User Reviews

10 STARS for Vera Miles, who returns to the series, and for a change of pace, cast as a manipulating, cunning oil company big shot. No, this is not DALLAS, but plays like it.

No sooner than Cannon enters Vivian's (Miles) office he is told to hit the road! It's all about another oil exec -- who happens to be dating her daughter --who is framed for embezzlement. Did he or didn't he? By the way, Miles' daughter is actually played by her real-life daughter, Kelley, who is very good in this role. The victim of circumstances is played by popular actor Alan Feinstein, who at the time was also appearing on THE EDGE OF NIGHT.

Beware... Nasty as nails Vivian also has tall, dark and menacing post TARZAN Denny Miller as her romantic bodyguard. Miller drops the hero image FAST and punches out Cannon in the first ten minutes. This was a rare bad guy role for Denny and he makes the most of it. Cannon looks totally surprised with that left hook coming at him!

The dialogue, especially between Vivian and Cannon, is priceless. They don't like each other, the understatement of the year. Howard Dinsdale wrote this episode, long associated with BEN CASEY and MEDICAL CENTER, though he did many cop shows.

Really Great stuff, particularly if you're rooting for Vivian to get hers. The Lincoln is safe as this takes place in San Diego, though Cannon still gets bumped off the road by a steam shovel?

The closing scene is Classic Cannon, just he and the Dragon Lady. Creative writing 101.

SEASON 5 EPISODE 9 remastered color CBS dvd box set. 7 dvd special set. Released 2016.

I'm working my way through the entire series and am now, sadly, reaching the end! Most weekday afternoons I retire to my "Manshed" and watch an episode with a large cigar (I think William Conrad would have approved!) Wonderful trips down memory lane.

Anyway, I found this episode to be one of the best. I appreciated the bullish, no-nonsense nature of the client (played with great gusto by Alan Feinstein), the tough woman boss (excellent Vera Miles) so different from her performance as the damsel in distress in the pilot. And great to see former Tarzan, Denny Miller roll Cannon out of his office and give him a thrashing. I love that on his next visit to see him, Cannon held a ship-in-a-bottle for protection!

The plot has been covered by other reviewers but I thought it moved at a great pace and was extremely well directed.

Cannon is really up against it in this one and takes more lumps that usual. The conclusion may not be a great surprise but the whole show is well acted and stands up really well.

Don't be put off by the other very low ratings; this one is a corker!

This has to be one of the worst written episodes during the 5 year run. Vera Miles did a great job playing the somewhat evil president of an oil company, while her barely legal daughter, played by Vera Miles' real life daughter Kelley Miles, was dating the older oil executive framed for embezzlement. Denny Miller plays Vera Miles' assistant who was drilling more than just oil. Cannon is hired by the oil exec Alan Feinstein, who realizes someone has pegged him to take the fall when the IRS is called in to investigate corruption. Cannon finds out about the company's illegal slush fund & by the end of the episode, I just didn't care any longer. Oh yes, Cannon gets ran off the road by some heavy machinery, which made absolutely no sense when you find out who the real killer is after 55 minutes of wading through this terrible plot. Cannon does sport some 1770's style mutton chops in this episode.

In "Fall Guy", Frank Cannon gets the crap beaten out of him and later he's nearly killed by a bulldozer. Now considering in the previous episode he was shot by a spear gun and shot only a couple episodes prior, I would say Season Five was a bit rough on our portly detective! No wonder he retired after this season!!

Frank Cannon is hired by an executive from the Anacott Corporation. It seems that some embezzling been happening and he's the fall guy. However, when Cannon investigates, he finds that the domineering head of the corporation is a hard-nose who is going to make his life tough. First, she has him beaten badly. Second, she seems to be one step ahead of him and his client. Is there any way to get to the truth or is Cannon finally outmatched?

Vera Miles plays the sinister head of the Anacott Corporation and it's a pretty thankless role. While she is supposed to be tough and smart, she instead seems more like a caricature than a real person. Sure, it's possible to have a woman be tough and a feminist but here it comes off as forced and, at times, hard to believe. Frankly, she's terrible and I blame the writing....and that is why I rate this episode very low. Generally, the shows earned scores in the 6-8 range....but this one doesn't even come close!