Mannix (TV Series) Deadfall: Part 2 (1968) User Reviews

Good but complicated!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 30 April 2013]

This episode and the first part mark the first "Mannix" shows made by Paramount--the previous shows were all Desilu productions. The company was sold to Paramount in 1968 and shows like "Star Trek" and "Mannix" continued--just with a new studio in charge. However, this MIGHT explain why "Deadfall" was a two-part show--perhaps it was a way of ushering in the new production company.

If you watched part one, you were probably left very confused. Lew was behaving VERY weirdly, a couple guys were killed--but perhaps one ISN'T really dead, and LOTS of people seem to be in on some strange conspiracy. Fortunately, the answers come in this show. I thought they were pretty good but my wife felt the various plot elements didn't always work. I just know it kept my interest and showed that despite the changes, the show seemed in capable hands.

A two parter filled to the brim

[Guad42 · 9/10 · 14 April 2022]

Oftentimes, two-part episodes feel like an hour and fifteen minutes of plot then a bunch of filler is added to pad out the time. That is not the case here. These two episodes needs and uses all the time allotted. As pointed out by Hafer, the plot is complicated with many twists and turns. Normally, I cover the plot in my reviews, but this would require a term paper so a few highlights. Plans to a laser is the McGuffin here and sets everything in motion. A Intertect man goes bad. Lew Wickersham is not the buttoned-down officer manager we have come to expect but is semi crazy and running in the red zone for the majority of this adventure. Lew and Joe having a knock down drag-out fight is not to be missed. Lew gets to escape from a makeshift jail cell. Lots of drugging going on. Most scenes include an argument or violence. There are a couple of nice touches with a smuggler who sings her part of a conversation while an opera record plays, and the use of the word "radio" contributes to the bad guy's downfall. The final shootout aboard a boat is well-done and Lew gets the bad guy.

This Mannix outing is unlike any of the others up to this point in the series. Part of that is Lew not being the anchor of rational thinking while Joe is usually the emotional one. Their roles are reversed here. Part of it is the violence is at a high rate and portrayed more realistically than we have seen before. Also, all the characters are on edge. Many axes are being grinded with several conflicting agendas in play. The whole affair is just grittier than normal. There are no moments of breeziness as we often see when Joe drops a bunch of one liners and smiles as he goes about solving a case.

The actors are all good. Dana Elcar as bad guy Fred Reston is excellent as he reacts with desperation as he sees his plan going down the drain. His death scene is well done. Beverly Garland is his wife Edna who is a reluctant co-conspirator who is in over her head. Roscoe Lee Browne is a company officer who takes a fall for the real culprits. He always brings a level of class to his portrayals. Is he ever bad? Michael Tolan is the inside the company bad guy. Antoinette Bower is the pretty face here, but she is more than that. Her break-up with Joe at the end of the episode is very well done. She always brings a level of sophistication and maturity to her parts that other actresses simply don't project. I think Diana Muldaur does the same. I would actually want to have either of those two as a girlfriend as opposed to most of the other women Joe runs across. Joseph Campanella must have loved cutting loose his Lew Wickersham character. Lots of scenery chewing but in a good way.

This is a complicated episode where you have to pay attention. Often, TV shows deliberately "dumb it down" for the audience but that doesn't happen here. Do see it.

NO REST FOR WEARY, LEARY JOE...

[tcchelsey · 9/10 · 6 October 2023]

PART II. The adventure continues, and this is the episode that, to a degree, sorts things out. Should you be keeping studious notes. As I have said, Chester Krumholz, one terrific writer of cop shows, did get carried away with the plot. There is no question. And best get used to it. This will be a common "thread" in the series (and with many other writers) lots of twists and turns to nowhere... but it's the slam, bang action that rules, at least to all of us kids back in the day.

I agree with the last reviewer that Dana Elcar (as Fred, Edna's husband) truly has a standout role. Beverly Garland (as Edna), in the meanwhile, turns out to be the real mystery woman. She is perfect for this type of role, desperatation to the max.

You may also want to tag this an adventure slash soap opera-MANNIX style, largely due to the fact that there are so many moving parts and surprises.

The final boat shootout is classic, again a credit to director Leonard J. Horn, who worked his craft and probably labored through at least a few choice takes.

If you watch this scene carefully, it is an exercise in gymnastics, Mike Connors to be congratulated for doing many of his own stunts. It has been said many times, that acting is also movement, and sometimes an actor's physical requirements or limitations thereof, could either make or break a role.

In closing, a special nod to Antoinette Bower (as Gail), playing Joe's love interest (hence the soap opera element) and yes, not just another pretty face. I also agree that Antoinette was quite comparable in style to Diana Muldaur, which is a true compliment as many actresses could not cross that bridge, not only in MANNIX, but so many other cop shows of the period. The popular British-American actress began her career as a DJ in Toronto, and is still around today in her early 90s, but long retired.

Best for the last, and for true film completists. Master stuntman Bob Herron has a small role as a seaman. Bob doubled for such stars as Jackie Gleason, Ernest Borgnine, both Robert Conrad and Ross Martin in the WILD, WILD WEST, and that's just a fraction of his many years in Hollywood. A real American hero.

Worth some late night pizza after its all over.

SEASON 1 remastered CBS dvd box set.