The night Sam swaps duty with another officer (he wanted to see the football game, which did not thrill his date Chris Caughlin one bit), the man who took his place gets killed during a "routine" investigation. Sam, feeling guilty ("It should have been me!") gets depressed and begins to think maybe it's time he went back home to Taos.
But then he receives an anonymous note indicating the killing wasn't random, and wasn't an accident. Before long, he's looking into it, and discovers that Det. Arthur Franz, who'd been investigating Broadway producer Malcolm Garnett, abruptly closed the file on the case, shortly before his daughter was offered the lead in Garnett's next show. VERY suspicious!
The trail also leads to Louise Blanchard, an apparently wealthy widow whose husband was swindled by Garnett. She seems very nice on the surface, and appears to find Sam very attractive... until we find out that she's also having an affair with Julian Franco, the man suspected of KILLING Det. Franz! Before this complex web plays out, nearly everyone involved winds up being guilty of something, whether it's bribery or conspiracy to commit murder.
Topping the guest cast this time out is Milton Berle as "Malcolm Garnett". Though famous as a comedian, Berle has repeatedly proved over the years he can do straight drama as well, and be very convincing at it. Barbara Rush (PEYTON PLACE) is "Louise Blanchard"; Rush reminds me a bit of a 60's version of Dana Delany, in that I rank her as one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood, but she always seems to be playing very disturbed or corrupt characters (as seen in her guest-shots on THE OUTER LIMITS, BATMAN, or here). Arthur Mallet (YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, HALLOWEEN, a guest-shot on WKRP IN CINCINNATI) is "Leonard", one of Louise's rich friends who married a wife much younger than he is. Reginald Owen (whose career goes back decades) is "Orville", another of Louise's friends. Vic Tayback (STAR TREK: "A Piece of the Action") is "Thomas", Garnett's bodyguard. Jeff Pomerantz (founder of "Hollywood Says No To Drugs") is "Julian Franco", the painter-sculptor boy-toy of Louise who looks like a porn star and is easily talked into committing murders for her. Lane Bradbury (several episodes of GUNSMOKE and a long list of other credits) is "Carol Harrington", the sweet, talented dancer who's shocked to learn her father may have accepted a bribe to get her a career break. (She was also the wife of actor-turned-director Lou Antonio, who helmed this episode.)
Between the film montage of McCloud roaming around NYC to the tune of Dennis Weaver warbling the song "Another Way", the scenes at the beginning and end of Sam & Chris having dinner together, and an extended "rehearsal" sequence in the theatre, this episode feels very much to me like it was written for the one-hour format of the previous year, but painfully padded out to fit the 90-min. slot.
Also, while the climax, with Sam getting the drop on a killer who was waiting to take him out, was clever, with the 2 main plots, both of which end in rather downbeat fashion, this episode may be my least-favorite of the season. Oh well. Things would change-- BIG-time-- the following year.
But then he receives an anonymous note indicating the killing wasn't random, and wasn't an accident. Before long, he's looking into it, and discovers that Det. Arthur Franz, who'd been investigating Broadway producer Malcolm Garnett, abruptly closed the file on the case, shortly before his daughter was offered the lead in Garnett's next show. VERY suspicious!
The trail also leads to Louise Blanchard, an apparently wealthy widow whose husband was swindled by Garnett. She seems very nice on the surface, and appears to find Sam very attractive... until we find out that she's also having an affair with Julian Franco, the man suspected of KILLING Det. Franz! Before this complex web plays out, nearly everyone involved winds up being guilty of something, whether it's bribery or conspiracy to commit murder.
Topping the guest cast this time out is Milton Berle as "Malcolm Garnett". Though famous as a comedian, Berle has repeatedly proved over the years he can do straight drama as well, and be very convincing at it. Barbara Rush (PEYTON PLACE) is "Louise Blanchard"; Rush reminds me a bit of a 60's version of Dana Delany, in that I rank her as one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood, but she always seems to be playing very disturbed or corrupt characters (as seen in her guest-shots on THE OUTER LIMITS, BATMAN, or here). Arthur Mallet (YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, HALLOWEEN, a guest-shot on WKRP IN CINCINNATI) is "Leonard", one of Louise's rich friends who married a wife much younger than he is. Reginald Owen (whose career goes back decades) is "Orville", another of Louise's friends. Vic Tayback (STAR TREK: "A Piece of the Action") is "Thomas", Garnett's bodyguard. Jeff Pomerantz (founder of "Hollywood Says No To Drugs") is "Julian Franco", the painter-sculptor boy-toy of Louise who looks like a porn star and is easily talked into committing murders for her. Lane Bradbury (several episodes of GUNSMOKE and a long list of other credits) is "Carol Harrington", the sweet, talented dancer who's shocked to learn her father may have accepted a bribe to get her a career break. (She was also the wife of actor-turned-director Lou Antonio, who helmed this episode.)
Between the film montage of McCloud roaming around NYC to the tune of Dennis Weaver warbling the song "Another Way", the scenes at the beginning and end of Sam & Chris having dinner together, and an extended "rehearsal" sequence in the theatre, this episode feels very much to me like it was written for the one-hour format of the previous year, but painfully padded out to fit the 90-min. slot.
Also, while the climax, with Sam getting the drop on a killer who was waiting to take him out, was clever, with the 2 main plots, both of which end in rather downbeat fashion, this episode may be my least-favorite of the season. Oh well. Things would change-- BIG-time-- the following year.