....despite the strength of the script, acting and direction for the first 3/4 of the show, things TOTALLY FALL APART during the big climatic scenes near the end. Clearly, the script had very little to offer during its final portion, so we are treated to lots of inane running around (the police squad all GET OUT of their cars....RUN TO the warehouse....RUN AROUND the warehouse....RUN INSIDE the warehouse....RUN BACK to their cars...etc, etc...) which eats up screen time, but really kills the momentum.
Probably the silliest is the 70-year old Sam Jaffe, a bullet in his right arm, relentlessly (probably about 2 MPH) pursuing bad guy Janza through the streets with a gun. Are we seriously to believe that the much younger, stronger Janza can't HIDE somewhere-- in an alley, a doorway, behind parked cars...ANYWHERE??? ..to avoid the fury and bluster of an old guy chasing him around town? Janza, in desperation, actually knocks on a couple of doors for protection, but is turned away. In the meantime, the crazed old duffer with the gun gets closer.....and CLOSER......(!)
What's really GOOD about this episode are the performances by Sam Jaffe and ESPECIALLY Muni Seroff (pictured above) as Zoltan Bognar, an actor whose TV and stage credits are disappointingly sparse, considering his great talent and appeal; he's charming and sincere throughout-- until the final confrontation in the warehouse with Janza , where he really delivers the dramatic goods. I wish he had played more substantial roles like this one.
Also good to see NY's favorite creepy Leonardo Cimino -- whose cadaverous face rivaled that of Reggie Nalder---- in a substantial dramatic scene with Sam Jaffe. He's really good. Also, Janza (the main bad guy) is played by Sandor Szabo, who apparently was a major actor in his native Hungary.
At least this episode serves as an excellent showcase for these (and more) fine actors and actresses, whose talents were rarely seen by the public at large. Too bad about the ending. LR