Ironside (TV Series) Girl in the Night (1967) User Reviews

An unusual one

[oliver-177 · 8/10 · 31 December 2009]

This is one of the episodes that cast the spotlight on one of the younger members of the cast - this time, Ed. (Mark barely appears in this one, and Eve - most unusually - has only one costume through her many short-short scenes).

So, it seems that Ed spent an evening in Vegas with a doomed chanteuse (Susan St. James with young Liza Minnelli looks and a Rosemary Clooney voice). The songbird acted depressed and fatalistic, and the date ended in violence. Chief Ironside will eventually link the tragic girl with a big mob murder.

This downbeat episode isn't the most polished, but it is remarkable for its depiction of sexual rivalry. Poor Susan St. James is the pretty pawn that various men prey upon. It is not at all like the usual Ironside episode.

What a terrible tragedy this all was!

[sol-kay · 6/10 · 25 June 2013]

***SPOILERS*** It's the San Francisco bound special police consultant Robert T. Ironside, Raymond Burr, and his top assistant SFPD detective sergeant Ed Brown, Don Galloway, who end up in Las Vegas to solve the murder of hotel and night club owner Jim Cardoff, Simon Scott, who end up getting a lot more then they both bargained for. That in Sgt. Browen falling heads over heels for songbird Elaine Moreau, Susan Saint James, and then getting his head busted in the process. As for Ironside he's put in charge in finding both those who beat Sgt. Brown's head in as well as the killers of Jim Cardell.

It's later when Elaine seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth that Ironside and Sgt. Brown checked out her last place of employment "Jan's Place" run by Vages mobster Joe Verona, Donnelly Rhodes. It's there that the two slowly uncovers what exactly happened to not only Elaine but her boyfriend pianist and song writer Jhonny Foster, Steve Carlson. the two were turned into by Verona and his goons into members of the walking dead or zombies in what they did to them! As for the really dead as a doornail Jim Cardell he's got his, a bullet in the back to the head, for refusing to sell out his night club interested to Verona!

****SPOILERS*** Tracking down the by now living on skid row Johnny Foster Ironside gets the full story of how he as well as Elaine lives were ruined by Verona in busting up their marriage. The big surprise came later when Elaine's naked and bullet ridden body was found floating in a nearby lake. It was in fact the work of one of Verona's top henchmen Stulka, George Keymas, who did her in in order to protect his boss Verona's behind! She knew too much and had to be shut up! But in Verona's falling in love with Elaine he didn't have the guts or heart to do or order a hit on her himself! Now with him losing it in finding out about the murder of Elaine, by his #1 man Stulka, and exposing his criminal rackets in the city, that included the murder of Jim Cardell, he'll have all the time in the world, in a Las Vegas prison jail cell, to think about it.

Disjointed, and Uneven

[samwa-27311 · 4/10 · 1 September 2017]

I am surprised that no one has commented on the obvious, that the entire plot and most of the script, was lifted from another show, an episode of The Virginian.

The whole saga of the piano man, and singer, including some of the dialogue, was stolen from that episode.

The Ironside one, has a film noir concept to it, and many flashbacks to earlier times.

It is also ridiculous that Ed would fall for this girl.

I can't believe the high rating for this episode. It is a tired formula, that definitely doesn't work.