McMillan & Wife (TV Series) Coffee, Tea, or Cyanide (1977) User Reviews

First class suspects

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 26 June 2015]

The widower police commissioner of San Francisco decides that a vacation in Hawaii might be just the thing. So Rock Hudson is off to Hawaii flying first class with a pesky journalist played by Julie Sommars. But a pair of murders occurs, the first by accident, the second quite by design.

As the suspect list includes both the flight crew and the first class passengers, it's a list of about 15 to 20. The second murder is that of the owner of the airline played by a man known for playing hard driving executives who aren't always squeamish about methods. Robert Webber was always being cast in these kinds of roles because he was so good in them as he is here.

Webber was in a stock war as he was trying to get undisputed control of the company. He made a lot of enemies, many of them on that plane. But it never does to have the police commissioner himself on the scene of the crimes. Rock Hudson has no choice to get involved.

I will say this, few will mourn Webber's passing and what was done to him was done for love.

An engaging mystery with an excellent cast

[amorehl · 9/10 · 4 December 2023]

This was a very enjoyable episode; I can't recall one I liked better. I think it was because of the large, excellent, believable cast of suspects, confined in a small space with only Mac to figure it out. I didn't miss the '& Wife' at all and, never being a huge Mildred (Nancy Walker) fan, was happy to have Martha Raye fill in quite well as her sister Agatha. I did wonder why poor John Schuck was so little seen, though. Perhaps it was just because of the storyline, credited to Pat Fielder, Richard Bluel, and the deservedly acclaimed Steven Bochco. I'm glad I didn't read either the plot summary or the other review first because they both contain what I would consider spoilers.

Here, Mac is looking forward to his long-awaited vacation to Hawaii. He is sitting happily in first class along with a number of airline executives. But Mac was followed onto the flight by the persistent, pushy, and nosy reporter Carol (Julie Sommars), who has been trying to interview him. However, her focus quickly changes when a passenger is murdered.

Leslie Charleson from General Hospital plays the poor, put-upon stewardess Ginny Lindauer. Russell Johnson (a/k/a 'The Professor') is Carl Jensen, one of the airline executives. Ed Nelson is the sort of Captain (Glen Wyler) you'd like to have on your flight: professional, competent, radiating confidence. Singer Jack Jones is Johnny Barton, the lover of Anna Meridio (Tisha Sterling), who is the ex-wife of airline head Charles Meridio (Robert Webber). However, Meridio's cunning plan to poison his ex-wife with a cyanide-laced champagne bottle goes astray, thanks to a still-thirsty drunken passenger Harry Court (Henry Beckman), causing him to die instead.

As Mac is investigating Court's death, he lights up a cigarette - so at least with all of today's problems and our current administration's 'Chicken Little' view of the world there is *one* thing in life that's gotten better. Mac has an interesting conversation with a passenger (James Dobson?) who had been with the coroner's office before he was a pharmacist. He told Mac you can't smell cyanide while it's in the wine bottle, you only smell bitter almonds after the cyanide interacts with animal or human flesh. I'd never heard that before. Then as if that's not enough, the plane develops grave engine trouble, necessitating a return home. And that's not even the end of everyone's problems! I'll just say the denouement in the VIP lounge was well done and satisfying.