Mac & Sally are invited to a seance at which a murdered man appears accusing his widow of the crime! Mac, refusing to believe in ghosts, wracks his brain for most of the story, trying to figure out who could be impersonating the dead man, who benefitted from his death, would benefit from driving his widow insane, and... is the dead man REALLY dead in the first place?
You know, if they'd swapped this story and the next one, this could have easily aired as a HALLOWEEN episode.
Sharon Acker is "Evie Kendall", the grieving widow. I had to look her up before I realized I'd seen her in a STAR TREK and 2 episodes of HEC RAMSEY.
Paul Richards is "Dr. Eli Spake", who's trying his best to help Evie avoid a nervous breakdown. Every time I see his face or hear his voice, I'm always reminded the most memorable line the actor ever spoke in his career was, "Glory be to the bomb and to the holy fallout" (from BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES).
Cameron Mitchell is "Harry Hastings", a semi-retired stage magician who admits he's in love with the widow. When spooky stuff happens at night designed to scare Sally, it became a bit too obvious that he was probably involved. (The previous season, he'd played a man who faked his own death in the McCLOUD episode, "Somebody's Out To Get Jennie".)
Eileen Brennan is "Nora Dane", friend of the family, who may know more than she says. I always mostly remember her for THE CHEAP DETECTIVE (1978) with Peter Falk.
Martin E. Brooks makes his 2nd appearances as "Deputy D. A. Chapman", convinced Evie DID kill her husband, accuses Mac of helping a murderess go free, and hopes to hit her with at least a purjury charge.
John Astin makes his debut as "Skyes", the eccentric police scientist who tries to determine if the body they buried a year earlier is in fact Evie's husband, or not. I always enjoyed him on this show, and was surprised that he didn't appear in that many episodes.
Philip Carey is "Arthur Kendall", the dead husband (or is he?) seen (mostly) in flashbacks. In the 1950s, he starred as PHILIP MARLOWE on TV.
This episode opens with a high-speed chase (WHAT, AGAIN???), once more causing me to ask, "WHY is the Police Commissioner taking part in chasing a bad guy?" I guess Mac must really like being that involved. Later, as Mac works to figure out the mystery, I'm reminded that this show really tended to have some of the most unusual murder mysteries ever seen on TV, and it's clear that Mac's mind does not work like normal people's. There's Charlie Chan, there's Hercule Poirot, and then there's Stewart McMillan-- and each of these characters' thought processes are unique. Time and again, when a new twist is revealed, or a new plot point suddenly figured out, it feels like my head is exploding as I watch. It's no wonder I like this show.
Sally, oddly, doesn't get to do much in this one, except look beautiful. I was reminded that, when this episode was made, Susan St. James had only recently become a new mother in real life. (But, very strangely, this was not reflected in the series-- despite Sally being pregnant in the PREVIOUS story. I guess there was a miscarriage.)
You know, if they'd swapped this story and the next one, this could have easily aired as a HALLOWEEN episode.
Sharon Acker is "Evie Kendall", the grieving widow. I had to look her up before I realized I'd seen her in a STAR TREK and 2 episodes of HEC RAMSEY.
Paul Richards is "Dr. Eli Spake", who's trying his best to help Evie avoid a nervous breakdown. Every time I see his face or hear his voice, I'm always reminded the most memorable line the actor ever spoke in his career was, "Glory be to the bomb and to the holy fallout" (from BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES).
Cameron Mitchell is "Harry Hastings", a semi-retired stage magician who admits he's in love with the widow. When spooky stuff happens at night designed to scare Sally, it became a bit too obvious that he was probably involved. (The previous season, he'd played a man who faked his own death in the McCLOUD episode, "Somebody's Out To Get Jennie".)
Eileen Brennan is "Nora Dane", friend of the family, who may know more than she says. I always mostly remember her for THE CHEAP DETECTIVE (1978) with Peter Falk.
Martin E. Brooks makes his 2nd appearances as "Deputy D. A. Chapman", convinced Evie DID kill her husband, accuses Mac of helping a murderess go free, and hopes to hit her with at least a purjury charge.
John Astin makes his debut as "Skyes", the eccentric police scientist who tries to determine if the body they buried a year earlier is in fact Evie's husband, or not. I always enjoyed him on this show, and was surprised that he didn't appear in that many episodes.
Philip Carey is "Arthur Kendall", the dead husband (or is he?) seen (mostly) in flashbacks. In the 1950s, he starred as PHILIP MARLOWE on TV.
This episode opens with a high-speed chase (WHAT, AGAIN???), once more causing me to ask, "WHY is the Police Commissioner taking part in chasing a bad guy?" I guess Mac must really like being that involved. Later, as Mac works to figure out the mystery, I'm reminded that this show really tended to have some of the most unusual murder mysteries ever seen on TV, and it's clear that Mac's mind does not work like normal people's. There's Charlie Chan, there's Hercule Poirot, and then there's Stewart McMillan-- and each of these characters' thought processes are unique. Time and again, when a new twist is revealed, or a new plot point suddenly figured out, it feels like my head is exploding as I watch. It's no wonder I like this show.
Sally, oddly, doesn't get to do much in this one, except look beautiful. I was reminded that, when this episode was made, Susan St. James had only recently become a new mother in real life. (But, very strangely, this was not reflected in the series-- despite Sally being pregnant in the PREVIOUS story. I guess there was a miscarriage.)