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McMILLAN & WIFE:  Once Upon A Dead Man
The Stolen Sarcophagus   (7 of 10)

During an auction of many rare, expensive items, a small Egyptian sarcophagus is stolen from a secure vault while another item was being bid on. Someone knocked a hole through a brick wall, leading to a narrow utility tunnel, but checking the obvious route it becomes obvious no one could have gotten the item away in the time involved.

NO, this isn't an episode of BANACEK-- it's the pilot for McMILLAN AND WIFE! The NBC Mystery Movies, which consisted of rotating series of TV movies in either a 90-minute or 2-hour time slots, debuted on a Wednesday night in September 1971. Most of the 90-minute episodes were preceded by a 2-hour pilot that aired around 6 months earlier. But oddly, McMILLAN AND WIFE's pilot debuted on a Friday night, just 2 days after the 1st season of the rotating series premiered, with the first regular episode airing only 2 weeks later. While researching these shows, I found this very odd, as M&W may be the only "Mystery Movie" series whose pilot didn't air months before the rest of the episodes. Perhaps this explains why it was one of the very few I managed to see when it was first-run. Of the 3 "main" series, the others being McCLOUD and COLUMBO, M&W was the only one I actually saw right from the beginning. I was instantly hooked.

Looking back on it decades later, this is unquestinably the most "low-key" and "laid-back" of the 3 main series, something I'm not sure I actually noticed back then (it takes a lot to be more laid-back than COLUMBO!). I think the main draw of this series has always been the 2 main characters. Rock Hudson (various Doris Day films, ICE STATION ZEBRA and THE MIRROR CRACK'D) is brand-new San Francisco Police Commissioner Stewart McMillan, who we're told spent 12 years practicing criminal law. (Perry Mason never looked this young and handsome-- not even in the 1930s PM movies.) Susan Saint James (THE NAME OF THE GAME, LOVE AT FIRST BITE) is his younger, vivacious and somewhat flaky wife "Sally", daughter of a famed criminologist ("Fred Hall"), who grew up around crime-solving and has it in her blood. The easiest way to describe this is a 70s reincarnation of "Nick & Nora Charles"-- except, without all the drinking, and with LOT more sex. "G"-rated TV sex, to be sure, but I can scarcely think of another married TV couple from that era who spent so much time winding up in bed together. I've probably been looking for a girl like her for the last 52 years.

Also in the cast is John Schuck (the movie M*A*S*H, STAR TREK 4 and STAR TREK 6) as Sgt. Charles Enright, as good-natured an assistant as anyone could ever possibly want. The pilot also features James Wainright as "John Patterson", the ex-con chauffer; Jack Albertson (CHICO & THE MAN) as Police Chief Andrew Yeakel (who has the chauffer at the top of his list of suspects; the part was recast in later episodes); and Linda Watkins as "Emily Hull", Sally's mother (who disappeared after 3 1st season episodes).

The series was created by Leonard Stern, who had previously been in charge of another show involving a happily-married couple: GET SMART.

The guest-cast, as on many of the Mystery Movies, is top-notch. Herb Edelman (STRIKE FORCE) is "Gregory Constantine", in charge of the auction house and perpetually annoyed at Sally's presence; Rene Auberjonois (M*A*S*H, DEEP SPACE NINE) as "Andre Stryker", a flamboyant producer of failed stage plays; Kurt Kasznar (LAND OF THE GIANTS and the 1959 NERO WOLFE pilot) as "Edmond Corday", an antique dealer; and Jonathan Harris (THE THIRD MAN, LOST IN SPACE) as "Mr. Wortzel", the auctioneer. Harris really gets to shine in his part, being his usually fussy self without over-doing it the way he did too often when he played "Dr. Smith". (He's the only actor in this I ever got to see once in person, at a sci-fi convention, where he held a room of fans absolutely mesmerized with his hilarious stories.)

As I said, most of this is VERY low-key, people standing around or walking around as bits and pieces of the mystery slowly, almost painfully come together. But then right in the middle, there's this incredible high-speed chase over the streets and steep hills of San Francisco-- on BICYCLES. When in the course of a foot chase the 2 men involved suddenly STOLE the bikes, I was reminded of the climax of COOGAN'S BLUFF (1968), except, in there, it was motorcycles. It also seems like a tribute to the car chase in BULLITT (also 1968), except, somehow, more insane.

And then of course, there's the climax, when Stewart figures out WHERE the missing coffin really is, and WHO stole it-- before he and Sally are nearly killed by the culprit, which leads into a frantic knock-down drag-out fight between Stewart & the bad guy.

I keep wondering how and why this pilot aired so late in relation to the start of the 1st season. Also, if I seem less than thrilled in some of my descriptions, keep in mind that for much of its run, I loved this show far more than I did COLUMBO. Most of these I haven't seen since they were first-run. Now, thanks to the miracle of DVD box sets, I'm able to relive watching the NBC Mystery Movies all over again, in the order they were broadcast. I'm so looking forward to it.

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McMILLAN & WIFE:  Murder By The Barrel
The Corpse Vanishes   (8 of 10)

Mac & Sally are moving into their new house, and Sally is driving the movers crazy marking cute smiley faces on her barrels. But once the movers drive off, she realizes they accidentally switched one of hers with someone else's. And, it's leaking. So she opens it and finds... A DEAD BODY. Of course. She races next door to call the cops, but by the time they arrive, the barrel with the corpse is nowhere to be found. And so begins a long, involved, convoluted tracking down of every possible connection, trying to find the body, find out WHO it is, oh, yeah, and find out WHO killed the guy.

This episode, which I believe I haven't seen since it was first-run (52 YEARS ago!) really reminded me of just how much I loved McMILLAN & WIFE when it was originally on. COLUMBO tended to be too low-key for me at times, and McCLOUD (my favorite) was a mix of action & humor, but this show was something else. The pilot was just too long and padded-out, but at an hour and 15 minutes, this episode had just the right pacing and mix of mystery, action, comedy and romance. Honestly, I can't remember ever seeing another show from that era where you had a married couple who were SO much in love, and spent so much time hopping in and out of bed. And in one hilarious sequence, when they get a hotel room, both the manager and Mac's faithful aide Sgt. Enright mistakenly think the Commissioner was there with some OTHER woman! It's even more of a revelation when Sally indicates they were getting hotel rooms this way BEFORE they were married. For 1971 TV, that was downright revolutionary.

At the 36-minute mark, Mildred the maid (Nancy Walker) makes her debut, and proves to be quite a contrast in look and personality to Sally.

Among the guest-cast are Kenneth Mars (THE PRODUCERS) as the owner of the shipping company, David Huddleston (BLAZING SADDLES) as one of the movers, and the ever-delightful Vito Scotti (THE FLYING NUN), who almost managed to be without his usual accent.

The script was by Oliver Hailey, who wound up writing 9 episodes and was story editor for seasons 2 & 3. The director was John Astin (THE ADDAMS FAMILY), who came back in several episodes as "Skyes", the coroner. Some years back, I'd noted Astin had directed the pilot of ROSETTI & RYAN, which really stood out as one of the best murder mysteries I'd seen from the late 70s (a period when too much of network TV was watered-down, dull, boring & unwatchable).

By story's end, I was feeling really sorry for Sgt. Enright. He's so loyal and hard-working and uncomplaining, even when it looks like he's losing two whole night's sleep in a row. Mac (Rock Hudson) had a haircut since the pilot (where it was absurdly-long for a Police Commissioner), and his near-infinite patience and love for Sally is on display throughout. Sally remains, as Mac called her in the pilot, "a nut, but my nut". She's ADORABLE, and it baffles me how over the decades I could ever have forgotten just how much I liked her back in the 70s. (I guess that can happen when you don't see a show for over 45 years.)

