***SPOILERS*** While getting treatment for his spine injury at Saint Mary's Hospital Chief Ironside, Raymond Burr, as he's leaving for his custom built police paddy wagon, known as the "Ironside Express", he's knocked off his feet or wheelchair by an escaping masked killer who had just murdered a guard at the medical facility. In struggling with the killer Ironside rips off his Halloween mash exposing his identity that happened to be this local junkie who's known by his street name Albee, Don Stroud. What also happened is in Ironside being knock down on his butt he started getting feelings in his legs that have been paralyzed since he was shot two years ago. Now faced with the dilemma of getting operated on to get his feelings back or tracking down the escaped killer Ironside with the encouragement of those close to him decides to go under the knife.
As it soon turned Chief Ironside ends up going from the frying pan into the fire in that Albee who raided the hospital drug supply room was working in concert with his girlfriend a nurse at the hospital and fellow junkie Louise Prescott, Margaret O'Brian. with ironside now a patient at Saint Mary's he's a target to both Albee & Louise in him being the only one able to identify the on the loose junkie killer who's determined that he'll never not only walk but ever breath again. And not only that the two are in a perfect position in nurse Louise Prescott being in charge of the medication that he's to receive in that hospital to make it look that Chief Ironside's death would not a murder but a tragic accident.
We soon get to see nurse Prescott start to chicken out in offing the former San Francisco police department's Chief of detectives Robert T. Ironside but her junkie lover Albee talks her out of it. Being madly in love with the creep Louise Prescott meekly goes along with him knowing that whatever he has to offer her, which comes across like a bad imitation of of a young Marlon Brando,is too much for her to end up losing. Even if it means her together with her drug and spaced out lover ending up going on a one way trip to San Quentin's gas chamber. Well that's all folks since we have to wait until next week or the next Ironside episode to see what happens which should be a real barn burner.
P.S There was a very touching scene with Ironside trying to reassure Carol Fellows, Brenda Scott, that her injured and wheelchair bound husband Ralph, Mel Scott, should be treated like a man not a helpless cripple even if the operation to get him back on his feet fails. At first Carol resents what Ironside is telling her and tells him to mind his own business. That's until he tells her how he's coping with his injury in not feeling sorry for himself and not letting anyone else feel sorry for him as well. This is one of the few times that the hard as nails and tough on the outside but an old softie on the inside Robert T. Ironside show just how sweet and feeling he was for someone in the same situation that he finds himself in.
