User Reviews

The debut episode of Checkmate has Anne Baxter hiring the Checkmate Agency trio of Anthony George, Doug McClure, and Sebastian Cabot to protect her from an attempt on her life. At the beginning of the show a bullet is fired into a tree near her and she deduces that someone is trying to kill her. She says to the trio that there have been other incidents, but this one seems real enough to warrant some protection.

Baxter is one imperious woman who rides roughshod over all the male help around her. She married money and when her husband died she remained and made a go of the horse farm he had. This woman is used to getting her own way. She specifically wants Anthony George at her side and is disappointed when Doug McClure is sent instead.

As you can gather she's not all she seems, but there is reason in all that she does.

This debut episode is dominated by Anne Baxter in a role where she can pull out all the stops and does.

To avoid spoilers, I'll just say the plot twist in this show is a good bit different from the detective shows of the era, as the Checkmate agency is hired to protect a wealthy lady ranch owner who feels at least two attempts have been made on her life, and she's desperate to have Don come to her ranch to protect her and solve the mystery of the threats.

When Don sends the young Jed instead, she's angry and dismissive. The lovely Anne Baxter plays a woman so unpleasant you have no trouble understanding why anyone would want to kill her, and some trouble wondering why anyone would be interested in stopping them ... and that's an interesting plot twist on its on.

Unfortunately, the twist is telegraphed at the beginning of the 4th act. You won't be in suspense at the end, but you may notice Anne go a bit over the top with her own denouement.