Mannix (TV Series) A Question of Midnight (1969) User Reviews

Unpleasant Valley

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 3 November 2013]

The setting for "A Question of Midnight" is very, very familiar. It's the clichéd small and VERY unfriendly town--one where just about everyone is angry at the detective and show through their actions that there is a lot that is hidden. This small town conspiracy angle is, unfortunately, just too familiar. And, when he's set up the first time, you KNEW exactly when it was coming. Fortunately, how this is all handled is very good--making it worth seeing.

The show begins with a woman paying Mannix to investigate an ex-doctor's past. It seems his license to practice was revoked and now he's in trouble for saving a dying boy's life. Mannix needs to uncover why he lost this license in the first place. Oddly, the doctor isn't grateful for Mannix's help and actually gets in the way of the investigation. How all this works out is pretty clever--plus, interestingly, it's one of the few episodes where Mannix actually gets the girl in the end of the show. This is unusual because so often women turn out to be louses and cheats! Overall, not great but quite good.

Another small town where secrets lurk.

[Guad42 · 8/10 · 4 September 2021]

The small town with a secret is a staple in detective shows back in the day. Mannix, Cannon, Rockford, Barnaby Jones, Simon and Simon, and even Mission Impossible had this particular plot. The difference is this Mannix outing does it very well. Nicely written so it moves right along. Joe is hired by old college friend Andrea (Laurel Goodwin, forever Yeoman Colt in the Star Trek pilot). She is in love with Dr Holland (Tom Troupe) who lost his medical license a few years prior and has now been arrested for practicing without a license. Surprisingly, he doesn't want the help. There are two secrets in play here - how did Dr Holland mix up a lab report and where did he go that fatal night after the operation went bad?

The guest cast is first rate. Lee Meriwether is outside of her usual character playing a cold nanny who gives Joe the usual "get out of town" advice. She warms up a little later but Joe doesn't trust her. Eventually she delivers part of the big secret. Barbara Babcock plays Nurse Hapgood who doesn't make it to the final credits. Logan Ramsey always plays a slimy professional and delivers here. James Westerfield plays the folksy sheriff who threatens Joe but helps out later. The second half of the secret is revealed by the actions of the bad guys. Fortunately the cops show up at an opportune time and Joe is saved.

This could have been a "by the numbers" episode but it is much better than that. Joe gets a solution without getting shot and he also ends up with Lee Meriwether. He should have kept her. If only every case went this well.

Yet another small town hiding a secret, but this one is really good

[pkfloydmh · 8/10 · 18 July 2021]

This episode is about a doctor in a small town who left his post at the hospital, which eventually led to the death of a patient on the operating table.

Even though it has a very familiar theme (a hostile small town hiding a secret), this one is very well-done and has an interesting plot and good performances by Barbara Babcock and Lee Meriwether.

Of course, since this has the small town theme, we get the usual scene with the hostile sheriff trying to bully Joe out of town by threatening to file phony charges against him. I would have loved to have seen Dr. Bennett give the sheriff a lethal dose of morphine at this point. Now THAT would be an interesting twist on the hostile small town sheriff cliche!!

One other thing I didn't like was Dr. Holland's hostility towards Joe, because after all, Joe was there to HELP him, so his attitude just didn't make any sense.

Joe actually doesn't get struck over the head in this one, but he does fall through a second story walkway, which lands him in the hospital, but he recovers nicely and is back on the job in no time.

This is a very good and interesting and well-written episode.

Brilliant Script, and Photography

[samwa-27311 · 10/10 · 26 January 2020]

If you want thrill, suspense, and excitement, this is it.

There are several times, where a person is explaining something, and it immediately goes to a flashback scene, so seemlessly, that it is hard to realize that it is a flashback.

It is so well done.

LET ME OFF IN THE NEXT FRIENDLY, SMALL TOWN?

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 2 March 2023]

#1 You have to love the title. 10 stars alone for the title!

#2 You had better get used to the small town "stopovers" Joe would endure through the years. It was a way of life! This one, though, is not that predictable and will keep your attention, credit some fine writing by Barry Orringer, a regular writer for MEDICAL CENTER and head writer for HOTEL.

Joe comes to the aid of a doctor who is facing malpractice charges. A neat sideline here is incidents are relived via flashback, assembling this whodunit one piece at a time. It's an old ploy, but seems to work quite well in this case. The photography is excellent.

Mike Connors said for years, the show was a contemporary noir, and "flashbacks" were a staple in all those classic 40s mysteries we all so loved.

The "original" Catwoman from the Batman series, Lee Meriwether guest stars, of course soon to play BARNABY JONES daughter in law and secretary. Look for James Westerfield as the sheriff, at his best in these type of roles. Westerfield was one of the most popular character actors on tv at the time and a founder of the famous GREEK THEATRE in Hollywood.

In the spot the old star department, yes, that's John Howard playing the distinguished senior doctor. Howard gained movie fame as BULLDOG DRUMMOND in the 1930s, and in numerous classic films shot on the Paramount lot.

The inside joke is that parts of this small town were filmed at Van Nuys, CA (about 15 minutes from Hollywood), which is NOT a small town.

By the way, Reva's (Lee Meriwether) apartment is a pretty cool place, even by today's standards. The colors!

SEASON 3 EPISODE 5 remastered CBS dvd box set.