in order to fly to L.A. to investigate.
This is a good episode BUT the finale might come as anticlimactic if you are familiar with the actor, Jay Robinson. Plus, his 'magical transformation' isn't that dramatic and you do wonder how so many were fooled. Worth seeing....and the end.
Magician's trick
bkoganbing29 September 2016
More red herrings are in this Banacek episode than you would find at the Fulton Fish Market. But the biggest problem for Banacek to solve here is whether the disappearance of the magician is tied to the disappearance of a few million in bonds that he had charge of. The police as represented by Frank Maxwell are operating under that assumption.
Jay Robinson is our magician, but that's a sideline as he worked in his late father-in-law's bank and this magic act performed with his daughter Gretchen Corbett was for a charity show. George Peppard is representing the bonding company who insured the bonds. He's getting his usual expensive fee which former gangland boss Bruce Gordon formerly of, where else Chicago wants to sweeten the pot. He's got his own reasons for wanting their return.
Who doesn't seem concerned is wife Nancy Olsen in itself strange. But this is a strange family.
This final Banacek seemed to come up lame and go off in all kinds of different directions. A sad ending to a short, but interesting series. It was better than Peppard's late A-Team.
Jay Robinson is our magician, but that's a sideline as he worked in his late father-in-law's bank and this magic act performed with his daughter Gretchen Corbett was for a charity show. George Peppard is representing the bonding company who insured the bonds. He's getting his usual expensive fee which former gangland boss Bruce Gordon formerly of, where else Chicago wants to sweeten the pot. He's got his own reasons for wanting their return.
Who doesn't seem concerned is wife Nancy Olsen in itself strange. But this is a strange family.
This final Banacek seemed to come up lame and go off in all kinds of different directions. A sad ending to a short, but interesting series. It was better than Peppard's late A-Team.
Ending With A Whimper
AudioFileZ8 September 2013
Warning: Spoilers
The character of Banacek and the portrayal of that character by George Peppard is rich. The series, at least by the series final episode after only two seasons, no so much.
Always solving outlandish complicated cases of theft Banacek was a real jewel. A thoroughly modern hipster who was also a consummate renaissance man. Too bad the crimes got increasingly far-fetched and just plain droll. The poor writing culminates in season two in general and the final episode in particular. Searching for a missing magician also tied to some valuable (almost 2-million dollars worth) bonds could have been a zinger, instead it was so heaped upon with non-eventful action the silliness of the story stands out sorely.
A lot of the elements of Banacek are here, as well as a visit to both L.A. and Vegas, yet the villain is milk toast and the story is lame. Window dressings of the locale and assorted striking femmes aren't too involving to say the least. There's a BA gangster who barely casts suspicion too. Not much to work with here and so ends a character with so many rich possibilities. In retrospect the producers/writers simply tended to play up hokey aspects way more while ignoring the cerebral side constantly. Look at the difference between, say, Columbo and Banacek. Columbo's crimes were all possible while Banacek's were over-the-top carnival affairs. Peppard commands the screen as effectively as Peter Falk, but with so much less to work with it was an inevitability Banacek, as presented here, couldn't go on. A waste really because Peppard was perfect for the character and if not for him it was probably laughably unwatchable. Here's hoping one day the premise is re-envisioned with someone up to the character of Banacek with some real talented writers.
Always solving outlandish complicated cases of theft Banacek was a real jewel. A thoroughly modern hipster who was also a consummate renaissance man. Too bad the crimes got increasingly far-fetched and just plain droll. The poor writing culminates in season two in general and the final episode in particular. Searching for a missing magician also tied to some valuable (almost 2-million dollars worth) bonds could have been a zinger, instead it was so heaped upon with non-eventful action the silliness of the story stands out sorely.
A lot of the elements of Banacek are here, as well as a visit to both L.A. and Vegas, yet the villain is milk toast and the story is lame. Window dressings of the locale and assorted striking femmes aren't too involving to say the least. There's a BA gangster who barely casts suspicion too. Not much to work with here and so ends a character with so many rich possibilities. In retrospect the producers/writers simply tended to play up hokey aspects way more while ignoring the cerebral side constantly. Look at the difference between, say, Columbo and Banacek. Columbo's crimes were all possible while Banacek's were over-the-top carnival affairs. Peppard commands the screen as effectively as Peter Falk, but with so much less to work with it was an inevitability Banacek, as presented here, couldn't go on. A waste really because Peppard was perfect for the character and if not for him it was probably laughably unwatchable. Here's hoping one day the premise is re-envisioned with someone up to the character of Banacek with some real talented writers.
Abra Cadabra
WilliamJE2 August 2022
Now You See Me, Now You Don't is the weakest Banacek episode in my opinion. The episode's ending is far too obvious. Which is a sign to me that the show had run its course. Elaborate theft plots can not be easy to write.
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