User Reviews

In this installment of "Barnaby Jones", Barnaby acts less like a private dick and more like a social worker trying to help a father and his estranged son get together before the old man dies.

The story begins with Barnaby being kidnapped and taken to an unknown location (it turns out to be a winery). But Barnaby wears shades that prevent him from seeing and later he tries to figure out where they've taken him. So why was he briefly kidnapped? Well, a South American leader (Gilbert Roland) is hiding in the US and he wants Barnaby to find his estranged son. While there is some intrigue and a gun battle later, it's pretty much Barnaby trying to do some family therapy.

The style of the episode is nothing like any of the others....and I appreciate that. There's not a lot of action or murder....but that's okay for a change of pace.

You know sooner or later Barnaby would be the victim of a kidnapping. This also happened to CANNON, if you remember. This is a very good adventure, well written by Cal Clements, Jr who wrote 11 episodes for the series, long a writer for GUNSMOKE.

Distinugished veteran actor Gilbert Roland plays a South American leader, Juan DeVarga, who needs Barnaby ASAP to find his son (Carl Bellini). It's an intriguing case as there seems to be more mystery about DeVarga than his son.

This all leads to Barnaby, forced to wear thick sun glasses, kidnapped and taken to a winery to meet DeVarga in person (with his glasses on). The best part of this scene is Barnaby listening to outside noises, even going over train tracks, all to determine what part of Los Angeles he is in. True, it's a long shot ... but it's still fun to watch. Poetic license 101.

The black limousine picks him up and drops him off in front of his office building on Hollywood Boulevard, however while in the car the rearview projection looks more like downtown LA.

Clements wrote a more "milder" scene for Barnaby as compared to Cannon's kidnapping (which may have inspired this episode). Cannon was always roughed up. The winery where Barnaby is driven to was also used in a COLUMBO episode, all about a winemaker who kills his brother.

Good supporting cast with Carmen Zapata, quite popular on tv at the time, usually playing elder Spanish women. Gilbert Roland, who was a silent screen star in the 1920s, had a very distinguished career spanning decades. One of his greatest films was the silent version of CAMILLE in 1927. He was the son of a Spanish bullfighter.

Good late night intrigue. SEASON 2 EPISODE 20 remastered CBS dvd box set.