At the conclusion of "Double Jeopardy", where Jack Kelly bids adieu to two Lauren Bacalls (as sexy sisters) and takes off in a light plane piloted by Zsa Zsa Gabor, after his character has been romancing all three of them, I wondered whether Universal Pictures paid him or did he have to pay to play this role.
He plays a jet setting private eye playboy named Fred Piper, who appears in two other Chrysler Theater episodes. I couldn't figure out if they were failed series pilots or if they simply liked "Kelly as Piper" and kept bringing the character back.
The light-hearted approach to a whodunit is something audiences enjoy, as in the current hit "Knives Out" franchise with Daniel Craig", but there is a problem here of overdose. First, having two Lauren Bacalls is a bit much, though I enjoyed the gimmick eventually. But there are many, many other gimmicks that pile up: an experimental gas being tested on a cage tiger, leading to several scenes acted out in gas masks; and a strange poison used in sun tan lotion.
But the chief gimmick is a parade of distracting guest stars, some fun and some just red herring, plus an over the top use of the "least likely suspect" turning out to be the criminal, with plastic surgery yet.
Fortunately it's fun to watch, quite goofy, yet with Kelly's amazingly smooth manner (no matter what happens) hard to criticize as light entertainment.
He plays a jet setting private eye playboy named Fred Piper, who appears in two other Chrysler Theater episodes. I couldn't figure out if they were failed series pilots or if they simply liked "Kelly as Piper" and kept bringing the character back.
The light-hearted approach to a whodunit is something audiences enjoy, as in the current hit "Knives Out" franchise with Daniel Craig", but there is a problem here of overdose. First, having two Lauren Bacalls is a bit much, though I enjoyed the gimmick eventually. But there are many, many other gimmicks that pile up: an experimental gas being tested on a cage tiger, leading to several scenes acted out in gas masks; and a strange poison used in sun tan lotion.
But the chief gimmick is a parade of distracting guest stars, some fun and some just red herring, plus an over the top use of the "least likely suspect" turning out to be the criminal, with plastic surgery yet.
Fortunately it's fun to watch, quite goofy, yet with Kelly's amazingly smooth manner (no matter what happens) hard to criticize as light entertainment.