Mannix (TV Series) Voice in the Dark (1971) User Reviews

A whole lot of improbables strung together in a believable manner.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 11 November 2014]

I liked this episode of "Mannix" because although the crime seemed very improbable, the story was woven in such a way that it actually seemed kind of believable. The show begins with Joe about to have a hot night at his apartment with a lady. But, duty interrupts and he is called to the apartment of Ms. Kinman (Carol Lynley). It seems that since this once Olympic hopeful was seriously injured in a crash, she's been receiving death threats. However, with her psychiatric admission following the accident, the police don't seem all that convinced anyone is really calling her--especially since the guy never stays on the line for more than a few seconds. But Joe is convinced and takes the case. But who would do this and why?

The who wasn't all that hard to guess, but the why came as a bit of a surprise. Well constructed and interesting.

Good episode due to Carol Lynley

[Guad42 · 8/10 · 3 February 2021]

Although she had a long career, I never thought Carol Lynley was a particularly gifted actress but she does very well here. With her wholesome, girl-next-door beauty and air of innocence and vulnerability she is perfect for this role. Anyone would want to rescue her from her situation. Joe tries to help out despite the idea it all might be made up. The key is a car crash that put her in a wheelchair and got someone to begin stalking her. The bad guys can only be two people, the bitter husband who lost his wife in the crash or the guy that was hit who lost his partner. I suppose a dark horse could be the bellboy in a case of unrequited love. It isn't hard to figure out who it is. Think secretary on the phone.

Paul Picerni is the bad guy here. His brother, Charlie, was a bad guy in the last episode. The family has it in for Mannix. Ten years prior, Paul was a regular on "The Untouchables" with actor Robert Stack. His character in this Mannix episode is named "Roger Stack". Coincidence?

Robert Reed as Lt Tobias is much more involved in this story. He is with Joe when they find Carol has overdosed with pills and he even shoots the bad guy in the end. Good to see a little variety there.

As always, there are a couple of points that defy logic. Joe is having a date night that is interrupted to see Carol Lynley. After that visit, he goes to Lt Tobias. Good thing Tobias is at work at 9 or 10 at night. Another point is whatever happened to the cop that was knocked out? The last thing was Joe explains the bad guy's plan as driving Carol crazy with phone calls that nobody would believe happened and then throwing her off the balcony to make it look like suicide. Since the bad guy knocked out a cop, took his uniform, and then relieved the cop on duty before trying to throw Carol off the balcony, how would that be sold as suicide? I assume the investigation would interview the cops and the deception would be pretty clear. At least Joe didn't get shot, knocked out or drugged and he got paid! As pointed out by another reviewer, Peggy is too good for Joe. So he has his health, money, and Peggy. Life is good!

One of the best episodes of the entire series

[pkfloydmh · 10/10 · 17 August 2021]

This one is about a woman who is receiving prank calls and thinks someone wants to kill her.

I can't overestimate how great Carol Lynley's performance is here. It's one of the best guest performances I've seen on this show yet. It's right up there with Darren McGavin in A Ticket to the Eclipse. She not only looks great but acts great and hits all the right notes.

Jim Antonio's performance as Deemer is really good too even though he only appears in one scene.

Joe doesn't get shot at or clobbered in the head in this one but he does kick down a door and then barrels through the same door later on and then somersaults across the room.

Tobias plays a substantial role here and basically acts as Joe's lapdog. He stands around and waits for instructions from Joe and then does whatever Joe tells him to do.

You really have to feel sorry for Red, the police officer. He only appears in one scene and is only onscreen for 30 seconds and at the end of that 30 seconds he gets clobbered in the head and knocked out, and if that wasn't bad enough, his performance is uncredited. Now that's brutal.

There's a unique and interesting camera angle used at one point during the scene where Joe and Adam are running up the stairs. I don't know how they did it, but it's something that I've never seen before, so a great job by the producers in keeping the show fresh by coming up with a neat camera angle like this.

This is one of my favorite episodes and one of the best of the entire series so far. It has everything - tension, suspense, action, a compelling story, and great performances by the cast. There are also no plot holes or cliches. It's excellent. I loved it.

Most surprising thing? Robert Reed even being in this.

[arran-haynes-656-161044 · 6 May 2020]

This was 1971, just as the Brady Bunch had or was about to reach its zenith, and he somehow was able to guest on this hour-long show.

Great job by him. Most actors in the last 40 years wouldn't have even tried.

WATCH THIS FOR CAROL LYNLEY.

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 30 July 2022]

Outstanding. 10 Plus Stars.

Carol Lynley, who's career was very similar to Patty Duke, successfully graduated to adult roles following a career as a truly gifted child actress.

Carol is the whole show here, and you really feel sorry for her. This is about as poignant as it gets for a cop show. She portrays Dorothy, a former Olympic champion, now in a wheelchair and a Hollywood recluse due to a tragic car accident. She also has another problem. Dorothy's getting creepy, threatening phone calls --or is she? Mannix enters the case and it gets genuinely eerie.

