Mission: Impossible (TV Series) Echo of Yesterday (1967) User Reviews

IMF team third mission against Neo-Nazis

[CCsito · 7/10 · 15 May 2013]

*SPOILER ALERT*

This episode is the third mission involving Neo-Nazis in the second season (with having two in the first season). Barney is not recruited for this mission. Hans Gudegast appears for the second time in the series portraying the man who is trying to become a new Fuhrer and attempting to get funding from an old German industrialist (played by Wilfred Hyde-White). The industrialist's wife was killed many years ago when the Nazis took power in Germany and the IMF team uses that to "trick" the industrialist into reliving that incident. Cinammon gets acquainted with the industrialist and wears her hair just like his wife and dabbles in photography just like his wife. Jim Phelps portrays an American Neo-Nazi. The IMF team employs the use of old furniture props and an impersonation of Adolf Hitler by Rollin to get the industrialist to relive his past. The timing of the mission has to be precise in order to pull off the caper and stop the ability of the Neo-Nazi group from getting the money.

BRINGING DOWN ANOTHER NAZI!

[tcchelsey · 9/10 · 11 February 2024]

With the capture and hanging of Nazi commander Adolf Eichman a few years earlier, there was a resurgence of energy into capturing more war criminals around the world and/or stopping their plans for a new empire. Such is the case in this episode, excellently written by Mann Ruben, about the emergence of a modern Hitler, played to the max by noneother than Eric Braeden as Colonel Von Frank. Braeden turns on his villainous charm, perhaps one of his very best roles.

The plan for starting a contempoary Nazi party is being bankrolled by a shrewd international businessman called Kellmann (played by veteran Wilfred Hyde White). He only has one weakness; memories of his late wife. Enter Cinnamon, portraying a photographer who strangely reminds him of her, and also appears to be a woman on the run.

Kellman takes the bait, giving her shelter and a job as his personal photographer, and thus begins the team's clever blueprint to bring him down. Phelps plays a distinguished military man, an American Nazi, who becomes acquainted with Kellmann and Von Frank.

The only debit here is that it's a million to one shot Cinnamon actually looked like Kellman's late wife in the first place! What are the odds, but that's poetic license 101.

Best of this is Rollin, Barney and Willy doing a TWILIGHT ZONE-ish fake-out, drugging Kellman, and Rollin playing Hitler. Martin Landau is outrageous in this over the top role.

Excellent direction by Leonard J Horn, as usual, who also directed several episodes for MANNIX, many other top shows, notably VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA. Mann Ruben also wrote for MANNIX and BARNABY JONES.

Prior to this episode, Wilfred Hyde White was in the cult film, CHAMBER OF HORRORS. A must for Eric Braeden fans, before soap opera fame.

SEASON 2 EPISODE 14 remastered CBS/Paramount dvd box set. 7 dvds total. 2007 release.

An embarrassing episode...and among the very worst of the series.

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 28 April 2014]

I love "Mission: Impossible" but I am not blind to bad episodes--and "Echo of Yesterday" is a very, very bad episode. It begins with the mission--and it's the third time the IM Force will fight a new Nazi party. However, oddly, a nice old man (Wilfrid Hyde-White--who is ridiculously cast) is bankrolling the new Fourth Reich. How can a nice person be a die-hard Nazi lover?! The plan is to convince the old guy that Hitler was bad! Wow...that's pretty dumb! Yet, even more odd is that the old guy's beloved wife was murdered by Hitler and he somehow forgot. So, after he's drugged, Rollin will impersonate old Adolph and convince the financier once and for all the Nazis are bad, um-kay.

As I said above, this particular show is embarrassing. Of COURSE Hitler WAS BAD--duh!!! A dumb plot, bad casting and the new Reich is becoming a tiresome subject.

One of the worst in an otherwise terrific series...

[BobCanter7 · 4/10 · 22 October 2020]

I love Mission Impossible: Now, as an adult, and back in "the day" when it was on TV and I watched it as a kid. My criticisms are as a concerned and devoted fan.

That being said, this episode is absolutely awful; one of the worst. Another neo-Nazi story, with a ridiculous premise. A real disappointment to devoted fans of the show.