Murder, She Wrote (TV Series) Truck Stop (1989) User Reviews

"Bludgeoning One for the Baby, and Two More for the Road"

[WeatherViolet · 6/10 · 13 January 2010]

This episode reflects Film Noir qualities, a Black & White shadowy crime story genre prevalent during the late 1940's, reflecting a dismal mood of spiraling pessimism, hopeless fatalism, inevitable menace, and cynical attitude during its interwoven flashback scenes in a format narrated by a vulnerable rugged Anti-hero as omniscient observer and catalyst.

While combining elements of the American sitcom television series "Alice" (1976-85), which is set in an Arizona diner, this also proves reminiscent of the film "Detour" (1945), which contains a dangerous cross-country road trip terminating in California.

Here, Walter Murray (Mike Connors) transports fellow author Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) via automobile across California's Mojave Desert en route from a Las Vegas, Nevada, convention unto Los Angeles, when he senses or feigns engine difficulty and detours from the highway and into a "Truck Stop." Mechanic Roscoe (Andrew Prine) inspects Walter's engine and carburetor, suggesting that Walter and his passenger await the prognosis, by lunching in the "Truck Stop" diner.

While co-proprietor Pete Gerakaris (Ron Karabatsos) prepares short-order selections, co-proprietor Vera Gerakaris (Elizabeth Ashley) waits tables, as Jessica and Walter step to the counter, Jessica observing a glimmer of recognition between Vera and Walter.

Vera's sassy and spoiled daughter, Flora Gerakaris (Jill Schoelen), arrives on the rear of a motorcycle operated by Grange (Isaac Turner), a crude and rebellious type, of whom Pete Gerakaris disapproves.

While many "MSW" fathers maintain that no one is good enough to court their daughters, in this case, Pete's correct where Grange is concerned although Flora proves every bit as wild and disrespectful to her parents and those around her, as she swings behind the counter to life twenty dollars from the register, to her father's objection.

Desmond (Kristoffer Tabori), a quiet, free-spirited Avant-garde type, in Truman Capote-type attire, lounges at the far end of the counter to observe activity around the "Truck Stop." While others display a show of respect toward his "misfit" ways in this wilderness environment, Sheriff Tugman (Ken Swofford) displays a complete lack of intolerance toward his friendly approach once bodies begin to surface in the aftermath of a triple murder.

That night at the motel at which Jessica and Walter spend the evening in separate quarters, as they await an automobile part to arrive in the morning, Jessica discovers an audio-cassette player upon the table beside one of the bodies.

Jessica and Sheriff Tugman listen intently as Walter Murray narrates the back-story and events leading up to a lead pipe bludgeoning, an automobile lift descending onto a body, and a double shooting spree, but ultimately decides a confession erroneous.

The next day, when Insurance Claims Representative Terence Locke (Peter Haskell) arrives to discuss his company's life insurance settlement policy, Jessica suggests for Terance and Sheriff Tugman to proceed with caution, and to follow her plan to trap the perpetrator.

Who will survive? And who will safely ride away from "Truck Stop?"

This episode marks the first television acting credit for Isaac Turner, and the first of two "MSW" appearances for Isaac Turner, as well as for Elizabeth Ashley, the second of two for Peter Haskell, the first of three for Mike Connors, the third of four each for Andrew Prine and Kristoffer Tabori, and the fourth of eleven for Ken Swofford, a total which includes his six stints as Lieutenant Catalano in the Dennis Stanton episodes.

(Extra points for Andrew Prine, Peter Haskell, and Kristoffer Tabori's brightening an otherwise very dismal outing.)

First Class Episode

[ian-payn · 9/10 · 19 March 2014]

There were more than 250 episodes of Murder, She Wrote, and even the most ardent fan would accept that there was a tendency towards the everyday, and a fair amount of formulaic repetition. Not here.

It's MSW does film noir, as a dead man tells a tale. As Jessica and the sheriff listen to the story on tape, it's played out for us in black and white, largely set in a diner in a no-account town way off the highway. The synopsis is recounted elsewhere, but follows familiar noir guidelines. Jessica is peripheral, but of course resolves the issues regarding three murders that the sheriff refuses to contemplate.

