User Reviews

I watched this ep finding the first half weirdly unsatisfying. For some reason, despite action, it seemed a below average episode at first then it picked up as soon as Connors meets Loretta Swit. Miss. Swit was later on Mash (see my reviews) and it really takes off when she and Connors beginning playing romantic partners.

Somebody is trying to kill Joe. After the third attempt, even Mannix, at home with mortal danger, takes the hint. For those who tune in just for the action, it's all upfront in this episode. And those first hit men! Even in an era when men dressed every day, how fun to see paid killers stalking their prey in hats, coats and ties!

I enjoyed this one, but its flaws didn't escape me. Only two took me out of the flow -- first, the hole in Joe's reasoning about why someone was out to get him. The most likely suspect, Frank Bauer, is presumed dead at the episode's start, but Joe theorizes that he was fingered because he knew the secret location of a huge haul from a robbery Frank pulled. Although Frank was caught and jailed, no one ever found the stash. Why kill Mannix before he gave up the location? Mannix helped put Bauer away -- the vengeance motive was more than enough. The second? As others have cited, Frank could have killed Mannix many times over but rather allowed him to talk away until Mannix saw his moment and got the jump on him. Will these killers never learn?

The story was easy to follow this time, if you can get past Bauer's stupidity. He had the perfect cover, purportedly dying during a prison escape. Rather than seizing the moment to escape with the cash, Bauer pursed a vendetta when money would have been the better revenge. Joe didn't manage to save the two other victims in this episode, but while he didn't get to play the hero, he did save his own skin.

And Joe had good chemistry with a very young Loretta Switt, seen in her tv debut as the gangster's moll. (What with Larry Linville and Mike Farrell, Mannix's guest starts were a veritable "Who's Who" from MASH.) Switt refers to herself as a 'big girl' in this episode, and she was easily twice the size of Hot Lips Houlihan, her signature role. The scene with him fumbling around Switt's boutique is priceless. Joe is never above using his looks and charm to seduce females into giving him the information he needs. He always stays inside the line, though, and in this case, she was playing him as well, so it seems they were well matched. Except no woman is ultimately a match for Joe. She lingers wistfully at the end, trying to entice him back with the prospect of all that cash, but Joe doesn't buy it. He does turn her in, albeit gently, and you half expect him to say, "I hope they don't hang you precious, by that sweet neck...."

A decent enough episode based on one big cliché: the criminal who has hidden money from a robbery but is now dead. Supposedly. There are three quick attempts on Mannix's life and he is wounded (again) during the first attempt. Joe immediately zeros in on the dead criminal as the most likely suspect. How is not quite explained. He is so sure he flies to the Nevada prison to check out the criminal who died in an escape attempt. We learn he was burned up in a car wreck with only a dental bridge to ID the body. Joe finds a fourth attempt to kill him with dynamite wired to his car. Joe dismantles it himself with Bing Russell standing three feet away. Not the smartest move. Also, a gutsy crook indeed to wire a bomb to a car in broad daylight with the potential for a thousand witnesses. The story picks up when Joe goes to the old girlfriend played by Loretta Swit in her pre-MASH days. They have chemistry together and some nice scenes. The climax is when Swit lures Joe to the not-so-dead criminal in a Tahoe cabin. The lost money is revealed and Joe fights off the bad guy, arm in a sling and all. The dead body in the car is the bad guy's brother who he set up for the fall. As often happens in the climax, Joe does some dumb things to get there. In this case, he unloads his gun but doesn't take a backup. His plan seems to be to talk the girlfriend into turning on her lover and coming to his side. It doesn't work as she would have shot him with his own gun but it is empty. Fortunately, against all odds, Joe's plan works out. Joe lets Swit off easy and has the criminal and the money. Peggy's role in this episode is to wring her hands and wail "Joe, you'll get killed!". Ward Wood shows up as Lt Malcom in a one scene appearance with two lines. The final tally is Joe gets shot, again, and Joe is working for free, again. At least there is not an old army buddy involved.

This one is about someone trying to kill Joe because they apparently think he knows where some money is that was stolen by an escaped convict.

You know this one is going to be bad when very early on you see the old familiar stock footage of the ambulance going past the Safeway and turning into Memorial Hospital, a clip that has been played countless times on police/detective shows in the '60s and '70s. In fact, it's been played so many times that the film has started to degrade and has become grainy and washed out, as you'll see in this episode. Maybe that will mean it won't be played anymore. Let's cross our fingers on that one.

Then there's the scene where Joe is at the prison and someone puts a bomb in his car, which is quite an amazing feat since nobody knew he was there.

And why was Corey killed??? Doesn't make any sense. Nobody had any motive to kill him. This was never explained or followed up on.

And then at the end, the villain could have killed Joe at any time, but did nothing while Joe talked endlessly. Very dumb.

And the idea that the villain could remove his dental work and put it in someone else's mouth is far-fetched to say the least.

This is a silly and unexciting episode and there's really no reason to watch it.