Mannix (TV Series) The Sound of Murder (1972) User Reviews

Once again, a client with something to hide hires Mannix and....

[Guad42 · 8/10 · 10 May 2021]

Joe will get to the bottom of this and not get paid, once again.

This is an involved plot for two separate crimes with two conniving women who are both lying. One hires Joe for reasons not involving the other crime. The other lies for the hell of it. Jane Merrow (Lion in Winter) and Madlyn Rhue (forever Khan's wife in Star Trek) act their roles well. John Cypher is a veteran at this. The reference to "The Conversation" is germane here. Murder, blackmail, and robbery are all in play here.

The jewel heist does feel tacked on. It takes about three minutes at the end of the episode to bring the robbery aspect to a conclusion. One crime would have been enough for this episode but two are tucked into this one.

Maybe the jewelry people will give Joe some sort of reward. It would be the only money he is getting out of this. This seems to be a trend in recent outings. May have to lay off Peggy.

FIND MY HUSBAND, BEFORE YOU GET KILLED!

[tcchelsey · 9/10 · 27 August 2022]

True, this may be the most complex episode of the entire series, but it's just fascinating to watch. All the things that made MANNIX are here. Ratings don't lie. For starters, another client masks the truth and starts a deadly chain reaction...

Producer and writer Leigh Vance, one of the producers for CANNON, wrote this episode, and a second. No doubt Paramount called him over to come up with some creative ideas, and he sure did!

Leigh also produced HART TO HART.

What really makes this adventure are two dynamic actresses. Madlyn Rhue (as Marcia) hires Joe to find her "missing" husband and the skullduggery begins. It's also a case where Marcia may not want Joe to solve everything. This ties into the hidden microphone angle. I agree with the last reviewer, there are similarities to the classic film, THE CONVERSATION, but not to forget MISSION IMPOSSIBLE and all the secret devices also. Rhue was one of the top tv actresses of the era, and its unfortunate in later years, due to ill health, she had to work in a wheelchair, but always turning in a fine performance.

Second, British actress Jane Merrow guest stars as Clarissa, a veteran of many top films. Good supporting cast with Jack Ging playing the cop, Lt. Ives, and Ron Masak (as Gates). Masak was a master of cartoon voices for decades.

Joe rents a car and crashes --you can't miss this. If you watch carefully, the stunt car has lots of damage to one side. The prop people matched the car (probably from a junk yard), but the dents are unexplained. Still a fun scene.

"The Sound of Murder" is the perfect title. 9 Stars.

SEASON 5 EPISODE 17 remastered CBS/Paramount dvd box set.

Apart from a few continuity problems, a very good episode.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 14 February 2015]

Let's get to the minor complaints first--the continuity issues that SHOULD have been caught by the folks making the show. First, although the episode is supposed to take place in Los Angeles from about June 30 to July 1st, Mannix wears a wool jacket throughout the show. Additionally, everyone else seems to be in long sleeve winter weather. The average temperature that time of year is about 82-- with highs often hitting about 100 Fahrenheit. The other problem is that the tan rented car that Joe uses looks fine just before it goes off an embankment. However, as the car is seen going over the edge, the left side of the car is heavily damaged--but the car was never hit by anything! My guess is that they were trying to match the car to some existing footage and they did a good job except for the dents.

As for the story, it's a very complex one indeed. It actually involves two totally separate crimes that somehow become mixed together. Unfortunately, Mannix is sucked into the middle of all this by a conniving woman (one of two in this episode) who CLAIMS that she needs his help finding her lost husband. What is all this about? Well, it is complex, interesting and introduces a lot of memorable characters. Well worth seeing despite the continuity issues.

Reminded me a bit of a hasty TV version of The Conversation (1974)

[ac-44715 · 10/10 · 4 September 2019]

The Conversation is a 1974 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gene Hackman. This movie is an excellent thriller that may have to be watched more than once to follow the nuances of the plot. The Mannix episode predates it by about 2 years.. Wonder if ithe TV episode was the inspiration for the movie.

Confusing Plot

[sd72667 · 3/10 · 9 March 2018]

The premise starts out with a guy spying on residents with a mic & telescope. Then a woman hires Mannix to find her missing husband. After that, there's the usual extortion, murder etc... But the jewelry heist ending made literally no sense, almost as if they added it at the last minute to the episode. Oh I almost forgot, Mannix drives off a cliff & survives with only his 100th concussion. In the first 5 seasons, I've seen Mannix drive off or literally fall down large ravines numerous times without sustaining paralysis or broken bones. Either he is Wolverine or just a lucky SOB.

The most convoluted and confusing episode yet

[pkfloydmh · 1/10 · 5 November 2021]

This one is about a woman hiring Joe to find her missing husband.

Now I will say that I've seen some episodes that were somewhat confusing but nothing like this train wreck. This one takes the cake and it's not even close. It's on an island all by itself in the sewer. There are so many plot holes and loose ends it's staggering and they're too numerous to go through here. Nothing gels or is coherent. The writers should be ashamed of themselves. It looks like they came up with several unrelated ideas and just plopped them into this episode without considering whether any of it made any sense.

Matters aren't helped by Jack Ging, who mumbles and talks too fast and is difficult to hear at times. I don't know why he's an actor since he DOESN'T SPEAK CLEARLY.

The yellow car with the yellow wheel covers Joe is driving is the ugliest car I've seen on this show yet, but at least it was dumped into this disastrous bomb and not in a good episode. It's better to have all your catastrophes in one place instead of spreading them out among several episodes, so if you're going to have a hideous car, this was the episode to put it in.

Joe looks absolutely ludicrous in the gas mask at the end. He should be embarrassed and ashamed of himself, just like everyone else who had any involvement with this incomprehensible fiasco.

Shame on CBS for allowing this episode to air. Where's the quality control? How could they do this to their loyal viewers and put this piece of trash on the air? It's really mystifying.

The show has stooped to a new low here. It doesn't get any worse than this. This is an epic failure.