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Harry O: Such Dust as Dreams Are Made On (1973)
Excellent 70's detective with Columbo touches
Bear with me. Obviously Harry O is not Columbo. But this TV movie, the first pilot for the Harry O TV series, will remind you of some of the best of 70's Columbo, and even of modern shows like "Better Call Saul." While there are chase scenes and shootouts, sure, the film is not rushed and allows the viewer to seep into the story and the character. The beginning and ending are great examples: The opening scene, with Harry asleep and Garrison sitting in the foreground and all you see is his gun, blurred, and then the alarm goes off...and the final scene where the credits roll while Harry is sitting on the bench at the bus stop. Wonderful.
Another reviewer criticizes the Heroin making scene with Will Geer. This is the type of scene that generic shows don't have, but it's beauty is in it's detail and length.
The link to Columbo is that Janssen establishes a character, like Columbo, that is unique and interesting and mysterious (i.e. He doesn't reveal what he knows and what he's thinking) and both demonstrably think things out. In this film there's a great scene where Harry sits on the beach and has his lover ask him "obvious" questions to try to suss out some answers, just like Columbo often does (although Columbo usually quizzes himself!).
And I liked how throughout the film they show Harry jogging every morning, with the payoff being that he can outlast the younger Sal Mineo in the ending chase scene.
All in all, excellent!
Banacek: Detour to Nowhere (1972)
Banacek hits a home run with pilot for the series
This is the pilot for what would be the Banacek TV series. As was usually done at that time, the pilot would be a special TV movie, so even if the TV series wasn't picked up, the networks would still have a nice TV movie for everyone.
In any event, this is a top notch TV movie as all the elements work: Great acting from George Peppard as the lead, excellent supporting cast, and a fun mystery story that has the audience guessing. The twist with Banacek is, unlike Columbo or so many other TV detectives, he's not trying to solve a murder, but figure out a crime that is essentially a vanishing act: How did an armored car just disappear, who did it, and maybe most importantly, how did they do it?
Peppard plays Banacek as a wealthy, successful, cultured, suave, and very, very cool character who does not show emotion and always - I mean always - remains calm. This is tough to pull off - Columbo often featured little comedy bits where Columbo did goofy things - but Peppard often lets the camera linger on him while he doesn't react to something, which in itself is a reaction!
The supporting cast feature many accomplished actors who by the time of Banacek in many cases had appeared in some classic movies and shows. Murray Matheson - Banacek's urbane librarian and factotum friend, is a personal favorite. He appeared in the classic Twilight Zone and I remember him fondly from a couple episodes of the Boris Karloff hosted "Thriller," especially one where he's out to poison everyone.
You'll recognize Banacek's driver, played by Ralph Manza, as he seemingly was in every TV show from the 70's to the 1990's, including Seinfeld. The episode also prominently features Ed Nelson, who brought some flair to whatever character he was doing. Nelson also appeared in the original Twilight Zone, the original Outer Limits, and four episodes of Thriller.
The Banacek-Raymond Burr connection is strong in this pilot. Nelson appeared in both Perry Mason and Ironside, Manza was in four episodes of Perry Mason and also in Ironside, Don Dubbins was in Ironside, Matheson was in Perry Mason, George Murdock was in seven (!) episodes of Ironside.
Finally, a special shout-out to J. Pat O'Malley, who plays the shopkeeper. Once you see his face you'll "know him" without knowing his name. He he has great character and could bring a little something to even the smallest part. He was in tons of Disney movies and TV shows, and of course was also in the original Twilight Zone, Thriller, and of course, Perry Mason and Ironside!
My only trepidation after watching this pilot was the thought, whoa, can the TV series keep this up? It's not a spoiler to say, yes it did!
Ironside: Come Eleven, Come Twelve (1974)
Mixture of "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" and a classic western for Ed
In thi s episode Ed is escorting a prisoner via plane and car back to San Fran and never does make it, finishing his day in an old shack-like bar, waiting for assassins to attack. It's compelling throughout, made more so for the intrinsic creepiness of his prisoner, played by Andrew Robinson.
Now, if you're a movie or TV fan you'll recognize Robinson and immediately cringe! Robinson was the psycho Scorpio killer in the Dirty Harry Movie and also was the Demon in Hellraiser. And he played the slimy Garak in Star Trek: Deep Space 9 for years. I'm sure Andrew Robinson is a nice guy in real life, but I'd still be very nervous if he came around to hang out at my house.
It's fun to see plane travel in the 1970's - those stewardess outfits are awesome! And, the final scenes in the semi-abandoned bar out in the woods are done well. There's a touch of the film "No Country for Old Men" when an oldster stumbled into the shack and rather than getting out of there fast, decides to try and grab some loot. He pays for it with his life. If there's one thing I've learned from TV and movies, it's when you stumble upon some kind of weird crime scene, get away as fast as possible and don't even think of grabbing the money. You're toast if you do!
