"Mission: Impossible" Odds on Evil (1966)

Director:

Charles R. Rondeau

Writers:

William Read Woodfield (written by) and
Allan Balter (written by) ...

TV Series:

"Mission: Impossible" (1966)

Original Air Date:

22 October 1966 (Season 1, Episode 6)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A prince, the absolute ruler of a principality, has $1.5 million which he plans to use for arms to wage war on a neighboring...

Plot Keywords:

Clock Watcher | Mission | Deception | Superspy | Self Destructing Message

Cast

Steven Hill	...	Daniel Briggs
Barbara Bain	...	Cinnamon Carter
Greg Morris	...	Barney Collier
Peter Lupus	...	Willy Armitage
Martin Landau	...	Rollin Hand
Nico Minardos	...	Andre Malif
Nehemiah Persoff	...	Prince Iben Kostas
Vincent Van Lynn	...	Oliver Borgman
Lawrence Montaigne	...	Kostas's Aide
Joe E. Tata	...	Roulette Croupier (as Joey Tata)
Roger Til	...	Baccarat Croupier
Alex Bookston	...	Man in Arcade
Greg Benedict	...	Karl

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Desilu Productions

Trivia:

Mission leader Dan Briggs (played by Steven Hill), only appears in the opening and planning scenes of the episode. He is absent for the rest of the show.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the opening briefing, in a closeup, Andre's hand is seen placing four gold chips on number seventeen. Then, when the scene switches to the casino, during the establishing shots, the exact same shot of a hand placing four gold chips on number seventeen is used again.

Familiar Plot?

The IMF gang must break a gambler so he can't afford to buy weapons to terrorize a neighboring nation. This is not Ian Fleming's 007 or Casino Royale, it's the friendly Impossible Missions Force with Cinnamon (Barbara Bain), Barney (Greg Morris), Willy (Peter Lupis), Rollin (Martin Landau) and Andre Malif (guest star Nico Minardos). Once the mission is revealed and the mission's members selected, Dan Briggs (Steven Hill) doesn't appear anywhere else in this episode. Some of the tricks used to deprive Prince Iben Kostas (played by Nehemiah Persoff) of his money seem pretty far-fetched, even for the IMF. For example, a complex computer that reads the spin of the roulette wheel and calculates the winning number before the ball drops. Even in 2007 that kind of technology boggles the mind, so for 1966 it's a real reach. Nevertheless, Odds on Evil is still in the top 10 of the episodes of season 1. Bruce Geller could film an episode of Mission Impossible on a couple of small sound stages at Desilu/Paramount, and on the back lot and make it look like it's Madagascar or Nassau. Season 1 of Mission Impossible came along just as CBS decided to bite the bullet and go to color (color broadcasts began with the fall 1966 season, same time MI premiered), and all of the episodes in season one are a visual feast for the eyes. Paramount should consider a movie franchise based on this series. So much potential. The three Tom Cruise films, while very entertaining have little to do with the series except the music.