Mannix (TV Series) Medal for a Hero (1970) User Reviews

Worthy of a medal!

[filmklassik · 9/10 · 29 January 2017]

Evidence surfaces indicating Peggy's late husband Marcus -- a hero cop killed in the line of duty -- was actually "on the take," and Joe sets out to clear his name.

This exciting, well-written mystery boasts interesting clues (including a clever and deceptively simple method of enciphering) and one great narrative curve ball I did not see coming. (Producers Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts were usually good for several of those per season).

"Medal for a Hero" ranks among the best episodes of season 3, which is saying a lot.

Catch this one.

And, featuring Bobby Troup as Bobby Troup...super-hero.

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 14 November 2013]

This episode begins with a shocking revelation--Peggy's dead husband, the cop hero, might not have been a hero after all. Evidence has arisen that makes it seem as if the man was on the take and the scum-bag who killed him was his partner in crime! Not surprisingly, Peggy is shaken but it's even worse on her son--a boy who idolizes his father's memory. Not surprisingly, Joe Mannix snaps up the case and investigates. There are a few problems, however. There is a tough-guy lieutenant (Frank Marth) who might be in on it or he might just have an insane desire to destroy Mannix. And, the convicted killer of Peggy's husband is now insisting that he and the dead man WERE partners. So what's Joe to do? Well, here is where I thought it got pretty interesting. Joe finds a code book and goes to get help from an old friend--the singer Bobby Troup. Yes, this is the Bobby Troup who was a famous singer and doctor on "Emergency"--and here he plays Bobby Troup, the expert code-breaker! A weird twist, but also a very good episode regardless of this odd casting. Well worth your time and with a dynamite finale.

Bad cops and a bad lawyer

[Guad42 · 8/10 · 16 June 2022]

Peggy's late husband Marcus is accused of being a cop on the take to cover up robberies and that was why he was killed. The police find his name in a payoff book and get to investigating. Joe swings into action to help Peggy. He meets one of the robbery crooks and his slimy lawyer who is getting out of jail based on the payoff book. The crook implicates Marcus in his telling of the story of a robbery gone bad. Joe then talks Marcus' old partner Hoxie who was also on the take. He is no help. Joe takes Marcus daybook to his friend Bobby (Bobby Troup) who has to break a code in the daybook. Joe is hounding by police lieutenant Burdette (Frank Marth) throughout the episode. Burdette shoots the crook involved in the robberies after the guy gets out of jail. Joe Joe is chasing to guy at the time and you wonder if Burdette shot him to shut him up. Then Burdette goes after Joe's license. Bobby decodes the book which shows Marcus was suspicious of his partner. Lt Burdette grabs the book but doesn't turn it in at the department. Ives finds out that Marcus was off duty on the days of the robberies. Joe confronts Hoxie who admits Marcus is innocent. Hoxie run away to a lake to await a payoff from the head bad guy. Joe finds him there. The two of them are shot at by a sniper and Hoxie is wounded. Lt Burdette shows up and, in a nice twist, he is not the head bad guy behind it all. That title belongs to the lawyer for the crooks doing the robberies and his secretary who acted as the bagman to pay off the cops on the beat. Joe and Burdette clean up the two bad guys and the case is over. Turns out Hoxie told the lawyer and his secretary that he was paying off Marcus but was really just pocketing two shares of the payoff bribes. The secretary thought Marcus was getting a share and that is how his name got in the payoff book.

Bobby Troup is a bit of odd casting as a code breaker but it works. Jack Ging is good and I look forward to see him again. Frank Marth plays Lt Burdette well enough so you will dislike him from the beginning. He made a career out of playing unlikable authoritative types. Dean Harens is the slimy lawyer named Ogilvy and he does it well. He was a good murderer on Perry Mason too.

