The Payoff (9 Dec. 1970)

McGarrett receives a call from a Skid Row bum who says he has vital evidence in a mainland case. When McGarrett and Danno arrive at the man's fleabag apartment, he's disappeared, with a ... See full summary »

Director:

John Llewellyn Moxey

Writers:

Leonard Freeman (creator), Ken Pettus

Stars:

Jack Lord, James MacArthur, Zulu

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Jack Lord	...	Det. Steve McGarrett
James MacArthur	...	Danny
Zulu	...	Kono
Kam Fong	...	Chin Ho
Albert Salmi	...	Vince Ryan
Joyce Van Patten	...	Lila Daniels
Madlyn Rhue	...	Madge
Warren Vanders	...	Jase Gorman
Robert Edwards	...	Bemis
Peggy Ryan	...	Jenny
Alan Naluai	...	Oliver
Dick Brady	...	Lew (as Richard Brady)
William Cataldo	...	Desk Clerk
Paul Carr	...	Toomey Walsh

Storyline

McGarrett receives a call from a Skid Row bum who says he has vital evidence in a mainland case. When McGarrett and Danno arrive at the man's fleabag apartment, he's disappeared, with a trail of blood indicating he was robbed and shot but managed to escape. In his mattress, the investigators find some silver certificates which they recognize were used as ransom money in a mainland kidnapping eight years ago where the victim was murdered and the kidnappers escaped. In the interval, silver certificates were removed from circulation and are therefore now "hot money." Five-O figures out that the man who called them was the bagman for the killers and took off with the loot, and they've finally tracked him down. When a woman spends two $20 certificates at a dry-cleaning establishment, Five-O realizes she's one of the killers, but can't find her yet. They do find the dying man, though, and he tells Five-O that a husband-and-wife duo shot him and took off with most of the certificates -- and ...

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 December 1970 (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 hotel deck clerk's voice was dubbed by actor Tim Matheson.

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Goofs

In the "establishing shot" (probably a stock shot) of the Seattle skyline, the image is anamorphic or squeezed which makes the Space Needle look much taller and narrower than the real thing and Mount Rainier, on the horizon, appear unnaturally steep and pointy.

User Reviews

Run away...it's Albert Salmi!

I love "Hawaii Five-O" but one thing you could usually count on with shows like this and other cop shows of the era. If actors such as John Callicos, Anthony Zerbe or Albert Salmi appeared in the episode, you could bet the bank that they were playing the villain! So, very early in the show when Salmi dropped by to see an old friend living in a flophouse, I knew his "friend" was doomed!! And, within moments, Salmi was unloading what appeared to be a .22 into him. Oddly, although he intended to kill him, he only used two shots--not a sure thing with such a small caliber handgun! I almost felt like screaming at the TV--"put one in his head for insurance...that's what a REAL villain would do!!".

And, like I predicted, the shooting victim was not dead. In fact, he had a ton of energy--enough to walk many blocks to a lady friend's house and phone friends in Seattle to tell them about the shooting. Much of the show had to do with McGarrett and company trying to find the guys from Seattle AND Salmi and his scum-bag girlfriend.

Overall, an interesting episode. Why the man was shot, what first brought them together and the woman--all very interesting things you'll need to learn about in the show. I especially LOVED the final scene with the woman and the money--it's a classic. Exciting, well-written (except for the shooting scene) and complex--this one's well worth seeing.

By the way, you may recognize the character Madge as the same lady (Madlyn Rhue) who guest starred on the original "Star Trek" in the "Space Seed" episode where she played a crew member who fell in love with Khan (Ricardo Montalban).