Mannix (TV Series) A Problem of Innocence (1973) User Reviews

Entertaining....

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 9 January 2016]

When the show begins, William Avery (Fritz Weaver) is getting out of jail after serving 10 years for embezzlement. Someone is VERY interested in him and they begin following him. As he increases speed, so do they...and eventually Avery loses control and falls to his death. Oddly, however, most everyone assumes he's dead yet there's no body!

Soon after this, Anne Avery (Anne Archer) comes to see Mannix. Evidently, some unknown person or persons have ransacked her apartment and perhaps they were looking for the money her father had embezzled...though she KNOWS he didn't steal it. Soon, Mannix sets up one of the crooks to break in and uncharacteristically, he REALLY screws this up big time!! Eventually, folks start dying and Mannix not only has to save his client but possibly determine where this missing money is.

This is an enjoyable and inventive show and I am glad I saw it. I did have a few complaints here and there (the car explosion scene was handled sloppily and Mannix was too dumb trying to do a stake- out all alone...duh). Still, it's well worth seeing and reasonably unique.

An above average episode

[Guad42 · 8/10 · 16 April 2021]

The plot has been covered so some additional comments. We know the William Avery (Fritz Weaver) isn't dead because no body is found and because you don't bring in Weaver as a guest star to have him killed in the first five minutes after a couple of line of dialogue with his lawyer. Lots of bodies in this one - the crooked cop, the ex-wife (Marion Ross), the ex-wife's current husband (Bing Russell) are all killed as Mannix tries to run down the truth. Not sure why the ex-wife would be killed in their apartment and her husband is found dead in a ravine. An interesting dynamic is the ending where Avery dies after admitting he did do the theft and he murdered the three people mentioned above. Somehow we are suppose to feel sorry for him as he realizes his mistake is a love for money. I couldn't get there. HIs lawyer (John Randolph) will get his just desserts so that's something.

Anne Archer heads a good guest cast here. Always great to see her. It's easy to forget how attractive Marion Ross was before they made her a 50's mom on Happy Days. She is definitely acting against type here. She does it well too.

Joe does screw up his stakeout and gets knocked out but he gets paid so it 's a win.

Beauty-guest Anne Archer predominates this ep

[belanger75 · 9/10 · 26 August 2019]

She is extremely beautiful appealing and talented here. She plays the daughter of a newly released ex-con.

( As for complaint of how there is no dead body after the car accident note! There was water right where the car landed.)

Back to beauty Miss. Archer. She plays Fritz Weaver's daughter in this ep and luckily they have almost no scenes together because no one in the world could have good chemistry with weird Weaver. Just one thing about Anne's great beauty. They put her in a hat in one scene. WHY!!!?!!! She was so ulra-appealing just showing her head hat-free.

SHOW ME THE MONEY!

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 8 October 2022]

Don MacDougal, who had just wrapped up work on THE MOD SQUAD, and was also directing IRONSIDE, handled this complex whodunit, and many others for Mannix. It all centers around Fritz Weaver (as Avery), one of Hollywood's distinguished gentleman villains. He finally gets out of prison on embezzlement charges, but apparently has an enemy and dies... as quickly as that. Next up, his daughter (well played by Anne Archer (remembered for FATAL ATTRACTION) now has someone tailing her. Bottom line, whoever it is wants her late father's stash.

Joe gets into the thick of things, literally, and the further he probes it proves fatal for more people. Fun to figure this one out, and the longer it takes the better. John Randolph, always the senior gentleman, is on board and look for pre-HAPPY DAYS Marion Ross, known for comedy but a solid dramatic actress early in her career. Not to forget the bad guy roles Fritz Weaver played on MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, although his role here is small.

For all us sightseers, parts of this episode were filmed at Terminal island, a low security prison at San Pedro, CA. At least the view is good for the inmates. The island has been a frequent spot for filming tv shows and movies.

Recommended. SEASON 6 CBS remastered color dvd box set. 6 dvd set. Same box style as CANNON.

Messy and predictable

[pkfloydmh · 4/10 · 21 November 2021]

In this one, a woman's apartment is ransacked and Joe is hired to find out why.

The problem is it's totally obvious right from the start that Avery is still alive because there was no follow up on the car that went over the cliff and whether a body was found there, so the producers clearly decided that if it was mentioned that no body was found, the viewers would know he's still alive, but not mentioning it at all also made it obvious he was still alive, so this one is predictable right from the start, so there's no mystery here. It's also obvious Avery is the one who's killing everyone because there's no one else it could be, so there's no mystery there either. The only mystery is whether there's any money and the episode is worth seeing for that part of it.

As usual, there are plot holes. Corwin mentioned he attended the funeral service for Avery. How could there be a funeral service for someone that's still alive? Then Avery gets a call while he was at Joe's office. How did anyone know he was there or that he was even still alive? And how did Corwin know where everyone was at the end?

The performances from the entire cast are solid.

Once again Joe's client leaves the hideout after he told her not to, so you can check the box on that cliché, which has been used a lot this season.

The total body count is three.

Joe doesn't get slugged in the head or shot at but he does get crushed by a bookcase.

This episode is not great but not terrible either but slightly below average.