Our favorite Chief of Detectives is snatched by a pair of crooks who wish to transport something to a man in Paris and avoid all the usual channels. Marshal McCloud, who happens to be assigned to airport duty, gets the job of accompanying one of the men, under the threat that if anything at all goes wrong, Clifford's DEAD. But since it's McCloud, he finds a way around it, first by subtly letting Joe Broadhurst know it's a life-or-death situation, then by enlisting the aid of a pretty stewardess to open the briefcase he's carrying to find out what's inside-- a million dollars in cash. Once in Paris, he's greeted by the local authorities, but soon, the man he's with pulls a gun and runs off with the briefcase! McCloud has to figure out how to locate the man the money is supposed to be delivered to, before Chief Clifford is killed back in New York.
I hadn't realized until I started watching this again uncut (after 50 years) that this was Leslie Stevens' 2nd and final script for the series. To anyone who's seen his writing on THE OUTER LIMITS, it's unmistakably his work. It's so TECHNICAL! The whole first act is filled with so much detailed information about entry permits, passports, and such, if this were a ST:TNG episode you could call it "techno-babble". Luckily, the guest-cast and the characters they play, plus the location filming, makes this a far-better story than it would seem on the surface. It's also fitting that Stevens should be the one who introduced the recurring plot device that McCloud, a marshall from New Mexico assigned to New York City, should find himself on a case in SOME OTHER country! They did at least one of these kind of stories every season after this one.
Alfred Ryder is "Mason", whose impersonation of Clifford ignores the fact that he's 6 inches too short-- something the Paris Police picked up on (eventually). I swear, I don't think I've ever seen Ryder play a character who wasn't some kind of total creep or scumbag, and this episode certainly keeps that consistent. I remember him mostly for STAR TREK ("The Man Trap") and THE OUTER LIMITS ("The Borderland"-- also written by Stevens).
Susan Strasberg is "Annette Bardege", the French stewardess who aids McCloud, and with whom she develops a mutual liking of. I've seen her in a number of things, but crazy enough, she came back to play a different character in the very next episode of McCLOUD after this!
John Van Dreelan is "Rissient", the man who holds Clifford's life in his hands via a phone call, and turns out to be a weapons smuggler. I've seen him in 2 episodes of U. N. C. L. E., 2 of VOYAGE, 2 of WILD WILD WEST, a GREEN ACRES, and a GET SMART.
Marcel Hillaire is "Inspector Prideaux", who greets first Sam, then Joe & Vince Polk, and manages to remain patient and polite despite the maddening confusion of the situation. One of the most recognizable characters actors in all of 60s TV, I'll always remember him most for 2 episodes of LOST IN SPACE and a couple of GET SMARTs. He came back 2 seasons later playing a different French Policeman. So it goes! (You'd never guess he wasn't really French, would you?)
Maurice Marsac has a tiny bit part as a "Police Official". Among the things I've seen him in were 3 episodes of THE NEW AVENGERS and an Ellen Foley NIGHT COURT episode.
J. D. Cannon doesn't get to do much as Chief Clifford in this episode, but he definitely trusts and appreciates both Sam & Joe's efforts on his behalf. I know it got hilarious later, when Clifford would increasingly have fits of anger, but myself, I prefer him when he was calm and friendly toward Sam, as he is here.
Terry Carter probably got to do more as "Joe Broadhurst" here than in the previous 5 episodes combined. As he explains to Sam when they're reunited at the story's end, "It's simple. I just listen to whatever you say-- then do the opposite." What a guy!
This was the last of the 6 one-hour "try-out" episodes on FOUR-IN-ONE. After this came NIGHT GALLERY, SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, and, the only one I've never seen, THE PSYCHIATRIST. NIGHT GALLERY would become a weekly the following season, while McCLOUD became one of the main recurring features on THE NBC MYSTERY MOVIE. But that would not debut until 11 months after this episode! Fortunately I got hooked during the summer rerun season, so I didn't have to wait that long for the next story to come along.
