Mannix (TV Series) Lifeline (1972) User Reviews

It's BOLO time!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 23 February 2015]

When the show begins, Peggy is at a nightclub listening to Vince/Vance Logan* (Lou Rawls) perform. Soon, however, the police show up and want to interview Logan. It's NOT about anything that bad--but Logan panics and runs away after threatening one of the cops with a gun. Why did he do this? It makes little sense.

Not surprisingly, the guy turns out to be one of Mannix's old friends (who isn't on this series!?) and Joe tries to get Logan to give himself up. But dumb old Logan tries to run and gets shot. Now he's in the hospital getting surgery.

So what's next? Is Logan guilty of something much more serious? And how does a goofy guy named Bolo (William Marshall) relate to all this? Check out the show if you are curious.

This isn't a bad episode at all. What I thought was most interesting is that Mannix often had black clients and characters. It also could have just become like a blackspoitation episode here with pimps, drug lords and the like but avoided the cheap stereotypes. Well worth seeing even if the whole bolo angle is dumb.

By the way, at one point Logan is shot and the doctors are all panicky because he has a rare blood type and needs special blood. Actually, while AB+ is pretty rare, it's a GREAT blood type as a person with this blood type can take any blood--A, B, AB or O! The writer should have done his homework! You can check this out here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABO_blood_group_system.

*Why do I call him Vince/Vance? IMDb does--take a look at the summary and compare it to the list of characters in the show.

Two-Fisted Mannix Proves He's A Great Friend!

[edrybaaudio · 7/10 · 9 June 2020]

Joe Mannix has some pretty talented friends - like the great Lou Rawls in this outing. And I can't fault Martin Hafer for his flawless review. I just watched it for the Umpteenth time, and Mannix goes to great lengths to help his friend, as he does in many shows in this series.

But Marty, don't jump on IMDB for a typo which was entered by a user! Just sit back, take a deep breath, and consider what a fine resource we have in this website. I would imagine that even you have made a typographical error once in a while. Relax!

And if you, dear reader, haven't read Hafer's review, I would suggest you do so. He's usually very astute in his observations, and this time is no exception.

A FRIEND IN NEED IS A FRIEND IN NEED...

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 2 September 2022]

Leslie H. Martin directed this man on the run adventure, who also did many episodes for BARNABY JONES. The thing about LIFELINE is that it confirms the deal, that any guy Peggy seemed to be interested in turns out to be up to his neck in trouble. You may remember similar relationships on BARNABY JONES that always affected Betty, played by Lee Meriwether.

Singer and actor Lou Rawls portrays Vance, a nightclub singer who dumps Peggy and runs like heck from the cops! Of course, it's up to Joe, who also knows the guy is in deep, thanks to his buds?

Are you ready? In walks six foot five William Marshall as Bolo (don't you love it) a strange man with an even stranger past, definitely connected to Rawls. To note, this was an early acting credit for Lou Rawls, who made his tv debut on THE BIG VALLEY opposite Barbara Stanwyck. What started it all for him, actually, was a music show he hosted in the late 60s on NBC that was a successful summer replacement for the DEAN MARTIN SHOW. Without TOO much surprise, William Marshall is the man here, famous (the same year this episode was released) for playing Count BLACULA. One scary vampire.

Depending on when this episode was filmed, in the summer of 71 Lou Rawls had a top 20 hit called A NATURAL MAN, if you recall. Filmed around Los Feliz (as usual), not far from Paramount in Hollywood, more than likely due to less traffic.

Watch this one for these two super guest stars. SEASON 5 EPISODE 21. CBS/Paramount dvd box set.

I don't know what's turned you on

[glitterrose · 10/10 · 5 December 2021]

I can't help myself. There's parts of Mannix that I get a kick out of. Other fans might groan to themselves or roll their eyes but I'm here for stuff like Mannix talking jive, sniffing the mail, getting drugged, getting into a scrape where you'd think his face would look all busted but he's still his flawless looking self, etc.

The line in the subject takes place in this episode and I loved it the first time I heard it.

