Mannix (TV Series) One for the Lady (1970) User Reviews

Pretty exciting stuff...

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 10 July 2014]

I like TV shows that catch me by surprise. Too often, you can predict just where the shows are going--and fortunately this is NOT the case with "One for the Lady".

The show begins with Mannix going to meet some client in an office building. However, on the way there he goes by an office where someone is inside--stealing gems. Mannix is naturally a good Samaritan and goes inside to investigate--and the man opens fire. Mannix manages to kill the guy instead...end of case, right? Nope. Soon, Mannix is hauled in for questioning. It seems that they can find no evidence that the crook fired any weapon and some diamonds are missing. Soon, the district attorney has suspended Mannix's private investigator license and is talking about jail time. It's suddenly MUCH worse when Mannix finds some diamonds hidden in his trunk--and the police show up just as he removes the bag! It sure looks like Mannix is royally screwed, right?! Nah...there is so much more to the case than this! And, you will have no idea where it's going next!

As I mentioned, this one was good because it was surprising and original. Well worth your time.

A decent episode if you accept the premise

[Guad42 · 7/10 · 6 July 2022]

This is an episode with several twists and worked well for me but I can see where others might not like it. Joe is having a bad couple of days. He is meeting a possible client late at night in a nearly deserted building. He interrupts a diamond burglary and ends up shooting the criminal in self-defense. Problem is the burglar's gun is still fully loaded and the diamonds are missing. Joe's license is suspended, and he is later found with the diamonds. Joe is at a bar where he punches the bodyguard of Al Pulvarenti (Jo Van Fleet) and ends up with the bodyguard job himself. Now the truth comes out. It was all a set up to get Joe in with Al so he can be in on an upcoming big heist. Joe ends up in the gang and they are going to hit a navy payroll. During the robbery, Joe is the explosives guy and sets off a big blast to create confusion and catch the bad guys.

The premise that the authorities would use a PI to do this undercover work is hard to believe. Also, thinking the bad woman Al would hire Joe and then include him in the heist is also a reach. For a hard case mob boss, Al is very trusting. Much like Mission Impossible episodes, the plan depends on the bad guys doing exactly a series of actions needed to ensure the plan works and the bad guys usually do that, on both MI and here.

The acting is fine but nobody besides Van Fleet stands out. She is good to watch and you kind of feel sorry for her in the end. I hope Joe visited her in jail.

Joe is not shot or beat up. He also got paid so a good case for our guy. Since Peggy was not in on the secret, she went through some hell worrying about Joe. He should take her out for dinner and give her a raise. A different episode and I recommend it.

MANNIX, THE MOB AND THE GODMOTHER?

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 5 July 2022]

Prolific actress Jo Van Fleet said in later years she was generally offered roles of much older women, and even when she was quite young. That said, she turned in some powerful performances (including winning an Oscar), and is quite convincing here.

For a change of pace, Jo plays a "female" crime boss, kind of a campy about face, replete with a Godfather/Godmother light Italian accent. She wants Mannix to join her team, and is quite persuasive. The down side --for Joe-- he finds himself implicated in a robbery and loses his license. What a mess... or was it all planned that way?

Exceptionally written and directed. No question here. Look for comedian Jack Carter in a very dramatic role. Carter was very popular as both a comedian and actor, much like Milton Berle. One of his early film appearances was with Elvis and Ann Margaret in VIVA LAS VEGAS.

In a hilarious coincidence, Robert Reed is back as Tobias and at the same time the living room set from the BRADY BUNCH, is used again. The set, including parts of the kitchen, den and patio were re-used for years. I agree with other reviewers in the past; no one at the time knew the show would become a part of tv history. It could also be Paramount simply didn't want to invest in building another new set, history or not!

The big question here. Why wasn't Jo used in the GODFATHER film series? Missed opportunity. Her next appearance would be in an episode of the MOD SQUAD, playing a harrassed school teacher, and she should have won an Emmy. Jo Van Fleet was very selective in appearing in cop shows.

Look for Dorothy Neumann as a scrubwoman, whose career spanned 60 years, and quite famous for playing witches in many cult films. Second episode of SEASON 4, remastered color CBS dvd box set.

A dumb episode with two major flaws

[pkfloydmh · 1/10 · 20 July 2021]

This is about Joe being hired as a bodyguard by a mob boss, although not all is as it seems.

This one is fatally flawed right from the start because what in the world is Joe doing working for the police department as an undercover officer??? He's a private detective, not a police officer!! And why didn't the police department use one of their own officers to do this??? Why did they hire Joe? None of it makes any sense, nor does the female crime boss, who ignores the advice of her top confidante and hires Joe on the spot without knowing anything about him and after he JUST BEAT UP her two bodyguards. I mean, she's so dumb she gives all mob bosses a bad name, and it's unrealistic that she wouldn't already be sleeping with the fishes considering how dumb she is and how she brought an outsider into the mob without checking him out first. I hated her stupid accent too. I was tired of it after a few lines, and then to have to listen to it for a full episode is just torture.

Then, as if the episode wasn't bad enough already, it really takes a turn for the worse when Jack Carter arrives on the scene. I just despise the guy. I wish HE had been sleeping with the fishes before this episode ended.

This is a rare episode where not a single punch is thrown, which obviously means there are no good fight scenes, but there are also no good action sequences either, so this one is a complete waste of time and there's no reason to see it.