Mannix (TV Series) Murder Times Three (1971) User Reviews

A very athletic episode for Mike Connors

[cpotato1010 · 8/10 · 30 November 2018]

While the jump and roll off the cliff in the beginning was likely mostly the stunt double - it is a long shot, not close-up. A lot of the other action appears to have been done by Mike Connors, in particular much, if not all, of the action at the race track, and before that the fight with the biker.

These are mostly close enough to see Mike's face, as he jumps all over the stands, sometimes using some of the support poles. Almost parkour-style that became popular in much later films and action shows.

As for the plot, there is a bit of some of the "And Then There Were None", in that Mannix thinks he has solved all three cases, but has he?

BTW, when the would-be assassin shoots at Mannix's car, he was deliberately shooting at the tires, not Mannix. He was trying to put Mannix in the hospital with an accident, not kill him. Later, after the initial fight, it appears he was shooting at Mannix with Mannix's own gun, and maybe he was not used to the weapon.

Feb 15, 2024 edit - TV Guide has the characters and actresses mixed up.

It is Patricia Mattick playing Joyce Barden, the missing daughter. Featured in the IMDb pictures for this episode.

Pippa Scott plays Barbara Brockway, the wife of P. I. Dan Brockway (Gene Evans).

This coulda been a really good one....

[Guad42 · 6/10 · 24 November 2021]

Three episodes prior, Joe had to figure out which among three associates of a crime boss was an informer. Now he has to figure out which of the three cases he is working on causes two guys on motorcycles to chase him round until he falls off a steep embankment. One case involves parents wanted to find their missing daughter; another is trying to locate an embezzler for a fellow detective Dan Brockway (Gene Evans) and the last is finding who made a threatening phone call to husband Tom Stabler (Daniel Travanti) and wife Lisa. As Joe recovers from his tumble down the hillside, he is fired from all three cases. Joe, being Joe, has no intention of letting this slide. Joe follows up on all three cases and seems to solve them. The parents of the missing daughter get her back along with her boyfriend and they seem to work it out. Joe finds out the embezzler doesn't exist but he is really trying to find the lover of the detective's wife. He doesn't do that but the guy and his wife have a serious talk. The last case seems done when Joe catching the semi-pervert Alan Boone (Alan Bergmann) making the calls to the husband and wife and the guy says he is leaving town and won't do it again. All cases done and there is a happy ending? Not really,

During this time, a sniper takes out a couple of Joe's tires and he goes over another embankment in his car and hits a tree. The police are looking for the two guys on the motorcycles and Art Malcolm seems to have caught one but Joe says that he isn't the guy. Here is where this episode goes off the rails. Joe convinces the guy to take him back to his gang and Joe will pay money to learn who hired them to rough Joe up. Joe and his new friend go to the gang's hangout in an alley and, of course, the gang leader wants none of it and is going to beat Joe up. The leader (Jeff Morris of Kelly's Heroes and Blues Brothers) loses the fight and takes a shine to Joe for his great fight moves. He says he will point out to Joe the guy who paid them to go after him. Turns out that guy is the semi pervert phone guy! Joe goes back to the wife and grills her on what was said in the phone call. They deduce the call had the name of a racehorse in it. Joe visits a friend who tells him the horse is running in a big race and is owned by a middle east prince who is coming to watch the race. Joe figures the phone call was actually the orders to the hitman husband Stabler to kill the prince. Joe races to the deserted race track and calls Art to bring cops. Joe gets there, stops the sniper shot but Stabler and Boone chase him around the racetrack until Joe takes them both out, just as the police arrive to arrest everyone.

On the plus side, this is a very physical outing for Joe with lots of action. He goes off two embankments, gets shot at, and some fistfights. Gail Fisher get a few more scenes than she normally does and gets called a fox. Good for the ego. However, there are a few problems with this story. The three cases seem too mundane for Joe to take, with the possible exception of Joe helping his detective buddy. Then it turns into an international incident with the prince angle. That seems out of place in this episode. Not sure why the wife called a PI over a nutty phone call anyway. Seems like a police report would be the extent of it. Joe's car gets some serious damage but he gets it back in a couple of hours! Really? Very fortuitous as Joe needs the car phone to call Peggy to call Art. The gang leader sells out his employer because he likes Joe's moves? Come on. When Joe calls Peggy to get the police, wouldn't the police send the nearest patrol car? That car should probably beat Joe there. Instead, Art leads the charge and shows up too late to be any help. A foreign dignitary is in line to be shot and the help has to came all the way from headquarters and take forever to get there. Good thing the prince wasn't shot. There would have been a serious public relations problem.

The cast is mostly good. The majority are veterans at the guest star roles and they do well. With this busy plot, most of them get two scenes. The one exception is the boyfriend played by Robert Reiser. You won't root for him to win the parents over. He plays it a little too "tough guy" and, with his baby face, it doesn't work.

