shakspryn

Of course, that suggests one of the early James Bond stories! Casino stories were easy for the studios to do, they didn't require any exterior locations! We do finally get some exterior scenes here, near the very end of the story. Except for those last very few minutes, we're indoors in the casino the whole time. But it was fun!

Barbara Bain looks stunning, as she usually does! Very sultry. Our usual MI team are all good. Notably, Steven Hill (Briggs) is only present for the intro scenes and the briefing to the team. As some viewers may know, Hill had a lot of friction with the producers because he insisted they respect an agreement that Hill would only have to work a certain number of hours per day, and I think he wasn't supposed to work on Saturdays. The upshot was, they used him less and less in later episodes and he was dropped at the end of Season 1.

Nico Minardos takes the role of Cinnamon's unhappy husband, which Hill (one thinks) would normally have assumed. He's fine in the part. Nehemiah Persoff, a consummate actor, does his usual all-pro job. The gambling scenes and a few others feature stacks of one-thousand dollar bills. These were legal tender, though the Federal Reserve began to withdraw them from circulation in 1969 due to supposed "lack of use." Thanks to using "pause" on my dvd, I could take a close look. The bills appear genuine: series G (Chicago) and L (San Francisco); two of the more common issuing districts. (I have some knowledge of these big bills).

I did notice that on some of the notes, a small rectangle had been placed over one lower corner; perhaps to appease the US Treasury, which was not fond of seeing any real US paper money shown on television, though the wrappers concealed the portraits (Grover Cleveland) on the notes used in the show.

The two key elements to any Fantasy Island story are the guest stars and the nature of the fantasy they are pursuing. Both elements are satisfying in this episode.

All the guest stars are good in their roles. It is true, in 2024 the concept of a beauty pageant seems dated, but that doesn't bother me at all! Maureen McCormick is very likeable as the young lady involved in that story.

I've always liked treasure-hunting stories, and it is well done here. There's lively adventure as the three characters go after some pirate loot. It definitely helps that all three performers are top notch: Peter Haskell, Michael Callan and Jo Ann Harris. Peter Haskell is an actor whom I especially like; he always comes across as a real, thoughtful person.

I watched this episode on dvd, and it looks good! Nice color and a variety of settings, particularly the pirate treasure story.

This is a good episode. My review is prompted by instantly recognizing both the interior and the exterior of the church where the funeral takes place, which occurs early in the episode. The church in question is the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, which is at the corner of Sixth and Commonwealth Streets. It is a lovely church, and I was often there for services, and in the course of attending high school next door: we had our weekly chapel in the church on Fridays, and there were wonderful Christmas services there, which I often attended, along with other students.

Indeed, we did my high school graduation within the fine old church! Seeing it brought a shout of pleased surprise as I began watching the episode!