10 Stars.
CHEERS to veteran director Leo Penn, former father in law to Madonna, who got some great performances from this cast. Penn got his start directing at Warner Brothers/ABC tv and no doubt worked with William Conrad who was co-producing 77 SUNSET STRIP, and so many other top shows.
Penn, who is Sean Penn's dad, was a busy guy at this time, also directing MARCUS WELBY and HAWAII FIVE O.
Surprise! Again we get to meet ANOTHER of Frank Cannon's old gal friends. This gentleman definitely was not lonely. Here, Sheree North plays Millie, the owner of a popular Hollywood cafe, who likes to play piano, sing old songs, and have a few drinks. She and Cannon make a cute couple. North's claim to fame was as an "alternative" to Marilyn Monroe. Later, she switched to tv and worked steadily for years, best known for playing Kramer's mom on SEINFELD. Prior to this she had a good role on ALIAS SMITH AND JONES.
It really came as a shock to me that Cannon's wife and son were murdered, though NOT revealed until Season 5. I always thought he was a single PI, much like Mannix, who had some female friends, but work came first. This type of character was originated on tv by Jack Webb on DRAGNET, and revamped many times, such as IRONSIDE, KOJAK, HARRY O, ROCKFORD FILES, even Steve McGarrett on HAWAII FIVE O.
This excellent story revolves around Millie's Lounge, being staked out due to a rash of local robberies. There's a shooting, and before long Cannon is implicated in the mess, which gets even more interesting as it leads to cunning Patrick O'Neal. O'Neal is credited with having played some of the best villains, and he's on target here, and into mind games with Cannon. Mike Farrell, just before his co-starring role in MASH, portrays the holdup man. Look for 50s sci fi star Kenneth Tobey as a sheriff., who looks the part.
This was nicely done and, in fact, quite poignant. Cannon joins co-star Belinda J Montgomery (as O'Neal's daughter) for an insightful plane ride, and reciting poetry.
Watch this scene.
Leo Penn does a magnificent job with both actors. Definitely a turning point in the series, and why the show jumped to the top 10 very quickly.
The cool 70s multi color CANNON logo at the opening of each episode from the first season was dropped. What was added by the third season was a network station break in the middle of each episode, with a red and pink circle. Either way it was so 70s for us teens, probably inspired by MOD SQUAD.
SEASON 2 Episode 5. From box 1 of the 2 box dvd set (CBS/Paramount) remastered in 2009. Three dvds per box, 10 hrs per box set.