There are shades of BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING (1965), also starring Lynley in a similar role. In the movie, she claimed her baby was kidnapped --or was it all a hoax? Credit exceptional writing to Edward Lakso, who in a few years would be associated with CHARLIE'S ANGELS. Lakso had a hand in many detective shows, and with good reason. At the time he was also writing for the MOD SQUAD.

Look for veteran Paul Picerni, long associated with THE UNTOUCHABLES, a reliable heavy actor for decades. He later was the MC for the LA Rams.

Lakso wrote in a little inside joke. Picerni's character's name is Roger Stack, similar to UNTOUCHABLES star Robert Stack, ya think? All in all, a tidy mystery. The acting is tops. Robert Reed (as Lt. Tobias) returns. As I wrote in the previous episode, I think it's obvious Reed was cast to keep him "occupied" as he was not thrilled playing the dad on the BRADY BUNCH. There were lots of heated arguments and that surely got around the Paramount lot.

The beautiful Los Feliz Towers apartment building is seen again here, not that far from Paramount Pictures. Whoever owned the place must have had a sweet deal with the studio. It was a great find for filming.

Do not miss this episode.

SEASON 4 EPISODE 21 remastered color CBS/Paramount dvd box set.

Enjoyable episode all the way around

[glitterrose · 10/10 · 3 November 2021]

You got some comedy thrown in there. Well, I consider it comedy for Joe to be calling his date "Ocean Spray" after Peggy asked about his date's name. One truly wonders how Mike Connors and Gail Fisher got through that scene without laughing. I like the random tidbits thrown in like that. I get the same kick anytime Mannix is seen going through his mail, he sniffs an envelope, smiles and puts that envelope on his desk or jacket.

I liked the writing for Carol Lynley's character. I've liked Carol in the stuff I've seen her in and this episode wasn't an exception. When I talk about writing, I like how there was a question of if Carol's character might be sick and she's imaging the stuff going or if it's really happening. Compare the writing to this episode/character to the obnoxious episode with Diane Keaton's character lying through her teeth during the whole episode. That was a painful episode to get through and I know I was hoping somebody would just kill Diane's character and spare the viewers from anymore from her.

The storyline was interesting and kept you hooked. Sometimes Mannix episodes aren't so lucky when it concerns keeping the viewer hooked instead of being bored and thinking the episode is slow.

I really like the chemistry between Mike Connors and Robert Reed. They play well off each other. I like Art Malcolm but I think I like Adam Tobias a bit more. And to the reviewer commenting about Robert Reed being on Mannix during his time on The Brady Bunch, I kinda make jokes about that to myself. I think it's pretty well known how much Robert Reed hated a lot of the writing style on TBB. So I kinda tell myself that Robert was so tortured doing TBB for that week and he'd just do Mannix instead.

Great episode, loved Carol Lynley

[george_cherucheril · 10/10 · 5 April 2024]

Carol Lynley, oh lovely Carol Lynley makes this episode worthwhile. I first discovered Carol as a child watching her guest star on Fantasy Island and have had a crush on her ever since. Yes, Carol is a woman I would travel back in time to meet. I was sad to hear she died in 2019.

This is a good Mannix episode. Carol's acting is good. She is believable as a young woman, Dorothy Kinman whose athletic prime was cut short by a tragic car accident. She is in a wheel chair and confines herself to her apartment. She is getting creepy phone calls from someone who says he will kill her. The killer is able to control the situation so that whenever Dorothy seeks help it looks like she made it up. Mannix is the only one who believes her but at some points he has doubts.

A policeman is stationed to guard Dorothy's door. During a shift change the killer, Roger Stack played by Paul Picerni knocks out the policeman starting the shift before he can get to Dorothy's floor. The officer is locked in a supply closet and never heard from again. Stack then poses as a police officer and assumes duty for the "shift."

The problem is as Mannix leaves Dorothy's apartment he gets a look at Stack as the policeman. Shortly after, he is speaking to Adam Tobias who has bugged the phone and is at the apartment. They share notes and realize that Stack is impersonating an officer. As they rush to save Dorothy, they attempt to use the elevator but it is too slow so they run up the 10 or 12 flights of stairs to run in, kick the door and save Dorothy just before Stack is able to push her off of the balcony.

The episode ends once again with Mannix being the nice guy he is, talking Dorothy into leaving the apartment so he can take her to the park and push her wheel chair for her. Despite Dorothy's disability, there was an opportunity for Mannix and her to have a relationship and this would have been good for the show. But in typical Mannix fashion, he heroically saves the girl but loses her at the end.

As a foonote, Byron Morrow played Dorothy's Dad George. He has a line where he tells Mannix he has a heart condition and could drop dead any day. In real life though, Morrow was about 60 years old at the time and lived to the age of 95!