Pete's hired by a lovely lady, Paula Raymond (Mrs. Robinson), to look into complex arson case that may involve her husband. Once again the series scores with offbeat characters. "The Giant" (Eckert in his only show-biz credit) is enough to keep me home with the doors locked. He's more of an exotic than an eccentric but a real eye-catcher, in any case. Then there's small guy Walter Berke (Ditto) as a diminutive tipster, and probably Hollywood's best at playing leprechauns where he scarcely needed make-up. Hope Emerson puts in an appearance as the gender-bending Mother, not too long before she unfortunately passed away. Note too how the script scarcely covers up how Edie (Albright) and Pete are at least cohabiting some of the time. This was really cutting edge for the period. Anyway, producer-director Edwards again makes the most out of a small budget and unexceptional plot, with a load of imaginative visuals.
Review of The Torch
