Another gem of a mystery directed by Walter Grauman, who mastered 49 episodes of the series, and this is one of the best.
Lawrence Pressman (who is still acting to this day) is at his most devious, playing Lloyd Kellner, a thief of thieves, who fakes his own death in an accident, all to get his greedy hands on millions he cleverly embezzled. He's joined by his crafty wife, played by Jessica Walter. You couldn't ask for a better actress to play this role. They are the perfect unsavory team.
This is a lot like a COLUMBO episode as the couple tries to fake out Barnaby, and they're fairly ingenious, of course unaware he's onto them. You could always tell when suspicions arise, just by watching Barnaby's wry smile. And if you listen carefully, it's not what the suspects did, it's what they "say" that always seems to trip them up. It's all downhill after that.
Walter Grauman was a master at working with actors, who later directed many classic episodes for MURDER, SHE WROTE, which I always thought was played similarly to Barnaby Jones, minus the violence.
A great supporting cast with reliable Peter Mark Richmond (another super villain) and all purpose character actor William Schallert, always so recognizable. Partly filmed at beautiful Marina del Rey, for all us boat watchers.
Listen to the creepy, atmospheric background music, supplied by composer Richard Markowitz, behind so many classic shows, such as WILD WILD WEST and the FBI. It's makes this one.
SEASON 3 EPISODE 2 remastered CBS dve box set.
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