Neilson ratings at the time showed that MANNIX was off to a slow start... but if you were a kid growing up back in the day and watched this wild stuff, you were hooked. It had to be the fist fights!
Former MGM movie star Gloria DeHaven guest stars in this tough episode, playing an old flame (named Gloria) who needs Joe to do some undercover work. If you guessed watching her husband - you got it! What happens next is CLASSIC Mannix. Joe gets bopped and is framed for the guy's murder in one easy lesson.
This episode also holds the distinction of beginning a series of lovely female guest stars, who were eitherJoe's former gal pals or clients --who became close friends. Gloria DeHaven was popular on tv at the time and guested on the soap opera RYANS HOPE. Robert H. Harris (an Alfred Hitchcock favorite) co-stars as Malloy. The fun thing about Harris is he generally played quiet, unassuming types with something up his sleeve. Also check out the nice wardrobe changes in this episode, so Hollywood.
This one gets violent, combined with Joe's sporty Oldsmobile Toranado, which would begin a line of classic cars to take him from one smack down to another. I think the producers at the time were trying to figure out what type of car would suit someone like Joe. Personally, I always thought he was a Corvette type of guy, mainly because he was a bachelor, but he did finally get a super Dodge Charger. Also in the budget.
THERE IS... a real cool car chase with Joe in a brand new Chrysler Imperial. It looks to have been partly filmed around the winding road to the Griffith park Observatory. The perfect spot to wreck your car as there are hills and ditches everywhere.
Well directed by Murray Golden, who was also handling episodes for MISSION IMPOSSIBLE. SEASON 1 EPISODE 3 remastered CBS dvd box set. Note: This first season box set is perhaps the least expensive of all eight seasons, and could be because Gail Fisher had not joined the cast as a regular until SEASON 2.