This episode is a Star Trek actors reunion. There's Robinson from STDS9. But also George Murdock, who played "God" (!) in Star Trek V, Michael Strong, who had an iconic role as Dr. Roger Corby in the original Star Trek series (he clones Captain Kirk!), and Bill Zuckert and Paul Comi also appeared in the original Star Trek series.
A shout out to Ken Lynch, who is in this episode. Lynch played tons of cops and bad guys throughout his career, and it's always cool to see him and hear his gravelly voice in any show!
Ironside: Close to the Heart (1974)
Creative premise makes for good episode
Fantastic premise: Woman is discovered to have a bullet in her body but says she didn't know about it. How? Why? What does it mean? The Ironside gang set to find out and in the process discover corruption and murder. The villian of the piece is a a real slime ball - but then again Ironside often featured top of the line psychos and sleazebags. It helped that it was the 70's so their awful hair and clothes contributed to the look.
Look for a couple interesting things in this episode:
1. A short scene involving the widow of the murdered Ortega. Virginia Paris really does a great job with her part here, conveying the tiredness of a woman struggling to put food on the table for her family.
2. All of Mark's lines are dubbed! Maybe he had a cold or something, but it's kind of weird!
Donald Moffat has a big role in this one. Moffat was a great character actor with the thickest eyebrows in Hollywood. My favorite role of his - of anybody's in fact - was Gerry in 1982's "The Thing" starring Kurt Russell. He's fantastic in that.
Veteran actor Paul Lambert is our Ironside/Star Trek connection. He was in Star Trek: The Next Generation. He was also in the films "Spartacus" and "Planet of the Apes." What a career!
Ironside: Friend or Foe (1974)
Johnny Seven episode! Is that a good or bad thing?
Johnny Seven appeared in 30 episodes of Ironside. Except for the first one, he played Lt. Reese. For the most part he's pretty good except in season 7 he started playing his role for cliche - the yelling, put-upon cop who walks out of Ironside's office screaming, "Why me! Why me!" etc. Etc. Note: Everybody seems to love Kolchak the Night Stalker, but Kolchak's boss spends almost every episode screaming and yelling at him that to me it kind of ruins the episodes as it's so ridiculous. I know it's fiction, but if people screamed and yelled like these people do that much they'd be put away!
Anyway, Seven started doing that in season 7 and it's not pleasant. In this episode he's accused of graft and he does get a little hysterical, so all in all I weigh in on it not being a good thing for him to be the "star" of the episode.
The real "star" is the garage cop! They basically solve the case when the garage cop is able to identify with great detail the criminals and the car that he only saw for a few seconds! Ironside should have hired him on the spot!
The Ironside/Star Trek connection in good force here: Clyde Kusatsu, who has a small part as as parking attendant, was Admiral Nakamura in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Bryan Morrow, the drug kingpin, was in two episodes of the original Star Trek. Enjoy and plug your ears when Johnny Seven starts speaking!
Ironside: Riddle at 24,000 (1974)
So good it feels like a pilot or at the least adding Desi Arnez to regular cast
Desi Arnez guest stars in this Ironside as a mystery-solving Doctor and has such great chemistry that as the other reviewer noted, he easily could have been added to the cast. Or, he could have been featured in a spin-off series or at least some TV movies. Clearly everybody involved in this show was so pleased to have Arnez star that they upped their game - the direction is excellent, writing sharp, and lots of nice beach location scenes. Even the over-the-top acting by the other actors - especially Patricia Smith and Ralph Meeker - is fun!
Ironside did not do comedy episodes, but this comes closest, and it works. Seeing the legendary Desi Arnez with Raymond Burr for 45 minutes is just a treat.
The one really oddball thing about this admittedly very different Ironside is the bald-headed son. Just plain weird!
Ralph Meeker - Classic actor who starred in film noir movies and Alfred Hitchcock episodes.
The Ironside/Star Trek link is served by Patricia Smith, who appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Ironside: Close to the Heart (1974)
Creative premise makes for good episode
Fantastic premise: Woman is discovered to have a bullet in her body but says she didn't know about it. How? Why? What does it mean? The Ironside gang set to find out and in the process discover corruption and murder. The villian of the piece is a a real slime ball - but then again Ironside often featured top of the line psychos and sleazebags. It helped that it was the 70's so their awful hair and clothes contributed to the look.
Look for a couple interesting things in this episode:
1. A short scene involving the widow of the murdered Ortega. Virginia Paris really does a great job with her part here, conveying the tiredness of a woman struggling to put food on the table for her family.
2. All of Mark's lines are dubbed! Maybe he had a cold or something, but it's kind of weird!
Donald Moffat has a big role in this one. Moffat was a great character actor with the thickest eyebrows in Hollywood. My favorite role of his - of anybody's in fact - was Gerry in 1982's "The Thing" starring Kurt Russell. He's fantastic in that.
Veteran actor Paul Lambert is our Ironside/Star Trek connection. He was in Star Trek: The Next Generation. He was also in the films "Spartacus" and "Planet of the Apes." What a career!
