The Adventure of the Disappearing Dagger
- Episode aired Apr 4, 1976
- TV-PG
- 48m
IMDb RATING
8.2/10
96
YOUR RATING
A private eye and Richard's mentor is murdered tracking down the murderer in a five-year-old case, and Ellery figures the same murderer is involvedA private eye and Richard's mentor is murdered tracking down the murderer in a five-year-old case, and Ellery figures the same murderer is involvedA private eye and Richard's mentor is murdered tracking down the murderer in a five-year-old case, and Ellery figures the same murderer is involved
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe metal used is known as "Woods Metal" and melts at about 200 degrees F.
- Quotes
Hamilton Drew: Curiosity leads to discovery, they say.
Buck Nolan: Don't they also say something about it killing the cat?
Featured review
The final episode no. 22
Episode 22, "The Adventure of the Disappearing Dagger," introduces us to Hamilton Drew (Walter Pidgeon), former chief of detectives for New York's homicide squad, a 'wily old bird' who taught Inspector Queen everything he knows. While Ellery and his father are out on a fishing trip, Drew leaves an urgent message that they discover upon arriving home, along with the shocking news that the aging detective has been stabbed to death. Learning that Drew has been looking into a 5-year-old murder case where he had fingered the wrong man, Ellery believes that solving the earlier crime will lead to the solution behind Drew's death. The old case involves a blackmailing plot in which the victim, Stuart Hendricks, was stabbed to death aboard an airplane in flight, with all the passengers asleep from drugged coffee, and only the pilot, Buck Nolan (Ronny Cox), awake and alert. The murder weapon, a dagger, cannot be found, authorities assuming that Nolan threw it out of the little window in the cockpit. They also find the blackmailer's stolen rifle plans in Nolan's apartment; the hapless pilot is acquitted of murder but convicted of blackmail, due to the evidence provided by Hamilton Drew, against whom Buck Nolan has vowed revenge. On the night he was killed, Drew gathered together all of the people that were on the airplane that fateful night five years earlier: Buck Nolan, only one week after his release from prison; the stewardess, Norma Lee Burke (Michelle Marsh); Brandon Childs (Mel Ferrer), the designer of the rifle plans, who succeeded Stuart Hendricks as company president; Mrs. Childs (Dana Wynter), former wife of Hendricks, who admits she was attracted to Brandon even before her husband's death; and Hendricks employee Gerald Hacker (Gary Burghoff), who was about to be fired for incompetence. Veteran character actor R. G. Armstrong plays Stan Buffo, who shows Ellery the inside of the plane where the Hendricks murder took place (and which hasn't been off the ground since). This would be a most baffling case were it not for the fact that the mystery killer truly looks like the mystery killer. Tom Brown is billed as 'The Broadcaster,' actually a phony magician named Marvin who informs Ellery there are only three ways to get rid of a dagger: conceal it, get rid of it, or change it into something else. Kristin Larkin, playing the magician's assistant, had earlier played a secretary named Dorothy in "The Adventure of the 12th Floor Express." Appearing for the 7th and last time is Nina Roman as Grace, Inspector Queen's secretary (unbilled as usual). The only real drawback is the unfortunate knowledge that this would turn out to be the season finale, the end to a well conceived and thoroughly delightful series that was designed for intellectual audiences who liked to play along with the sleuth, which couldn't find an audience in 1975. 10 years later, however, producers Richard Levinson and William Link struck paydirt with the same format, only with a different star, Angela Lansbury, in the long-running MURDER SHE WROTE.
- kevinolzak
- Oct 26, 2009
- Permalink
Details
- Runtime48 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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What is the Spanish language plot outline for The Adventure of the Disappearing Dagger (1976)?
Answer