I will not spoil this story, which ending is absolutely surprising. Believe me. No because Jim West has another partner; we are used to it in the fourth season, but for another reason. The other comment did not speak of the particularity of the climax. So PLEASE, focus on it. The bad guy, the mastermind is ...Well, watch out and enjoy !!!!
5 Reviews
Very good and not too convoluted to follow
rms125a20 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
West finds himself invited to the aptly-named Bleak Island owned by a single wealthy family, who, with some servants, are the island's sole occupants. A howling (which West first attributes to a hound, but is told there are no pets) attributed to a local monster (but which is no such thing, of course) is heard by West and later at dinner. Beverly Garland, in a rare icy role, is quite incisive as Celia Rydell, the cold and domineering sister of the man (Joseph Bleak) whose will is to be read.
Estimable veteran British thespian John Williams -- who played Chief Inspector Hubbard, the Scotland Yard detective who figures out the truth and tricks Ray Milland's character into revealing himself as the would-be wife killer in Dial M for Murder (1954) -- appears as Sir Nigel Scott, another Scotland Yard detective role, who is an acquaintance of West, having worked on a case in London together some five years earlier. The two had no idea the other would be on the island.
They investigate the mysteries and murders. Jana Taylor and Mark Chambers play Celia's attractive ward and handsome artist nephew, Alicia Crane and Mark Chambers, who are, of course, secretly in love.
The hound (which turns out to be real, in an ironic twist, but only relatively recently arrived), the creepy but luxurious mansion, and the remote island accessible to the mainland only by boat, are tropes in homage to "Ten Little Indians" and "The Hound of the Baskervilles", but there the convoluted similarities end. Some big surprises await West and the audience as well as the usual finale in which West ultimately prevails.
Estimable veteran British thespian John Williams -- who played Chief Inspector Hubbard, the Scotland Yard detective who figures out the truth and tricks Ray Milland's character into revealing himself as the would-be wife killer in Dial M for Murder (1954) -- appears as Sir Nigel Scott, another Scotland Yard detective role, who is an acquaintance of West, having worked on a case in London together some five years earlier. The two had no idea the other would be on the island.
They investigate the mysteries and murders. Jana Taylor and Mark Chambers play Celia's attractive ward and handsome artist nephew, Alicia Crane and Mark Chambers, who are, of course, secretly in love.
The hound (which turns out to be real, in an ironic twist, but only relatively recently arrived), the creepy but luxurious mansion, and the remote island accessible to the mainland only by boat, are tropes in homage to "Ten Little Indians" and "The Hound of the Baskervilles", but there the convoluted similarities end. Some big surprises await West and the audience as well as the usual finale in which West ultimately prevails.
Continuity oops
paohatch22 February 2021
The caretaker of the Island is killed by Calender's thugs in the beginning teaser-in fact almost practically under the eyes of Agent West as he steps ashore...yet in the dinner scene later it is remarked that the caretaker had "disappeared" months before.
Bad Dog!
a_l_i_e_n9 May 2008
A rockin' good fourth season episode, "The Night Of The Bleak Island" has West traveling to the island of a deceased millionaire who has bequeathed to the government one of his most prized possessions, the Moon Diamond. Upon his arrival, West learns of the island's legendary reputation as the hunting ground for a blood-thirsty spectral dog, and if this is starting to sound a lot like "The Hound Of The Baskervilles", wait'll you hear about the Sherlock Holmes-like British detective who arrives just in time for all the fun. Borrowing quite liberally from Arthur Conan-Doyle's classic story, Robert E. Kent's script entertainingly poses the question "what if agent James West were to join forces with a character very much like Conan-Doyle's famous detective?" Nicely played by the actor John Williams, British sleuth Sir Nigel Scott arrives on the trail of one Dr. Jacob Calendar, a faceless Prof. Moriarty facsimile who he believes is also on the island. When a butler is murdered and the diamond is stolen, West and Sir Nigel attempt to determine which among a group of greedy inheritors is responsible. Robert Conrad and John Williams display a surprising chemistry as an oddly-matched crime fighting team, and the perfectly cast Williams is easily the best of the guest partners brought in to sub for an ailing Ross Martin who'd suffered a heart attack during the 4th season.
This is a twisty tale, eerily enhanced by a continually howling wind, punctuated occasionally with the howls of the titular demonic dog. It's an episode that's difficult to find any real fault with- although, when he finds himself trapped in a dry well, West's rock climbing hooks seem a tad too convenient to just happen to have up his sleeves. Also, sharp-eyed baby-boomers will find themselves taken out of the story for a moment when they surely recognize that the boat West uses to get to the island is the S.S. Minnow from "Gilligan's Island". Just the same though, if "Wild, Wild West" producers could borrow from Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle, then why not also Sherwood Schwartz?
This is a twisty tale, eerily enhanced by a continually howling wind, punctuated occasionally with the howls of the titular demonic dog. It's an episode that's difficult to find any real fault with- although, when he finds himself trapped in a dry well, West's rock climbing hooks seem a tad too convenient to just happen to have up his sleeves. Also, sharp-eyed baby-boomers will find themselves taken out of the story for a moment when they surely recognize that the boat West uses to get to the island is the S.S. Minnow from "Gilligan's Island". Just the same though, if "Wild, Wild West" producers could borrow from Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle, then why not also Sherwood Schwartz?
John Williams makes this episode special
aramis-112-8048803 March 2024
As a government representative West attends the reading of a Will on a nearly inaccessible and spooky private island. As for the rest of the attendees, who will inherit and who will die?
Guest stars include James Westerfield and a wonderfully cast John Williams.
Lots of influences here, including "The Cat and the Canary" and "The Hound of the Baskervilles."
One down side is the missing Gordon; but there's not really room for him this time.
This is a favorite episode of mine, partly for Williams' turn as a Scotland award man looking for a criminal West assumed was dead. Who is the unseen crook, a master of disguise?
Guest stars include James Westerfield and a wonderfully cast John Williams.
Lots of influences here, including "The Cat and the Canary" and "The Hound of the Baskervilles."
One down side is the missing Gordon; but there's not really room for him this time.
This is a favorite episode of mine, partly for Williams' turn as a Scotland award man looking for a criminal West assumed was dead. Who is the unseen crook, a master of disguise?
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