CITY DETECTIVE – Man Down, Woman Screaming - 1955
This is episode 62 of the 1953 to 1955 Police series, CITY DETECTIVE. Rod Cameron headlines as a Detective in a major U.S. city. The series ran for a total of 64 episodes. The series featured quite a few well-known actors in guest bits. These include, Hugh Beaumont, Whit Bissell, Marie Windsor, Carolyn Jones, Fess Parker, Angie Dickinson, Russell Johnson, Claude Akins, George Macready, Beverly Garland, Ann Savage and Lee Van Cleef.
Jack Kelly is sitting in his apartment one evening listening to his new Police scanner. He hears a call to the cops from an address just up the street. A man has been shot and a woman is screaming. Kelly hears Detectives Rod Cameron and Frank Ferguson take the call. They are just a few blocks away.
Kelly looks out his window and sees a woman, Beverly Garland, hotfooting it up the street. Kelly calls out and asks if she is OK? Garland asks if Kelly would let her in to use the phone. Being a helpful sort, Kelly does just that. Once inside, Garland, yards an automatic out of her purse and points it at Kelly. "Sit still and be quiet!" Garland snarls.
Up the street, Detectives Cameron and Ferguson have arrived at the crime scene. There is a dead man sitting in a convertible with several unneeded bullet holes. There is also a female witness sitting on the curb holding her bloodied face. It seems the car had pulled up and parked. A woman in the car shot the man behind the wheel, then, took off. The witness had been pistol whipped when she stepped up to see what was going on.
Back at Kelly's apartment, Miss Garland is on the horn to her squeeze, Lee Van Cleef. She gives him Kelly's address and tells Cleef to drive over and pick her up. Van Cleef shows and Garland tells him she had to kill the mark they were ripping off. Kelly can see this is going nowhere good for him and speaks up. He tells Garland and Van Cleef that they should just leave. He has a "bad memory" and will say nothing about what he heard.
Instead, Kelly is clobbered by Garland and told to shut up. Kelly offers up his wallet and a just purchased airline ticket. Van Cleef pockets both but decides Kelly is too much of a risk to leave alive. Kelly offers to sweeten the deal if they let him go. He has 3 grand in his bank account. He will give it to Garland and Van Cleef for his life. Van Cleef likes the sound of this and Kelly is hustled out to the pair's hideout.
By now the Police are checking all the apartments in the area for any possible leads. The sound of Kelly's still on Police scanner brings the Detectives to Kelly's door. A quick look around the place has Cameron thinking something is amiss. He finds several lipstick covered cigarette butts in the ashtray. A quick check with the landlord is needed to see if Kelly ever had female visitors. No is the answer.
Cameron smells a rat in the cheese cupboard and puts out an all points on Kelly. They also have the fingerprint boys go over Kelly's place. They quickly turn up rackets man, Van Cleef's prints. That gives the Police the lead they need. The old usual suspects call goes out.
The next morning Garland takes a check Kelly has written, down to the bank to cash. After emptying Kelly's account, Garland and Cleef plan on blowing town. They have not decided if they will "off" Kelly or not. The Police however are staking out the bank just in case of a move like this and they gobble up Garland.
Cameron has the dame take him to the pair's lair. Van Cleef manages to get the drop on Cameron and a first rate free for all ensues. There are fists a plenty flying before Cameron finally gets the upper hand. Garland now makes a play for one of the dropped guns. The battered and bloody Kelly now joins in and stomps on Garland's attempt for the piece.
Garland and Van Cleef are now cuffed and led off for a date with a judge and jury.
A top flight episode with an outstanding guest cast. Jack Kelly was best known as Bart Maverick, brother of Bert Maverick, (James Garner) on the MAVERICK western series. Van Cleef of course was well known as a screen and television villain. Gorgeous Beverly Garland had a long career as a B-film and television starlet. Few women looked as deadly as Miss Garland did with a cigarette dangling from her lips, and an automatic pistol in her hand.
Also of note here is the man who wrote the episode, Louis L'Amour. This is one of the few non-western stories he did.