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McMILLAN & WIFE:  The Easy Sunday Murder Case
The Dog Show Murder Case   (6 of 10)

An extremely eccentric friend of Sally's mother is upset. She's received a ransom demand reading, "We have the one you love." They're demanding $100,000 to return... her Pekingese. Oh, yeah, and they nabbed her husband too. But who cares about HIM? He's not even in the will.

Mac picks up a terrible sneeze, but it takes him 40 minutes into the story before realizes that A)he's allergic to the perfume used on the dog, and, B)he had sneazing fits in the vet's office. Therefore, either the vet or his assistant must be involved.

But then the woman turns up dead, and her lavish penthouse apartment has been ransacked. Yet, the kidnappers still want the money. What's going on here?

This plot, which played out like a screwball comedy on steroids, seemed to defy any logical story structure I've seen before. Yet in the back of my mind, I sensed it might be a variation on the COLUMBO episode, "Ransom For A Dead Man", which involved a fake kidnapping but a real murder. Turns out I was right. (But watch the episode to see how.)

This one featured June Havoc as "Francesca Fairborn", who's madly in love with her dog, but dismisses her husband as a "gold-digger", and stuns Mac & Sally when she tells the kidnappers over the phone she's "not interested" in getting her husband back. I wondered at that moment if she didn't have her husband killed (like in the earlier COLUMBO episode). Her lawyer is such an eccentric crackpot himself, I began to wonder if HE was involved in the crime. Then there's Wally Cox (MR. PEEPERS, UNDERDOG) as the vet, who arrogantly dismisses the cops when they arrive to ask him questions. I have to admit, this thing really kept me guessing for awhile.

Also on hand are Linda Watkins in her 2nd appearance as Sally's mother (who we learn is criminally-awful in the kitchen), and Paul Stewart, making his debut as "Chief of Police Andy Yaekel" (replacing Jack Albertson from the pilot). Enright & Mildred are on hand as usual, adding color commentary.

Mac & Sally remain a gloriously in love couple, the likes of which I bet many (if not most) people wish they were part of in their own lives.

While all this is going on, there is one subplot that distracted and infuriated me for the entire length of the story. It seems Mac has decided, as Police Commissioner, to crack down on traffic problems, by insisting that off-duty policemen get tickets like everyone else. Fair enough. But when, upset because the woman whose husband has been snatched flat out REFUSES to allow the police to be involved, he winds up getting pulled over for speeding, the officer in charge, once he's assured it's okay to give a ticket to THE COMMISSIONER, suddenly becomes very arrogant about confiscating his DRIVER'S LICENSE, which will be returned at his court hearing. WHAT??? I have never heard such an INSANE thing in my life! So Mac is barred from driving until he goes to court, and Sally has to do all his driving for him. But this flies in the face of all logic. For most traffic violations, one has the choice to pay the ticket by mail, or, go to court to FIGHT it. Forcing everyone who gets a ticket to have to go to court would clog up the court system worse than it already is, and even in cases (such as two I was involved in over the years) where you had to go to court, how are you supposed to get there (or to your job) if you're NOT ALLOWED TO DRIVE? I cannot believe such a thing was ever the law anywhere, let alone in San Francisco in 1971. I wanted to throttle the writer over this. Otherwise, I might have given this one a higher rating.

The arrogant traffic cop was played by Joey Foreman, who I'll always remember as "Harry Hoo" from GET SMART. One more connection with that show. That and M&W were both from the same production company, and Leonard Stern was GET SMART's executive producer for its first 86 episodes!

It struck me that the title of the story, "The Easy Sunday Murder Case", was a tribute to "The Kennel Murder Case", arguably the single BEST Philo Vance movie ever made. That film starred the best of all the Philo actors, William Powell, who later played "Nick Charles" in 6 movies that clearly were the inspiration for THIS series. And every Vance story had "The whatever Murder Case" as the title, with the whatever being a word with 6 letters (in this case, "Sunday"). But I like Susan Saint James a LOT more than Myrna Loy!

[profh0011]

McMILLAN & WIFE:  Husbands, Wives And Killers
The Costume Party Jewel Robbery   (5 of 10)

No, it's not THE PINK PANTHER, but it sure made me think the writer had that in mind.

In the most off-kilter, confusing episode so far, a former client of Mac's (from when he was a defense attourney) warns Mac there's going to be a robbery... but gets the house wrong, and when the police arrive, the house has been broken into, the safe is open, but nothing appears to be stolen. But due to gossip squeezed out of a reluctant Sally, he finds several people in his social circle are having financial troubles, and begins to suspect the very-expensive necklace in the safe may be a fake... despite the jeweler who made it special insisting it's real ("I know my own work.") All of this revolves around a costume party Mac refuses to get dressed for... until his Chief of Police insists, as part of an undercover stake-out. Sure enough, not only is there a robbery during the party, but also a shooting, followed by a chase on foot, all climaxing in the real culprit openly threatening to murder Sally for knowing too much. OY!

Was there ever a Police Commissioner who did so much actual dangerous policework himself? Was there ever a more obviously-happy married couple on TV? Was there ever an episode with more completely-insane dialogue (outside of a GET SMART)? I'm sure writer Robert Lewin meant it all to be hilarious, but, frankly, the only laugh I got out of this one was the scene where Mac throws Sally over his shoulder and carries her upstairs to the bedroom. Lewin only did two 1st-season M&Ws, but he also did four 1st-season STAR TREK: TNGs, which may explain some things. Let's just say I wish I enjoyed this one a lot more than I did.

For the 2nd story in a row, Mac (the POLICE COMMISSIONER!) is pulled over by his own cops for SPEEDING. Tsk! And, once again, poor Sgt. Enright is repeatedly interrupted by phone calls just as he's about to do something important (like eating). I would hope that Mac would be giving that guy regular raises in salary, for all the determined loyalty above and beyond whatever that he keeps displaying.

The guest cast this time included Cesare Danova (ANIMAL HOUSE), Lorraine Gary (JAWS, 1941), Tyne Daly (THE ENFORCER, though I must admit I didn't recognize her in this), John Abbott (STAR TREK, LOST IN SPACE, THE SAINT IN LONDON) and Monte Landis (THE MONKEES-- in a bizarre bit of type-casting, the guy who once played "Mr. Zero" shows up at the party dressed in a DEVIL costume).

This "mystery" show sure had a LOT more action in it than COLUMBO... sometimes, more than McCLOUD! As usual, my focus is often on Sally (Susan Saint James). After not seeing most of these since they were first-run (more than 50 years ago), I'm reminded of just how adorable I always found her to be, and the fact that if I ever met someone like her in real life, I could fall for her so easily.

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McMILLAN & WIFE:  Death Is A Seven Point Favorite
The Football Betting Murder Case   (6 of 10)

Mac & Sally befriend football quarterback Billy Benton, who made a pass at her before learning she was married. But soon a young "gofer" at the stadium is mysteriously murdered, and the investigation suggests illegal football betting was involved, especially when it's learned someone placed a $75,000 bet against the team. Bodies start piling up before Mac figures out which of multiple suspects might be behind it all, and it climaxes when the killer tries to murder both Mac & Sally at the empty stadium!

I'll admit, I'm not big into sports, especially football, yet even I could follow what was going on during scenes when the teams were playing. This was John Astin's 2nd time directing a M&W story, and I've seen enough of his work to know he was every bit as good a director as he was an actor! The guest cast includes Jackie Coogan, who Astin worked with on THE ADDAMS FAMILY.

