A black-and-white movie is on the screen when this show opens, showing a silent film but with a narrator telling us all about the famous 1930s crime couple Connie and Floyd. The couple are shown posing for pictures outside a car, with Connie smoking a big cigar. Actually, the poses replicate the real-life bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde, who were featured in the hit movie of the late 60s.
The film has a second part where the couple meet another famous bank robber, Sam Vittorio and formed a close friendship. It is known that Sam robbed well over 100 banks (later stated to specifically be 192) but they could never pin anything on him. What happened to all the money he got is a mystery to this day, which is the purpose of the Chief showing this movie to Max and 99.
We viewers could see right away that Max and 99 are dead ringers for the bank robbers (obviously played by the same actors). As the Chief explains what the mission is, 99 remarks on the great resemblance they have. Max, oblivious as usual, says, "Gee, I didn't think they looked anything alike."
The plan is for our heroes to impersonate the bank robbers, who the Chief has learned are about to be sprung from prison where they've been for 30 years by Vittorio, who is in bad health and expected to die soon. Vittorio's plan is to bribe the two guards who are to drive the crooks to a different prison to let them escape along the way, doing so in a remote area where Vittorio's men have left an escape car for them. Two of Sam's men will be watching from a distance.
Now I'm going to skip ahead to after the escape. Max and 99 (as Floyd and Connie) are brought into Sam's room to see their old friend. Despite not knowing "the old secret handshake" or what alcoholic beverage is Sam's "usual," they fool him-right up until Sam leaves the room then listens with a hidden microphone to the agents talking about their real plans not knowing he is listening. So, Sam now plans to kill the CONTROL agents.
Meanwhile, the Chief learns that the real Connie and Floyd escaped. He learns this on the phone from Larabee-in the outer office. After hanging up, Larabee comes in and gives the Chief the news again in person. When the Chief says he just told him that, Larabee responds, "I thought I dialed my wife." I liked the fact that Larabee planned to first phone his wife with this important news BEFORE telling the Chief.
Back at Sam's, the real former bank robbers arrive and we get a hilarious bit where first the real crooks come into Sam's bedroom. Sam is getting ready to pull a gun and kill them, but he is busy on the phone with a friend. He asks Floyd to get him some pills from a suit in his walk-in closet. Outside, our heroes plan to have Max go in first, then 99 to set up the scene Sam described when he'll know death is near. Max goes in, sees Connie and is surprised. Sam asks Connie to get him a glass of water and she goes to the bathroom. Then 99 enters, and we get a couple more entrances and exits, with Sam never realizing more than 2 people are in the room with him and always believing it is the imposters. It's hard to describe, but this whole business was hilarious, because the phone call that occupied Sam made it believable that he didn't realize what was happening, and there was not enough chance for the crooks to figure out what was happening either.
Things work out in favor of our side, and Sam does reveal his secret to Max and 99, now thinking they are the real old friends of his. He tells them that all those banks he robbed during the Depression were bust. His secret: "Crime Doesn't Pay."
Since it's listed in the quotes I'll comment on another great line of Sam's, before he found out he was dealing with government agents and not his old friends. He said, when it's my time, I want one of you to come in and whisper in my ear that My Mother the Car is coming back on television. When asked why, he responds, "So I won't mind going." That short-lived Jerry Van Dyke series has long stood as a symbol of a bad TV series, which it was overall. I got to see it on TV Land some years ago and will say they had at least a couple of funny episodes, but much of it was a dumb show about a guy whose mother turned into an antique car when she died.
Now for the main scene I skipped before. It was, as this episode's other reviewer said. "sloppily written and badly done." Max and 99, handcuffed together, as Floyd and Connie, are supposed to jump out of a moving car (with Larabee and the Chief as their guards) in view of two of Vittorio's hoods, in making their escape.
When they get to the jump off place, 99 counts down and opens her back seat passenger door on the left and we switch to a distant shot showing the car driving by with one door open. Max explains he forgot to un-do his seat belt. So they circle back to drive by again-which should have alerted the hoods watching with binoculars that something was fishy. This time, both back doors open as Max, apparently didn't notice 99 opening her door last time, open the other door thinking they will both somehow leap out going right over the Chief. On the third try, Max insists on a "good luck" handshake with the Chief right as the door opens, thus he pulls the Chief out letting the three of them roll out of the car. Staging a fight, the Chief gives Max his gun and tells him to shoot at him as he runs away-but to make sure not to hit him. Max takes aim as the Chief races toward the getaway car that was left for Connie and Floyd. Max shoots the car, blowing up the gas tank. So they walk nearly 10 miles to the diner where they were supposed to meet Vittorio's men.
Nothing was ever said about how a car transporting two handcuffed prisoners was supposed to just keep going without them once they jumped out. The guards would surely have been armed, unlike the prisoners, and I couldn't figure out how in the world the car would not have turned around and come back to catch them.
The most illogical part to me was that Vittorio's men are watching the escape. They are still around for takes 2 and 3 then they take off. Why did we need this other escape vehicle, when the hoods could have picked them up then instead of hours later in the diner?
As a viewer, I believe the actual answer is that they wanted the pair to have a scene where they display their handcuffs and try to figure out which of the diner patrons is their connection.