Ironside: A Death in Academe (1974)
A rather deep Ironside episode
In this episode a friend of Ed's is a philosophy professor who is so brilliant that he touches his student's minds to a degree in which they question existence. One commits suicide and another rebels against her parents. The father, an old-time mobster, comes out of retirement to hire a hit man to take out the professor.
The professor is played by Michael Parks, who Quentin Tarantino thought was the greatest actor in America and cast him often. Parks not only nails the language of philosophy perfectly, but he also makes the professor arrogant and callous. It is a fine performance.
Malachi Throne plays the distraught father and Mike Kellin the hit man. Both are normally recognizable actors from their hundreds of appearances in TV going back to the 50's but a bit unrecognizable with their goofy 1970's hairstyles! What a wacky era, with huge sideburns, long hair, and mutton chops, etc. Etc. Take a look at the Oakland A's of that era and you'll get the picture!
Throne ably serves the Ironside/Star Trek connection. Not only was he in the original series and The Next Generation, but was in a fan produced series called "Star Trek: Phase II.
Ironside: The Taste of Ashes (1974)
Missing family member returns plot still good and with a twist
I can't recall how many, but Burr's first big series, Perry Mason, had a few episodes with the plotline where a family member would return after being thought dead and then the mystery is whether it's the real deal or a scammer. That's the case in this Ironside, where Kim Hunter's daughter returns "from the dead" after years of being gone, saying she was in a drug haze for many years. Along with that mystery is the mystery for the Ironside gang as to who killed Hunter's son. I won't spoil it for you, but there's a very cool twist at the end, made possible by the acting of the inimitable Kim Hunter.
If you're any sort of movie buff at all, just close your eyes and listen to Hunter. Yes, it's Zira from the Planet of the Apes classic movies! Probably the best performance behind a mask by any actress in history? Gretchen Corbett is also particularly good as Hunter's possible daughter. It's really not a spoiler to say that her angst at the facade gives away that part of the mystery. She had a very memorable role in the classic Columbo episode, "An Exercise in Fatality."
Whit Bissell joins us again, as the lawyer, and it's fun to see his face. He was all over the movies and tv from the 50's onward, usually playing doctors and lawyers. He serves our Ironside/Star Trek connection, appearing in the classic Star Trek episode, 'The Trouble with Tribbles."
I think you'll like this episode. Hunter plays it well and it leaves you with the thought, wonder how this turned out over time....?
Ironside: Once More for Joey (1974)
An episode that would have greatly benefited from a real blind actor
This is certainly one of the more unusual plots for an Ironside, let alone for any TV program: A four person, three of them blind, singing group named "Outta Sight," has a member murdered, and the Ironside crew is on the case. Actually, the case begins by investigating music piracy, but soon turns into one of murder, and a gruesome one at that.
It's ambitious to film three main characters who are supposed to be blind, and I guess they're ok, but having two of them constantly fighting and rolling around wrestling just seems awkward and not quite right and yes, a little ridiculous.
Now, ABC had a series that ran in 1971 and 1972 called "Longstreet" that starred James Franciscus as a blind insurance investigator, and he did a helluva job. Was this episode a delayed reaction to that series? Longstreet also featured Bruce Lee as Longstreet's friend, and Lee was able to show off his incredible karate moves in a couple of episodes. This same season Ironside has a karate episode! Hmmmm. Methinks they took some ideas from Longstreet. That's ok, but for me this one just didn't work too well.
Ironside/Star Trek connection: William Bramley, who has a small part in this, was in Star Trek the Original Series.
Ironside: Class of '40 (1974)
All Star Cast of classic actors as Ironside attends his high school reunion
Sometimes you'll have an Ironside episode where there's no recognizable guest star that week, and they struggle to even put a name up during the opening credits. Or, when you see Johnny Seven as one of the featured actors, you know there might not be a lot of star power in that episode. This episode is the exact opposite. It features four fantastic actors who appeared in starring roles in TV and movies from the 50's onward and are a treat to watch. I give this episode a 10 just for having Ann Francis in it alone!
The plot is a good one, with Ironside heading back to Summerville (classic generic name of a fictional hometown - Rod Serling used "Willoughby" and others) for his high school reunion, although he's not a sentimentalist and wouldn't have gone but for a possible murder investigation. His old classmates include Ann Francis, Jackie Coogan, and Marshall Thompson. Include Raymond Burr in the mix and you've got the greatest acting high school class in history!
Leif Erickson plays Ironside's old high school football coach, and boy is he believable. And so is the idea of Ironside playing center on the team.
Jackie Coogan, who famously played Uncle Fester in The Addams Family, is fun to see here, but he's wasted. He could have easily been the major guest star in another episode.
Marshall Thompson gets lots of screen time but is also wasted too in that hte part does not suit him. Thompson was capable of great depth, and for him to play a bumbling sheriff seems like a lost opportunity. One of the best performances in classic TV I've seen is Marshall Thompson playing Arthur Poe in the original Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Wayward Wife" in 1960. He's brilliant and the ending scene of with him and Burr is sublime. Thompson had quite the career, appearing in some wild Sci Fi films like "Fiend Without a Face" and "It!". He was a mainstay on Science Fiction Theater.
