This is a memorable episode of Season 3 for me and one which I always enjoy watching. In this one Max is framed by KAOS from robbing a bank and killing a guard. He is arrested and sentenced to be executed but escapes and must hunt down the 'one handed man' who framed him. It's unusual that the Chief and 99 hardly appear at all so it's almost solely a Maxwell Smart episode but I don't mind.
4 Reviews
Run Away
zsenorsock3 December 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Though Adams does a nice job directing himself, this "Fugitive" parody is a bit disappointing and not up to the shows usual high standards.
The episode starts with Max in a bank, trying to get a loan while being watched by a one-handed man (Allen Jaffe). The sequence goes on a long time without any jokes of note. Later, the one-handed man returns to rob the bank assisted with a man in a Maxwell Smart mask. It's all part of a KAOS plot as the Max doppleganger shoots and kills a guard (who incidentally is the only witness to the shooting) and suddenly Max is wanted for murder. At the trial people like the bank manager (who clearly did NOT see the Max double shoot the guard) testify they saw Max do it. This is all kind of sloppy writing.
Max escapes from the police, and goes on the run looking for the one-handed man in the hopes that he can clear himself.
Milton Berle makes a unfunny cameo as a clerk in a seedy motel, while the Chief and 99 are given precious little to do in this one. The ending is just about as flat as the beginning, only it has the virtue of not being as long. Too bad, because this should have been a GREAT parody show. It's only through Adams consistently good comic performance as Max that makes this episode even worth bothering with.
The episode starts with Max in a bank, trying to get a loan while being watched by a one-handed man (Allen Jaffe). The sequence goes on a long time without any jokes of note. Later, the one-handed man returns to rob the bank assisted with a man in a Maxwell Smart mask. It's all part of a KAOS plot as the Max doppleganger shoots and kills a guard (who incidentally is the only witness to the shooting) and suddenly Max is wanted for murder. At the trial people like the bank manager (who clearly did NOT see the Max double shoot the guard) testify they saw Max do it. This is all kind of sloppy writing.
Max escapes from the police, and goes on the run looking for the one-handed man in the hopes that he can clear himself.
Milton Berle makes a unfunny cameo as a clerk in a seedy motel, while the Chief and 99 are given precious little to do in this one. The ending is just about as flat as the beginning, only it has the virtue of not being as long. Too bad, because this should have been a GREAT parody show. It's only through Adams consistently good comic performance as Max that makes this episode even worth bothering with.
Too much serious plot to be very funny
FlushingCaps10 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The opening shows Max being turned down for a $300 loan at his bank. He is observed by a one-handed man who happens to be in the bank at the same time. Next, we see that same man without a left hand enter the bank with a gun, telling everyone to stay put. Another man, facing away from the camera goes from teller to teller collecting money.
The two men leave and a guard follows them out, shooting at them, but missing before he himself is shot. When the camera switches, we see Max holding a gun just outside the getaway vehicle. After the opening credits, we see the two men inside the car, with the one-handed man telling his partner to take off his mask. Now we see how it wasn't Max at all, but he is going to be the patsy as these men are doing this for a big payoff from KAOS.
We see Max going into his apartment to be surprised that a cop and another man are waiting for him. He is being arrested for murder and robbery, of course, as inside his apartment they found all the money from the bank robbery just tossed on an easy chair, and they found the gun that killed the guard.
We zip along to Max's trial where several witnesses claim he was the man who shot the guard. With Max's attorney doing a woefully weak summation, the judge tells Max that he is allowing him to speak for himself. This leads to one of my all-time favorite Maxwell Smart lines as he addresses the jury: "For the past 20 minutes I have sat idly by while my worth opponent, the prosecuting attorney has stood up here and made a complete jackass of himself. Now it's my turn." It sounds better than it reads with Max making a dramatic pause between complete and jackass.
Max is quickly convicted and sentenced to death, but just like the show this parodies, "The Fugitive," an accident en route to the death house frees him, complete with a dramatic narration like on that great dramatic series of the 60s, as we see Max running and running hoping to find the one-handed man, the one man who knows who posed as Max in the holdup.
He gets a job in a hash house and does some great comedy serving a customer. Then he sees his quarry in a photo in a newspaper and trails him to a hotel in Baltimore, where Milton Berle is the night clerk.
Max finds the two crooks and is able to prove to the detective who thought he had caught up with Smart, the same detective, Sergeant Gronski, who had him in custody before the car accident.
Other reviewers have pointed out an important criticism of this episode, directed by Don Adams. It simply wasn't that funny, largely because there was a lot of serious action built into the story. I truly believe this should have been another two-part episode, where they could have had no more drama than they had, but another 25 minutes of comedy.