Don Stroud (COOGAN'S BLUFF, JOE KIDD, MIKE HAMMER, LICENSE TO KILL) is "Billy Benton", who is either the top suspect or someone the real killer is trying to frame. Sally's faith in him inspires Mac to believe in him as well, and the growing friendship between the three is rather heart-warming.

John Anderson (who had a long career, mostly in westerns) is "Sandy King", the sports commentator who seems to be around too often when bad things happen.

Andrew Duggan (51 episodes of LANCER) is team owner "Harlan Royce", who acts as a weird sort of comic relief when he keeps asking for a cigarette despite his insistence that he's trying to quit.

Peter Bonerz (THE BOB NEWHART SHOW) is a rather pushy hair-stylist (DON'T call him a "barber"!) who aggressively gives Sgt. Enright a "make-over" that winds up having him resemble a pudgy John Kennedy!

Once again, for a Police Commissioner, Stuart McMillan gets into more action, more scrapes, more running and fighting and shooting than it seems a normal Police Commissioner ever should (certainly, BATMAN's Jim Gordon would never do all this stuff). Meanwhile, it struck me that between her hairdo, and nearly every one of the outfits she wore in this story, that Sally DOESN'T look at all like she did in every previous episode to this point. It's not until the final scene when we see her wearing a football jersey (in bed, where else?) that I could be sure it was the same Sally. I have to keep saying it. I just think she's ADORABLE.

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McMILLAN & WIFE:  The Face Of Murder
The Unidentified Jewel Thief Caper   (5 of 10)

For the 2nd episode this season, the plot involves a series of jewel thefts at expensive parties, where the identical list of jet-setters always turn up. A retired boxer friend of Mac's says he saw the mysterious "Dutchman" once, and could identify him if he ever saw him again. Soon after, someone tries to shoot the guy dead with a machine-gun while they're flying in a small plane across the desert, injuring the pilot and forcing Mac to try to land it safely. Next, Sally is kidnapped, with a demand that Mac swap the boxer for his wife. During the swap, the kidnappers try to run the man down, miss, but he winds up getting shot dead by accident by a police officer. WHAT? I wondered about this, until Sally got the idea to hold a "real Irish wake" in his memory, Mac had a surprised look on his face about it, and Enright says, "Isn't that the kind that has an OPEN casket?"

Sure enough, Mac had his men fake the "accident", the boxer is alive, and will get a try to identify the unusually-murderous jewel thief. And meanwhile, Sally goes to insane lengths trying to identify a perfume (or is it a cologne?) worn by one of her kidnappers. If the phrase, "Who writes this stuff?" comes to mind, join the club.

A wide and varied guest cast includes Claude Akins (RIO BRAVO), Edward Andrews (SIXTEEN CANDLES), Hazel Court (THE RAVEN), Jon Cypher (HILL STREET BLUES), Richard Deacon (THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW), Dick Wilson (Charmin' commercials), Stafford Repp (BATMAN), Robert Dowdell (VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA), Barbara Rhodes (SOAP) and Sidney Klute (McCLOUD). I suppose a big enough crowd of decent actors can sometimes make up for deficiencies in a script.

As usual, the regulars are always top-notch. Nancy Walker gets smashed at the wake, John Schuck is amazingly efficient, Rock Hudson gets to BEAT THE CRAP out of a couple people involved in his wife's kidnapping, and Susan St. James is just ADORABLE-- as usual. The tense scene where Mac tries to land a plane reminded me that not long after, Rock Hudson played a WW1 biplane fighter pilot in the movie DARLING LILI. (Am I the only one who genuinely LIKED that film?)

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McMILLAN & WIFE:  Till Death Do Us Part
There Must Be An Easier Way To Commit A Double-Murder   (7 of 10)

A serial killer known on the news as 'The Asylum Killer', who likes to make his victims die slowly, has baffled the police, and a particularly-obnoxious news-caster is really getting on The Commissioner's nerves. So no sooner does Mac insists an arrest will be 'imminent', then the killer sends a letter claiming his next crime will have two victims simultaneously.

Sally, returning from a restaurant that Mac did not arrange to have dinner at, slowly discovers that all sharp objects in the house have been stolen. Meanwhile, someone has managed to get Mildred, Sally's mother, and Sergeant Enright out of town at the same time. What can it all mean? The part I found infuriating was that Mac DOESN'T call his own police force in to at least scan the house for fingerprints, or, get himself and Sally out of there.

There's a subplot involving a seeming prowler tampering with their trash cans. The resolution to this also made me want to smack someone. If a harried husband only has 4 trash cans, but needs 5, WHY can't he just go BUY another one? (This is the kind of thing one might just barely accept on an episode of GET SMART-- not M&W.)

I'm be honest. I gave this a higher rating than it probably deserved, only because, of the entire 1st season, this was the only story I really vividly remembered from when I saw it first-run. While most episodes of M&W are complex, confusing puzzles, this was more a simple SLOW-BURN of building suspense, right up to the finale.

Seriously, though-- both Sally & Enright should have known better than to take at face value messages allegedly from Mac that were "not his style".

[profh0011]

McMILLAN & WIFE:  “An Elementary Case Of Murder”
The Philandering Husband Murder Case   (5 of 10)

Sally is pregnant! And just then, an old (and formerly-serious) girlfriend of Mac's calls to ask for help, because her abusive, cheating and embezzling husband wants a divorce. That's when the cops suddenly show up, having found evidence-- including a tape-recording-- that indicate she may have murdered her husband. The problem is, nobody can find a body. Both the D. A. and Sgt. Enright think she's guilty, but Mac believes she isn't, and goes far beyond the call of duty to find evidence that he's right.

McMillan & Wife often had some very unique mysteries in its run, and I'd say this was definitely another one... except for 2 things. One: just 3 WEEKS earlier, COLUMBO had an episode where no one could find the body, so most people didn't believe there even was a murder. Two: it seems writer Brad Ranitz actually REUSED his script for a 1968 episode of IRONSIDE and expanded it here. The nerve of some people!

I also suspect Radnitz may have been at least partially paying tribute to a bit of Chandler's "The Big Sleep", as we never see the murder victim, and, another murder victim's body is found in a lake.

Martin E. Brooks makes his first of 6 appearances as "District Attorney Chapman", who accuses Mac of being too personally involved, and warns him that if the press come looking for him, he'll eagerly point them right at Mac.

Michael Ansara (STAR TREK: "Day Of The Dove") is "Ben Matthews", a nightclub owner who may have had reasons to kill the missing husband.

Selma Diamond (NIGHT COURT) has a cameo as a gas station attendant questioned about 2 missing people.

Barbara McNair (THEY CALL ME MISTER TIBBS!, THE ORGANIZATION), a singer in real life as she was in this story, is Mac's old flame "Lee Richards". Reading her bio, it's shocking just how close to home this episode would prove to be, as her real-life husband was murdered by the mob in late 1976, and the following year her accountant was charged with embezzling.

When this episode was made, Susan St. James was pregnant. Rather than hide it or write her out of the episode, her pregnancy was made a big part of the story. Yet when the show returned the next season, it was never mentioned. We have to assume there was a miscarriage, but it really makes you question the integrity of either the producers or the network, who insisted this episode be made after production for the season had officially ended.

[profh0011]

McMILLAN & WIFE:  Night Of The Wizard
“Why did you murder me?”   (6 of 10)

Mac & Sally are invited to a seance at which a murdered man appears accusing his widow of the crime! Mac, refusing to believe in ghosts, wracks his brain for most of the story, trying to figure out who could be impersonating the dead man, who benefitted from his death, would benefit from driving his widow insane, and... is the dead man REALLY dead in the first place?

You know, if they'd swapped this story and the next one, this could have easily aired as a HALLOWEEN episode.