Ann Francis has a movie star quality even though she mostly did TV. She appeared in a number of big time films - including Forbidden Planet - but I remember her best in the Twilight Zone episode, "The After Hours," and several of the Alfred Hitchcock Presents she did.
Jason Evers gets a shout out here too. He was the lead in the crazy 1962 cult class, "The Brain That Wouldn't Die." He ended his career in the weirdest way possible, appearing in "Basket Case 2."
The episode is well made, well acted, and extras are thrown in, like quick cuts of old, black and white, vintage photos of the characters as they looked in high school. Nicely done!
The Ironside/Star Trek connection is alive and well here: Evers appeared in an original series Star Trek and Peter Brocco, who plays the doctor here, was also in Star Trek the original series.
Ironside: Terror on Grant Avenue (1974)
All Asian guest cast, a surprising twist, and a small homage to Kung Fu movies!
Going back to his Perry Mason days, Raymond Burr liked to feature Asian actors in plots centered on Asian themes and issues. George Takei and others were featured in Perry Mason episodes, as they would in Ironside. Benson Fong, who plays the father here, was in Perry Mason four times and not just in minor roles.
This Ironside episode is interesting because, like how Ironside dealt with illegal immigration, it presents a problem in the community not as black and white, but nuanced. Here, it's the problem of youth unemployment and perceived exploitation by the older Asian business generation. Fong admits that it's true, arguing that the youth have a point and might have to leave Chinatown as the older generation has no solutions.
The surprise here is that Irene Tsu is revealed as an undercover cop about halfway through the episode. I certainly didn't see that coming! What's unfortunate is that she is then made out to be a bit of a ditz, even though she seemed pretty darn capable. Fran Belding and even Eve Whitfield made much, much worse mistakes than Irene and they weren't going to be banished to traffic duty (Eve in particular seemed to fall for every criminal that wandered around). I chalk it up to sexism, though, although we can't ignore racism. In an earlier episode there's a Black policewoman who is also capable and Ed and Don treat her basically like a prostitute! As does the director, who lingers the camera on her legs.
Anyway, they do give Irene an action scene, where she uses karate. Now, why Fran doesn't figure out that that might be handy to know, is beyond me. How many episodes have there been where Fran is easily subdued by men she could whip pretty well if she only had an ounce of training?
There's a great, fun, homage to Bruce Lee and the Kung Fu movies during a scene where Irene's character saves Ed and Fran with her karate. The lights are dimmed so it enables a true karate expert to double for Irene and the director does some stop-action "stills" of the action! Since the director is Arnold Laven, a prolific but old-time director going back years (such as producing the Rifleman), we have to give him props for such innovation, although likely it was in the editing room that they did it. I would bet a young editor said, "You know what would be really cool.......?" and convinced them.
A surprisingly complex episode (you'll notice Chinese Cultural Revolution posters in the background, for example, and Ed harassing the youngsters for possibly admiring Mao!).
You'll recognize the actor, Mako, in this, and his voice as well. His voice was in Mutant Turtles and many other things, and I remember him well from the two Conan the Barbarian films with Arnold. Benson Fong, what a career! He played Tommy Chan in the Charlie Chan movies of the 1940's!
The Ironside/Star Trek connection is represented by Irene Tsu appearing in Star Trek: Voyager.
Enjoy.
Ironside: Two Hundred Large (1974)
Solid episode with some neat quirks
I've argued that much of Ironside's appeal is the high expectations of the actors, director's, and writers, no doubt coming from Raymond Burr's presence. He was known to fire directors halfway through a shoot and complain about scripts if they weren't up to snuff.
This is a solid episode but is excellent for showing all Ironside cylinders working as the crew sets out in their different directions gathering evidence.
One short but excellent scene is when Ed has to go to a Go Go Dancing Bar to interview a go go dancer. Barbara Brownell plays Candy, the dancer, sad-eyed and depressed by her job, yet insecure. The director frames Ed's interview with her by having another go go dancer dancing behind them and between them, symbolizing the gap between Candy and "respectability". Too much interpretation for an episodic TV show? No, the director took the time to set that shot up on purpose. Then some poignant acting and writing as Candy asks if the other dancer is better than her. Don Galloway plays it great as at first he curtly says he's a cop and that's not his business, then turns around and gives her some humanity. All in about three minutes. That scene is worth watching the whole episode!
There's also a fun bit at the end where the sting is being set up and a quick cut goes to the building guard reading a newspaper and it's Ed. Even Galloway looks like he's suppressing a laugh as he knows how funny it is to be wearing that brown guard uniform.
