The Night of the Bleak Island (14 Mar. 1969)

On Bleak Island, James West travels to retrieve to a diamond that was left to the National Museum and teams up with his former associate Sir Nigel Scott of Scotland Yard to defeat a master criminal named Calendar.

Director:

Marvin J. Chomsky

Writers:

Michael Garrison (creator), Robert E. Kent

Stars:

Robert Conrad, Ross Martin, John Williams

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Robert Conrad	...	James T. West
Ross Martin	...	Artemus Gordon (credit only)
John Williams	...	Sir Nigel Scott
Beverly Garland	...	Celia Rydell
Robert H. Harris	...	Steven Rydell
Richard Erdman	...	Mordecai Krone
James Westerfield	...	Ronald McAvity
Jana Taylor	...	Alicia Crane
Gene Tyburn	...	Mark Chambers
Lorna Lewis	...	Helen Merritt
Pat O'Hara	...	Jarvis
Jon Lormer	...	Boatman
Robert V. Barron	...	Servant #2 (as Christian Anderson)
Yvonne Schubert	...	Girl (as Yvonne Shubert)

Storyline

On Bleak Island, James West travels to retrieve to a diamond that was left to the National Museum and teams up with his former associate Sir Nigel Scott of Scotland Yard to defeat a master criminal named Calendar.

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Genres:

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

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 March 1969 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Sierra Railroad, Jamestown, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 51 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Bad Dog!

A rockin' good fourth season episode, "The Night Of The Bleak Island" has West traveling to the island of a deceased millionaire who has bequeathed to the government one of his most prized possessions, the Moon Diamond. Upon his arrival, West learns of the island's legendary reputation as the hunting ground for a blood-thirsty spectral dog, and if this is starting to sound a lot like "The Hound Of The Baskervilles", wait'll you hear about the Sherlock Holmes-like British detective who arrives just in time for all the fun. Borrowing quite liberally from Arthur Conan-Doyle's classic story, Robert E. Kent's script entertainingly poses the question "what if agent James West were to join forces with a character very much like Conan-Doyle's famous detective?" Nicely played by the actor John Williams, British sleuth Sir Nigel Scott arrives on the trail of one Dr. Jacob Calendar, a faceless Prof. Moriarty facsimile who he believes is also on the island. When a butler is murdered and the diamond is stolen, West and Sir Nigel attempt to determine which among a group of greedy inheritors is responsible. Robert Conrad and John Williams display a surprising chemistry as an oddly-matched crime fighting team, and the perfectly cast Williams is easily the best of the guest partners brought in to sub for an ailing Ross Martin who'd suffered a heart attack during the 4th season.

This is a twisty tale, eerily enhanced by a continually howling wind, punctuated occasionally with the howls of the titular demonic dog. It's an episode that's difficult to find any real fault with- although, when he finds himself trapped in a dry well, West's rock climbing hooks seem a tad too convenient to just happen to have up his sleeves. Also, sharp-eyed baby-boomers will find themselves taken out of the story for a moment when they surely recognize that the boat West uses to get to the island is the S.S. Minnow from "Gilligan's Island". Just the same though, if "Wild, Wild West" producers could borrow from Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle, then why not also Sherwood Schwartz?