One Born Every Minute (8 Jan. 1974)

Con-artists arrive in Hawaii and meet up with local thieves to plan a phony diamond con. When a wealthy tourist devastated by the con leaps to his death, McGarrett discovers he is one of ... See full summary »

Director:

Charles S. Dubin

Writers:

Leonard Freeman (creator), Alvin Sapinsley

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
Ed Flanders	...	Joe Connors
Michael Strong	...	Harry Maguire
Tommy Fujiwara	...	Sunada
Douglas Mossman	...	Elfidio (as Doug Mossman)
Jimmy Borges	...	Big Mardo (as James J. Borges)
Patricia Herman	...	Natalie Maguire
John Stalker	...	Alex Anderson
Harry Endo	...	Che Fong
Peter Carew	...	George Heller
Connie Sawyer	...	Sylvia Heller
Dennis Chun	...	Attendant

Storyline

Con-artists arrive in Hawaii and meet up with local thieves to plan a phony diamond con. When a wealthy tourist devastated by the con leaps to his death, McGarrett discovers he is one of many victims. As another angry victim seeking revenge and Five-O close in on the gang; the crooks turn on one another.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 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?

Trivia

Around 10:55 minutes into "One Born Every Minute", outside the Ilikai Hotel there is a sign that reads "Nephi Hanneman The Polynesian Man, now appearing in the Canoe House". Nephi was a frequent guest star on Hawaii Five-0. He appeared 11 times over the run of the series.

User Reviews

Despite a somewhat rushed ending, a very good episode.

This episode begins with what appears to be an attempted robbery and a shooting. Then, a policeman arrives and takes one of the people into custody. However, the shooting isn't real, the robbery isn't real and the cop isn't even a cop--it's all part of a very elaborate con job being masterminded by a genius con-man (Ed Flanders).

Next, you see another similar con job being pulled by the same gang--but this time it goes from start to finish. However, at the end, something unexpected happens--the victim is so distraught about being swindled that he takes a header off the balcony of his hotel--dropping 15 floors! It should be enough to force the gang to pick up and move to another locale, but they make the mistake of trying one last score before calling it quits.

I enjoyed this episode because it was rather educational. You get to see the swindle and its variations from start to finish and it's both complicated and interesting--making for a pretty good episode. The only negative, and it's not a huge one, is that the ending is a tad rushed. Still, it's well worth watching--especially to get a look at Lynette Mettey--a woman EVERY middle-aged man in the show seemed to like...a lot! By the way, if you watch the DID of an episodes two episodes before (Season 6, Episode 15: The Flip Side Is Death), you'll see about a 2-4 second clip from this episode (6:17). Most of the main characters from "One Born Every Minute" are seen in this clip of them--in their convertible. Why it was used twice, I have no idea--but it's clearly there.