Sharon Acker is "Evie Kendall", the grieving widow. I had to look her up before I realized I'd seen her in a STAR TREK and 2 episodes of HEC RAMSEY.

Paul Richards is "Dr. Eli Spake", who's trying his best to help Evie avoid a nervous breakdown. Every time I see his face or hear his voice, I'm always reminded the most memorable line the actor ever spoke in his career was, "Glory be to the bomb and to the holy fallout" (from BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES).

Cameron Mitchell is "Harry Hastings", a semi-retired stage magician who admits he's in love with the widow. When spooky stuff happens at night designed to scare Sally, it became a bit too obvious that he was probably involved. (The previous season, he'd played a man who faked his own death in the McCLOUD episode, "Somebody's Out To Get Jennie".)

Eileen Brennan is "Nora Dane", friend of the family, who may know more than she says. I always mostly remember her for THE CHEAP DETECTIVE (1978) with Peter Falk.

Martin E. Brooks makes his 2nd appearances as "Deputy D. A. Chapman", convinced Evie DID kill her husband, accuses Mac of helping a murderess go free, and hopes to hit her with at least a purjury charge.

John Astin makes his debut as "Skyes", the eccentric police scientist who tries to determine if the body they buried a year earlier is in fact Evie's husband, or not. I always enjoyed him on this show, and was surprised that he didn't appear in that many episodes.

Philip Carey is "Arthur Kendall", the dead husband (or is he?) seen (mostly) in flashbacks. In the 1950s, he starred as PHILIP MARLOWE on TV.

This episode opens with a high-speed chase (WHAT, AGAIN???), once more causing me to ask, "WHY is the Police Commissioner taking part in chasing a bad guy?" I guess Mac must really like being that involved. Later, as Mac works to figure out the mystery, I'm reminded that this show really tended to have some of the most unusual murder mysteries ever seen on TV, and it's clear that Mac's mind does not work like normal people's. There's Charlie Chan, there's Hercule Poirot, and then there's Stewart McMillan-- and each of these characters' thought processes are unique. Time and again, when a new twist is revealed, or a new plot point suddenly figured out, it feels like my head is exploding as I watch. It's no wonder I like this show.

Sally, oddly, doesn't get to do much in this one, except look beautiful. I was reminded that, when this episode was made, Susan St. James had only recently become a new mother in real life. (But, very strangely, this was not reflected in the series-- despite Sally being pregnant in the PREVIOUS story. I guess there was a miscarriage.)

[profh0011]

McMILLAN & WIFE:  Blues For Sally M.
WHO attacked the concert pianist?   (6 of 10)

Mac & Sally are invited for dinner at the home of a famous pianist who just dedicated a new piece to Sally, despite never meeting her. But on arrival, they find he's been stabbed, and from there the plot slowly unfolds. A former drummer in the band who'd been fired is under suspicion until two punks are hired to beat him up. Sally is pushed into the bay in front of witnesses, not one of whom apparently saw who did it. And Mac is concerned that Sally just happens to be reading twice a week to the nearly-blind music critic who continually savages the pianist's work. Meanwhile, the assistant DA continues his hateful streak by somehow thinking Sally is one of the suspects.

One thing's for sure, of the various NBC Mystery Movie series, McMILLAN & WIFE continues to have the most unusual stories.

Keir Dullea (2001: A SPACE ODDYSEY) is "Buzz Simms", who despite great talent, wide fame and success, seems very insecure and obsessed with trying to praise the one critic who never ceases to lambast him and his work.

Tom Troupe (KELLY'S HEROES) is "Joe Layton", the cynical agent who "made" Simms' career, yet has contempt for all artists, especially his own clients.

Don Mitchell (IRONSIDE) is "Manny Sky", the drummer Simms fired despite their being good friends, and is nearly put into a coma from the beating he receives just when he's about to tell Mac what he suspects.

Ned Wertimer (who I'll always remember from the WKRP episodes about "Scum of the Earth") is "Drake", a mild-mannered man whose car was seen leaving the scene of the stabbing, yet has an iron-clad alibi from the woman he's cheating on his wife with.

Charlotte Rae (THE FACTS OF LIFE) is "Mrs. Drake", who visciously berates her cheating husband-- perhaps with good reason, but you also get the impression there's a reason why he's cheating on her.

Marvene Jones is "Marvene", the eccentric younger "other woman" who utterly baffles Sgt. Enright when he discovers she's painting everything in her apartment white-- including her telephone.

Edie Adams (IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD) is "Louise Montgomery", alias "The Countess", Simms' current girlfriend who doesn't care about him so much as his fame.

Barbara Rhodes (THE BLUE KNIGHT) plays a waitress who's a former girlfriend of Mac's, who doesn't believe Sally is actually Mac's wife!

Stand-up comic Jack Carter is "Montgomery", the publisher of a shopper newspaper who hired the nasty critic, apparently without checking on his background.

I'll say that one of the reviewers here goes into almost-excruitiating detail ripping every aspect of this entire episode apart while also saying they enjoyed the episode. I'm not sure, how, but... my advice is, DO NOT read his review BEFORE you see this story, otherwise, it will blow EVERY BIT OF THE MYSTERY before-the-fact. Geez.

As for me, I continue to wish I had a girlfriend like Sally. Susan St. James is adorable as ever in this.

[profh0011]

McMILLAN & WIFE:  Cop Of The Year
The Murdered Ex-Wife Mystery   (7 of 10)

The day after Sgt. Enright receives an award as "Cop of the Year", while attending his nieces's wedding, he has a run-in with his ex-wife, who insists on speaking with him alone. After locking the door, she yells her head off, loud enough for everyone in the next room to hear, then screams, "Oh, no, don't kill me!" A shot rings out... but there's no one else in the room. She later dies at the hospital, and, the bullet that killed her definitely came from Enright's gun. HOW?

I hadn't seen this in 52 years, yet somehow, the first thought that crossed my mind was... she committed suicide. For nearly the entire story, this thought never crossed anyone else's mind. But if this was the case, it took the entire story for anyone to figure out how it was done.

Lorraine Gary (JAWS) is "Monica Fontaine", a frustrated would-be actress who divorced Charlie 15 years earlier, spent time in a mental institution and blamed Charles for everything that ever went wrong in her life.

Edmond O'Brien (THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME) is "Mr. Fontaine", Monica's father, who holds Charlie nearly as much in contempt as his hate-filled daughter did.

John Astin (THE ADDAMS FAMILY) returns as "Sykes", the lab man, who's obsessively perfectionist when it comes to his work, hates the idea that he may be single-handedly convicting Charlie, yet eventually turns up a bizarre yet seemingly-insignificant clue that something is wrong, ballistically.

Michael Ansara (BROKEN ARROW) is "Mike Bolger", the expensive defense attourney who advises Charlie to plead guilty of involuntary manslaughter, rather than risk facing 20 years in prison if he's convicted of murder.

Martin E. Brooks as "Deputy D. A. Chapman" naturally gets the job of prosecuting Charlie, but for the first time, actually hopes he'll lose a case to Mac, who against all physical evidence believes Charlie is innocent.

Vito Scotti (THE FLYING NUN) is "Alonzo", who catered the wedding the murder took place at, and who for a price, manages to identify the mysterious man who rode in the ambulance with the murdered woman, while posing as a doctor!

Kenneth Mars (THE PRODUCERS) is "Dr. Thursby", apparently a friend of Monica's, who disappeared before she reached the hospital.

This series continues to have some of the most unusual mysteries I've ever seen on TV. It's so hard to talk about a story like this without giving away the ending, but let's just say when a certain detail came out near the end, the first thing I did was yell "Rebecca!" at my TV. If you've seen the Alfred Hitchcock movie, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

I was a little disappointed that Sally (Susan Saint James) had so little to do with this one, but the focus was so much on Sgt. Enright, I guess there just wasn't much room for her. More than anything, this story stressed just how much Stewart McMillan & Charlie Enright mean to each other as professional colleagues, and as friends.

