F.O.B. Honolulu: Part I (27 Jan. 1971)

The Chinese (led by Wo Fat), the Soviets (led by Mischa Toptegan) and assorted criminals are all after perfect counterfeit plates. The plates were originally developed by the Chinese, who ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael O'Herlihy

Writers:

Leonard Freeman (creator), Jerrold L. Ludwig,

Stars:

Jack Lord, James MacArthur, Zulu

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Lord	...	Det. Steve McGarrett
James MacArthur	...	Danny
Zulu	...	Kono
Kam Fong	...	Chin Ho
John McMartin	...	Ron Nicholson
Sabrina Scharf	...	Nicole Fleming
Roger C. Carmel	...	Misha the Bear
Khigh Dhiegh	...	Wo Fat
Joseph Sirola	...	Jonathan Kay
Monte Landis	...	Tony Madrid (as Monty Landis)
Howard Gottschalk	...	Carter
Richard Denning	...	Governor
Harry Endo	...	Che Fong
Richard Gossett	...	Col. Pierce
Tim Tindall	...	Cpl. Kurtz

Storyline

The Chinese (led by Wo Fat), the Soviets (led by Mischa Toptegan) and assorted criminals are all after perfect counterfeit plates. The plates were originally developed by the Chinese, who want to use them to flood international markets with phony U.S. currency and destroy the American economy. Jonathan Kaye enlists Five-O's help to track down the plates and a Navy intelligence officer, and a friend of McGarrett's, also is part of the probe. However, the Navy man is secretly working with Nicole Fleming, one of the criminals after the plates.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 January 1971 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Hawaii, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Leonard Freeman Production, CBS Television Network

Technical Specs

Runtime:

51 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The abbreviation in the title means "Free On Board" or "Freight On Board", which pertains to the shipping of goods where the party (buyer or seller) pays for shipment and loading costs.

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Goofs

Marine Lance Corporal Kurtz wears the Combat Infantryman Badge, which is awarded only by the U.S. Army.

User Reviews

Turn off your brain and enjoy...

Some of the most enjoyable episodes of "Hawaii Five-O" are completely ridiculous if you think about them. However, if you turn off the questioning part of your brain, you'll have a great time watching them. This is true of the Wo Fat episodes. Think about it...the most dangerous and brilliant Chinese Communist agent on the planet comes again and again to the state of Hawaii for his machinations. And, again and again, he's thwarted by McGarrett! Ridiculous...but also among the most enjoyable episodes.

This one is a bit different because it's a two-part episode--and a particularly good one. The show begins with a man who appears to be a US serviceman returning from Vietnam. He checks into a hotel and when he leaves the elevator, he's dead--shot in the head by assassins! Obviously there's a lot more to the story than this!! Eventually, McGarrett learns that the dead man was killed in a quest to recover some stolen plates of a US $20 note--one that the Chinese had created in order to wreck the American economy. Apparently, though, this was not a normal set of counterfeit plates--these ones were so perfect that they were indistinguishable from real $20 bills! And, since they were first stolen from the Chinese, they've passed from one person to another to another--each person being killed for the plates. You'd think that NO ONE would want to get near them at this point, as to possess them is to die! But, agents from China (Wo Fat) and the USSR ("Misha the Bear") want the plates and come to the islands to meet an evil women who DOES know where the plates are now (Nicole Fleming)--and will sell to the highest bidder. Some wild cards in the mix are the weasel-like Tony Madrid and an insider--someone the US government would not suspect. In fact, as episode one ends, this double-agent betrays his country and takes the plates.

Unlike a few of the other double episodes of the series, this one was well-paced and did merit the added length. A tense story, interesting characters (I particularly like Mr. Madrid) and some interesting twists make this one worth seeing.