Michael Bell plays the bad guy in this one, and he's super sleazy (not a hard thing to get in the 1970's!). I was watching him, though, and it was his voice that caught my attention. Which made sense because Bell ranks as one of the most prolific voice actors in history, voicing characters on almost every animated show from the 70's- to the 90's. He's still going strong as of 2022. For me, most notably, he was Zan and Gleek the space monkey in Superfriends!
The Ironside/Star Trek connection is very well served in this episode: Bell appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space 9 and Star Trek: The Next Generation and also voiced several Star Trek video games, while Vince Howard, who plays the guard here, was in the original series Star Trek episode, The Man Trap.
Ironside: The Last Payment (1973)
This episode really wants me to bring back the Slap Ten!
A Mark-centered episode with a largely Black cast as Mark goes undercover to get the goods on a mysteriously loan shark. Tough work as he gets up getting beat up twice! We've seen it in other episodes, but I'm old enough to remember the "Give me ten" hand slap, and it's great to see here. It's a fantastic greeting and what a shame that it got replaced by the fist bump and other such nonsense. So I say, bring back the "give me ten!"
The big treat of this episode is guest star Scatman Crothers. Such a unique character and always fun to see, including here where he's Mark's friend who talks mostly in rhyme and features some wild hats.
The Scatman was in The Shining and many other movies of course, but I also remember him for his voice work. He was "Scat Cat" in the Disney movie The Aristocats and also was Hong Kong Phooey, Meadowlark Lemon from the Harlem Globetrotters cartoon, a Transformer, and voices in the Scooby Doo cartoons. I actually thought at the end they might psyche us by having Scatman be the mysterious loan shark, but glad they didn't.
Ironside: Double-Edged Corner (1973)
Albert Salmi exudes menace in this episode of Ironside
Allen Garfield plays a goofy gambling addict who is a paid informer for the SF police, which of course means he's gonna get knocked off soon. He also has a wife and child (played by the excellent Lisa Gerritsen, "Beth" in the Mary Tyler Moore show) who think he's out selling - ready for it? - toy soldiers - when he's out gambling and gathering info on criminals.
Director David Friedkin adds a couple of nice touches when he shows Garfield playing with his dolls on a string, displaying the high-wire act his life is by being an informer.
Albert Salmi plays the bad guy here and he just exudes evil, at least to me. In a 2000's TV series he'd probably find Garfield out and then dismember him. That's why I watch Ironside, I don't need to see that! He's especially sleazy as he lounges in a SF bathhouse being "waited" on by ladies in Greek togas!
An interesting sidelight is we get to see something we haven't seen much since the first few seasons, which is Mark's rebellious, sometimes rage-filled side, put on the shelf mostly since he's become a cop. He just hates Garfield since he's a snitch, and basically fingers him to the crooks by showing up in two places where Garfield hung out with Salmi.
The Ironside/Star Trek connection is served by Nancy Malone, who plays Garfield's wife. She directed two episodes of Star Trek: Voyager. I haven't seen those two episodes but hopefully she didn't have any characters believe someone was making a living by selling wooden dolls on the streets of San Francisco.
Ironside: The Hidden Man (1973)
Suicide by cop was not an option on Ironside
Before my short review on this episode, an interesting observation: In the Ironside series it's remarkable how hesitant they were to show any of the police actually use their guns. This was not usually the case in TV shows of lore - gun battles were part of the excitement. But in Ironside there is kind of deal of, hey, what do you have to do to provoke getting shot in this show!
At the end, Zalman King walks up to a cabin with a machine gun and opens fire, spraying everything! Could have been kids in there, people in a boat behind it, whatever. Didn't matter. Let me repeat: a machine gun! Instead of gunning him down, Ironside gets on the bullhorn and tells him, hey, drop that, again, machine gun (!) and come on out!
I'm not saying that that isn't how it should be done or shouldn't be done, but in this case and some others on Ironside, the police restraint is laughable given what normal humans would do. But maybe that's what made Ironside different and why people like him? The tough, law and order guy with a heart who didn't gun down people.
As for the episode, it's interesting and exciting, especially the scene near the end where only music plays and they're tracking King, a staple of Ironside. This is before drones so they must have gotten the car driving shots from overpasses or helicopters or planes, and they're cool, but what make it is of course the music. I admit I'll watch cars tailing each other for a long time if the Ironside theme music is playing.
Zalman King is super freaky as the punk kid bent on revenge. He kills basically his Uncle, James Gregory, and we feel sorry for Gregory, who isn't a good guy either! King and Gregory are the stars of this episode, especially Gregory. And the interior of the house they live in! Looks like a church. Incredible.
The Vietnam connection also interesting, with Cliff Potts returning from a North Vietnamese prison camp, a la John McCain.
Another low-key star of this episode is Gene Lyons as Commissioner Randall. Very intense.
The Ironside/Star Trek connection shines through again: Gregory and Lyons starred in episodes of the Star Trek original series and Potts was in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Oh, one cool director's move is when Potts gets in a cab and the camera slowly pans over and it's Ed driving it. That last fake-out sequence of Potts taking the bus and going to the cabin was very well done.