A clever and well-executed conceit is well served by a top-notch cast (even by MSW standards). Mike Connors as the "hero", Elizabeth Ashley (such a good actress, so badly served by Hollywood in middle-age) as the femme fatale. Ken Swofford delivers a usual quality performance as the blustering sheriff, Peter Haskell is his normal reliable self, despite sporting a bizarre white mullet. Andrew Prine is alas a bit peripheral, and so is Kris Tabori, but the latter produces a rock-solid Roddy McDowall impersonation, which isn't something you see every day.

As usual with MSW, the denouement provides few surprises - well, no surprises at all, to be brutal, but it's the journey that's important. A smart concept to which a talented cast and director (Vincent McEveety) give their all. Nice one.

A refreshing tale

[martin-intercultural · 10/10 · 19 November 2016]

Murder She Wrote was always a celebration of the Golden Age of cinema in that it created roles for dozens of 1940s film actors. In this story, it went a step further by recreating not only the 40s look & feel but also the narrative of yesteryear's gritty movies. If you have watched enough films starring Veronica Lake or Lana Turner, or are familiar with a few Phil Marlow stories, the logic and build-up they share will guide you like a laser beam to cracking this gem of a mystery. There is also excellent acting, particularly from Elizabeth Ashley portraying an unlikely femme fatale. Overall, thoroughly enjoyable.

Do the truck stop! Ahead of its time...and planting the glove...

[safenoe · 9/10 · 5 September 2017]

All credit to the writers for trying something bold, kind of ahead of its time with a Twin Peaksesque type episode with a diner (sans cherry pie though), eccentric characters, and just a few years before the OJ murder trial, one of the characters planting a glove to frame an innocent person for a murder. Gulp.

Truck Stop, broadcast in 1989, is unusual that's for sure, with a noir feel, black and white flashbacks, and a dusty small town hotel (I wish I knew where it was filmed).

I wish Murder, She Wrote had more of the unusual theme episodes like a tribute to Casablanca, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Omen, Saved by the Bell.

Homage to two classics

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 10 August 2017]

Some homage is done to a couple of film classics in this Murder She Wrote story which has Jessica Fletcher traveling with Mickey Spillane type screenwriter Mike Connors when they arrive at a broken down truck stop where behind the counter is Elizabeth Ashley an old girlfriend of Connors.

The first half of the episode is in black and white as a mortally wounded Connors dictated a confession into a tape recorder. The playback is listened to by sheriff Ken Swofford and Angela Lansbury. Shades of Fred MacMurray as Walter Neff from Double Indemnity. Connors confesses to killing Ron Karabatsos, Ashley's husband and later killing another man Andrew Prine when they shot it out. It was Prine's bullet that fatally wounded Connors.

That confession may have wrapped it up for Edward G. Robinson in that classic Billy Wilder film, but it doesn't ring true for Angela Lansbury. Especially after insurance agent Peter Haskell arrives in town with a whopper of a check for the heir.

Shades here of The Petrified Forest made even more clear with the presence of Kristoffer Tabori's character who is giving his best impression of Leslie Howard from that classic. His character is superfluous in the end, but interesting.

Not quite up to the show's standards, but an interesting departure from the formula.

"Mr. Cain, Mr. James Cain, please call the front desk...."

[tadimaggio · 16 August 2020]

I love "Murder, She Wrote", and I don't even mind when the screenwriters borrow (for which read "steal") from classic books and films; but the borrowings here are close to grand larceny. From the (frankly unbelievable) plot device of a man dying from a gunshot wound dictating a lengthy recap of the events into a tape recorder, instead of seeking medical help, to the use of a life insurance policy as a plot MacGuffin, to the femme fatale having a bratty daughter, this is James Cain's "Double Indemnity" redux, with a generous dollop of "Mildred Pierce" (also by Cain) thrown in. (Flora's expression of disgust at how her mother smells is word-for-word what Ann Blyth says to Joan Crawford in "Mildred Pierce"). Then again, "Murder, She Wrote" was targeted at an audience who remembered those films; so the series' creative team may have felt that they were giving their viewers a "two for the price of one" deal.

