The Banzai Pipeline (1 Jan. 1974)

Rick McDivitt, an aspiring filmmaker, and his buddy Roger, a champion surfer, hope to make a killing by showing Roger ride breathtaking waves on Oahu's North Beach and the Banzai Pipeline. ... See full summary »

Director:

Richard Benedict

Writers:

Leonard Freeman (creator), Bill Stratton

Stars:

Jack Lord, James MacArthur, Al Harrington

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Lord	...	Det. Steve McGarrett
James MacArthur	...	Dan Williams
Al Harrington	...	Ben
Kam Fong	...	Chin Ho
Perry King	...	Rick
Rudy Diaz	...	Koa
Richard Denning	...	Governor
Bob Basso	...	Oswald Greggs
Jack Hogan	...	Cass Tanner
Elissa Dulce Hoopai	...	Leila Myers (as Elissa Dulce)
Terry Plunkett	...	George Bole
Harry Endo	...	Che Fong
Al Eben	...	Doc
Glenn Cannon	...	Manicote
Herman Wedemeyer	...	Duke

Storyline

Rick McDivitt, an aspiring filmmaker, and his buddy Roger, a champion surfer, hope to make a killing by showing Roger ride breathtaking waves on Oahu's North Beach and the Banzai Pipeline. When Rick runs out of film for the day, he goes back toward his car, and finds another unlocked car nearby with a businessman's jacket draped over the front seat. Rick reaches inside and lifts the wallet from the jacket, then drives to pick up Roger, evading a runaway car driven by a thug named Koa on the way. What Rick and Roger don't know is that Koa has just shoved a knife in the back of the businessman, who was involved with a crooked real-estate deal. Rick and Roger plan to use the businessman's credit cards to finance the rest of the movie, unaware that he's dead and that Koa has seen Rick. When Five-O cops go to interrogate Koa, he tries to use another knife and his kickboxing skills on them, leading to his arrest. However, Five-O can't tie him to the murder. When Rick starts purchasing ...

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 January 1974 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Hawaii, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Leonard Freeman Production, CBS Television Network

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

In discussing the murder, McGarrett says: "if they wanted to make it look like a killing, they would have taken his watch and ring", when he should have said:"if they wanted to make it look like a robbery...."

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Quotes

Det. Steve McGarrett: [after rescuing one mobster from a burning car and seeing the other one is dead] Maybe he was the lucky one... his troubles are over. Book 'im, Danno, murder one, two counts.

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Connections

References The Endless Summer (1966)

User Reviews

Aside from one or two logical jumps, it's a pretty good episode.

The show begins with a man being murdered on the beach. It seems that he's being indicted and his 'friends' have sent an assassin to make sure he doesn't talk. However, at the same time this is happening, a petty little thief is stealing the now dead man's wallet out of the nearby car. When the killer is about to leave, he happens upon the guy (Perry King) and King beats a fast getaway. Unsure if the thief saw anything, the killer tries to find the guy in order to silence him. But, when the assassin is jailed on suspicion of the murder, his bosses spring into action--looking for the beach guy who, COMPLETELY INEXPLICABLY, drops a roll of film--making it not especially difficult to find the dummy. In fact, this is a problem with the show--it's all too easy--as is the ending. In addition, sometimes McGarrett and his posse seem to make a lot of logical jumps in this one. Perhaps they just read the script and could anticipate what would happen! Not a terrible episode--particularly if you think surfing is super-cool. Otherwise, a bit below average but entertaining.