Sharp, hard-hitting episode with lots of gunplay. Younger viewers may not be aware, but in the mid-1960's-early 1970's public groups did a big lobbying campaign to reduce violence in TV shows. This had a major impact on detective shows among others. But this episode of Cannon goes by the old rules. Frank's snub-nose .38 gets lots of use! Recommended, especially if you like plenty of action.
7 Reviews
Surprisingly reminiscent of the Spencer Tracy Western film, Bad Day at Black Rock
rms125a9 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The episode owes a lot to the film Bad Day at Black Rock (1955). One man (William Conrad, instead of Spencer Tracy) arrives in a small community, almost a ghost town, watched and followed by suspicious and hostile locals, who are clearly hiding a secret. A good-looking, conflicted hotel manager (Ron Harper, instead of John Ericson), who is told to tell the newcomer there are no rooms, when there clearly are, and who belatedly tries, with a few others, to help the newcomer battle the corrupt and violent powers that be, headed by Mitchell Ryan, instead of -- wait for it -- Robert Ryan!! And there is only woman to be seen in the whole town and in the whole cast. Here, it is Pamela Payton-Wright, wasted in a rare Hollywood foray as the hotel manager's wife. (In the film it was Anne Francis, who played the hotel manager's far dicier and more deceptive, and ultimately doomed, sister.) Of course, in the end, the bad guys lose and the good guys win. So many similarities, except for the motives. Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) had nothing to do with money, whereas this episode is ALL about the money.
One of the best episodes of Cannon!
FloridaFred31 January 2021
An outstanding cast, including L.Q. Jones and Andrew Duggan, make for a first-rate story. Pamela Payton-Wright, as character "Ginger", portrays the frustrated small-town wife hoping for a better life somewhere.
This is a particularly violent episode of Cannon, with lots of gunfire and several killings. Greed, suspense, hope, despair, and guilt all come into play.
I rate "Fool's Gold" 10 stars!
This is a particularly violent episode of Cannon, with lots of gunfire and several killings. Greed, suspense, hope, despair, and guilt all come into play.
I rate "Fool's Gold" 10 stars!
Fool's Gold is a Hollywood Production with a lot of Authenticity
contactme-4773028 October 2022
I am too young to have watched Cannon when it first aired, however I own a property in Julian at this filming location and that is how I first learned about the Cannon series.
What I like about this episode is that Cannon used a lot of real life filming locations and the town of Julian has been captured of what it looked like back in 1971.
A lot has changed since then, yet Julian, Ca is a historical district, so a lot of it looks the same today as well. It is fun to watch this episode and think how this real life gold town was isolated from Coastal San Diego, Ca about 50 miles away at a time with no Internet and a still rural farming life.
You can visit Julian today and it has more tourist and vacation rentals, but it is isolated and still has the feeling at night when tourist and locals are at home that Cannon could be walking around at night to the cemetery that is at the end of Main Street still to this day where he went to find Roper.
What I like about this episode is that Cannon used a lot of real life filming locations and the town of Julian has been captured of what it looked like back in 1971.
A lot has changed since then, yet Julian, Ca is a historical district, so a lot of it looks the same today as well. It is fun to watch this episode and think how this real life gold town was isolated from Coastal San Diego, Ca about 50 miles away at a time with no Internet and a still rural farming life.
You can visit Julian today and it has more tourist and vacation rentals, but it is isolated and still has the feeling at night when tourist and locals are at home that Cannon could be walking around at night to the cemetery that is at the end of Main Street still to this day where he went to find Roper.
A LOT OF FOOLS GOING FOR THE GOLD!
tcchelsey19 July 2022
Don Medford directed this high adventure. This was the only episode he directed, and they were lucky to get him, a veteran of the TWILIGHT ZONE, the FBI, and DYNASTY. I am sure William Conrad worked with him at Warner Brothers, if not Columbia Pictures. Old directors stick together.
Don works his magic, and with shades of the Spencer Tracy classic BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK. A beautifully filmed contemporary western, and note the lonely harmonica being played in the background. Hits the right notes.
Buckle Up. Cannon is up to his neck in trouble and skullduggery in one of those quaint little towns with a lots of trigger happy folks and new money. This may have been inspired by the infamous DC Cooper hijacking that same year, however the money in question is from an armored car robbery. A cool $900,000.
One terrific cast, lead by series regular Andrew Duggan, who should have received an Emmy nod, playing the role of the earnest town doc. Just a wonderful actor. Vic Tayback makes his very first appearance in the series, playing Sam. He would play both good and bad guys in the years ahead.
A very early role for Broadway actress Pamela Payton, who would next appear in MANNIX, eventually becoming a regular on ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Also a tribute to tall and lanky LQ Jones (as Phil), best as slippery characters. Jones passed last year and truly was a versatile character actor in both movies and tv for decades. The star here is none other than Mitchell Ryan. The one to watch.
Written with a lot of imagination by Bill Stratton, who at the time was writing material for HAWAII FIVE 0, 16 top episodes in all. Any writer associated with that show has got to be good.
Filmed in the small town of Julian, California, about an hour from San Diego, best known for its famous apple pies and home cooking. Of course, Cannon has to stop and have lunch! The whole crew probably had breakfast, lunch and dinner at the local restaurant.
The best of SEASON 1, EPISODE 6. CBS and Paramount dvd box set No. 1 of 2. Check out some terrific shots from the series on the back cover. It was not until SEASON 3 that CBS would release one box set per season.