Not just a homage to one old film...

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 1 December 2022]

As I watched "Truck Stop", I recognized several aspects of the show which were obviously inspired by movies of the 1930s and 40s. The British backpacker clearly was modeled after Leslie Howard in "The Petrified Forest" and the recording of a supposed killer confessing is akin to Fred MacMurray in "Double Indemnity". And, finally, the lonely, frustrated woman is much like Lana Turner in "The Postman Always Rings Twice". None of these are bad....just interesting homages to old movie buffs like me.

The film begins with Mike Conners being shot and staggering away from the scene. Then, sitting in his hotel room, he records a long confession as he waits to die. The dialog he provided is VERY much like a cheesy B-movie and all the parts of the story he narrates (about 1/3 of the show) is done in black & white.

This is a really neat episode....so very different and unusual. In fact, considering how similar all the episodes are on the show, it shows great creativity and breathes some life into the program.

'Walter"s story doesn't make any sense....'

[Sleepin_Dragon · 5/10 · 17 March 2021]

Jessica nails it when she says that.

Truck Stop is my least favourite episode in the wonderful fifth series. On the plus side, it's original, you can imagine during the planning of this episode, you can't help but wonder if they had a check list of genres to tick off, many episodes have been so varied, here we have a film noir inspired episode.

It looks nice, trouble is, it simply doesn't work overall, the story is all over the place, it jumps about, and rather than being intriguing or interesting, it's just muddled, and confusing.

It's one of the only episodes I can think of, where the acting is actually poor, Lansbury is terrific as always, but she is not well supported, some of the performances are not great, not a good one for the wig department either.

Not the best, 5/10.

One of the strangest "Murder, She Wrote" episodes ever

[m2mallory · 4/10 · 29 June 2015]

The creatives behind "Murder, She Wrote" often tried to shake up the formula and present something different, and a lot of times it worked. For "Truck Stop," it doesn't. In fact, this episode represents one of the series' biggest belly-flops. Mike Connors guest stars as a screenwriter who is supposed to be adapting Jessica's book into a movie, but instead he practically kidnaps her and takes her into a small town somewhere in between Vegas and L.A. where connected to a seedy diner start turning up dead. The diner is run by Connors' old flame Vera (played by Elizabeth Ashley, and named after the femme fatale of "Detour," in case you didn't get it), who is married to a boorish drunken slob named Pete (played by Ron Karabatsos, and named after the doomed husband in "The Postman Always Rings Twice," in case you didn't get it). Pete turns up dead and there's a shootout between a would-be blackmailer and Connors, in which both end up dead. But before he dies, Connors tape records a confession to both killings, which are dramatized in neo-noir black-and-white as his voice narrates. This isn't a spoiler, because Jessica instinctively senses that things just aren't adding up, tape or no tape, though even she can't figure out who the mysterious, hobo-ish Desmond is (Kristoffer Tabori, doing an excellent Roddy McDowall impression, for whatever reason), what his purpose is in the story, what he knows about the sheriff (Ken Swofford), or why the sheriff doesn't recognize him. It's a mostly great cast, with Ashley making silk out of her sow's ear role as a put-upon waitress, and the usually blustery Swofford standing out in a low-key, rather menacing performance. On the down side is Karabatsos, channeling Lon Chaney, Jr., who demonstrates that the specialty of the house at this particular diner is ham, and Connors attempt at being Bogart, which is a disservice to them both. The real problem, though, is the script. The noir dialogue is downright laughable, with Connors' hard-boiled narration sounding like it was written for Leslie Nielsen for a "Naked Gun" movie. Just when it almost seems like things are coming together Peter Haskell shows up, quite late in the show, as an insurance agent, and plays his role as though he doesn't know whether he'll turn out to be the killer or not. In fact the solution to the mystery and how it fits with everything that has come before is so wobbly that it seems like NO ONE knew who the killer was until they drew straws on the set. Maybe "Truck Stop" was supposed to be a two-parter that got cut down to one hour, and that's why nothing makes sense. But as it is, nothing makes sense.