Ironside: Mind for Murder (1973)
Interesting Departure for Ironside, and chilling!
Only a few episodes before in season 7 Ironside had a chance to delve into ghosts and the supernatural, and opted firmly on the side of rational explanation. In this episode, they do the opposite with psychic powers. They present them as real, are at least seemingly real.
This is a chilling episode in that the killer arsonist kills children when he sets his fires and tries to burn Fran and Louise Sorel to death! Ghastly. I admit, and this has happened before, at the end I really wouldn't have minded if Ironside and Ed hadn't just gunned the guy down. So often in Ironside someone is brandishing a weapon and they hardly ever fire! In this episode he had even shot at Ed, giving him more than enough justification for pumping six bullets into him later. Especially a child-killing pyscho. I know, I know...still.
Guest stars are good. Ross Martin, famous for being on the Wild Wild West and a great villian on classic Columbo, touchingly portrays a man whose wife was murdered by this psycho.
Burr DeBenning (the club owner) played an iconic role in American film history! Dr. Ted Nelson, The Incredible Melting Man!
Finally, Louise Sorel satisfies the Ironside/Star Trek connection, having a major role in in a classic episode of Star Trek the Original Series.
Enjoy the fire scenes done on the Universal lot and sets. They're pretty good!
Ironside: Downhill All the Way (1973)
Two hour episode a showcase for Raymond Burr and the great character actors of the period
Some people don't get the appeal of Raymond Burr. That's fine, to each their own. But he was a master and certainly had the X factor. He starred in two iconic TV programs - Perry Mason and Ironside that were beloved by viewers then and now and went on for years! I think part of it is Burr was like the tough coach that gets the most out of his players and don't want to let him down. He demanded great, not good, and the writers and actors on his shows produced it.
For example, he demanded that the first few episodes of Ironside in season 1 be completely re-shot as they just weren't up to snuff! And they did it!
And he was a unique actor.
All of this is on display in this special two-hour episode of Ironside.
The plot is quite convoluted - another reviewer is spot on by saying that the writers overreached. I admit that in the last 15 minutes I was pretty much clueless as to who and why people were doing what! That was the norm on Perry Mason by the way.
The real key to the episode is Burr playing a "role within a role." This is something he only did once on Perry Mason but did several times on Ironside. Here he does it to perfection, acting as if Ironside becomes a drunken bum, and pulling it off, in my humble opinion. The viewer doesn't believe it, but we do believe that people that didn't know him that well would believe it.
It's cool also to see the depiction of the seedy side of San Francisco that Ironside joins. Prostitution, drug dealing, violence and crime, and even the allusions to the religious-type cults that arose in the 1970's (most notoriously Jim Jones "church" in Los Angeles, eventually resulting in the mass suicide).
And, the love for Ironside by his crew is also well-depicted.
Also, this episode features wonderful character actors everywhere! Continuously popping up throughout the two hours are actors you say, "I know him!" but of course you don't know his name! They include Antonio Fargas (Huggy Bear from Starsky and Hutch), Gene Evans, William Devane, Val Bisoglio (the cook from MASH), George Dicenzo, William Mims, who looks like he just stepped off the set of one of the zillion westerns he appeared in, Lee Montgomery (the autistic kid, who also appeared as a boy genius in classic Columbo), and the villian here, William Smith, who, incredibly, started his acting career with a kid part in 1942's Ghost of Frankenstein!
I'd like to give a special shout-out to David Wayne, who plays Ironside's doctor here. Wayne is a bit like Burgess Meredith, a unique actor that you like to see. He played Ellery Queen's father in the 1975 series and was also the Mad Hatter in 1966 Batman, but I always remember him from a 1957 episode of Alfred Hitchcock's short-lived series Suspicion, called "Heartbeat." Wayne has a dangerous heart condition and any excitement could kill him but he doesn't know it and has a helluva day having fun, then dies. Wonderful performance.
The Ironside/Star Trek link is repped by Roger Perry, who was in the original Star Trek.
Sit back and enjoy this episode and don't worry too much about the who and what and why!
Note: The Director continues the Season 7 use of overlapping images of people while they talk, which I think was originally used to cover up Burr's double being used. Might be time to put that one to rest.
Ironside: The Helping Hand (1973)
Well done and fascinating take on issues surrounding Illegal Immigration
This Ironside episode is about the exploitation and tough lives of immigrants - legal and illegal - in 1973 America. Needless to say, it still holds up because it still can be the case. The really interesting aspect is that it's not a black/white stance by the writers. Ironside himself is careful not to take a stance on the illegal immigration issue, instead he focuses on the lives of legal and illegal immigrants who are pressed into quasi-slavery in America. In fact, while the protoganist is illegal, the focus of the show shifts toward the legal immigrants who are working in what looks to be a pretty nasty sweatshop and also the legal immigrant who is delusioned the the U. S. is not the land of bread and honey he imagined it to be.
This is an impressive program in that the crime-related plot is exciting as a procedural but it hits on so many aspects of the immigration concept.