Joe gets paid three times over. Maybe only two times if the detective friend is a freebie. The prince should throw some money his way when he learns Joe saved him. Over all, a decent episode that could have been better.

Horse Racing fans will love scenes shot at Santa Anita Park

[cedchin · 7/10 · 25 May 2023]

I enjoyed this episode on ME TV in May 2023. Horse racing fans will love the long, exciting sequence filmed at Santa Anita Park. As a racing fan living on the east coast, I've only seen the scenic track on television. I would guess racing fans out there would agree the place hasn't changed much in the almost fifty years since this episode was filmed. Such a beautiful location.

Otherwise, the episode features the usual mayhem. Joe fights, runs into a gang, gets shot at. And as always, the hit man fails. Thank goodness the bad guys never shoot straight. If so, Mannix wouldn't have survived more than 1-2 episodes! LOL.

MANNIX MAKES IT THREE DA' HARD WAY!

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 20 August 2022]

Let's face it, it's ALWAYS the hard way for Joe.

Stephen Kendal wrote this adventure, and many others for the series, also for CANNON at the same time. He had a long list of credits, including several stories for IT TAKES A THIEF. He also gave Peggy a larger part, which audiences wanted.

I agree with the last reviewer; the goons shooting at Joe and missing him (and just about every time) are incredibly inept, but there comes a time you have to file it under "good guy" luck. If you're a true fan, you accept it, because there's so much more to come.

If you survived Joe's near death experiences in the previous episode (with cliffs and the ocean below!), you passed the test. Congratulations.

Kandel cranks out a good story, all about Joe actually working on three cases at once which are related. Yes, it's an old plot, but it works. The one to watch is Pippa Scott, married to an old buddy of Joe's (played by burly Gene Evans), who you ALSO have to watch. Get it? Scott had the knack for playing both young and older women always beset with problems. At the time of this episode, she appeared in no less than 10 movies and tv shows.

The catch is once Mannix meets Pippa Scott, he wishes he hadn't as she's radioactive, hence the target practice on him. Daniel J. Travanti, who was making the rounds on cop shows at the time, plays Tom. Gene Evans was a staple in both westerns and tv for decades, and with good reason.

Character actor Tol Avery (BEWITCHED) plays Max, and always fun to watch. Also Joe Maross (as Jason) who popped up everywhere on tv.

Catch the scene with Peggy, doing some leg work, walking into a shabby nightclub and connecting with the drummer. What are the chances?

Leonard J. Horne directed, much in the style of Reza Badiyi, master of action. He was long associated with VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, also the ROOKIES and MISSION IMPOSSIBLE.

True. It's great to see some fine shots of famous Santa Anita Park and Race Track, which has a long Hollywood connection. The track goes back to the golden movie days of CHARLIE CHAN. If you ever go there, you can feel the history. A beautiful place to spend the day, even if you aren't playing the ponies.

Buckle up, and keep the late night coffee and cookies around. Season 5 Episode 12 remastered color CBS/Paramount dvd box set.

Hill Street Blues actor ruins ep quite a bit

[belanger75 · 8/10 · 27 June 2019]

This would have been a greater ep had not it not majorly starred the guy who later played the captain on the yucky police drama 'Hill Street Blues'. That HSB actor is not a great performer by any means or even a solidly good one yet he has all these close ups as the husband of the harrassed lady/ and would-be assassin (the awful close ups of him are a foreshadow that he is the ep's main bad guy).

One point. Why are the supposedly hot girls in this ep not strikingly beautiful ( though Pippa Scott comes close). They just are not that great to stare at on screen. Mannix beauty guests Joanna Pettit or Katherine Justice or Susan Howard would all have been useful in this episode as the hot women in it too bad none of them were in this.

Pretty good but.....

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 29 December 2014]

I like "Mannix". The DVDs are great to watch as I walk on my treadmill. However, after about 4 1/2 seasons, I find some of the episodes are harder to enjoy than others. Now it isn't because these particular episodes are bad in themselves but they are a big case of 'been there, done that'. In other words, how many times can gunmen shoot at Mannix and miss and how many times can he get beaten up or tossed off a cliff and yet be just fine?! In this one, BOTH happen to the indestructible detective?!

When the show begins, Mannix is chased by some VERY old motorcyclists who force him off a cliff. But because he's apparently an X-Man, Mannix is fine and decides to figure out WHO is after him. He currently is working on three cases and thinks one might be related to this. During the course of the show, a trained assassin with a rifle and scope manages to hit Mannix's tires but not him. Later, when he locates the gunman, once again, the shooter misses him several times. Which all makes you wonder WHO trained this incompetent and WHO would pay him to kill anyone?! Overall, a bit weak.