User Reviews

In one of the darker episodes, Italians are being murdered in New Orleans. Bart is there for the Mardi Gras, and stock footage from The Judas Mask is used. Gerald Mohr is Giacomo, a Bogart-type who appeared in seven episodes. There is a noticeable lack of humor. Jack Kelly continued with Maverick after James Garner left and got stuck with a few clunkers. At his best, however, Kelly was just as good as Garner. Leo Gordon, who played Big Mike McComb, wrote this script and ended up writing four altogether. Mano Nera means "black hand," and that hand print on the wall is creepy.

With this episode, the series appears on the downslide-- slapdash sets, listless acting, pedestrian direction, and humorless screenplay-- all involving something about early organized crime in New Orleans The script is from that excellent actor, Leo Gordon. Too bad the bland result suggests he should stick to being Big Mike McComb and speak the lines rather than write them. And how many times could the series reuse another excellent actor, Gerald Mohr, this time as an Italian gangster, no less.

Much of this suggests the series was running out of ideas. After all, the producers were breaking the mould with a humorous format that challenged standard Western clichés. Coming up with witty, engaging scripts week after week without falling back on easy conventional plot-lines must have been difficult. This episode suggests that level of difficulty, coming as it does near the height of the series' success.

There was an impression that Jack Kelly got the lesser scripts, especially after Jim Garner clicked with audiences. But Garner had bucked his contract and left the show by this time. Too bad Kelly got stuck with this turkey. The only remaining question appears whether Roger Moore could give the series the boost it needed.

Opening scene: it is the last day of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Everyone is all decked out in holiday attire except Bart Maverick in his signature outfit. While watching the parade, Bart notices a shopkeeper being shot in his shop. The wounded man comes out the shop's door and falls to the street where Bart kneels to give aid. The man says, "Mano nero." and dies.

The Italian mob first expressed itself in New Orleans with the original gangsters known as "The Black Hand" giving this a reality zing! This is years before they arrived in New York and Chicago!

Maverick is involved in a bombing at his friend's place and the hotel dic is killed in his room and the Chief of Police has an eye on Bart. He orders the gambler caged. Bart talks his way out and foils the Black Hander, our Maverick friend, Gerald Mohr.

It's more drama than comedy and just a little touch of "The Untouchables!"

Right around the time this came out Ernest Borgnine starred in the film Pay Or Die as true life NYPD detective Joseph Petrosino. Anthony Caruso's character of Detective Joe Petrino seems to be based on him although this is set in New Orleans.

One thing that was radically wrong as the film opens up everyone is dressed in Mardi Gras costume though there is no reference to it at all in the show. Bart Maverick is just minding his own business when he witnesses a shop owner staggering out of his store, bleeding from a shotgun blast. A telltale clue falls unnoticed from his pocket and into a sewer grating. That is what both cops and members of the extortionist Black Hand are after and they all think Jack Kelly has it.

Brother and sister John Berardino and Myrna Fahey and their business associate Gerald Mohr all want the thing as does Caruso. Kelly can't convince anyone he doesn't have it.

This was one of the less humorous Maverick stories. Occasionally they did serious items as well.

We never do find out why the revelers were out.

This has been the most boring episode I've seen of Maverick. Never did like the ones with Bart that much but this one even takes his way down a peg.

You would think it might be interesting as an earlier mafia play focusing on the black hand. But instead it was like a bad, bad C grade gangster film. Very hard to follow the plot and characters, and when you could follow it, it followed to no where. Even the female character of this episode was extremely dull. It seems to be really missing brother Brett character more and more and didn't even have the likes of Beau to lean on.

And considering the cast of fine character actors in this episode it should have turned out a lot better but didn't. Even the slight twist at the end was very mundane. It just seemed like the whole cast and crew were suffering from insomnia with listless performances.