Now because it was a comedy, not to be taken too seriously, my other criticism isn't vital to my review. But if Perry Mason or Ben Matlock were defending a person with all the facts we have, they would have easily been able to show the DA what's wrong with the evidence before they even went to trial.
Are we to believe that a previously honest citizen would hold up the bank where he's been a customer for 10 years (as stated) and where he was present earlier the same day, without wearing any sort of disguise or mask to keep from being recognized? Or that after the holdup, he's going to go back to his apartment, toss the money on an easy chair, leave his murder weapon and go out somewhere, where he returns later? Another question: Since the holdup was done by two men, why did Max get ALL of the money?
Indeed, they never even addressed the issue of who his partner was. This is so obviously a frame that the DA would have declined to press charges until further investigation could take place.
We had a couple of noteworthy guest stars. Max's attorney was played by Larry Gelman, known for being Vinnie on The Odd Couple and Bernie on The Bob Newhart Show. The police sergeant chasing Max was Bruce Gordon, best remembered for being the lead gangster, Frank Nitti on The Untouchables series.
There were several funny scenes, but not as many as usual because of all the serious stuff they had to race through to get Max arrested and convicted and on the run. A 6 seems like the right score.
The two men leave and a guard follows them out, shooting at them, but missing before he himself is shot. When the camera switches, we see Max holding a gun just outside the getaway vehicle. After the opening credits, we see the two men inside the car, with the one-handed man telling his partner to take off his mask. Now we see how it wasn't Max at all, but he is going to be the patsy as these men are doing this for a big payoff from KAOS.
We see Max going into his apartment to be surprised that a cop and another man are waiting for him. He is being arrested for murder and robbery, of course, as inside his apartment they found all the money from the bank robbery just tossed on an easy chair, and they found the gun that killed the guard.
We zip along to Max's trial where several witnesses claim he was the man who shot the guard. With Max's attorney doing a woefully weak summation, the judge tells Max that he is allowing him to speak for himself. This leads to one of my all-time favorite Maxwell Smart lines as he addresses the jury: "For the past 20 minutes I have sat idly by while my worth opponent, the prosecuting attorney has stood up here and made a complete jackass of himself. Now it's my turn." It sounds better than it reads with Max making a dramatic pause between complete and jackass.
Max is quickly convicted and sentenced to death, but just like the show this parodies, "The Fugitive," an accident en route to the death house frees him, complete with a dramatic narration like on that great dramatic series of the 60s, as we see Max running and running hoping to find the one-handed man, the one man who knows who posed as Max in the holdup.
He gets a job in a hash house and does some great comedy serving a customer. Then he sees his quarry in a photo in a newspaper and trails him to a hotel in Baltimore, where Milton Berle is the night clerk.
Max finds the two crooks and is able to prove to the detective who thought he had caught up with Smart, the same detective, Sergeant Gronski, who had him in custody before the car accident.
Other reviewers have pointed out an important criticism of this episode, directed by Don Adams. It simply wasn't that funny, largely because there was a lot of serious action built into the story. I truly believe this should have been another two-part episode, where they could have had no more drama than they had, but another 25 minutes of comedy.
Now because it was a comedy, not to be taken too seriously, my other criticism isn't vital to my review. But if Perry Mason or Ben Matlock were defending a person with all the facts we have, they would have easily been able to show the DA what's wrong with the evidence before they even went to trial.
Are we to believe that a previously honest citizen would hold up the bank where he's been a customer for 10 years (as stated) and where he was present earlier the same day, without wearing any sort of disguise or mask to keep from being recognized? Or that after the holdup, he's going to go back to his apartment, toss the money on an easy chair, leave his murder weapon and go out somewhere, where he returns later? Another question: Since the holdup was done by two men, why did Max get ALL of the money?
Indeed, they never even addressed the issue of who his partner was. This is so obviously a frame that the DA would have declined to press charges until further investigation could take place.
We had a couple of noteworthy guest stars. Max's attorney was played by Larry Gelman, known for being Vinnie on The Odd Couple and Bernie on The Bob Newhart Show. The police sergeant chasing Max was Bruce Gordon, best remembered for being the lead gangster, Frank Nitti on The Untouchables series.
There were several funny scenes, but not as many as usual because of all the serious stuff they had to race through to get Max arrested and convicted and on the run. A 6 seems like the right score.
Not up to standard
lbowdls9 June 2020
This ya my least favourite Get Smart episode because it's pretty cringeworthy. Which would be fine and gotten more points if it was the usual funny episode but it's too dramatic and serious. Max really is in trouble and he's not getting much help from anyone including the chief. Still one less than favourable episode certainly doesn't spoil the whole bunch of the funniest TV on earth.
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