There's even a cool scene with Fran Belding giving a speech in the sweatshops, pleading with the workers to help.
I should say here that Elizabeth Bauer as Fran has a come a long way since her first few episodes, where she was well, let's just say, not very good.
She's now found her voice a bit and this scene is good moment for her.
The Ironside/Star Trek connection is served here by Garry Walberg, who plays Judge Thompson, being in an original series Star Trek episode, and Eric Server, who appears at the end as the DA, who was on an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space 9.
Ironside: House of Terror (1973)
Ironside does it right for Halloween special!
House of Terror aired on October 25, 1973, as an Ironside Halloween special, and they did it right. Basically Ironside is trapped inside a mystery house where a madman is trying to kill him, but cleverly, and he has to figure out what's going on and how to save himself. I don't think it's a real spoiler to say that the house isn't really haunted since the show only ever dealt with human criminals.
But, it is a mystery as to what's going on and the haunted house set is fantastic! They went to a lot of trouble to get it right, including finding/making numerous wax figures that are quite eerie. Also, this is a case where Ironside being in the wheelchair adds a very difficult element to his plight. No running away here, he has to use his wits.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Ironside crew is struggling to figure out where he is, but to the show's credit, they don't arrive at the end to save the day, like often happens. Whether Ironside lives or dies is up to to him.
Look for a young Sharon Gless here playing the Commissioner's daughter. She later went on to stardom in the TV series "Cagney and Lacey" with Tyne Daley.
And look for a short but fun scene between Mark and the famous and fabulous Dabbs Greer. Dabbs Greer, like many actors on Ironside, was a staple on TV from the 1960's through the 2000's. But Greer went beyond just being a staple, he was a legend. Directors love him to death and cast him over and over and over. What it means is that if you're watching classic television on METV or whatever, no matter what the show, Dabbs Greer appears! Especially true in westerns, but really in everything. He appeared eight times on Perry Mason, Bonanza, and the Rifleman; Six times on the Fugitive, 76 times on Little House on the Prairie, 42 times on Gunsmoke, and 20 times on Picket Fences! He also appeared on classic Twilight Zone and Outer Limits and in iconic movies such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The House of Wax. It goes on and on. He ended his career on an incredible high note: A big role in the 1999 Tom Hanks movie, The Green Mile, where he played the "older" Hanks. All hail Dabbs Greer!
The Ironside/Star Trek connection shows up here: Lenore Kasdof, with a small part as one of the young partiers, was in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Ironside: The Armageddon Gang (1973)
Ironside Saves the World - No, really, he does!
It's possible that few people love Ironside more than me, but this is the first time they really overreached. Essentially, if Ironside hadn't solved this case, then two nut-jobs were going to launch a nuclear first-strike against the Soviet Union! Even the writers must have realized, man, we're going to freak everyone out, and inserted a line that the nukes could be "blown up in the air," but given what the two whacko scientists had done, I don't believe that for a second.
I do like that they weren't blaming the Russians for the espionage, that it nutty Americans. And the motive for one of the Americans, played by Joseph Campanella - to blow up the world! - was that he was bored! Seriously! Campanella pulls it off though. He just oozes narcissism and jerkiness. Even at the end he only doesn't launch the missiles - not because, oh, he might kill hundreds of millions - but because he was supposed to be the one to decide when to do it!
Harold Gould also stars in this one. I should say, Dr. Harold Gould! He had a Ph. D in Theater! If you've watched any TV from 1961-2010, then you know Dr. Gould.
Campanella is great here. He also is our Ironside/Star Trek connection as he appeared on an episode of Star Trek: Voyager.
Ironside: Fragile Is the House of Cards (1973)
Psychological study and didn't see the ending coming on this one
A defense-attorney nemesis of Ironside's shows up at his door (stopping Mark from getting his big steak he just won from Ironside!) bloodied and with amnesia as to what happened to him. The entire episode is Ironside and friends (including a psychiatrist who administers sodium pentathol!) breaking him down to finally reveal what happened.
After his lovey-dovey previous episode, Ironside is all business and tough as nails here, refusing to give James Olson, the attorney, any kind of immunity from prosecution for what he might reveal under the drug. It's a good one!
No super famous guest stars here, but James Olson is good as the defense attorney. You'll recognize him from the film "The Andromeda Strain." And you'll definitely recognize Lorraine Gary, who plays his wife, because she was Roy Scheider's wife in Jaws!
Ironside: In the Forests of the Night (1973)
Ironside's tragic love
Let's face it, when you think of Raymond Burr and Ironside, you don't think of intense romantic forays for the gruff detective. But actually, several of the more emotional episodes in the long run of the series featured Ironside finding - then losing - love. It's revealed in the pilot that he lost his wife, and then there's the incredible episode where he's ready to marry his nurse (Vera Miles) and then we find that she already has a husband and kids! Sheesh!
