Tequila Mockingbird (18 Jan. 1969)

Max and 99 travel to Mexico to find the Tequila Mockingbird after another CONTROL agent is killed trying to deliver it to CONTROL.

Director:

Don Adams

Writers:

Chris Hayward, Arne Sultan,

Stars:

Don Adams, Barbara Feldon, Edward Platt

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Don Adams	...	Maxwell Smart
Barbara Feldon	...	Agent 99
Edward Platt	...	Chief
Oscar Beregi Jr.	...	Dietrick (as Oscar Beregi)
Lewis Charles	...	Valdez
Robert Karvelas	...	Larabee
Poupée Bocar	...	Esperanza (as Poupee Bocar)

Storyline

Max and 99 travel to Mexico to find the Tequila Mockingbird after another CONTROL agent is killed trying to deliver it to CONTROL.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 January 1969 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Talent Associates

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The black bird used in the script is a parody of the movie _The Maltese Falcon (1941)_. Music and part of the scenes are a parody of _A Fistful of Dollars (1964)_ and _For A Few Dollars More (1965)_

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Goofs

When Valdez enters the bar with Max for the first time, Max pours a candlestick into the drink. In the next scene (when makes leaves the bar) it vanishes. When Max's foot gets stuck, it reappears.

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Quotes

Valdez: There she is, Senor Dietrick: the Tequila Mockingbird.
Dietrick: Beautiful! Beautiful! Superb...
Dietrick: Si, magnifico!
Maxwell Smart: Not bad.

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Connections

References To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

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Soundtracks

"Canta y No Llores (Cielito Lindo)"

User Reviews

Who's Minding the Store?

Did they just throw this episode together at the last minute? It seems like this one wasn't thought through much. The title is a parody of "To Kill a Mockingbird". The item Max and 99 are trying to recover resembles "The Maltese Falcon" and comes complete with a fat man named Dietrick (Oscar Berengi Jr., back again after his season two plan to use Fang to destroy Max and 99 failed). The big climax is a parody of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". Somebody needed to figure out what they were parodying and to stick with it. The Clint Eastwood parody might have been the best choice. As is, that part of the show is easily the highlight.

The story has a CONTROL agent named Esperanza (Poupee Bocar, who also appeared in the episode "Die Spy" and even stranger, the "Banacek" episode titled "If Max is So Smart, Why Doesn't He Tell Us Where He Is?") coming across the legendary Tequilla Mockingbird. Before she can tell CONTROL where its hidden (using Morse code through castanets!) she is killed. Max and 99 are sent to Mexico to find where she hid it. 99 replaces the ill-fated Esperanza and even gets a chance to lip-sync somebody else's song. A comic highlight is the work of character actor Lewis Charles who plays Valdez, the chief of police. He seems to be channeling Chico Marx in his performance.

Don Adams, who did some decent directing in past shows, gets a little sloppy here. He misses shots and blows a couple of jokes with his framing. Of particular note is the scene where Esperanza is performing and Dietrick orders Valdez to kill her. Valdez asks "In front of all these people?" The shot screams for a wide shot to show the place is empty. Instead we have a tight two-shot. Nevertheless, the laugh track obediently busts a gut as though the shot was there anyway.