Anyway, this is another episode that works for "Mannix". The best episodes are the ones with interesting storylines and characters that you can enjoy versus wishing somebody would kill the characters off. Lou Rawls did a great job with his role and I also want to give credit to the actress that played Gloria. She played both sides of the coin terrifically. She started off showing a bad attitude when she walked in and saw Mannix but she was sitting out in Joe's car at the end of the scene and talked to him like a decent human being.

Shoutout to Dan Ives for an interesting way of sitting in a desk chair. Got another kick out of that scene. Scene starts with him having his feet on top of his desk, Mannix comes in and he moves his feet and legs up into the desk chair. I have NEVER seen anybody sit in a desk chair like that. Idk if he was posing for Mannix or what. It's my head cannon that everybody in the series has the hots for Joe Mannix. :D.

Another night out leads to another case for Joe

[Guad42 · 6/10 · 7 December 2021]

Peggy should stay out of nightclubs and Joe should never go on vacation. It always ends badly for them and others. This time Peggy is at a club listening to Vance Logan (Lou Rawls). The police show up for a routine matter and Vance runs after pulling a gun. He gets shot and Joe give him blood to help the cause. It turns out Vance may have killed a drug dealer and he is running from that crime.

Joe visits Vance's wife, Juanita (Florence St Peter) and has a slight run-in with their daughter Gloria (Ta Tanisha). Later Gloria has a good talk with Jow where she lay out her problem with her father who broke up the family and abandoned her. Through information from the wife, Joe eventually finds Vance, bleeding from his wound, in an empty building and brings him back to his place to hide out while Joe continues the investigation. There is another likely murder suspect in the dead drug dealer's partner Bolo (William Marshall). Bolo solves the need for further investigation by kidnapping Gloria to lure Vance over to his house. He goes about setting up a scheme to kill Vance and make it look like he died from his wound as he was coming to kill Bolo. Joe shows up and takes out two henchmen and then Bolo. At least Bolo gets to throw the bolos he is carrying around with him. Father and daughter are reunited, and Joe pulls off another rescue.

The cast is good although it lacks the usual actors who were very busy guest stars back then. Marshall brings a realistic gravatas to his roles. I always think he should be doing Shakespeare on stage. This would be the only appearances Rawls, Marshall, St Peter, and Tanisha would make on Mannix. I like Jack Ging as Lt Ives.

I know there is nothing that can be done about this but the cops showing up thirty seconds too late at the end of every episode is getting old. Especially considering that Bolo's house was the obvious place to go to first. Oh well, Joe is the hero, and they are just supporting bit players.

Overall, this isn't a bad episode but there is a certain "routineness" about it. Joe has about ten thousand old friends and they always seem to get in trouble. The same holds true with everyone else Joe knows. He needs friends who don't get in trouble, army buddies who aren't crazy, PI compatriots who are actually good at their job, and clients who don't lie to him when they hire him.

It also wouldn't hurt to get paid every now and then. But it won't be this case. A decent enough effort but there are better ones.

Terrible - just a rehash of old ideas

[pkfloydmh · 3/10 · 7 November 2021]

This one is about a singer (played by Lou Rawls) who is on the run from the law because they suspect him of killing a drug dealer.

This episode is strikingly similar to the horrible Time Out of Mind episode from last season as it has many of the same plot elements - a black guy goes into hiding because the police suspect him of a murder but he maintains his innocence, he hides out in a dump but Joe is able to find him because his family tells him where he is, and the guy tells Joe he doesn't want his help and tells him to get lost or he'll kill him. So not only is this a reused plot but it's a reused plot from a bad episode, so it's a double whammy.

This is essentially a repeat of the previous episode but with different guest stars. There's really nothing new or interesting here or anything different from Time Out of Mind except for the Bolo character, who is well-played by William Marshall and is the best part of the show, but unfortunately he only has a small part at the very end.

Once again we have the maddening cliché where Joe tells his client to stay put at the hideout but of course he leaves. I am really, really tired of this cliché.

This one really drags because there isn't much action except at the end.

The episode would have been better if it had focused more on the Bolo character, but as it stands it's a terrible episode that is essentially a rehash of the equally terrible Time Out of Mind and with very little action or excitement.