Mannix (TV Series) The Girl in the Polka Dot Dress (1973) User Reviews

Great episode - An excellent start to season seven

[pkfloydmh · 9/10 · 16 April 2015]

In this one, a psychic (played by Alfred Ryder) predicts a woman (played by Joan Van Ark) is in danger and Joe agrees to investigate his claims.

This is a terrific episode with lots of fight scenes, great stunts, tension, suspense, action and strong performances from the entire cast. There's also an intriguing mystery with some nice twists.

The always dependable Joan Van Ark is outstanding as usual, as is Alfred Ryder. Both are making their only appearances on the show. Charlie Picerni makes yet another appearance as a thug. I've never seen Robert Brown in anything before this but he's really good here too in his only appearance on the show.

One obvious problem is the thugs somehow show up at the hideout when they had no way of knowing where it was.

Joe's office now has new woodwork and furniture and he no longer drives the green convertible.

This is an exciting, intense and fantastic episode. Season seven is off to an excellent start.

Solid....

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 14 January 2016]

This was a good start to season seven of "Mannix". While it's not among the best of the shows, it's a lot better than most of the season six offerings. And the one minor problem I saw with the episode could be explained away reasonably...that the lady wasn't very helpful while Mannix was being attacked by one of the assassins.

The show begins with a psychic coming to Mannix to tell him he has had a vision and that a lady in a polka dot dress (Joan Van Ark) will be murdered tonight. Mannix isn't quick to believe the story but decides to investigate anyway--and there IS an assassin waiting there! Since Mannix knew something might be up, he shot the assassin...which still seemed a bit ridiculous since the killer had a rifle and Mannix only his snub-nosed revolver! Regardless, it looked as if the psychic might be right...and soon more assassins start coming out of the woodwork! What's all this about anyway?!

The best thing about the show is that it's NOT some big endorsement for the super-natural. Had it been, I would have completely hated the episode. Fortunately, there is a rational explanation and the show works pretty well. Imaginative and interesting...this one is worth seeing.

New Season, New Car, New Furnishings, Still a crack shot

[Guad42 · 8/10 · 16 April 2021]

A good episode with nice twist. Some new stuff - car and furniture and even a new way of killing a bad guy. I hope Joe cut the horse in on some oats or something. The police even show up in a timely manner during the shootout in the barn at the forty minute mark.

Some things are the same. Joe can still shoot a short barrel revolver better than anyone on the planet. Joe still needs new friends. His current friends are dangerous to his health. Charlie Picerni is still not a very good hitman/thug. I think Mannix has beaten him every time he shows up in an episode. A couple of other things haven't changed. The bad guys coming up with an overly elaborate plan to kill Mannix and Joe talking a bad guy into not killing him. Sometimes the bad guys are worse than Batman villains. Just walk up and shoot him in the back! You're professional hitmen! Act like it! Watch "The Godfather" to see how it is done.

The guest cast may not be the biggest names to appear on Mannix but they are all veterans and get it done. Joan Van Ark is quite good.

I didn't see the twist coming so good marks for that and a nice start to season 7. And once again, no pay for Joe so I guess he owes the horse nothing. How can he afford all the new stuff when he only gets paid about half the time? One last thing - Peggy seems more animated than usual. I like it. Gail Fisher is a fine actress and should have had more to do in this series.

New Season New Car

[bobdt-41328 · 10/10 · 17 July 2020]

Being a car guy I noticed right away that Joe pulls up to 17 Paseo Verde in a 1973 Dodge Challenger. Gone is the ragtop plymouth Cuda. The Challenger is a grayish brown shade with a black vinyl top.

LISTEN CAREFULLY -- YOU'RE NEXT.

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 12 October 2022]

Alf Kjellin directed this classic seventh season opener, and at the time was also directing HAWAII FIVE O. This is what made SUNDAY NIGHTS so much fun back in the day.

10 Stars.

Good stuff with Alfred Ryder playing an eerie psychic who predicts death for the strange lady in the polka dot dress? And is Joe next on the list?

Mannix takes the case and gets himself into a real spider's web, replete with some desperate characters. Yes, I agree with the last reviewer, some of the bad guys in the series were over the top, not quite pulp characters, but close. The mystery woman is Joan Van Ark (veteran of Knotts Landing), in one of those... "what's her angle?" roles, which she also played so well on CANNON,

This borders on a noirish mystery, reminiscent of those campy 1940s whodunits --and Joe smoked a lot of cigarettes in his time, like Bogey.

Kjellin also works his magic in the stunt department, similar to Reza Badiya, director of the most bruising Mannix episodes. For all of us muscle car fans, Joe gets a new 1973 Dodge Charger, which is put to good use.

Interestingly, this story is a variation of the SEASON 4 episode called "Deja Vu," only with a woman psychic. Remember?

SEASON 7 EPISODE 1 remastered color CBS/Paramount dvd box set. 6 dvd set. Check out the cool sketch of Mike Connors on the front cover.

Difficult To Guess

[telegonus · 9/10 · 13 January 2022]

It's difficult to guess just how this intricately plotted episode of Mannix is going to end. The Girl In The Polka Dot Dress is a title worthy of Wallace Stevens, and like a Stevens poem. It goes this way and that; and it doesn't give its game away.

There's a matter of fact suggestion of the paranormal, as a man claiming to be able a see into the future figures prominently in the story. This self-proclaimed psychic, well played by veteran actor Alfred Ryder, does indeed guess right the first time, and the Polka Dot girl does survive an attempt to murder her.

There are more murders to come in this episode, and a nice balance of dark city streets and California sunshine that was the Mannix style, and common in detective shows of the 70s ; howeve, this one did it the best of all.

The show's plot is like a cat's cradle of conspiracies. There's an intelligent, albeit unappetizing, sophistication regarding the reality of Evil in this tale. The Big Bad Guys "of the moment", as it were, do get taken down.

Nor is there any ambiguity in this episode, or in Mannix in general, that there are many more like them, just as diabolical, and equally clever, just around the corner.

Highly suspenseful & tough to figure

[lor_ · 11 July 2023]

This is a suspenseful story that gets right down to business - Mannix enounters a clairvoyant (Alfred Ryder) who can see the future, with Mannix pressed immediately into service to protect Joan Van Ark and try and make sense ot the seemingly supernatural goings-on.

There's a considerable amount of action as Mannix copes with a series of hired killers, but is more than up to the task of fighting them off. He's no closer to solving the perplexing mystery of it all, but one thing's for sure: the original prophecy of what will happen, as well as Van Ark being the actual target is just a ruse. It's hard to change that channel until the secret behind the cat & mouse action is finally revealed. And thankfully, the explanation makes sense and ties up loose ends neatly.