The Star 

When the son of a famous actress disappears the police think its another instance of his recurring drug problem. Cannon is hired to find him, but no one is telling him the whole truth.

Director:

William Wiard

Writers:

Margaret Armen, Edward Hume (developed for television by)

Stars:

William Conrad, Joan Fontaine, Jack Carter

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
William Conrad	...	Frank Cannon
Joan Fontaine	...	Thelma Cain
Jack Carter	...	Holcomb
Linden Chiles	...	Ned Hurley
Dana Elcar	...	John Brinegar
Richard Hatch	...	Terry Cain
David Hedison	...	David Farnum
Michael McGuire	...	Tom Shaw
John Vernon	...	Arthur Correll
Richard Bakalyan	...	Dieter
Hank Brandt	...	Lieutenant James
Paul Cavonis	...	Gino Castagna
Frank Christi	...	Lopez
Ben Frank	...	Det. Lt. Bernie Hutton
Jonathan Goldsmith	...	Gleason (as Jonathan Lippe)

Storyline

When the son of a famous actress disappears the police think its another instance of his recurring drug problem. Cannon is hired to find him, but no one is telling him the whole truth.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 December 1975 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Max Busch House, 160 South San Rafael Street, Pasadena, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Quinn Martin Productions (QM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

References Rebecca (1940)

User Reviews

Joan Fontaine.

"The Star" is a double-length episode of "Cannon" and has the distinction of starring the Oscar-winning actress, Joan Fontaine. Fontaine basically plays a version of herself--a 1940s actress who is retired and living in a lovely Beverly Hills mansion. Sadly, however, despite having her as the guest star, this is a weak episode due to the writing.

Cannon is hired to find the son (Richard Hatch) of actress Thelma Cain (Fontaine). This seemed interesting until you learn what exactly is going on...and then it makes little sense. Later, when an evil gangster takes Cain and her husband hostage, the son behaves like he has a potato in his head instead of a brain. So it's up to Cannon to save these idiots from themselves.

"The Star" easily could have been edited and made into a traditional one-hour episode. I think this would have helped, since the characters occasionally did very dumb things...and a tight edit would have eliminated some of these silly portions. Worth seeing but not a shining moment in the history of the show.