Joe Mannix is visited one night by Ken Gordon, a young police officer whose life Mannix once saved. Unfortunately, moments later Gordon takes a bullet meant for Mannix, fired by Victor Roark... Read allJoe Mannix is visited one night by Ken Gordon, a young police officer whose life Mannix once saved. Unfortunately, moments later Gordon takes a bullet meant for Mannix, fired by Victor Roarke, a criminal whom Mannix once helped capture. Roarke is taken into custody, but claims to... Read allJoe Mannix is visited one night by Ken Gordon, a young police officer whose life Mannix once saved. Unfortunately, moments later Gordon takes a bullet meant for Mannix, fired by Victor Roarke, a criminal whom Mannix once helped capture. Roarke is taken into custody, but claims to know the location of a missing judge's body -- but Mannix and Art Malcolm soon discover t... Read all
Photos
- Peggy Fair
- (credit only)
- Sarah Toller
- (as Maggie Johnson)
- Roy Webb
- (uncredited)
- Phillips
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWith this episode, the opening of the series changed significantly. For the first five seasons, the show began with a teaser that cut to the opening titles at a dramatic moment. Henceforth, the series opened with an animated silhouette of Mannix running toward the camera which then cut to the opening titles. A shot of Mannix skiing from season five's "Cold Trail" is also added. The music is also changed somewhat, using a jazzier version of Lalo Schifrin's theme.
- GoofsAfter the bullet hits the lamp in Mannix's office the shade breaks, the lamp goes out but the bulb is intact. But when Lt. Malcolm arrives the bulb is broken.
- Quotes
Lt. Art Malcolm: [he and Joe enter on Roarke and his attorney in Roarke's hospital room] I suppose you instructed your client not to talk?
Roarke's Attorney: That would depend on what you wanted to discuss, Lieutenant. I won't permit him to incriminate himself, no.
Joe Mannix: He won't have to. He killed a police officer in cold blood.
Roarke's Attorney: You don't think he had the right to defend himself?
Lt. Art Malcolm: That's your plea, self-defense? That's a little far out, isn't it?
Roarke's Attorney: Why is that? Mr. Roarke went to Mr. Mannix's office to chat about the circumstance of their last meeting. The door was opened by an officer who immediately drew his gun.
Joe Mannix: It was still in his holster after the shooting.
Roarke's Attorney: There was nobody present to see you put it back in the officer's holster after the shooting.
Victor Roarke: Only me. I saw that.
Joe Mannix: Save it for the jury, Roarke. You're gonna need all the defense you can get.
Lt. Art Malcolm: Hold it, Joe. You sent word down that you were ready to talk. So far, I haven't heard anything worth the elevator ride. You change your mind?
Roarke's Attorney: What's all that about? You didn't tell me.
Victor Roarke: Cool it. I want to make a deal.
Lt. Art Malcolm: No deals.
Victor Roarke: Oh, sure. Yeah, sure. I understand, Lieutenant, you're lily white, but juries are paid to listen. And don't you forget where you heard what I'm going to tell you.
Roarke's Attorney: Look, I don't know what you're getting at, but shut up.
Victor Roarke: There was a judge that disappeared about a year ago. Remember?
Joe Mannix: Judge Bishop?
Victor Roarke: Yeah, that's the one.
Lt. Art Malcolm: Yeah. What about him?
Victor Roarke: I know where he's buried.
Roarke's Attorney: You must be out of your mind. You want to be charged with that, too?
Victor Roarke: I wasn't even around at the time. A friend of mine told me. No names, Lieutenant, or I'm a dead man.
Roarke's Attorney: Victor, listen, you're confessing to withholding evidence.
Victor Roarke: Sure. But maybe I'll buy a little consideration from the jury. Maybe they'll understand that at the time, I was too scared to talk. So I have this on my conscience, and I want to get it straight.
Roarke's Attorney: That's stupid. You're only buying yourself a cell eight feet by ten.
Victor Roarke: Lieutenant, do I have to listen to this clown?
Roarke's Attorney: I'll answer that for you, Lieutenant. You get yourself another lawyer.
[leaves the room in anger]
This hostage crisis is just like all of the other ones that have been seen on countless other TV shows and has all of the same clichés - the ransom demand, the demand for a fueled up jet on the runway, the ultimatum that all of the demands must be met within an hour or a hostage will be killed every twenty minutes, the police chief saying he doesn't have enough time to get the money, and on and on and on. It's all out of the same playbook and it's all been seen an endless number of times before on other TV shows. We also have the usual cliché where one of the kidnapper's accomplices has a change of heart, as if we haven't seen that before.
Of course, you know neither Joe or Malcolm are going to be killed because without them there wouldn't be a show, so there's no suspense whatsoever.
The kidnapper (played by Rip Torn) isn't very interesting and in fact is really annoying, with his yelling and loud outbursts. He's also really dumb too and makes an inexplicable number of mistakes, like not checking the dish cloth, not taking the gun away from the kid, falling for the "I have to go to the bathroom" trick, and not keeping a close eye on his hostages. This has to be the dumbest kidnapper I've ever seen. He obviously didn't comb his hair either. That mop on his head is atrocious.
Ward Wood looks bored throughout. He can see what a bomb this is.
This is just another dull hostage crisis with all of the usual clichés, right down to the details of the kidnapper's demands. There's nothing new or interesting here, except for the ending, where we see the fate of Roarke, the kidnapper. What happens to him is certainly unique, but nothing else is.
Season six is off to a horrible start.
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Filming locations
- Hollywood Sign, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA(old Don Lee TV studios, demolished)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro