User Reviews

M-SQUAD –The Black Mermaid - 1958

This is episode 23 of the 1957 to 1960 Crime series, M-SQUAD. The series ran for 117 episodes and features Lee Marvin as the headliner. Marvin is a Lt with the elite M-Squad unit of the Chicago Police.

There is a robbery at a payroll office with the guard and one of the clerks being killed. The crooks loose two of their own when a passing Police patrol car happens on the scene. Managing to get away is Biff Elliot and his squeeze, Marcia Henderson. They quickly go to ground.

The Police quickly identify Elliot from witness descriptions. They are however unable to find where he is hiding out. Marvin decides to go undercover as a just escaped mob guy. He hopes to flush out Elliot with the promise of a big score.

Nothing of course goes according to plan and Marvin finds himself on the wrong end of a pistol whipping. It is just by the skin of his teeth that Marvin survives the mess. His fellow M-Squad members, led by Paul Newlan, do the old nick of time stunt at the end and corral Elliot and gun moll, Henderson.

Decent episode. The title refers to a fake tattoo Marvin gets to try and fool the crooks.

***SPOILERS*** Going above and beyond the call of duty M Squad's Let. Det. Frank Ballinger, Lee Marvin, goes undercover as escaped Florida hoodlum Slim Mader to end up getting kidnapped and held hostage by notorious and sadistic payroll robber Whitey Carson, Biff Elliot. Ballinger's plan is to draw him out in the open after he pulled his latest payroll robbery where two people, members of his gang, were killed. Getting in good with Whitey's moll Elsa Hammond, Marcia Henderson, allows himself to be drugged and taken hostage by Whitey so he can set up a police trap to have him arrested.

While impersonating Slim Mader Ballinger gets really worked over by Whitey almost to the point where he ends up dead. Keeping his cool as well as marbles, in the beating he's taking, Ballinger has the police who followed his every move well on their way to rescue him.The only trouble now is that the real Slim Mader is reported killed in a shootout with the police and if Whitey finds that out it will be curtains for him! It's now a matter of time until Whitey finds out that Mader, whom he had it in for some time, is dead and that it's a cop, Let. Det. Frank Ballinger, that's impersonating him which will make the already homicidal Whitey, in knowing he's been set up, even crazier!

****SPOILERS*** The Chicago police lead by Ballinger's boss Capt.Grey. Paul Newlan, get to Whitey's hideout just in time before he can plug Ballinger by finding out, if that at all mattered, that he wasn't Slim Mader even though as we saw it wasn't necessary. They in fact put Ballinger's life in more danger then it already was. Despite the newspaper headline announcing the story of Maden's death was there right in front of Whitey to read he never once bother looking at it neither did his gun moll Elsa Hammond!