This is episode 62 of the 1953 to 1955 Police series, CITY DETECTIVE. Rod Cameron headlines as a Detective in a major U.S. city. The series ran for a total of 64 episodes. The series featured quite a few well-known actors in guest bits. These include, Hugh Beaumont, Whit Bissell, Marie Windsor, Carolyn Jones, Fess Parker, Angie Dickinson, Russell Johnson, Claude Akins, George Macready, Beverly Garland, Ann Savage and Lee Van Cleef.
Jack Kelly is sitting in his apartment one evening listening to his new Police scanner. He hears a call to the cops from an address just up the street. A man has been shot and a woman is screaming. Kelly hears Detectives Rod Cameron and Frank Ferguson take the call. They are just a few blocks away.
Kelly looks out his window and sees a woman, Beverly Garland, hotfooting it up the street. Kelly calls out and asks if she is OK? Garland asks if Kelly would let her in to use the phone. Being a helpful sort, Kelly does just that. Once inside, Garland, yards an automatic out of her purse and points it at Kelly. "Sit still and be quiet!" Garland snarls.
Up the street, Detectives Cameron and Ferguson have arrived at the crime scene. There is a dead man sitting in a convertible with several unneeded bullet holes. There is also a female witness sitting on the curb holding her bloodied face. It seems the car had pulled up and parked. A woman in the car shot the man behind the wheel, then, took off. The witness had been pistol whipped when she stepped up to see what was going on.
Back at Kelly's apartment, Miss Garland is on the horn to her squeeze, Lee Van Cleef. She gives him Kelly's address and tells Cleef to drive over and pick her up. Van Cleef shows and Garland tells him she had to kill the mark they were ripping off. Kelly can see this is going nowhere good for him and speaks up. He tells Garland and Van Cleef that they should just leave. He has a "bad memory" and will say nothing about what he heard.
Instead, Kelly is clobbered by Garland and told to shut up. Kelly offers up his wallet and a just purchased airline ticket. Van Cleef pockets both but decides Kelly is too much of a risk to leave alive. Kelly offers to sweeten the deal if they let him go. He has 3 grand in his bank account. He will give it to Garland and Van Cleef for his life. Van Cleef likes the sound of this and Kelly is hustled out to the pair's hideout.
By now the Police are checking all the apartments in the area for any possible leads. The sound of Kelly's still on Police scanner brings the Detectives to Kelly's door. A quick look around the place has Cameron thinking something is amiss. He finds several lipstick covered cigarette butts in the ashtray. A quick check with the landlord is needed to see if Kelly ever had female visitors. No is the answer.
Cameron smells a rat in the cheese cupboard and puts out an all points on Kelly. They also have the fingerprint boys go over Kelly's place. They quickly turn up rackets man, Van Cleef's prints. That gives the Police the lead they need. The old usual suspects call goes out.
The next morning Garland takes a check Kelly has written, down to the bank to cash. After emptying Kelly's account, Garland and Cleef plan on blowing town. They have not decided if they will "off" Kelly or not. The Police however are staking out the bank just in case of a move like this and they gobble up Garland.
Cameron has the dame take him to the pair's lair. Van Cleef manages to get the drop on Cameron and a first rate free for all ensues. There are fists a plenty flying before Cameron finally gets the upper hand. Garland now makes a play for one of the dropped guns. The battered and bloody Kelly now joins in and stomps on Garland's attempt for the piece.
Garland and Van Cleef are now cuffed and led off for a date with a judge and jury.
A top flight episode with an outstanding guest cast. Jack Kelly was best known as Bart Maverick, brother of Bert Maverick, (James Garner) on the MAVERICK western series. Van Cleef of course was well known as a screen and television villain. Gorgeous Beverly Garland had a long career as a B-film and television starlet. Few women looked as deadly as Miss Garland did with a cigarette dangling from her lips, and an automatic pistol in her hand.
Also of note here is the man who wrote the episode, Louis L'Amour. This is one of the few non-western stories he did.