But in the meantime... associate producer Bill Egan would move onto THE VIRGINIAN... Leslie Stevens would do likewise, before then doing SEARCH... and Glen Larson would create ALIAS SMITH AND JONES, which became an instant hit, and remained thus until the tragic suicide of its lead actor, Pete Duel. The show didn't last long after that, and before long, Larson would make, I daresay, a triumphant return to McCLOUD, at the start of its 3rd season. In between, the 2nd season was under different management... and had a very different style and feel about it.
I hadn't realized until I started watching this again uncut (after 50 years) that this was Leslie Stevens' 2nd and final script for the series. To anyone who's seen his writing on THE OUTER LIMITS, it's unmistakably his work. It's so TECHNICAL! The whole first act is filled with so much detailed information about entry permits, passports, and such, if this were a ST:TNG episode you could call it "techno-babble". Luckily, the guest-cast and the characters they play, plus the location filming, makes this a far-better story than it would seem on the surface. It's also fitting that Stevens should be the one who introduced the recurring plot device that McCloud, a marshall from New Mexico assigned to New York City, should find himself on a case in SOME OTHER country! They did at least one of these kind of stories every season after this one.
Alfred Ryder is "Mason", whose impersonation of Clifford ignores the fact that he's 6 inches too short-- something the Paris Police picked up on (eventually). I swear, I don't think I've ever seen Ryder play a character who wasn't some kind of total creep or scumbag, and this episode certainly keeps that consistent. I remember him mostly for STAR TREK ("The Man Trap") and THE OUTER LIMITS ("The Borderland"-- also written by Stevens).
Susan Strasberg is "Annette Bardege", the French stewardess who aids McCloud, and with whom she develops a mutual liking of. I've seen her in a number of things, but crazy enough, she came back to play a different character in the very next episode of McCLOUD after this!
John Van Dreelan is "Rissient", the man who holds Clifford's life in his hands via a phone call, and turns out to be a weapons smuggler. I've seen him in 2 episodes of U. N. C. L. E., 2 of VOYAGE, 2 of WILD WILD WEST, a GREEN ACRES, and a GET SMART.
Marcel Hillaire is "Inspector Prideaux", who greets first Sam, then Joe & Vince Polk, and manages to remain patient and polite despite the maddening confusion of the situation. One of the most recognizable characters actors in all of 60s TV, I'll always remember him most for 2 episodes of LOST IN SPACE and a couple of GET SMARTs. He came back 2 seasons later playing a different French Policeman. So it goes! (You'd never guess he wasn't really French, would you?)
Maurice Marsac has a tiny bit part as a "Police Official". Among the things I've seen him in were 3 episodes of THE NEW AVENGERS and an Ellen Foley NIGHT COURT episode.
J. D. Cannon doesn't get to do much as Chief Clifford in this episode, but he definitely trusts and appreciates both Sam & Joe's efforts on his behalf. I know it got hilarious later, when Clifford would increasingly have fits of anger, but myself, I prefer him when he was calm and friendly toward Sam, as he is here.
Terry Carter probably got to do more as "Joe Broadhurst" here than in the previous 5 episodes combined. As he explains to Sam when they're reunited at the story's end, "It's simple. I just listen to whatever you say-- then do the opposite." What a guy!
This was the last of the 6 one-hour "try-out" episodes on FOUR-IN-ONE. After this came NIGHT GALLERY, SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, and, the only one I've never seen, THE PSYCHIATRIST. NIGHT GALLERY would become a weekly the following season, while McCLOUD became one of the main recurring features on THE NBC MYSTERY MOVIE. But that would not debut until 11 months after this episode! Fortunately I got hooked during the summer rerun season, so I didn't have to wait that long for the next story to come along.
But in the meantime... associate producer Bill Egan would move onto THE VIRGINIAN... Leslie Stevens would do likewise, before then doing SEARCH... and Glen Larson would create ALIAS SMITH AND JONES, which became an instant hit, and remained thus until the tragic suicide of its lead actor, Pete Duel. The show didn't last long after that, and before long, Larson would make, I daresay, a triumphant return to McCLOUD, at the start of its 3rd season. In between, the 2nd season was under different management... and had a very different style and feel about it.