[profh0011]

McMILLAN & WIFE:  Terror Times Two
The Commissioner With My Face   (7 of 10)

The Mob wants a witness who's under heavy protection eliminated, and the boss just happened to have run into a man who's a near-double for Stewart McMillan. Some voice-coaching here, studying some films there, a pair of contact lenses and a bit of plastic surgery later, and he's ready to impersonate the one man who can get past all the heavy security. But will he be able to fool Sally, Sergeant Enright, or Mildred? (Never mind the last one, she doesn't trust Mac to begin with.)

Andrew Duggan (LANCER) is "Frank Carstairs", the head of the San Francisco Mob who the cops want put away, and who hatches this wild scheme to prevent that. He figures adding a charge of kidnapping and several murders to his resume won't make much of a difference, but it's going too far when he plans to kill Sally as well when it's all over.

Larry Hovis (HOGAN'S HEROES) has a brief role as a Las Vegas impersonation expert who helps train the phony Mac in speaking like the real one. The impression is given that as soon as he finished his job, he was bumped off for knowing too much (as was the plastic surgeon).

Celeste Yarnall (STAR TREK: The Apple) is "Miss Jones", Mac's temporary secretary who's too good to be true, and halfway thru the story, we find out she isn't, when it's revealed she's working for Carstairs to make sure the fake Mac stays in line.

Sid Haig & Jason Wingreen are among those playing various members of the gang.

Beverly Washburn (STAR TREK: The Deadly Years) is the Hospital Operator, who gets annoyed when Mac calls her on the phone claiming to be himself when she's just seen the Commissioner walking around the hospital.

Charlotte Stewart (LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE) is "Sheila", a seemingly down-on-her-luck artist who Enright helps out, but who turns out to also be in on the plot. She drugs his coffee before he gives her a ride home, resulting in him pulling over because he can't stay awake. Charlie is surprised when he wakes up that she didn't rob him, which makes him suspicious that Mac may be in trouble, since someone went to such lengths to get him out of the way.

Either Mac's impersonator is not as good as he thinks he is, or Sally's less observant than it seems she should be. At any rate, once she mentions he's been acting a bit strange, the imposter changes his mind about spending the night with her.

When Mac manages to escape from his captors, his intimate knowledge of Charlie is the one thing that helps Enright know he's the REAL Commissioner.

I'm sure a lot of series have pulled this stunt over the years (including THE SAINT with George Sanders and THE MAN FROM UNCLE with Robert Vaughn), but this variation on the idea wound up being more entertaining than these others I mentioned here.

[profh0011]

McMILLAN & WIFE:  No Hearts, No Flowers
Unrequited Love   (7 of 10)

A purse-snatcher steals Sally's purse. Mysteriously, it's returned with nothing missing, an "I love you" candy heart added, and soon after, the purse-snatcher is found strangled. And so begins another unusual mystery on this show, as it becomes evident that someone that Sally knows may be obsessed with her-- and, a murderer. Mac, Enright and the police wade through multiple suspects, any one of whom could be the culprit, and several of whom, on investigation, have been acting suspicious. But at least two of them, it turns out, may have had evidence planted on them by the real culprit, to divert attention from the truth. When I noticed this, I also realized something that, somehow, was NEVER once mentioned in the story itself! How cagey can you be?

Scott Brady (THE NIGHT STRANGLER) is "Casey", an ex-cop forced to retire for medical reasons, who resents that Mac never stood up for him when he was being kicked off the police force.

Albert Salmi (LOST IN SPACE: The Sky Pirate) is "Joe Marley", a gas station manager from whose lot the culprit used the pay phone to call Sally after trying to set up a rendzvous.

Leon Askin (HOGAN'S HEROES) is "Ingo", a waiter who has long been a great admirer of Sally.

Dick Van Patten (HIGH ANXIETY) is "Henry", a newsstand owner who's known Sally since she got out of high school.

Sheree North (MADIGAN) is "Dr. Marion Voight", a psychiatist who's helped Mac with many cases over the years, and gives him much advice on trying to solve this one.

This really is a terrific and unusual "whodunit" mystery, as Mac & company systematically work through one suspect after another and over again, yet never seem to get any closer to the truth... until Mac DOES, and realizes he's been mis-directed the whole time.

At one point, Sally quips, "Why do we always have to get our best clues at bedtime?" For decades, this one one of only 3 episodes I had on tape, and watching tonight, I realize that this line of dialogue probably inspired a similar scene in one of my own stories that I wrote back in the early 90s!

For 5 years, Leonard Stern was the executive producer on GET SMART. This episode is directed by Gary Nelson, who directed 23 episodes of that show. In addition, Robert Karvelas, who appeared in 94 episodes of that show (plus both reunion movies) plays a traveling salesman who tries to pick Sally up at a bar.  (Surprisingly, this isn't listed at all at the IMDB-- but how could anyone possibly mistake THAT face?)

[profh0011]

McMILLAN & WIFE:  The Fine Art Of Staying Alive
The Borrowed Rembrandt Caper   (5 of 10)

An art-lover friend of Mac's arranges for a priceless Rembrandt to be borrowed so it can be put on display in San Francisco. As he's explaining the elaborate security system to a diplomat in charge of its care, someone KIDNAPS Sally to force Mac to hand over the painting. A large part of the episode involves Mac trying to decipher what he believes was a clue Sally said to him over the phone involving the day they got engaged, so we see several flashbacks to that day (though, having watched all the early episodes again over the past year, I can't say Mac or Sally actually look like they did when the show started in any of the flashbacks).

Things get tense, after the painting is handed over, when Sally attempts to escape, and winds up seeing the kidnappers, who decide they now have to kill her. But luckily, Mac just barely manages to rescue her... and then realizes he KNOWS who was behind the theft. And it WASN'T an "international syndicate" as his art-loving friend suggested. Yes, the solution to this one is far more obvious that you'd think it would be. Although, I will say, the scene where Mac gets the kidnapper to call him a second time, while re-directing the call to a local TV station who deliberately announced the wrong time for a news broadcast, as part of an attempt to track down WHERE in the city they might be holding Sally, was pretty clever.

Henry Jones (LOST IN SPACE: The Curse of Cousin Smith) is "Matthew Pennington", who keeps saying he knows the value of a true work of art. This may be the only time I've ever seen Jones where he doesn't use his normal accent!

Cesere Danova (ANIMAL HOUSE) is "Feliciano", the diplomat responsible for the painting's safety, who tells Mac he doesn't have the authority to just hand the painting over, even if it is to save someone's life.

John Stephenson (JONNY QUEST) is "Harry", a government bureaucrat in D. C. who somehow manages to get the okay to hand over the painting, while warning Mac that if they don't get it back, he'll deny they ever had this conversation.

Alan Caillou (TARZAN) is "Sir William", an art expert interviewed on TV about his opinion of the kidnapping.

King Moody (GET SMART) is a "cowboy" car salesman whose TV commercial involving a man in a gorilla suit is flat-out hilarious. It's always interesting when someone from Leonard Stern's OTHER show about a married couple pops up on this one.

Alan Hale Jr. (GILLIGAN'S ISLAND) is the "Port Captain", who helps Mac find and pursue the kidnappers, once Mac realizes they must be hiding out on one of the yacht piers.

Maybe not one of the best episodes, but to this point, every one they'd done was worth watching.

