The Adventure of the Eccentric Engineer 

Famous inventor Lamont Franklin suddenly withdraws from the world and starts holing up in his shed, playing incessantly with his toy trains. So why would someone kill him? A clue at the ... See full summary »

Director:

Peter H. Hunt

Writers:

Booker Bradshaw, Frederic Dannay (characters created by) (as Ellery Queen)

Stars:

Jim Hutton, David Wayne, Arthur Godfrey

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Jim Hutton	...	Ellery Queen
David Wayne	...	Inspector Richard Queen
Arthur Godfrey	...	Claude Sitwell
David Hedison	...	Roger Woods
Dorothy Malone	...	Carol Franklin
Ed McMahon	...	Lamont Franklin
Bobby Sherman	...	Doug Carmichael
Tom Reese	...	Sgt. Thomas Velie
Dick Van Patten	...	Billy Geeter
Ann Reinking	...	Lorelie Farnsworth
Ellen Madison	...	Emily Woods
Patricia Wilson	...	Bridget, the maid
John Fujioka	...	Restaurant Manager

Storyline

Famous inventor Lamont Franklin suddenly withdraws from the world and starts holing up in his shed, playing incessantly with his toy trains. So why would someone kill him? A clue at the beginning of the show: before the inventor answers the knock of his killer, he hides some secret formulas in a secret - compartment desk drawer.

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Plot Keywords:

deciphering | code | notebook | false bottom | file cabinet | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Family | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 January 1976 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fairmont/Foxcroft Productions,Universal Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

48 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ann Reinking's TV debut.

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Goofs

Velie tells Ellery that there's been a murder in Bayside, but later, a newscaster refers to the scene of the crime as being in the Bronx. Bayside is a neighborhood in Queens County (just west of Douglaston, which Ellery visited earlier in the series in The Adventure of the Mad Tea Party).

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Quotes

Ellery Queen: [discussing Emily Woods] I don't know why you don't like her.
Inspector Richard Queen: She reminds me of your Aunt Agatha: a cobra with an Ipana smile.

User Reviews

First TV role for Ann Reinking

Episode 14, "The Adventure of the Eccentric Engineer," features TONIGHT SHOW sidekick Ed McMahon as Lamont Franklin, a brilliant inventor currently working on a special automated system using his elaborate train workshop located away from his house, who has led everyone around him to believe that he has regressed to the point of adolescence over the previous three months. Mrs. Franklin (Dorothy Malone) believed the ruse, but her brother, Doug Carmichael (Bobby Sherman), remained well aware of Lamont's continued financial wizardry. Roger Woods (David Hedison), Lamont's friend and associate, and his employer, Claude Sitwell (Arthur Godfrey), were kept informed on Lamont's progress on the new automation system, and both men stand to lose their high positions when Lamont returns to the company. One night, Roger sends a Broadway invitation by train to his reclusive engineer friend, only to have Lamont respond in the negative; Franklin is later found dead in his workshop, shot at close range by someone he knew, since only friends with a pass were allowed to gain access to his domain. Caught stealing a book of notes is Billy Geeter (Dick Van Patten), who aided the dead man in his designs before being fired months before. Art Balinger appears unbilled as a newscaster, and Ann Reinking ("All That Jazz", "Annie") debuts as Lorelie Farnsworth, an aspiring author hoping to get Ellery to help her write a love story, but ends up aiding his investigation. After trying to avoid her throughout the episode, Ellery is finally won over by her persistence, adding that he tried to write love stories, but that his heroines always got killed off!