Night of the Casual Killer (15 Oct. 1965)

John Maxwell Avery advised the President and led powerful men in Washington. Then he was discovered to be a political opportunist and a scoundrel. He fled Washington and rumor has it the ... See full summary »

Director:

Don Taylor

Writers:

Bob Barbash, Michael Garrison (creator)

Stars:

Robert Conrad, Ross Martin, John Dehner

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Robert Conrad	...	James T. West
Ross Martin	...	Artemus Gordon
John Dehner	...	John Maxwell Avery
Ruta Lee	...	Laurie Morgan
Charles Davis	...	Tennyson
Len Lesser	...	Mason
Mort Mills	...	Chuck Harper
Dub Taylor	...	Guard
Bill Williams	...	Marshal Kirby

Storyline

John Maxwell Avery advised the President and led powerful men in Washington. Then he was discovered to be a political opportunist and a scoundrel. He fled Washington and rumor has it the President helped him do it. He has killed many many to keep his freedom. To avert a scandal the President sends Jim and Artie, the only men who can capture Avery and return him for trial.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to shakespeare's hamlet | mine car | reference to frédéric chopin | explosion | reference to william shakespeare | 

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller | Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 October 1965 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Sierra Railroad, Jamestown, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 50 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the audio commentary provided by Robert Conrad on the DVD, Ross Martin actually played the musical piece on the violin during the opening scene of this episode and adds that Ross Martin was a concert violinist "in his younger days".

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Goofs

When Artemus tricks the guard, he repeats a common error in quoting William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" Act 5 Scene 1. "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him well". The correct line is "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio."

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Quotes

Marshal Kirby: I'm sorry, gentlemen. I wish we could help you, but if you still intend to find John Avery, there are two things we can offer you.
James T. West: What's that?
Marshal Kirby: Our condolences, and a decent burial.

User Reviews

One of the better Episodes that has no Lovelass

This episode features John Dehner as Maxwell Avery and he plays a bad guy very well in this particular episode. Dehner is a very good actor who did a lot of roles in his career. This plot is one of the better ones.

It involves saving President Grant from certain scandal as a result of Avery's calculated plot. West & Gordon come after Avery but it seems no matter what they do, Avery is always one step ahead of their chase. The chase theme is what makes this a stronger plot than most episodes. Avery here is almost as adept as Lovelass is at making West & Gordon keep trying but gasping for air trying to catch him.

The final sequence is quite clever filming for a 1960's TV series. It involves a mine, mine cars, and dynamite in quite an elaborate sequence.