"Hawaii Five-O" The Bells Toll at Noon (1977)

Director:

Jack Lord

Writers:

Leonard Freeman (creator)
Charles Larson (teleplay)
(more)

TV Series:

"Hawaii Five-O" (1968)

Original Air Date:

6 January 1977 (Season 9, Episode 12)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

After a young woman has died from a drug overdose, Johnny Kling moves to avenge the death by killing those who sold and distributed the drugs...

Plot Keywords:

Hawaii | Police | Investigation | Archenemy | Teamwork

Cast

Jack Lord	...	Det. Steve McGarrett
James MacArthur	...	Dan Williams
Kam Fong	...	Chin Ho
Herman Wedemeyer	...	Duke
Rich Little	...	Johnny Kling
Don Knight	...	Thayler
Milton Selzer	...	Kellman
Jimmy Borges	...	Tommy Saito
Kevin O'Connor	...	Carlie Hazard
Harry Endo	...	Che Fong
Johnny Walker	...	Pete Holloway
Connie Kissinger	...	Movie Attendant
Terry Plunkett	...	Apartment Manager
Jorie Remus	...	Mrs. Cramer
Pauly Gardener	...	Ramona (as Pauly Gardner)
William Valentine	...	Waiter (as Bill Valentine)
Len Mednick	...	Landlord
Kwan Hi Lim	...	Projectionist
Mel Ferrer	...	Father Neill

Directed by
Jack Lord

Writing credits
Leonard Freeman		(creator)
Charles Larson		(teleplay)
Irv Pearlberg		(story)
James Breig		(story)

Produced by
Douglas Green	....	producer: Hawaii
James Heinz	....	producer: Hollywood
Philip Leacock	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Morton Stevens

Cinematography by
Jack Whitman		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Howard A. Smith		(as Howard Smith)

Art Direction by
Gibson Holley

Set Decoration by
Buck Henshaw

Makeup Department
Keester Sweeney	....	makeup artist
Fred Williams	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Bernard Oseransky	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Wesley J. McAfee	....	assistant director (as Wes McAfee)

Sound Department
Coye Vanover	....	production sound mixer

Casting Department
Richard Kindelon	....	location casting (as Dick Kindelon)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Richard Egan	....	costumes

Music Department
Don B. Ray	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Reza Badiyi	....	title visualization (as Reza S. Badiyi)
Richard Dixon	....	assistant: production manager
Herman Groves	....	story consultant
Matthew Knox	....	assistant: producer

Production Companies

• CBS Television Network
• Leonard Freeman Production (developed by)

Distributors

• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1977) (USA) (TV)
• Paramount Home Video (2010) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Ford Motor Company  automobiles
• Polifroni/Sabba  casting

Runtime:

50 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | Canada:PG (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Hawaii, USA

Company:

CBS Television Network

Goofs:

Continuity: After McGarrett waits for Charlie Hazard on the beach, he receives a radio call that Charlie has been found shot. McGarrett is wearing a dark blue suit - about as dark as the tie he's wearing. Although he tells the dispatcher that he's on his way, when McGarrett arrives at the scene of the shooting, he's wearing a noticeably lighter blue suit, especially compared to his tie.

Movie Connections:

Features The Public Enemy (1931)

An odd but worthwhile episode...

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The show starts with a drug dealer being assassinated by a guy (Rich Little!) with a rifle and scope. Then later, this movie buff begins killing people just like he saw James Cagney do in his films. Why the first killing ISN'T from a Cagney film did baffle me, though it was cool seeing the guy trussed up like Cagney was at the end of "The Public Enemy" as well as a take-off on the crazy finale of "White Heat".

This is an unusual episode because unlike most, the guest star is a bit bigger than life and just doesn't seem to fit into the story quite as well as the usual guests. After all, how can you use Rich Little AND his mimicry talents and make the show seem believable? Well, it ISN'T totally believable and the plot seems to have enough for two episodes but it still manages to work...not great...but it works.

Had I done this episode, I think I might have used Little as a movie buff and mimic who decides to copy the killings from Cagney movies. And, the rest of the plot involving killing drug dealers in retribution for the death of a vivacious young female junkie, I would have used this in another show--it just seemed like too much AND it was hard to imagine Little as a gun expert, movie buff, recovering addict, etc., etc. all in the same show. A truly weird episode throughout...but not bad. It was surprising, however, to see an actor as famous as Mel Ferrer in such a small role as the priest at the beginning of the episode.

By the way, considering that I have a bazillion movie reviews to my credit, you STILL do not need to worry about me imitating Cagney films...I'm more of a Humphrey Bogart fan!