It Takes a Thief (TV Series) Turnabout (1968) User Reviews

Ida Lupino

[bensonmum2 · 4/10 · 2 August 2019]

Noah wants Al to break into a laboratory facility to steal a new type of lens. Before the mission can get started, however, Al breaks a leg. With Al talking in his ear, it's up to Noah to play the role of the thief.

It's not that Turnabout is horrible, but it's nowhere near as good as any of the other episodes I've watched. There are a couple of problems here, but the main one is the writing. Noah's conversations with Soviet scientist Dr Schneider are painful. Watching and listening to Noah lay out his cringy pick-up lines is difficult. It just doesn't work. A second big issue I have with Turnabout is the lack of any suspense in the episode. The theft is far too easy. I like the episodes that require a more intricate plan. Overall, none of it is very good.

I usually love watching Ida Lupino in most everything I've ever seen her in. But here, I think she's miscast. The role of the innocent and easily flattered scientist doesn't fit Lupino very well. And like I previously wrote, she's given some horrible lines to work with. It's embarrassing.

4/10

An unusual episode

[searchanddestroy-1 · 16 March 2015]

I like those TV series where you have one episode which the scheme changes from the other ones. As we often had, for instance, in some Columbo épisodes. Here, the interesting element is that, for once, the thief is not the thief "in chief", but the chief himself. I particularly loved that. Of course, Wagner, hospitalized because of a broken leg, monitored his chief through a tiny radio and an ear flap. Some funny, amusing scenes when the chief turned thief had to talk to the evil ones. Although, you don't have the lead Wagner lying in a bed through the entire episode. For the second part of the tale, he is here.

Speaking of the evil guys here, Stene Inhat is impressive, with his handsome face, so adequate for a villain character, maybe more than for a good guy. Some actors were this way, good looking faces for evil characters, as the likes of Fernando Lamas and many more, and not necessarily great actors, most of the time TV actors. I remembered Steve Inhat in two following épisodes of OUTER LIMITS. He was awesome there two, in a terrific story.