Knock Three-One-Two (13 Dec. 1960)

A man in need of money enlists the help of a serial killer to get the money from his wife.

Director:

Herman Hoffman

Writers:

Fredric Brown (story), John Kneubuhl (adaptation)

Stars:

Boris Karloff, Joe Maross, Beverly Garland

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Boris Karloff	...	Himself
Joe Maross	...	Ray Kenton
Beverly Garland	...	Ruth Kenton
Charles Aidman	...	George Mikos
Warren Oates	...	Benny
David Alpert	...	Joe Bedell, Debt Collector
Murray Alper	...	Older Bartender
Norman Leavitt	...	Charlie, First Bartender
Meade Martin	...	The Silk Stocking Strangler
Clancy Cooper	...	Police Captain
Lida Piazza	...	First Waitress
Will J. White	...	Lt. Tracy
Bunny Bishop	...	Second Waitress
Lillian O'Malley	...	Landlady

Storyline

A man in need of money enlists the help of a serial killer to get the money from his wife.

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Plot Keywords:

serial killer | arranging an alibi | alibi | false confession | dead woman | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 December 1960 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hubbell Robinson Productions, National Broadcasting Company (NBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Ray was at the bar talking to the strangler at a time approaching midnight, but the next scene where George drops off Ruth at her apartment, it appears to be daylight.

User Reviews

Beverly Garland and Warren Oates(no. 13)

"Knock Three-One-Two," producer Maxwell Shane's third entry, features Joe Maross (a busy but little known TV actor) as compulsive gambler Ray Kenton, whose long suffering wife Ruth (the always competent Beverly Garland) has decided once and for all to stop financing his losses. Meanwhile, a serial killer dubbed 'The Silk Stalking Strangler' (Meade Martin) is on the loose, and Kenton's neighbor, a simple-minded newsstand clerk named Benny (Warren Oates) feels the compulsion to go to the disbelieving authorities and confess to the killings despite his proved alibi of innocence. Ray soon bumps into the maniac killer, and after getting a 24 hour reprieve from his underworld pals, desperately decides to gamble on the idea of leading the killer to his own home to strangle the attractive Ruth, using his friend Benny to establish an alibi for himself. Charles Aidman, later seen in "The Terror in Teakwood," does a sympathetic turn as Ruth's boss, while Warren Oates would later appear in "The Hollow Watcher." Joe Maross and Beverly Garland would be reunited 14 years later in a 1975 episode of KUNG FU, "Battle Hymn."