[profh0011]

McMILLAN & WIFE:  Two Dollars On Trouble To Win
Mac and Sally At The Race Track   (5 of 10)

Mystery and murder at the horse-racing track.  This follows the great tradition of CHARLIE CHAN AT THE RACE TRACK and the Sherlock Holmes story SILVER BLAZE... only, a lot more confusing. 

William Demarest (CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OPERA, IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD, MY THREE SONS) is "Cyrus McFee", a man Sally's known most of her life, who she thinks of an a beloved "uncle".  He owns a race horse, but is extremely cheap when it comes to money, and it looks like someone has reason to kill him.  As it always goes on this show, the mystery that unfolds is NEVER simple or easy.

Murray Matheson (BANACEK) is "Angus McFee", Cyrus' brother.  The two don't get along, and one winds up wondering if he might be the guilty party.

Jackie Coogan (THE ADDAMS FAMILY), Barbara Rhodes (THE GOODBYE GIRL), Lou Wagner (PLANET OF THE APES), and Rafael Campos (ASTRO ZOMBIES) fill out the cast.  John Astin (THE ADDAMS FAMILY) makes his 3rd and final appearance as police scientist "Sykes".  (I wish he'd been on the show more regularly, he was always a highlight in the episodes he was in.)
   (2-20-2025)

[profh0011]

McMILLAN & WIFE:  Death Of A Monster… Birth Of A Legend
The Scottish Castle Murder Case   (8 of 10)

Mac, Sally and Mildred (why her?) go to visit Mac's grandfather in Scotland, but on arrival, a shot rings out, and they find the old man dead, a rifle on the floor next to him, in a room locked from the inside, an apparent suicide.

Mac refuses to accept that, but while trying to figure out what really happened, gets involved in local games, a grouse hunt in which someone winds up shooting at him, not one but two people running away from the castle at night, and learns the legend of a missing family treasure and a man from a rival family who was allegedly walled up inside the castle.  If it was murder, who had the best motive?  The cousin who stood to inherit and wanted to sell the castle, the real estate man who wanted to buy the castle, the former gameskeeper who says he quit his job a week earlier, or, someone else?

Roddy McDowell (LASSIE COME HOME) is "Jamie McMillan", who seems not to care for family tradition, and plans to marry a woman with expensive tastes.

Roger C. Carmel (THE MOTHERS-IN-LAW) is "Houston Gorman", an American real estate man who brags about being a rifle expert, but also points out the only window in the tower was 4 inches wide and an "impossible" shot from outside.

John McLiam (IN COLD BLOOD) is "Ramsey", the lawyer who is also a member of the rival family that's been at odds with the McMillan clan for generations.

Laurie Main (UNDER THE RAINBOW) is "Alfie", a tourist from London who, with his wife, hope to catch sight of the local "monster" that allegedly lives in the nearby lake.

There was so much emphasis on cleches of Scottish culture in this, it might have gotten on my nerves, but I wound up giving this a high rating purely for the very clever resolution to the 2 separate mysteries.  This series has had a tradition from the beginning for unusual mystery stories that almost always stand out among the multitude of mysteries one finds on TV.  And, as usual, Sally (Susan Saint James) is adorable as always.

[profh0011]

McMILLAN & WIFE:  The Devil You Say
Satanic Cults In San Francisco   (5 of 10)

While preparing a Halloween party for a local children's hospital, Sally gets a phone call saying she's in danger.  At the hospital, Mildred sees the man who warned Sally being strangled-- but on investigating, no body can be found.  As things progress, it seems several people Mac and Sally know are members of different Satanic cults, and Mildred is repeatedly the target of people who are trying to discredit her.

Keenan Wynn (DR. STRANGELOVE) is "Professor Zagmeyer", a Satan worshipper who is also heavily involved in past-life regression therapy.  He keeps insisting Satanists "DO NOT KILL" people.

Werner Klemperer (HOGAN'S HEROES) is "Dr. Ernest Bleeker", who, shockingly, also turns out to be a cult member.

Robert Hooks (STAR TREK 3) is "Sam", a disbarred lawyer who was caught bribing a witness, and still blames Mac for testifying against him and destroying his career.

Barbara Colby (2 episodes of MARY TYLER MOORE) is "Linda Comsack", whose husband has disappeared and may be dead, who doesn't seem the least bit concerned about it.

John Fiedler (THE WORLD OF HENRY ORIENT) is "Simpson", a police scientist.  He's mis-credited as "Sykes", suggesting he was a last-minute replacement for John Astin, who didn't return after season 2.

This obvious "Halloween" episode, to me, clearly does NOT take place in the same universe (so to speak) as the classic Hammer film THE DEVIL RIDES OUT, as it seems to me the writer has combined too many elements with Satanic worship, and I wonder if they actually did any real research as writers Dennis Wheatley or Richard Matheson would have.  I think it was "fun" when I first saw it back in 1973, but now, too much about it just doesn't seem to "work" the way most of the episodes up to this point have.

When it turns out at the end that Sally's life IS actually in danger, it feels too much like we've seen it all before.
   (3-20-2025)

[profh0011]

McMILLAN & WIFE:  Freefall To Terror
The Falling Body Mystery   (6 of 10)

A ruthless businessman whose every transaction seems to create enemies apparently commits suicide by going thru the window of a tall building.  But, there's NO body! Then, during the investigation, 3 hours later, his body falls to the ground, killing him instantly.  WHAT just happened?

I have to admit-- over the course of this story-- this was one of the few unusual mysteries on this show that I actually FIGURED out before the reveal.

Dick Haymes (singer & actor who was married 6 TIMES, including to both Rita Hayworth and Fran Jeffries) is "Billy Calm", a one-time friend of Mac's whose business habits have made him far too many enemies. His murder turns out to be one of the most baffling in the series... until the end.

Barbara Feldon (GET SMART) is "Margaret Miller", Billy's secretary, who's apparently had more affairs with different men than she can count (including, at one time, Mac).  Her appearance here makes sense, as Leonard Stern was the executive producer of both GET SMART and McMILLAN & WIFE, and in this story, she really gets a chance to act!

James Olson (THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN), Tom Bosley (THE WORLD OF HENRY ORIENT), Tom Troupe (KELLY'S HEROES) and Edward Andrews (SIXTEEN CANDLES) are the four men who, while being partners with Billy, all had reason to want him dead.

Twice during the story, someone tries to kill Sally (WHAT, AGAIN?), and Mac realizes it must be because she knows something that she doesn't realize she knows, and has her re-enact everything she did when they were on the scene of the "suicide".

The friendly professional banter between Mac & Sgt. Enright is really ramped up in this story, and you can see just how much they enjoy working together.  I couldn't help noticing that John Schuck apparently had lost a LOT of weight around the time he did this, as I've never seen his face looking so thin before.
   (4-8-2025)

[profh0011]

McMILLAN & WIFE:  The Man Without A Face
The Retired Spy Murder Case   (7 of 10)

A former associate and friend of Mac's from when he worked in "Intelligence" is found murdered, and leaves a clue that his killer is someone named "Venice", who repeatedly blew operations during the war, and now appears out to kill anyone who might identify him.

Dana Wynter (THE LIST OF ADRIAN MESSENGER), is "Elena Standish", who Sally figures out once had a romantic affair with the traitor they're after, and naturally is one of his targets.

Steve Forrest (S.W.A.T.) is "Mark Erickson", still active in the CIA, who only reluctantly agrees to help Mac, who insists that a murder that took place in his jurisdiction will be handled by HIS people.

Donna Douglas (THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES) is "Rita", manager of a bar that Erickson uses as his H.Q.

