"McMillan & Wife" Once Upon a Dead Man (1971)

Director:

Leonard Stern

Writers:

Leonard Stern (written by) and
Chester Krumholz (written by)

TV Series:

"McMillan & Wife" (1971)

Original Air Date:

17 September 1971 (Season 1, Episode 0)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

The wife of a San Francisco police commissioner drags him into a charity auction theft, which leads to a murder. |

Plot Keywords:

Murder | TV Series Pilot | Police | Sergeant | San Francisco California

Cast

Rock Hudson	...	Commissioner Stewart McMillan
Susan Saint James	...	Sally McMillan
Jack Albertson	...	Chief Andrew Yeakel
Rene Auberjonois	...	Andre Stryker (as René Auberjonois)
Kurt Kasznar	...	Edmond Corday
Jonathan Harris	...	Mr. Wortzel
Herb Edelman	...	Gregory Constantine
John Schuck	...	Sgt. Enright
James Wainwright	...	John Patterson
Lilyan Chauvin	...	Madame Jarnac
Linda Watkins	...	Emily Hull
Frank Orsatti	...	Dewhawk
Stacy Keach Sr.	...	Dr. Hinton
Gretchen Kanne	...	Ann
Jerry Harper	...	George

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG

Company:

Norton Simon Inc.

Movie Connections:

Followed by "McMillan & Wife" (1971)

Pilot for "McMillan and Wife"

With his film career beginning to sag, Rock Hudson decided the time was right to try his hand at TV. This NBC World Premiere Movie aired in September 1971, and served as the pilot for "McMillan and Wife," which would debut as one-third of the original NBC Mystery Movie later that month. Obviously inspired by MGM's "Thin Man" series, this tele-film cast Hudson as San Francisco's commissioner of police whose kooky wife, the always appealing Susan Saint James, sometimes made his cases more difficult through her unexpected involvement. Except for the presence of Hudson, "Once Upon A Dead Man" is pretty standard stuff for its day. It has that unmistakable look that all Universal movies and TV shows had at the time (which may now give it some nostalgic appeal), but the film is made memorable by the cast. Hudson was a truly gifted light comedian, and both the film and the series gave him a regular opportunity to demonstrate that talent in ways he had not been able to do since his successful pairing with Doris Day in "Pillow Talk," "Lover Come Back," and "Send Me No Flowers." Susan Saint James (who had just ended a three season run as the "girl Friday" on "The Name of the Game") was no Doris Day, but she complements him splendidly. Then there's a fine supporting cast headed by John Schuck whose Sergeant Enright would continue as a regular in the series. Recommended overall.