Cannon (TV Series) A Killing in the Family (1974) User Reviews

Lots of interesting twists...

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 19 April 2017]

When the episode begins, two goons kidnap a black lady, fill her against her will with booze and push her off a cliff in her car! Obviously, these are NOT very nice people.

A young man (Peter Strauss) approaches Cannon after this murder and says he's working for the insurance company investigating the case. This isn't true...he just wants Cannon to nose around in the case to see if she was murdered. So who is this young man and why would be care so much about the dead lady?

The episode is jam-packed with interesting twists and turns and actually keeps you guessing. It also has a top-notch finale...one that really works well and brings everything together. Well worth seeing.

HUMAN NATURE AT ITS VERY WORST...

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 11 May 2022]

10 PLUS stars. Dynamic story written by Larry Alexander, who at the time was writing for GET CHRISTIE LOVE and MARCUS WELBY. You won't forget it too soon. It also reminds me of a MOD SQUAD-type episode, with this younger cast, and directed by George McCowan.

The opening cuts to an innocent girl being boozed up and going off a cliff in her car. This is pretty rough stuff, even by today's standards, and George did a great job here. It's emotional. The crash was probably inspired by MANNIX, that held an unofficial record for cars going off cliffs.

The guy you love to hate, Peter Strauss (as Nordoff) returns, again playing a smooth as silk villain. He claims to be an insurance investigator looking into the case --but Cannon smells a big rat. He eventually realizes Nordoff is using him, so its time to box him in. That's the best of it, watching this creep get squeezed, especially when you think about the poor victim and her family.

AAA writing on the part of Larry Alexander who delves into character development, and there are some very poignant scenes here. Veteran Simon Scott (as Strauss' prominent father) also returns to the series and his scenes with him are exceptional, right up to the surprising climax. Not to give too much away.

Robert Mandan, before comedy roles, plays it straight here as Nordoff's equally smooth partner in crime. Good casting of Paul Koslo (THE OMEGA MAN) playing a creepy hitman named Ace, who loves his work. He looks the part, wanting $50,000 for a hit on Strauss' father, which would be about 300,000 dollars today. One observation: shouldn't this guy have had a better apartment?

HONEYMOONERS co-star Jane Kean appears in a dramatic role as Rhonda. Kean was a dancer and singer, but not a stranger to serious roles.

Note the location work at Griffith Park, one of the neatest places for car chases and manhunts to this very day. That long, winding drive up to the famous observatory is always a treat. The grim cemetery scene looks to have been filmed at the famous Hollywood Forever Cemetery, next to Paramount Pictures, formerly Hollywood Memorial Park. It's an amazing place where you could find the graves of so many celebrities and spend a whole day there.

Must see. SEASON 4 EPISODE 8 remastered color CBS dvd box set. 2016 release.