Vito Scotti (THE FLYING NUN) is "Sykes", Mac's eccentric lab man who keeps getting on his nerves whenever he's trying to explain his findings.  Although it appears he's supposed to be playing the same character John Astin played in 3 episodes of Season 2, he's SO different I have a hard time believing it (unless maybe he's the other guy's brother).

Nehemiah Persoff (6 episodes of THE UNTOUCHABLES) is "Clementa Habib", owner of a traveling carnival the killer may have been working at under an assumed name.

Gino Conforti (5 episodes of THAT GIRL) is "Aldo", a knife-thrower, who is briefly under suspicion because at one point Elena is stabbed in the back.

Before some idiot at NBC decided to make all the Mystery Movies fit a 2-hour time slot, they used to do certain "special" episodes in the longer format because it fit the story.  This was the 1st McMILLAN & WIFE to be longer, and unlike those from Seasons 4 & 5, it didn't really feel padded out. Rock Hudson once commented he felt the show just barely worked in the 90-minute format, and thought expanding them all to 2 hours was a big mistake.  I totally agree with that! I started to get bored and lose interest in too many of the later ones, and these were some of my favorite shows on the air at the time.

This particular story seemed very familiar to me, because, only recently, I saw, not once but twice, a 2-part story on NCIS with a VERY-similar plot.  It baffles me how any TV station can run the same episodes of any series only a few weeks later when that show has been running for 20 SEASONS. What is wrong with the people re-running some shows these days?
   (5-26-2025)

[profh0011]

McMILLAN & WIFE:  Reunion In Terror
Murder by Numbers   (7 of 10)

A high school football team reunion turns ugly when, first, the coach, who never scored with women, "jokes" that he's dying and put poison in all their drinks; and then, when it turns out several members of the team have all recently been murdered.  And then another one turns up dead... and Mac & Enright notice the team members appear to be killed by numerical sequence. Which, they later wonder, might be a cover for a SINGLE murder, in a tip-of-the-hat to Agatha Christie's "The ABC Murders".

Buddy Hackett (THE LOVE BUG) is "Joey Germaine", who became a stand-up comic, but with a really DARK, nasty streak in his humor.

Salome Jens (SECONDS, where she co-starred with Rock Hudson) is "Boom Boom Parkins", a girl who apparently slept with every guy on the team (except Mac).

Ned Wertimer (WKRP IN CINCINNATI: Scum Of The Earth) is "Al Parkins", who deeply resents the knowledge that his wife slept with every man on the team (except Mac).

Michael Ansara (STAR TREK: Day of The Dove) is "Sammy Warren", who Mac thinks is the next up to be murdered, until someone in a ski mask begins taking pot shots at HIM while he's out driving.

Roosevelt Greer (THE THING WITH TWO HEADS) is "Bobo Johnson", who figures out he's gonna be next-- just before somebody kills him.

Carole Cook (SIXTEEN CANDLES) is "Carole Crenshaw", a good friend of Sally's, in her first of 3 appearances this season.

As usual, the mysteries on this show keep you guessing, even when you think you've figured it out.  We also get a wild car-chase as Mac and the masked killer take turns chasing each other thru traffic.  Not for the first time, Sally provides Mac with the possible motive, but, completely by accident.  Mildred, meanwhile, just gets on my nerves in every scene she's in.

[profh0011]

McMILLAN & WIFE:  Cross & Double-Cross
The Two Imposters   (6 of 10)

The Treasury Department somehow discovers a gang of criminals plan to smuggle a huge cache of gold into the country. And, because the man who impersonated Mac a year ago (see "Terror Times Two") knows the people involved, they hatch an insane scheme to break him out of prison, have him & Mac switch places, and send Mac on a virtual suicide mission to catch the thieves & recover the gold.

What is this, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE?

Rhonda Fleming (GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL) is "Vera Royale", apparently the number two person in the gang, who doesn't reveal who the number one person is. She had a relationship with Mac's double earlier, which ended badly, making it tricky for Mac to infiltrate... at first.

Morgan Woodward (STAR TREK: The Omega Glory) is "Teddy Samms", Vera's right-hand man, who looks for the opportunity to remove his rival from the picture.

Dabney Coleman (BUFFALO BILL) is "Hansen", the Treasury man who sets up the entire deception.

Carole Cook (SIXTEEN CANDLES) is "Carole Crenshaw", a friend of Sally's, making her 3rd and last appearance on the series.  I really wish this show had had more regular characters who stuck around more than just a handful of episodes.

John Quade (HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER) is the "Doorman" who takes a shine to Mildred, while she's briefly "undercover" with Sally trying to find Mac.

Jackie Coogan (THE ADDAMS FAMILY) is "Howard Sparks", a bartender who at one point gets confused when he sees two different guys with the same face in a matter of minutes.  (Good thing he wasn't one of the crooks.)

Re-watching this series for the first time in 50 years, I have to say, Nancy Walker's house-keeper "Mildred" really got on my nerves more than she did in the old days.  However, in this episode, she does a tango with the fake Mac which is actually the highlight of a story that was terribly PADDED-OUT in length. I guess it's supposed to be funny, the irony that somehow she got along with the fake Mac more than she did the real one.

One thing I feel pretty certain of, is that Rock Hudson must have had a LOT of fun doing this episode, getting to play two very-different people, EACH one pretending to be the other one. Hudson once said he felt the series just barely worked at 90 minutes, and disliked when NBC decided to expand every episode for a 2-hour format for 2 seasons.  I totally agree with him on that! McMILLAN & WIFE was a favorite series of mine when it started, but the 2 years where nearly every episode was padded out, I started to get really bored and had trouble making it through too many stories. I think that may have started right here.

[profh0011]

McMILLAN & WIFE:  Downshift To Danger
The $2 Million Road Rally   (6 of 10)

An eccentric millionaire with a lifelong interest in road rallies plans that after he dies, the next one will see the winner inherit his entire collection of antique cars, valued at $2 Million.  But one of the five competitors in the group has hired someone to sabotage the event thru various means, including putting sugar in Mac's gas tank, moving roadwork signs, removing key information from printed driving instructions, and, apparently, cutting the brake line on one of the cars.

Sally quips, "Who doesn't need $2 Million?"  Mac turns it around, "Who DOES need $2 Million?" But the longer the rally goes on, the more it seems almost everyone involved does, to get them out of bad financial situations (a doctor facing a catastrophic malpractice suit, a movie producer facing a nasty divorce settlement, etc.).

Among the cast are Van Johnson (THE CAINE MUTINY), Alex Karras (BLAZING SADDLES), Bert Convy (THE SNOOP SISTERS), R.G. Armstrong (LONE WOLF McQUADE), Martin Kove (DEATH RACE 2000), Barbara Bosson (HILL STREET BLUES, also, the story editor's wife), Scatman Crothers (BRONCO BILLY, THE SHINING) and Pamela Hensley (BUCK ROGERS).

Rock Hudson once said he felt McMILLAN & WIFE just barely worked in a 90-minute format.  This episode is a perfect example of what was wrong with NBC deciding to make every story this season fit a 2-hour slot.  It's painfully padded out and starts to become either irritating, or just boring.  Every scene seems to just go on far too  long.

Poor Sgt. Enright apparently goes thru the entire story not being able to get any sleep.  You'd think Mac would give the guy a raise!

Sally goes thru the entire story clearly several months pregnant. Mac is somehow looking worse for wear, as well.  An extended scene where he winds up driving her car (which is too small for him) without a shirt on doesn't flatter him, either.

Near the end, I began to suspect that, like Agatha Christie's "The ABC Murders", much of what was going on may have been a cover for a SPECIFIC crime.  Turns out, I was right!

