Cannon (TV Series) Nobody Beats the House (1972) User Reviews

A Little Sloppy But Entertaining

[ramsfan · 8/10 · 2 September 2022]

Compulsive gambler Toby Hauser (Tom Skerritt) is in debt to racketeer Ben Logan (John Marley) to the tune of nearly $200,000. Concerned for his safety and believing he's sincere about trying to go straight, his wife Cathy (Corinne Camacho) hires Cannon to intervene and keep him alive. He offers Logan a $20,000 check and an installment plan to repay the debt, but fearing his reputation on the street would be compromised, Logan declines. He reinforces this stance by sending his main goon J. J. Bancroft (Geoffrey Lewis) to shoot at Cannon from an elevated perch. Meanwhile, the misguided Hauser buys into a crooked poker game run by Logan's son Jason (Paul Michael Glaser) in an attempt to win back enough money to pay off the debt. Wise to his scheme, Cannon also joins the game and concocts a plan to save Hauser from himself.

"Nobody Beats the House" wraps up a bit too easily, with Logan and his son arrested and the D. A. "guaranteeing" neither will put a contract out on Hauser to regain their money for fear of life imprisonment. A leap of faith, to be sure. And the ending bit about him completing his first month of Gamblers' Anonymous meetings isn't really convincing. Still, the episode is entertaining and benefits from the presence of some good character actors including Marley, Lewis and Paul Michael Glaser, who in less than two years would gain stardom as one half of the detective duo Starsky and Hutch. Tom Skerritt played a lot of depraved criminals in a number of 60's and 70's shows; here he plays a headstrong guy in way over his head.

A good offering from the Cannon series and worth a watch.

Intervention Cannon style

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 24 April 2021]

I enjoyed this second season offering. I think it shows what William Conrad did best-- playing a tough guy with a heart.

The previous reviewer seems to think that Frank Cannon, Conrad's character, is a bit dumb for giving Toby Hauser (Tom Skerritt) all these chances. That Cannon doesn't understand the true nature of an addict. But I think Cannon definitely understands, and he sees this as a chance to demonstrate some tough love and help the poor schmuck out. There's a great scene where Cannon knocks Toby out, so Toby won't go into some building and end up dead by shooting his mouth off.

Cannon doesn't feel it's part of his job to just give up on the guy or his situation. Plus he's promised Toby's wife (Corinne Camacho) that he's going to help him no matter what. This means seeing it through no matter how much the odds are stacked against them.

An episode like this gives the writers a chance to remind the audience that Frank Cannon isn't just your average private investigator. He is someone who genuinely cares about his clients and it is why he has such a successful business and so many friends.

PLAYING CARDS AND HOPING TO SURVIVE!

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 31 August 2022]

10 Stars. You have to love this one.

This was writer Meyer Dolinsky's first episode with the series, also associated with HAWAII FIVE O, and the OUTER LIMITS, earlier in his career. It's a rather clever story as Frank has to play poker against some tricky gamblers in order to keep a fellow player (played by Tom Skerritt) ALIVE.

This one involves a few fancy moves at the table, especially if you like the feel of the game. Not the CINCINNATTI KID, but its fun to watch everyone, trying to get a piece of the pie and outdo each other.

This was the only episode that Herb Herschman directed, also a producer for the TWILIGHT ZONE. Look for craggly faced John Marley (frequently cast on the show) who plays Logan. Corinne Camacho ( a favorite of producer Quinn Martin) plays Skerritt's wife who gets Cannon involved. Camacho is best known for DAY OF OUR LIVES. Also in the cast is pre STARSKY AND HUTCH star Paul Michael Glaser and veteran Maxine Stewart (as Etta) who gets to play with Cannon, but doesn't like him.

Having heard about all the fun that went on behind the scenes, you can be sure everybody was playing poker between takes. Meyer Dolinsky adds some classic dialogue and one liners for Cannon, especially toward the end.

SEASON 2 EPISODE 13. Merry Christmas 1972! Remastered CBS/Paramount dvd box set #2. 3 dvds. 10 hrs. Check out the back cover photos, including Cannon near the Queen Mary.

You really have to wonder why Cannon even bothered.

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 29 August 2013]

"Nobody Beats the House" is a very weak episode of "Cannon". While it's reasonably entertaining, a lot of the show doesn't make a lot of sense. Cannon is hired by the wife of a total idiot (Tom Skerritt). It seems that her idiot husband is a compulsive gambler and the people he owes are threatening to kill him. Cannon decides the best way to handle it is to perform a 'Sting' all by himself.

This is an irritating episode because the writer didn't seem to know much about addictions and the characters behaved weirdly. Considering that Cannon is a detective and ex-cop, you'd think he wouldn't just blindly assume that his client has gotten over his addiction--but he does. And, you wouldn't think that Cannon would promise that this addict would pay back loans--but he does. And, you'd think when he has a client THIS obnoxious and unwilling to help that he'd just walk away--but he doesn't. Overall, a weak episode with an entertaining ending.

By the way, this episode features quite a few familiar faces in addition to Skerrit--John Marley, Geoffrey Lewis and Paul Michael Glaser.

Solid casting

[lor_ · 12 August 2023]

Some wonderful character actors show up on this "Cannon" segment. He's hired by Tom Skerritt's wife to help out Tom, on the run as a down on his luck gambler being harassed by the creeps who he owes money.

John Marley is comfortably cast as a mobster (right out of his "Godfather" assignment shortly before this role) with Geoffrey Lewis perfect as bumbling henchman trying to collect Skerritt for $200,000 in poker debts.

As wife Kathy, Corinne Camacho is sympathetic -an actress I don't recall from the '70s, never made it big like other regular guest stars of the era Stephanie Powers and Pamela Franklin.