User Reviews

This is the final episode of "Mission: Impossible" starring Steven Hill as Mr. Briggs. Considering that he's barely in the show, it's pretty indicative of his slowly being phased out of the show. Heck, a few episodes earlier, they even had Cinnamon (Barbara Bain) receive the mission from the Secretary--and she led this mission without Briggs. It's sad, as I liked Briggs. He wasn't a flashy character but also had an amoral side I enjoyed, as occasionally he killed people--something Mr. Phelps (Peter Graves) just wouldn't do.

In this season one finale, a rich industrialist has packed his bags and moved out of the country to South America. Why? Because this sociopath has decided that US government contracts don't pay enough--he wants to offer this top secret stuff to the highest bidder. Instead of killing the guy (the solution I would recommend), the IM Force decide to use a phony psychic (Cinnamon) to get this cocky jerk to gamble everything he has because he believes he cannot lose. Guess what? They find a way for him to lose! This is not a great episode but a very good one. The plot is complicated but interesting and the final moments particularly good.

The episodes set in South America are usually among the weakest in the MI series. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe it's because we have all seen "Commandante" leader types parodied too many times.

This episode however, is excellent and does not fall prey to the "South American cheesy episode" curse. Perhaps that is largely because this time the opponent of our team is not a dictator, general, etc., but a fugitive American tycoon who is eager to sell out U. S. defense secrets to a foreign buyer. Barry Sullivan, the bad guy here, was a very good actor and he adds credibility to any show he is in, including this one.

The team works together smoothly and has good guest star support. I don't miss Steven Hill. From the episodes with him that I have seen, I think Peter Graves was a better fit as MI team leader; warmer and more likeable to the viewer, in my opinion. That said, this is a good, classy episode that fans will enjoy.

Right after the title sequence, Agent Dan Briggs drives into a deserted Drive In movie theater to receive his next assignment. The marquee for the theater says "Geller and Solow 'Spend the Money' " As stated in other posts.. this was to be the last episode where we see Agent Dan Briggs played by Stephen Hill.

The production staff was growing weary with the mounting difficulties that Stephen was causing (likely not intentionally).. He had converted to orthodox Judaism which greatly affected his availability.. additionally he was injured performing a stunt in one episode which made filming his shots more difficult.

Geller = Bruce Geller Solow = Herbert R. Solow

you can make out the entire marquee @ 0:54 minutes into the show.

We miss you, Stephen, but hey .. Peter Graves was the one everyone remembers the most.

Classic moments: when Leonard Nimoy came on as Paris, he got to play along another "Jim" character just like he did in Star Trek.

As both Star Trek and M:I were produced by the same studio (Desilu) it is great to see guest actors from one series guest act in the other (as if they needed another connection besides Leonard Nimoy).

This is the last episode with Dan Briggs. Steven Hill only appears in the opening and the planning of the caper. In the last 4 episodes, Briggs was only really in one of them and not even doing the opening once as Cinnamon takes the mission. In retrospect, it is obvious that Hill would be replaced the following year. This episode in one of the few in the first season that IMF crew didn't have a major problem with their plan. In this one, the only problem concerned Barney, and it was a minor one headed off by Cinnamon. The cast is one of the bigger ones for known TV names, although Milton Seltzer was a guest star in the final credits and Richard Anderson and Paul Mantee were also starring after the Seltzer credit. The best part of the episode was the red herring the viewer is fed as to how the group will accomplish it's mission. Once you see how it was done, you smile and say "ahhh! I should have known." And then you smile with the IMF crew as the leave with the same smile you have and await season 2.

During the intro scene, Steven Hill (real name Solomon Krakovsky) drives into an empty drive-in theater to get his mission. His car passes under a marquee which reads:

"Geller and Solomon... Spend the Money..."

I'm guessing this was snuck in to the final print as a joke given that this would be the last episode that Steven Hill would be playing in the series. I'm hoping that someone with some knowledge of the show can add to this. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw it given that Mission Impossible was a very serious show, addressing many of the serious issues of the day.

A very good final episode for the first season, which also was the last appearance for head man Steven Hill.

William Read Woodfield wrote this very interesting flim flam story with Cinnamon now posing as a psychic. She plays the attractive bait to a businessman called Alex Lowell (played by Barry Sullivan), a modern Benedict Arnold. His company has gained control of a foreign company with some U. S. security patents --which he will gladly sell to the usual anti-American operatives, more than likely with ties to Russia. He has since fled to South America, where he cannot be captured, but the IMF team can certainly play some clever mind games.

Best of the best is a little game of poker, all influenced by Cinnamon (Barbara Bain), whose said psychic abilities get Lowell into boiling hot water. A must see and one for M. I. history books. Rollin (Martin Landau) certainly looks his most devious, wearing dark sun glasses and a little smirk. William Woodfield wrote 24 episodes for the series, also known for his legendary candid shots of Hollywood stars, such as Marilyn Monroe.

Barry Sullivan, as always, is fun to watch, making the most of his role as a guy who thinks he's got it over everybody else. Sullivan was an actors actor, very much in demand in movies and tv.

Two filming notes. The opening drive-in scene was obviously filmed somewhere in the sprawling San Fernando Valley, where there were endless acres of vacant lots to build outdoor movie theaters. Today, they'e all gone, replaced by apartments, condos and office buildings. That scene is actually historical.

Second. The Lincoln being blown up in the garage, looks to be Joe Mannix's garage, only rebuilt for a single car. Note the cheap, plywood walls that probably were installed in minutes. The car explosion, as usual, is always fun.

Steven Hill was replaced in Season 2 by Peter Graves, but he nevertheless was missed as the original man with the master plan. Hill reportedly sold real estate for many years thereafter, returning to tv in the 70s and later, co-starring in LAW AND ORDER as DA Adam Schiff.

Well directed by Charles Rondeau, who headed six episodes, later directing more comedy shows, such as LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE and the PARTRIDGE FAMILY. He worked for Warner Brothers ABC/tv for many years earlier, directing many of their top cop shows.

Recommended for all us dedicated M. I. fans.

SEASON 1 EPISODE 28 remastered ABC/Paramount dvd box set 2006.

I noticed this as well. After reading Mark Cushman's excellent book "These are the Voyages: Season One" about the production of Star Trek, I decided to look at Mission: Impossible. One of the clear and constant issues with Star Trek, Mission, and Desilu was budgetary constraints. Neither Geller, nor Roddenberry were as strict with spending as Desilu's board of directors wanted them to be.

The marque is an inside joke. Herb Solow allowed the shows to spend. Geller and Roddenberry spent. And Lucy and the board prayed that they would get enough money to stay afloat.

By the middle of 1967 (July 28th) Desilu was no more as Gulf & Western took over it, and neighbor Paramount. Star Trek and Mission had broke the bank...but Paramount would reap huge rewards.