Cat's Paw (9 Jan. 1971)

A high tech organized crime group comes to the attention of our favorite IMF team following the murder of Barny's brother. To bring down the organization and the corrupt police captain ... See full summary »

Director:

Virgil W. Vogel

Writers:

Howard Browne, Bruce Geller (created by)

Stars:

Peter Graves, Leonard Nimoy, Lesley Ann Warren

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Peter Graves	...	James Phelps
Leonard Nimoy	...	Paris
Lesley Ann Warren	...	Dana Lambert (as Lesley Warren)
Greg Morris	...	Barney Collier
Peter Lupus	...	Willy Armitage
Hari Rhodes	...	George Corley
Abbey Lincoln	...	Millie Webster
William Wintersole	...	William Goslin
Kelly Thordsen	...	Captain Dave Abbot
Charles Wood	...	Pod Hamp (as Chuck Wood)
Marc Hannibal	...	Larry Collier
Manuel Paul Thomas	...	DA Scanlon
Morgan Farley	...	Wyatt
David S. Cass Sr.	...	Pinari (as Dave Cass)

Storyline

A high tech organized crime group comes to the attention of our favorite IMF team following the murder of Barny's brother. To bring down the organization and the corrupt police captain allied with them Jim turns to his tried and true technique; infiltrate, sow distrust then wait for the fireworks.

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Plot Keywords:

organized crime | first aid | phone booth | green flame | envelope full of money | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 January 1971 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Good Performances Undermined by Lapses in Script

The title of this episode refers to Millie Webster, the secretary to mob boss George Corley (Hari Rhodes), whom IMF regular Barney Collier (Greg Morris) remorselessly exploits to get close to Corley. He does so because Corley ordered the killing of Barney's brother Larry, a crusading journalist, during the show's teaser. So, as in the second season's "The Condemned" and this season's "Homecoming," the IMF gathers not only to defeat the bad guys, but to help out one of their own with a personal stake in the mission.

The IMF, of course, had manipulated its enemies in both foreign governments and mob organizations before (indeed, many of them ended up getting shot by, or shooting, their own comrades thanks to the IMF), but Barney's treachery here with Millie is much more personal than most, and so leads to one of the most emotional climaxes of the series. Millie is played by singer Abbey Lincoln, who rarely acted but was personally requested by Morris because of the personal stakes involved in this story — and no doubt because Morris knew she could provide the excellent performance that she delivers here.

Unfortunately, a lot of the episode plays like any crime show, with the team exploiting the sudden fascination that Corley's accountant, Goslin (William Wintersole) has had with spiritualism since the death of his wife. Paris (Leonard Nimoy) and Dana (Lesley Warren) use some staged séances to convince Goslin that his life is in danger from Corley. They also sow distrust between Corley and his chief hood, the oddly-named Pod Hamp (Charles Wood), in part by playing off his jealousy over Millie's interest in Barney.

Unfortunately, enormous plot lapses abound. While much explanation goes into how Goslin will be tricked by the IMF's fake séances, Corley's associate, crooked cop Capt. Abbot (Kelly Thordsen), is simply visited by Phelps as a representative of another crooked "organization." With apparently nothing more to rely on than Phelps' own introduction, Abbott readily admits that he's on the take — he just doesn't want another mob moving in because he doesn't want to have to deal with the gang war! But what if Phelps were really an internal affairs officer wearing a wire?

The IMF also goes to some lengths to convince both Millie and Corley that Barney has a criminal past, so that he'll be trusted by Corley enough to become Goslin's understudy. Then, during one of his dates with Millie, Barney complains at length about the tragic consequences of the various criminal enterprises that Corley runs. Apparently Barney is appalled by what Corley (and Millie) do for a living . . . but then he readily joins that enterprise. So — does he approve of what they do, or not?

Perhaps most absurd, though, is that at the end, after Corley has fallen into the IMF's trap, and Millie realizes that Barney has used her, Barney actually admits this to her — even telling her his real name! Given how ruthlessly Barney uses Millie in this episode, this might have made sense if this were an episode of, say, "Ironside," but it's an absurd admission for one of the agents to make in "Mission: Impossible." After all, these were supposed to be *secret* agents; considering the lengths that the IMF goes through to protect its agents' identities in other episodes — such as this season's "My Friend, My Enemy" — such an action would never have happened in one of their standard episodes.

Equally absurd is the ease with which both Corley and Abbott give up and confess at the end of this episode; unlike many other segments, in which the villains fell neatly into the IMF's deception, here we're just *told* how they're "accusing each other." It's a convenient way to finish out the episode, but it doesn't flow neatly from what went before. Ultimately, while Abbey Lincoln and Hari Rhodes turn in fine performances, they can't save a story that's completely out of place for "Mission: Impossible."