Don works his magic, and with shades of the Spencer Tracy classic BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK. A beautifully filmed contemporary western, and note the lonely harmonica being played in the background. Hits the right notes.
Buckle Up. Cannon is up to his neck in trouble and skullduggery in one of those quaint little towns with a lots of trigger happy folks and new money. This may have been inspired by the infamous DC Cooper hijacking that same year, however the money in question is from an armored car robbery. A cool $900,000.
One terrific cast, lead by series regular Andrew Duggan, who should have received an Emmy nod, playing the role of the earnest town doc. Just a wonderful actor. Vic Tayback makes his very first appearance in the series, playing Sam. He would play both good and bad guys in the years ahead.
A very early role for Broadway actress Pamela Payton, who would next appear in MANNIX, eventually becoming a regular on ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Also a tribute to tall and lanky LQ Jones (as Phil), best as slippery characters. Jones passed last year and truly was a versatile character actor in both movies and tv for decades. The star here is none other than Mitchell Ryan. The one to watch.
Written with a lot of imagination by Bill Stratton, who at the time was writing material for HAWAII FIVE 0, 16 top episodes in all. Any writer associated with that show has got to be good.
Filmed in the small town of Julian, California, about an hour from San Diego, best known for its famous apple pies and home cooking. Of course, Cannon has to stop and have lunch! The whole crew probably had breakfast, lunch and dinner at the local restaurant.
The best of SEASON 1, EPISODE 6. CBS and Paramount dvd box set No. 1 of 2. Check out some terrific shots from the series on the back cover. It was not until SEASON 3 that CBS would release one box set per season.
Cannon gets shot for the third time and visits a mighty unfriendly town in New Mexico for the second time...and it's only the sixth episode!
planktonrules3 June 2013
This episode of "Cannon" covers some very familiar territory. It's the unfriendly small town plot--and one already done once on this same show (and this is only episode #6!) and both were set in New Mexico! But it's not just the "Cannon" show that features this sort of story--I've seen it twice on "Quincy" and once on "Mannix"...and I am pretty sure there are many other examples. What's worse? Cannon is shot in this one--the third time in six episodes! When Frank Cannon arrives in a tiny town in New Mexico, he's treated by everyone in this place like he's a leper. It's obvious the town is hiding something, as the people sure don't try to hide their contempt for him. But, being Cannon, he refuses to give up and continues asking folks what they know about a robbery in Albuquerque in which $900,000 was stolen. What's next? See this one for yourself.
Apart from the repetitive nature of certain plot elements, this episode suffers from the most amazingly unbelievable shooting I have ever seen! Cannon uses a snub-nose .38 (not the most accurate of weapons) and out-shoots a guy with a rifle (hitting him from an impossibly difficult distance) AND manages to knock down an airplane!! Even Annie Oakley would have marveled at this! It's a shame, as otherwise it's a pretty good episode and the plot, though repetitive, is interesting.
Apart from the repetitive nature of certain plot elements, this episode suffers from the most amazingly unbelievable shooting I have ever seen! Cannon uses a snub-nose .38 (not the most accurate of weapons) and out-shoots a guy with a rifle (hitting him from an impossibly difficult distance) AND manages to knock down an airplane!! Even Annie Oakley would have marveled at this! It's a shame, as otherwise it's a pretty good episode and the plot, though repetitive, is interesting.
Made little sense
VetteRanger2 February 2023
One theme Cannon writers leaned on quite a bit too hard was Cannon going into a small town with an insular and hostile populace, but luckily befriended and saved from death by one sympathetic townsperson.
And it wasn't just Cannon. You can find the trope in use in other PI shows like Mannix and The Rockford Files.
Here, it doesn't really make a lot of sense. $900,000 is stolen from an armored car robbery, then the robbers have a falling out resulting in one dead and one wounded, and the survivors plan to use the money to reopen an old gold mine ... with most of the townspeople becoming Accessories After the Fact.
Of course, we have no idea how Cannon knew to look for one of the suspects in this small town. He just drives up to it with it marked on a highway map. LOL
THEN, while Cannon knows there could be trouble, he goes out to the abandoned mine alone, where the town's Police Chief (never seen before in the episode) tries to murder him with a rifle and keeps missing Cannon as a stationary target, finally only grazing his upper arm. Of course, with return fire, Cannon takes out the assassin with a shot of at least 50 yards with his snub-nose .38.
It really makes NO SENSE at all, and that's the same comment I have for virtually the entire plot. But, you DO get a look at a younger Wojo, of later Barney Miller fame, and I always liked LQ Jones ... except when he's a bad guy.
And it wasn't just Cannon. You can find the trope in use in other PI shows like Mannix and The Rockford Files.
Here, it doesn't really make a lot of sense. $900,000 is stolen from an armored car robbery, then the robbers have a falling out resulting in one dead and one wounded, and the survivors plan to use the money to reopen an old gold mine ... with most of the townspeople becoming Accessories After the Fact.
Of course, we have no idea how Cannon knew to look for one of the suspects in this small town. He just drives up to it with it marked on a highway map. LOL
THEN, while Cannon knows there could be trouble, he goes out to the abandoned mine alone, where the town's Police Chief (never seen before in the episode) tries to murder him with a rifle and keeps missing Cannon as a stationary target, finally only grazing his upper arm. Of course, with return fire, Cannon takes out the assassin with a shot of at least 50 yards with his snub-nose .38.
It really makes NO SENSE at all, and that's the same comment I have for virtually the entire plot. But, you DO get a look at a younger Wojo, of later Barney Miller fame, and I always liked LQ Jones ... except when he's a bad guy.
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