Detour to Nowhere

Episode aired Mar 20, 1972
1h 37m

7.8/10

S1.

An insurance investigator tries to find an armored car carrying gold bullion that disappeared in the middle of a deserted Texas highway.An insurance investigator tries to find an armored car carrying gold bullion that disappeared in the middle of a deserted Texas highway.An insurance investigator tries to find an armored car carrying gold bullion that disappeared in the middle of a deserted Texas highway.

7.8/10

286

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Sixty days after other investigators fail to recover a missing armored truck and its gold shipment, Thomas Banacek of T. Banacek Restorations (a suave, thin-cigar-smoking ladies' man of Polish descent) steps in to solve the mystery for the standard recovery fee of 10% value of the missing merchandise. His high success rate infuriates others in the field of insurance investigation, in particular Arthur Patrick McKinney, who sends insurance agent Carlie Kirkland to throw a bit of seduction and sex Banacek's way to get the better of him. Alone of everyone, Banacek takes a keen interest in the death of a town drunk, as it defies the odds. —statmanjeff

truck insurance investigator armored truck corrupt lawman grave robber 38 more

Genres
Parents guide
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Trivia
Among the four non-existent books Mulholland suggests for research purposes to Banacek is The Brink's Bandits by Hargrove and Irving. This refers to the actual armed robbery of a Brink's building in Boston on January 17, 1950.

A gang of 11 stole $2.775 million in cash, checks, money orders and other securities. It was to that time the largest robbery in the history of the United States, and remained so until 1984. The robbers pulled off the caper leaving few clues and it was billed in the press as "the crime of the century". Four films were based in whole or in part on the robbery: Six Bridges to Cross (1955), Blueprint for Robbery (1961), Brinks: The Great Robbery (1976) and The Brink's Job (1978).

Goofs
No sound when Banacek lights his cigar.

Quotes
Carlie Kirkland: Don't you like anything new?
Thomas Banacek: You're new... at least to me.
Carlie Kirkland: You know what I mean.
Thomas Banacek: It's not a question of "old" or "new," it's a question of good or bad. We've got about, maybe, ten years of "new," and thousands of years of "old."
Carlie Kirkland: Meaning?
Thomas Banacek: Well, the odds are there are more good "old" things than good "new" ones.

Connections
Follows Banacek (1972)

Top review

8/10

First-Rate Pilot To TV Series.

George Peppard debuts as Thomas Banacek in this highly entertaining pilot film to the subsequent TV series, as he plays a freelance Boston-based insurance investigator who goes to Texas to look into the mysterious disappearance of an armored car carrying Gold Bullion. Where did it go in the middle of the desert? Answer is most satisfying, as are the twists and turns in the plot.

Peppard portrays Banacek with the remarkable confidence(hated by his rivals!) but undeniable intelligence and moral conviction he would carry over into the (too brief) TV series. We are also introduced to his chauffeur Jay Drury(played nicely by Ralph Manza), confidant Felix Mulholland(the wonderful veteran actor Murray Matheson) and Carlie Kirkland,(Christine Belford, charmed by Banacek despite her resentment.)

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