A couple of notes. This is Jack Ging's first appearance as Dan Ives. He is listed as a lieutenant in the credits, but a fellow cop calls him "Sarge" in the beginning of the episode and the lawyer Oglivy also refers to him as Sergeant and so does Joe. Toby's elementary school is named after Lee de Forest. There really is a Lee de Forest who was an inventor and scientist with over 300 patents.

As always in any show where the good guy and a bad guy fight on a cliff, rest assured the bad guy is going over the edge and so it happens here. A good episode with Gail fisher getting more screen time than usual. She is a fine actress. Joe doesn't get paid again but we all knew that was going to happen. The police owe him a good meal. See this outing.

The case of the movable black 1965 Mustang

[cpotato1010 · 16 June 2022]

The car really gets around. First it is in front of the girlfriend's apartment - Mannix parks in front of it. Then it is in the ally where Burdette shoots the guy. Next it is front of the building where someone tosses a piece of pottery off the roof at Joe, parked next to his car.

Perhaps it belonged to some crew member who was setting up these external scenes.

Anyway, this episode was a bit of a mixed bag, some interesting twists, some hand-waving. If you have seen it before, you might want to skip it on subsequent viewings.

Btw, Toby "disappeared" into the bathroom to take a shower while the police were searching his room. Seemed like a good thing to do at the time.

HELPING PEGGY RIGHT A WRONG. YES.

[tcchelsey · 9/10 · 15 March 2023]

FIRST episode of the New Year, and a very interesting script turned out by Frank Telford, credited for many top episode for HAWAII FIVE O.

It took awhile, but you knew there would be some kind of scandal attached to Peggy's late husband. This is an old theme that pops up from time to time; all about clearing the name of a good cop, albeit dead or alive. Here, Peggy's husband died a hero, but now there are questions as to whether he was on a secret payroll? The most intriguing part of it all is the "payoff book" (and with lots of names)! It becomes one hot property.

Playing the cops here are none other than Frank Marth (who could play some nasty guys) and Jack Ging, likewise in some very challenging roles. Look for famous musician and composer Bobby Troup, who also appeared on DRAGNET.

I took a star off because I do agree with the last reviewer there are a few questions, such as the last scene with Joe confronting the killer on a hill. How did he get there so fast? Joe should have entered the Olympics runner marathon!

There's also a sound difference between a high powered rifle and a handgun, which Joe does not mention, and is integral to a shooting.

As to the black Mustang always turning up, there's a logical answer. This was shot on the Paramount lot, and they probably only had so many cars at their disposal, so you would often see the same cars in various scenes. Remember, when in doubt, blame it on a large dosage of doctor directed poetic license.

A fast episode, so keep the late night coffee brewing. SEASON 3 EPISODE 14. HAPPY NEW YEAR 1970!

Horribly bad

[pkfloydmh · 2/10 · 9 July 2021]

This is a really bad episode and is the third rotten episode in a row. It's about Peggy's ex-husband and the circumstances surrounding his death.

Just like the previous two episodes, this one has a couple of really annoying characters (Hoxie and Burdette) that I was hoping wouldn't make it to the end of the episode but sadly they did. I would have rated this one a couple of points higher if those two had ended up in the meat wagon at some point.

Then there's the scene where Joe is chasing Pickman and Pickman clearly sees the garbage can in front of him well ahead of time and yet he RUNS STRAIGHT INTO IT INTENTIONALLY. Absolutely ridiculous and appalling. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, in the final scene, the villain is shooting down at Joe from the top of a cliff and then Joe runs a few yards to his right and then five seconds later he's now AT THE TOP OF THE CLIFF BEHIND THE VILLAIN. Absolutely laughable and ludicrous and an insult to anyone's intelligence. Then to top it off, the villain simply jumps off the cliff WITHOUT BEING TOUCHED but acts as if he was pushed. Unbelievable. The producers should be ashamed of themselves for all of the absurdity in this episode.

This is one of the worst in a string of bad episodes, but the good news is it can't get much worse than this, can it??? We'll see...