So we have a mostly funny show with a big negative right in the middle. I think that amounts to an 8.
The film has a second part where the couple meet another famous bank robber, Sam Vittorio and formed a close friendship. It is known that Sam robbed well over 100 banks (later stated to specifically be 192) but they could never pin anything on him. What happened to all the money he got is a mystery to this day, which is the purpose of the Chief showing this movie to Max and 99.
We viewers could see right away that Max and 99 are dead ringers for the bank robbers (obviously played by the same actors). As the Chief explains what the mission is, 99 remarks on the great resemblance they have. Max, oblivious as usual, says, "Gee, I didn't think they looked anything alike."
The plan is for our heroes to impersonate the bank robbers, who the Chief has learned are about to be sprung from prison where they've been for 30 years by Vittorio, who is in bad health and expected to die soon. Vittorio's plan is to bribe the two guards who are to drive the crooks to a different prison to let them escape along the way, doing so in a remote area where Vittorio's men have left an escape car for them. Two of Sam's men will be watching from a distance.
Now I'm going to skip ahead to after the escape. Max and 99 (as Floyd and Connie) are brought into Sam's room to see their old friend. Despite not knowing "the old secret handshake" or what alcoholic beverage is Sam's "usual," they fool him-right up until Sam leaves the room then listens with a hidden microphone to the agents talking about their real plans not knowing he is listening. So, Sam now plans to kill the CONTROL agents.
Meanwhile, the Chief learns that the real Connie and Floyd escaped. He learns this on the phone from Larabee-in the outer office. After hanging up, Larabee comes in and gives the Chief the news again in person. When the Chief says he just told him that, Larabee responds, "I thought I dialed my wife." I liked the fact that Larabee planned to first phone his wife with this important news BEFORE telling the Chief.
Back at Sam's, the real former bank robbers arrive and we get a hilarious bit where first the real crooks come into Sam's bedroom. Sam is getting ready to pull a gun and kill them, but he is busy on the phone with a friend. He asks Floyd to get him some pills from a suit in his walk-in closet. Outside, our heroes plan to have Max go in first, then 99 to set up the scene Sam described when he'll know death is near. Max goes in, sees Connie and is surprised. Sam asks Connie to get him a glass of water and she goes to the bathroom. Then 99 enters, and we get a couple more entrances and exits, with Sam never realizing more than 2 people are in the room with him and always believing it is the imposters. It's hard to describe, but this whole business was hilarious, because the phone call that occupied Sam made it believable that he didn't realize what was happening, and there was not enough chance for the crooks to figure out what was happening either.
Things work out in favor of our side, and Sam does reveal his secret to Max and 99, now thinking they are the real old friends of his. He tells them that all those banks he robbed during the Depression were bust. His secret: "Crime Doesn't Pay."
Since it's listed in the quotes I'll comment on another great line of Sam's, before he found out he was dealing with government agents and not his old friends. He said, when it's my time, I want one of you to come in and whisper in my ear that My Mother the Car is coming back on television. When asked why, he responds, "So I won't mind going." That short-lived Jerry Van Dyke series has long stood as a symbol of a bad TV series, which it was overall. I got to see it on TV Land some years ago and will say they had at least a couple of funny episodes, but much of it was a dumb show about a guy whose mother turned into an antique car when she died.
Now for the main scene I skipped before. It was, as this episode's other reviewer said. "sloppily written and badly done." Max and 99, handcuffed together, as Floyd and Connie, are supposed to jump out of a moving car (with Larabee and the Chief as their guards) in view of two of Vittorio's hoods, in making their escape.
When they get to the jump off place, 99 counts down and opens her back seat passenger door on the left and we switch to a distant shot showing the car driving by with one door open. Max explains he forgot to un-do his seat belt. So they circle back to drive by again-which should have alerted the hoods watching with binoculars that something was fishy. This time, both back doors open as Max, apparently didn't notice 99 opening her door last time, open the other door thinking they will both somehow leap out going right over the Chief. On the third try, Max insists on a "good luck" handshake with the Chief right as the door opens, thus he pulls the Chief out letting the three of them roll out of the car. Staging a fight, the Chief gives Max his gun and tells him to shoot at him as he runs away-but to make sure not to hit him. Max takes aim as the Chief races toward the getaway car that was left for Connie and Floyd. Max shoots the car, blowing up the gas tank. So they walk nearly 10 miles to the diner where they were supposed to meet Vittorio's men.
Nothing was ever said about how a car transporting two handcuffed prisoners was supposed to just keep going without them once they jumped out. The guards would surely have been armed, unlike the prisoners, and I couldn't figure out how in the world the car would not have turned around and come back to catch them.
The most illogical part to me was that Vittorio's men are watching the escape. They are still around for takes 2 and 3 then they take off. Why did we need this other escape vehicle, when the hoods could have picked them up then instead of hours later in the diner?
As a viewer, I believe the actual answer is that they wanted the pair to have a scene where they display their handcuffs and try to figure out which of the diner patrons is their connection.
So we have a mostly funny show with a big negative right in the middle. I think that amounts to an 8.