Truck stop

[coltras35 · 4/10 · 19 August 2023]

Jessica Fletcher is on the road-driving from Las Vegas to Los Angeles with a fellow writer named Walter Murray. They end up staying at a truck stop seemingly in the middle of nowhere-just a garage/gas station, motel, and diner.

An episode that is a little offbeat and plays as an homage to noir films. I guess the creative powers behind MSW were trying to bring something different to the largely light sleuth mystery plate, however I found it a little dullish and nothing that made think about it afterwards. And the redneck sheriff was quite obnoxious - you wished someone hit him from behind with a tyre iron.

A very odd truck stop

[TheLittleSongbird · 5/10 · 18 September 2017]

Have always been quite fond of 'Murder She Wrote'. It is a fun and relaxing watch that makes you think as you try to unwind in the evening. If one wants more complex, twisty mysteries with lots of tension and suspense 'Murder She Wrote' may not be for you, but if you want something light-hearted and entertaining but still provide good mysteries 'Murder She Wrote' fits the bill just fine.

While there are some excellent previous episodes to Season 5 (especially "Mr Penroy's Vacation", "The Search for Peter Kerry", "A Little Night Work", "Fire Burn, Cauldron Bubble" and "The Last Flight of the Dixie Damsel"), which generally is one of the better seasons, not all the episodes are great. The weirdest of the season "Truck Stop" is one of those.

Starting with the good things, some of the acting is good. Angela Lansbury is spot-on, can't fault her. Mike Connors and Elizabeth Ashley give a lot of charm and dignity to the proceedings (particularly Ashley who is wholly convincing as a femme fatale), while the most entertaining contributions come from Ken Swofford in atypically low-key and at times quietly sinister form and the brilliantly Roddy McDowell-esque Kristoffer Tabouri. Although one does question the point of the presence of the latter.

"Truck Stop" is one of the best-looking and visually interesting 'Murder She Wrote' episodes, the film noir look is beautifully striking and very atmospheric. The music has energy and has presence but also not making the mistake of over-scoring, while it is hard to forget or resist the theme tune.

The writing is sometimes thought-provoking, light-hearted and amiable. Some of the story is intriguing and some of its interesting concept is done well.

Not all the acting works however. The worst offender is a very hammy Ron Karabatsos, while Peter Haskell makes a strange and not exactly necessary late appearance. The rest of the cast don't really stand out.

Despite some intriguing moments, the story is muddled, has a very odd tone and doesn't always make sense.

It's further let down by some of the plot twists being unsurprising and underdeveloped and the reveal feeling rushed, last-minute and random. The narration strives for grit but causes unintentional humour instead and comes over as heavy-handed.

On the whole, watchable but odd. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Loose ends

[xbatgirl-30029 · 5/10 · 15 December 2021]

I give the writers credit for trying something different once in a while, even if it didn't work much for me this time. But then I'm not a film noir fan so I'm not the target audience. Maybe if I had seen some of the films other reviewers mention here, this would make more sense. But I think it should work even if you haven't seen the original material. After all, there have been other shows, like Castle or Bones, that have done noir homages that were enjoyable and made sense.

I was pretty turned off right away by how dumb it seemed that a guy who is shot and, instead of calling 911, he sits down to dictate a long story. All while being in no real distress except a few delicate coughs near the end. I guess later on it's kind of explained that he did (or didn't) kill someone so he'd rather die than face consequences. I'd lost interest by then. Even the staged coincidences that led to Jessica being basically kidnapped and driven to this town were all too silly. The bratty daughter seemed miscast.

But mainly, do they ever even explain why the "British" guy keeps hinting that he and the Sheriff have a past? Then at the end he's giving cryptic advice and mentions how he never want to return to LA? What was up with all that? That was just too much. But my major reason for this review is that, to me, he's totally not doing Roddy McDowall's accent! He doesn't sound anything like him! It's really more Davy Jones from the Monkees or Hailey Mills. (Ok, I know others say he's supposed to be Leslie Howard and they seem to be most accurate.) Had to get that off my chest.