When a business magnate already hiding out from his partners narrowly escapes death by bombing (killing an aide who visited his lakeside hideaway), he tries to communicate to his girlfriend ... Read allWhen a business magnate already hiding out from his partners narrowly escapes death by bombing (killing an aide who visited his lakeside hideaway), he tries to communicate to his girlfriend that he's still alive -- prompting the associates to try to drive her insane and incompete... Read allWhen a business magnate already hiding out from his partners narrowly escapes death by bombing (killing an aide who visited his lakeside hideaway), he tries to communicate to his girlfriend that he's still alive -- prompting the associates to try to drive her insane and incompetent to find him via various scare tactics, and take over the company for themselves.
- Fat Man Meeting Bus
- (uncredited)
- Barbara
- (uncredited)
- Hjalmar Poelzig
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
- Joseph
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
- Policeman in Office
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen McCloud goes to Mexico to look for Robert Devlin he does not go any further than the Mexican Village set on the Universal back lot which had given service to many of Universal's westerns like 'The Virginian' and Alias Smith and Jones'.
- GoofsWhen McCloud goes to Jennie's apartment, it is located in the basement of the building. However, the view out of her studio windows are from location several stories up.
- ConnectionsFeatures The Black Cat (1934)
The spotlighted guest stars turned out to be Julie Sommars and Gabriel Dell. I was surprised Sommars' character was named Jenny since she was best known at the time for playing Jennifer Jo Drinkwater on THE GOVERNOR AND J. J. As another reviewer rightly noted, Sommars had "a knack for playing mentally ill women." She played Jenny with kooky charm and appeal, at least until the hysterical shrieking started after Dell stepped out of the painting. A few years later Sommars played a similar role as the eccentric title character in "Gertrude," the opening episode of HARRY O.
Erstwhile East End Kid Gabriel Dell was granted generous screentime to shine as master of disguise Ira Maston, gaslighting with glee the increasingly unhinged Jenny. I loved how he played the elevator operator and within moments had switched to the rheumy-eyed cad with a sword cane! It was a shame Maston had to push Jennie over the edge because their matching decor and shared love for old movies could have led to romantic nights slurping his bad soup and watching Carole Lombard on the late, late show.
Old movies and TV oftentimes provide snapshots of history in the making. When McCloud and Jennie stroll through 1971 New York City, did you catch in the background the Twin Towers under construction? It was on another such stroll that the director stretched audience credulity by having Maston perched in the perfect place peeking out from behind a newspaper as McCloud and Jennie passed by. Okay, that reveal was eerily effective, I admit, but even a child would not have believed it was really raining in that Mexican village on the Universal backlot, bathed in bright SoCal sunshine glinting off the bus and casting distinct shadows. You would think director Jack Smight would have abandoned the pretense as the rain served no narrative purpose and ended up being more of a distraction.
Oh, on that note, award for most welcome distraction goes to Anne Randall in that red bikini.
Her harem-keeping boss Gen. Touhy was ahead of his time in warring against the cubicles and beehives of offices, preferring to work from home. He could have been a champion of the post-pandemic back-to-office resisters if he wasn't such an irredeemably unwoke sexist, referring to his eye-candy secretary as "the scenery."
Barry Sullivan was practically typecast playing decadent powerbrokers in this era. In the span of a few years he played virtually the same corrupt character on THE IMMORTAL, LONGSTREET, HAWAII FIVE-O, THE MAGICIAN, and KUNG FU to name but a few that spring to mind. Cameron Mitchell developed a reputation for playing bad guys, but I always think of him as the loveable, loyal, and looking for a drink and a fight Buck Cannon on HIGH CHAPARRAL, just as Sullivan will always be the uncompromising and upstanding Sheriff Pat Garrett of the early sixties Western THE TALL MAN.
Speaking of uncompromising and upstanding, it was a delightful surprise to see Priscilla Pointer as Shirley, the smitten-with-Sam-McCloud art gallery curator. So attractive and flirty, enticingly offering to circle her wagons for McCloud to attack. I best know her as Pam and Cliff's stodgy millionaire mother on DALLAS, so her brief appearance here was a welcome revelation.
If you enjoyed the plot of a man believed dead disappearing to live a Bohemian painter's life, you can catch another well-done variation in "The Big Ripoff" episode of THE ROCKFORD FILES.
In closing, as ol' Chester quipped to Pat Garrett in what was certainly a nod to their cowboy pasts, "happy trails."
- GaryPeterson67
- Nov 18, 2023
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Filming locations
- Battery Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA(McCloud and Jennie walking in the park with the World Trade Center towers in the background still under construction)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 13 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 4:3