In this episode we have another star crossed romance as Ironside falls in love with an Art thief played by Dana Wynter. He claims he's ready to settle down and even give up his police career if she'll give up her crime career (a little unbelievable, that), but alas, she can't do it. At least she can't kill him when he dares her too at the end (that's something, right?).
His affection for her really messes up the police work though. He's in charge of protecting a valuable art piece and obviously she should have been tailed, along with her criminal associates, who'd been spotted, but none of them are. And, he lets Reese off the hook pretty easily when Reese falls for the old "fake bomb squad" trick. (note: yet another scene copied by the George Clooney film "Oceans 11", basically. In Clooney's film, it's the "fake firefighters" trick).
But have patience, Ironside fans...in the TV movie "Ironside Returns," she appears as Ironside's wife! No, not the jewel thief, but at least he finally finds something permanent.
This episode also serves as a bit of a Perry Mason reunion. Wesley Lau is given a small part as a detective here - he was prominent in Mason as Lt. Anderson. It's almost sad how small a part it is. Other actors in this episode who appeared on Mason include Richard Loo, Frank Aletter, and Gene Lyons (AKA: Commissioner Randall). Lyons is not looking so good lately, face kind of puffy. Sadly, the actor is soon to pass away, in 1974, of alcoholism. He has a few more Ironside episodes to go so we'll enjoy him while we can.
Speaking of Lyons, there's a great scene where he horns in on the dinner party involving the Ironside gang and Dana Wynter, art thief. That's a dinner party I wanted to see, but alas, no.
Also, as we know by know, Raymond Burr did not shoot scenes outside and in other locations, so the director's had to shoot scenes from behind and then cut in shots of Burr-only talking. The Director here shakes that setup up a bit by overlaying an image of Ironside/Burr's face over the image of the back of the wheelchair (which his Burr's double). Clever!
Ironside: Murder by One (1973)
Great Ironside episode with Mary Ure guest starring (of all people!)
If you like Ironside, this is why. A strange murder, Ironside being creative, Don Galloway meticulously analyzing for clues, Don Mitchell befuddled by Ironside's methods, and neat guest stars.
This one involves an apparent suicide, a red herring suspect, and the Ironside gang thinking it's murder based on some interesting clues such as rubber bands and wax.
Clu Guluger is the prime suspect. I don't know how he strikes other people, but he was a distinctive actor with unique features and a very unique way of talking, and to me he seemed suspicious in everything he did! He appeared in a zillion westerns and no matter what I would think he was evil. So perfect red herring here!
So if Clu is the actor you see everywhere and immediately recognize his name (Clu is pretty distinctive; kind of like Dabbs Greer), then the other suspect in this is the opposite: The actor you see in seemingly every TV show ever made, but have no idea what his name is. That's Herb Edelman of course. Even when his name appeared in the opening credits I didn't match him!
One absolutely fascinating appearance in this episode is Mary Ure! You're watching the episode thinking, this woman sounds pretty exotic to be a "regular" housewife in Frisco in the 1970's. That's because it's Scottish actress and theatre star Mary Ure. Look up her story for a very interesting and controversial bio.
For the second episode in a row in season 7, Don Galloway is given copious screen time to go over the crime scene and act as the viewer's eyes in trying to figure out what might have happened. Even though it's Ironside who gets to claim he figured out the puzzle, it's Ed Brown who guided us through.
Raymond Burr gets in a couple of scenes displaying one of his passions, which was advocating for the physically challenged living normal lives, which in 1973 was not the recognized reality like it is today. The episode starts with him bowling, and also he's shown driving the van around while Mark complains from the passenger seat.
And we definitely know it's the 1970's from the music that plays at the beginning, which features a very creative opening by the Director, who definitely did not phone this one in.
Ironside: Confessions: From a Lady of the Night (1973)
Season 7 starts looking very 70's and with an Oscar Winner to boot
Watching the entire Ironside series episode 1 to 295 is a fun experience for many reasons: The incredible guest actors, many of whom were huge stars in the 1950's; the social issues of the times that were often featured; and seeing the 60's change into the 70's in the hair styles, clothes, cars, and language!
Two of the three are evident in the first episode of season 7. The hair is a little longer (especially on Don Galloway and Don Mitchell!), more 70's moustaches, and wow, those clothes! And Dorothy Malone is featured, Academy Award winner from the film "Written on the Wind."
The plot is interesting and predictable at the same time. Interesting because it is mysterious how Malone knows intimate details of Ironside's life. Predictable because as soon as William Schallert shows up in disguise, you know it's William Schallert! How could you not! Schallert was one of the most recognizable character actors - by voice more than anything - in TV history! It's fun just to see his face, or hear his voice, in anything.
He contributes mightily to the Ironside/Star Trek connection by being the famous Klingon spy in the classic episode "Trouble with Tribbles." He also appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. But what a resume! Shows such as Thriller, Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock, and of course, Perry Mason.
Watch, also, for former NFL QB Joe Kapp to appear as a goofy truck dispatcher.
There's a nice, wordless scene where Ed investigates the house, and discovers the clue that cracks open the whole case.