[profh0011]

McMILLAN & WIFE:  The Game Of Survival
The Lions Eat Tonight   (5 of 10)

A very-pregnant Sally decides she wants to improve her tennis game, and does so at the lavish estate of an ex-boyfriend of hers, whose filthy-rich father happens to have a pair of full-grown lions caged up near the house.  When the father winds up dead, apparently EATEN by those lions, and there's nothing but his pants and his dentures left to identify the body, I was immediately suspicious that all was not what it seemed.  Especially when one of the grounds-keepers apparently ran off to South America without any advance warning.

Robert Wolders (DANIEL BOONE) is "Ilia Astrov", a highly-volatile tennis pro who is fired from his job for having an affair with the boss's wife.  He becomes the chief suspect in the murder.

William Windom (MY WORLD AND WELCOME TO IT) is "Ted Hoffenstein", Astrov's manager, who is also out of work because of his client's bad behavior.

George Maharis (EXODUS) is “Walter Webley”, Sally’s ex, the murdered man’s son, and also high on the suspect list.

Stefanie Powers (THE GIRL FROM U.N.C.L.E.) is “Rachel Webley”, the much-younger 2nd wife of the murdered man.  She has too much fun running Sgt. Enright in circles when he’s assigned to keep an eye on her movements.

Andrew Duggan (IN LIKE FLINT) is “Ewing Webley”, who apparently made a bad choice in pets.  And, possibly, 2nd wives.

Also in the cast are Tito Vandis (a 2nd season NIGHT COURT), Kenneth Tobey (THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD), Bryan O’Byrne (5 episodes of GET SMART), and Jeff Burton (PLANET OF THE APES).  Oh, and real-life tennis pro Bobby Riggs also has a cameo.

The longer I re-watch this series, the more I’m reminded of how my attention kept drifting after they decided to make all of them fill a 2-hour slot.  I’ve got more focus these days, but even so, at 98 minutes, it’s definitely longer than it ought to be.

[profh0011]

McMILLAN & WIFE:  Buried Alive
“What’s a sleeper?”   (5 of 10)

While out having dinner with Sally, Mac suddenly gets a message to meet someone he thought died years earlier—but when he arrives, the man has JUST been murdered!  Who should then turn up, but Mac’s old boss from his days, long ago, when he was in the CIA, who tells Mac to stay out of it.  YEAH, RIGHT.  It gets more complicated and more confusing after that, as apparently, Mac’s old friend was caught overseas, and coerced into being a double-agent for years.  And, he was also on the trail of a “sleeper”.  Now anyone who’s ever watched an episode of THE NEW AVENGERS can tell you, a “sleeper” is someone trained to be a spy, sent to live in another country, but never “activated”… until they are.  So, the question is, WHO is this person?  Mac has to practically twist his old boss’s arm to force him to work with him, as he refuses to let a murder in HIS city just be ignored.

I don’t really care about this story much.  It drags on and on and on too long (the curse of having to pad stories out to fit a 2-hour time slot—Rock Husdon himself said he thought this was a terrible idea), the impossibility of the audience ever being able to figure out the plot in advance, and, for me, personally, the focus on an area of Mac’s past which had only ever been mentinoed in a single previous episode—and I didn’t like that one either!  I’d much preferred seeing stories that delved into his past life as a DEFENSE attourney, and so many of the hot young things who kept throwing themselves at him (and vice versa).  Telling us, out of nowhere, that Mac was once a SPY just seems SO WRONG… as if the story is being told about some OTHER, different character entirely.  Did writer Howard Berk ever even watch this show before he wrote his script?  And, what a shock, to notice that he ALSO wrote the previous COLUMBO episode, “By Dawn’s Early Light”, that aired just 2 weeks earlier.  I DIDN’T LIKE that one, EITHER!

Nice cast, but that’s about all this has going for it, to my eyes.  Barry Sullivan (who I always thought should have played “Commissioner Gordon” in a serious adaptation of BATMAN), Donna Mills (PLAY MISTY FOR ME), Don Keefer (CREEPSHOW), M. Emmett Walsh (SLAP SHOT), Maudie Prickett (Max’s aunt in an episode of GET SMART), and Eric Shea (THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE).  If anyone’s wondering, Eric’ BROTHER Christopher is the one who did the voice of “Charlie Brown”.

I know there’s some decent M&W episodes left, but my enjoyment of the show has been slowly decreasing as I plow thru the DVD box set… even as it did when it was FIRST-RUN in the 1970s.  I feel that’s just sad… to have my growing disintest in the show way back then be CONFIRMED now, 5 decades later.

[profh0011]

McMILLAN & WIFE:  GUILT BY ASSOCIATION
The Football Player Murder Case   (6 of 10)

While she’s serving Jury Duty on a murder case, Mildred is attacked in her hotel room.  Later, when the Jury is moved to a more secure hotel, the only person on the Jury who feels the accused is guilty, is himself murdered in his new hotel room.  Moreso, he’s not only shot twice, he was also poisoned earlier.  Suffice to say, this story gets even more complicated and confusing than usual for this show.

Gene Washington (a real-life pro football player who appeared in several “blaxploitation” films in his short acting career) is “Luke Johnson”, accused of murder.  It becomes a running mystery, was he planning to sign with another team after the current season, or not? 

Felton Perry (MAGNUM FORCE) is “Carter Lewis”, who stands to benefit it Johnson doesn’t come back.

John Randoph (ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES) is “Andrew Brill”, the manager of the team, who tends to get on the bad side of everybody.  Funny enough, in his long career, he once played a coach in an episode of THE PATTY DUKE SHOW.

Paul Stevens (PATTON) is “Buddy Stone”, the team’s assistant manager, who’s secretly bucking for Brill’s job!

Dick Butkus (MY TWO DADS) is the un-named team coach.  Aside from acting, he’s another former pro football player.

Dennis Patrick (65 episodes of DARK SHADOWS) is “Leon Silver”, Johnson’s defense attorney, and an old friend of Mac.

Phil Leeds (5 different episodes of NIGHT COURT) is “Mr. Perl”, the Jury foreman.

Logan Ramsey (STAR TREK: Bread And Circuses) is “Sam”, the coroner who missed the poison because the dead Jury member had been shot twice.  A bit quirky, this may actually be the most likable character I’ve ever seen Ramsey play!

Pat Harrington Jr. (209 episodes of ONE DAY AT A TIME) is “Nino Mordanti”, chief of security at the “more secure” hotel. He has ideas of how it might have been done, but at one point, becomes a suspect when Mac & Enright are almost murdered.

David Soul (MAGNUM FORCE) is “Jerry”, one of the 2 security guards on duty when the murder in the hotel took place.

Peter Brocco (STAR TREK: Errand Of Mercy) is “Tom Rhine Sr.”, father of the man Johnson is accused of murdering.  Another old friend of Mac’s, he’s suffered several strokes, knows he hasn’t much time to live, and hopes to see justice done before he dies.

Susan Strasberg (McCLOUD: Encounter With Aries) is “Virginia Rhine”, 2nd wife of Rhine Sr., who due to a pre-nuptual agreement, gets nothing if her rich husband dies.

Bernie Kopell (GET SMART, THE LOVE BOAT) is “Bernini Mussolino”, a drunk who tries to pick up Sally in a bar, not noticing she’s VERY pregnant.  Since I realized that GET SMART and McMILLAN & WIFE were both made by “Talent Associates”, I figure this was another case of “in-joke” casting. 

This series always tends to have very unusual murder mysteries, and this is definitely one of those.  But it was also the 2nd episode they’d done that heavily involved football.  By the end, I wound up feeling it would have been a lot better if it had been made for a 90-minute time slot, instead of a 2-hour one. I have no memory of this episode whatsoever, despite being sure I watched it when it was first-run.  I must have been doing something else while sitting in front of the TV, and just not paying attention.