I never watched "Cannon" as a series back in the 1970s. I always thought that the cop/P.I. shows so prevalent then were pretty much all the same, and only the detective(s) were different. In the case of "Cannon", we had a grizzled and portly private investigator, as compared to the myriad other detective characters of that era.
"The Return of Frank Cannon" brings William Conrad back to the "Cannon" character four years after the series ended. The plot is awfully familiar: Cannon is brought out of retirement (cliché 1), by an old flame (cliché 2), to investigate a murder disguised as a suicide (cliché 3) the investigation of which the cops bungled (cliché 4). Cannon's investigation leads him to a remote ranch where illegal activities are taking place (cliché 5) by otherwise respectable people (cliché 6). He is tied up to a chair (cliché 7) and plays mind games with his captors (cliché 8) before a spectacular crash kills the main bad guy (cliché 9).
I could go on, but it's not really necessary.
The Southern California scenery is pretty and this TV-movie has a top cast, including Ed Nelson, Arthur Hill, Diana Muldaur and others. It also has a spectacular (if somewhat far-fetched) airplane-truck crash at the end. Otherwise, it's about the same as any 1970s P.I. show. If you liked "Cannon", I suppose you'll like this movie. If you're looking for something a little different, you may want to look elsewhere.
"The Return of Frank Cannon" brings William Conrad back to the "Cannon" character four years after the series ended. The plot is awfully familiar: Cannon is brought out of retirement (cliché 1), by an old flame (cliché 2), to investigate a murder disguised as a suicide (cliché 3) the investigation of which the cops bungled (cliché 4). Cannon's investigation leads him to a remote ranch where illegal activities are taking place (cliché 5) by otherwise respectable people (cliché 6). He is tied up to a chair (cliché 7) and plays mind games with his captors (cliché 8) before a spectacular crash kills the main bad guy (cliché 9).
I could go on, but it's not really necessary.
The Southern California scenery is pretty and this TV-movie has a top cast, including Ed Nelson, Arthur Hill, Diana Muldaur and others. It also has a spectacular (if somewhat far-fetched) airplane-truck crash at the end. Otherwise, it's about the same as any 1970s P.I. show. If you liked "Cannon", I suppose you'll like this movie. If you're looking for something a little different, you may want to look elsewhere.