One Step to Midnight

"One Step to Midnight" was a decent episode...up until the ending. As for the ending, it left a lot to be desired.

When the show begins, Mannix is called to a meeting--a meeting that turns out not only to be fake but someone is there waiting for him. The man who supposedly called Mannix MIGHT have been a famous gangster (Harold Gould) but Mannix is not only unwilling to work for the guy but no one knows exactly where he is. Soon, the gangster's son is murdered and the granddaughter of the creep might be next--so Mannix comes to offer his help.

The mystery and action in this one is pretty good. Plus, by the end Mannix's guess as to who is behind all this isn't such a big leap-- there's hardly anyone left! But the final scene and the way the granddaughter reacts is just a bit insane--and seriously impairs the show overall. Generally well done but it just lets up at the end.

Ron McDougall was back in the director's seat, always a treat, a specialist in action and adventure, and with a long list of tv westerns to his credit, also IRONSIDE and MOD SQUAD.

Catch the creepy opening scene.

Exceptionally written story centering around a notorious gangster called Bruno Raphael. Harold Gould plays Bruno and defintely has some fun with the role, including an accent. Here's the catch; Bruno was deported --but suddenly turns up in Los Angeles, and in Joe's office, telling his side of the story. That said, there's still some folks who want him out of the way. Nobody wants a gangster on the skids.

Gould was a tv and movie favorite, having began his career as a dramatic teacher. He said one day he just decided to give it all up and become a full time actor. Best decision he ever made. Belinda J. Montgomery (who always reminded me of Shelley Fabray) plays Gould's grand daughter, who wants absolutely nothing to do with him. Bottom line, this develops into a rather neat crime drama slash soap opera.

Christopher Connelly guest stars, a staple in cop shows in the 70s. Ward Wood is back, and blue is definitely Peggy's color, always stylish. Interestingly, some of the background music, at least in this episode, was lifted from CANNON. Sounds very familiar. Could be the CBS music library.

Warren Duff wrote this story, who specialized in gangster classics with James Cagney and the Dead End Kids at Warner Brothers in the 30s. Beware: lots of bodies.

Good part for British actor and writer Alan Caillou, playing Derek. Alan wrote for the MAN FROM UNCLE and Boris Karloff's tv show, many others.

SEASON 6 EPISODE 9. Remastered color CBS/Paramount dvd box set. The Six Bullet Box for all us fans.

In this one, Joe is hired by a couple who believe someone is watching them.

This is a great episode with an intriguing story, lots of action and a good twist at the end.

It's great to see Alan Caillou return as Derek. He was excellent in his first appearance in Dark So Early, Dark So Long from last season and is just as good here, even though once again he only appears in one scene. This is his final appearance and he'll be missed. He's a really interesting character and should have been used more often. Belinda Montgomery makes her one and only appearance and really shines as Susan Graham and Paul Lambert is terrific as Nick Horton. He looks, acts and talks like a mob guy and is perfect for this role. He really knocks it out of the ballpark.

Harold Gould's fake accent is really awful and irritating. His performance would have been more effective if he had played it straight without the dumb accent.

The total body count is four.

There are some great fight scenes and stunts. Joe gets clobbered in the head again and knocked out, but that's the only cliché.

This is a very entertaining and enjoyable episode.