Ellery Queen (TV Series) The Adventure of the Lover's Leap (1975) User Reviews

Brimmer is No Tiger Woods

[DKosty123 · 8/10 · 30 April 2011]

A hallmark of this series is impressive guest casts. This one features a woman looking to have jumped from her balcony. The body has been moved and there is a strange piece of glass on the balcony. Don Ameche & Brimmer have Queen as their Caddy on the links.

Susan Strasberg, Jack Kelly & Ida Lupino head a guest cast with plenty of talent. The murder is a lot more subtle in this one as suicide is suspected, but murder is a prime consideration. Of course the victim is a rich heiress as in that way the victims on this show parallel Richard Levinson and William Links Columbo series. Considering that tie and the fact this is a mystery movie pilot that became a series, this is not a surprise.

While there are no holes in one here, the Brimmer feud with Queen from the pilot is continued. John Hillerman does an exceptional job doing Simon Brimmer this entire series.

Second episode improves on the first

[kevinolzak · 8/10 · 13 October 2009]

Episode 2, "The Adventure of the Lover's Leap," is a step up from its predecessor in that Ellery (Jim Hutton) works closely with his father, Inspector Queen (David Wayne), in much the same way that he would throughout the series, the banter between them always a delight, in this case focusing on the return of arrogant radio sleuth Simon Brimmer (played to smug perfection by John Hillerman), who first appeared in the pilot feature. The title refers to one of Ellery's books, the current read of wealthy heiress Stephanie Kendrick (Ida Lupino), who does not love her latest husband (Craig Stevens) and plans to divorce him. As she reads about footsteps at her door, she actually hears them in the hallway; when the book relates the howling of a dog, she hears that too. The final passage has the heroine jump to a suicidal death from her own balcony, and that is indeed where Mrs. Kendrick's corpse is later found by her husband's daughter (Susan Strasberg), as she arrives at the house, following a frantic call from the now dead woman. In the morning, the husband is found wandering the streets after a night of drinking and gambling. Another suspect is the live-in nurse (Anne Francis), who was of the opinion that the deceased did not need a caretaker, and was recommended by the family attorney (Jack Kelly). Then there is Dr. Norman Marsh (Don Ameche), the psychiatrist trying to help Mrs. Kendrick through deep hypnosis, an angle seized by Simon Brimmer, always uncovering certain facts before the police do, a constant source of irritation for the harried Inspector. James Lydon (formerly Henry Aldrich), who appeared as a radio actor in the pilot, performs similar duties here (for the last time), while actress Nina Roman makes her series debut as Grace, Inspector Queen's secretary, returning in 6 more entries, occasionally unbilled. John Hillerman would ultimately make six more appearances as Simon Brimmer, for a total of 8 (including the feature pilot). Incidentally, the Abbott and Costello sketch heard on the radio before the murder was taken from their 1955 feature film "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy," while Anne Francis and Jack Kelly are reunited from the 1956 "Forbidden Planet."

The Actors Carry The Show

[chashans · 7/10 · 11 March 2023]

A rather dull story is enriched by the performances of the series regulars and a couple of the guest stars. Jim Hutton is warming to the characterisation of Ellery, while David Wayne nailed the Inspector Queen character right from the start in the original pilot movie.

Don Ameche has a field day as a perpetually annoyed psychiatrist who uses hypnosis and phonograph recordings in the treatment of his patients. Ida Lupino absolutely glows in her short time on screen as the murder victim. Meanwhile, others such as Jack Kelly, brother Bart on James Garner's Maverick series, are given barely anything to do.

A tiny shard of crystal glass is a focus of great wonder for Ellery, yet is completely uninvolving to the viewer. That it leads ultimately to the revelation of the murderer comes as a bit of a disappointment.

"The Lover's Leap" depends entirely on it's stars to carry it along, and their commitment to their craft is indeed what gives this story it's success.

A More "Normal" Episode

[Gislef · 7/10 · 4 July 2021]

"Lover's Leap' is a pretty standard EQ episode and the first one past the pilot and the relative novelty of "Auld Lang Syne" keeping Ellery off the board until the denouement. It also introduces the first of Ellery's two foils, Simon Brimmer.

The episode isn't bad, but isn't particularly great, either. I don't remember enough of EQ to know what can be considered a "great" episode, but there's nothing special about it. Accusations are made, mostly by Brimmer, they turn out to be false, and Ellery picks out the one clue and finds the real killers.

The highlight of the show is Hillerman, perfecting his 'Magnum PI" role as Higgins as the snobbish yet seemingly affable Brimmer. Granted, EQ needs something to live up the main protagonist, Ellery, but giving him a rival and then letting Ellery upstage him doesn't work.

Maybe it's the protagonist, Ellery. Hutton isn't bad in the role: he just doesn't have much to do. Ellery in the novels isn't exactly a fountain of mannerisms, and neither is Hutton. So Hutton is true to the character, but he's not exactly Columbo or McCloud. Or a Banacek or Snoop Sister.

Veteran actor David Wayne as Ellery's father, Richard Queen, is more interesting to watch. There's nothing great about his performance, but at least he has some personality. So does Ellery, but it seems mostly grafted on. Occasional girlfriend? Check. The father-son dynamic is probably the most interesting part of the show as of one pilot movie and two episodes, and Hutton and Wayne do it well. There's just not much going on other than that, that is that interesting to watch. Although the Velie/Gracie bit is cute.

The guest cast has a very Murder She Wrote/Love Boat feel to it, with a lot of celebrities not doing much. Only Don Ameche really has a chance to break out, and that's more because of the actor's acting power than anything. Warren Stevens has come a long way from Peter Gunn: like the 70s Invisible Man, Stevens just seemed tired. Jack Kelly, who at least had some verve in Maverick, is pretty much wasted here. The actresses don't fare any better.

Overall, "Lover's Leap" is an okay episode. But I can see why the series never really caught on. The glass shard and Ellery's near-obsession with it is very Columbo-esque, but Hutton is no Peter Falk. Without Falk's mannerisms and quirkiness, we're just left with the clue and Ellery's quirkiness, which really isn't played up much in this episode. So there's not much left.

But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?