The survivors of a plane crash are dying one by one. Even Joe's suspects are not safe.The survivors of a plane crash are dying one by one. Even Joe's suspects are not safe.The survivors of a plane crash are dying one by one. Even Joe's suspects are not safe.
Photos
- Lylah
- (as Gail Bryant Cameron)
- Bartender
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaA suspected assassin carrying what is believed to be a rifle wrapped up in brown paper turns out to only be carrying Curtain Rods. Curtain Rods are what Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly told people he was carrying into the School Book Depository on the day he supposedly killed President John Kennedy in 1963.
- GoofsAbout 20 mins in, Mannix goes see a blonde woman who is crying. The close-ups reveal that Mike Connors is wearing very obvious coral lipstick and matching blush, heavily applied. When the camera cuts to the woman, she is wearing pale lipstick with a touch of the same coral lipstick, applied in the center of her bottom lip, only. This makes it appear as if they had kissed and Mannix's lipstick had smeared her lips. Then, a flashback cuts to the plane crash scene, and the same woman is wearing the exact same coral stain, still in the center of her bottom lip. Coral was a very popular color of lipstick back in the '70s, when not many shades were yet available.
- Quotes
Little Ned: [Joe enters his tent] Can I help you, brother?
Joe Mannix: Yes, I called you. I'm investigating the death of two of the survivors of that airplane crash.
Little Ned: Oh, Mr. Mannix. Have a seat. Would like some tea?
Joe Mannix: No thank you.
Little Ned: Human nature is frail. On the mountain, my brothers and sisters made a bargain with the Lord. He kept his part of the deal. Did they?
Joe Mannix: You tell me.
Little Ned: They did not! When he was saved, the judge tried to resume his life of carnality.
Joe Mannix: How do you know that?
Little Ned: The Lord, in his infinite wisdom, shows his children the truth. And the pilot, John Clive, he resumed his drunkenness.
Joe Mannix: You have been busy.
Little Ned: I do his work.
Joe Mannix: He said, "Thou shalt not kill."
Little Ned: Whoever killed them was an instrument of the Lord.
Joe Mannix: Did you keep your part of the bargain?
Little Ned: I have, brother. On the mountain, the Lord helped me through the agony of withdrawal. I will never touch drugs again.
Joe Mannix: What about your nurse?
Little Ned: Sister Lylah? She, too, has regressed to the ways of sin. She accepted employment with another invalid. A lady. A very old, very rich lady. She was plucked from the jaws of death. Now she feels she can live without the help of the Lord. They all do. And that is the most horrendous sin.
Joe Mannix: Where can I find sister Lylah?
Little Ned: At the Clarendon in Culver City.
Joe Mannix: Well, uh, thank you.
[gets up from his seat to leave]
Little Ned: Brother Mannix?
[Joe stops and looks at Little Ned]
Little Ned: Tell her it's not too late. Tell them all... it's not too late.
[Joe nods and exits Little Ned's tent]
This is an outstanding episode with a well-written story, a genuine mystery with some nice twists, a solid investigation and lots of suspense since the killer isn't revealed until the very end. This is one of the best episodes of the entire series.
What's notable is Anthony Zerbe plays a preacher, which is uproarious since he made a career out of playing criminals, killers and all-around sleazeballs. This is now the second straight appearance where he's played a preacher, with the first one being Cry Silence from last season, and in that one, he noticeably looked like he was going to break out laughing a couple of times at the sheer thought of playing a preacher, but in this one, he's more restrained and I didn't detect any signs of possible fits of laughter, which in itself is a tremendous acting job. However, I was certainly laughing at him, but in a good way, because he's absolutely hilarious, which is not what the producers intended, but seeing Anthony Zerbe playing a preacher with a straight face is extremely entertaining and sidesplitting. I laughed more in this episode than in any other episode to date and it's not even close. The producers did add an interesting wrinkle to his character though as he's both a preacher AND a dope addict, so that definitely brings him back down to earth and more in line with his previous history.
Julie Gregg is the other main guest star and her performance is stellar, as are the performances from the rest of the cast.
Ward Wood has a larger role than normal and plays a key role throughout. This is one of his finest performances.
Woodrow Parfrey makes another appearance as Willy the stoolie and provides some vital information.
There are no clichés, which continues the very noticeable trend this season as all of the episodes so far have had very few if any of them, which makes this season unique in that respect.
This episode is absolute dynamite and is certainly in my top five overall. It's highly entertaining in every way.