Hack writer Barry Trivers handed in a convoluted Portrait of the Artist as a Sick Man story far removed from Naked City guidelines, saved only by a wonderful acting job by Myron McCormick as the suffering amnesiac. He makes the melodrama entertaining, aided by a strong confrontation between McMahon and Burke over police procedure and the search for truth.
Way too many gimmicks are used in the course of the hour to keep the pot boiling, substituting hokum for realism. Just a few: a ridiculous set of coincidences for Myron to escape from the asylum; way too many clues via his behavior and his ongoing painting to establish his identity as the now-famous (posthumously) artist with a multimillion dollar auction underway who was put in the asylum with fake death by a group of conspirators 20 years back for profit; his showing up at the auction; his further escape from Bellevue; his heartwarming reunion with his daughter; and the cops shootout with the bad guys -none of it ringing true.
Clearly, the weekly Naked City audience is expected to suspend disbelief as all this nonsense piles up, but 60+ years later it's impossible to swallow.
Way too many gimmicks are used in the course of the hour to keep the pot boiling, substituting hokum for realism. Just a few: a ridiculous set of coincidences for Myron to escape from the asylum; way too many clues via his behavior and his ongoing painting to establish his identity as the now-famous (posthumously) artist with a multimillion dollar auction underway who was put in the asylum with fake death by a group of conspirators 20 years back for profit; his showing up at the auction; his further escape from Bellevue; his heartwarming reunion with his daughter; and the cops shootout with the bad guys -none of it ringing true.
Clearly, the weekly Naked City audience is expected to suspend disbelief as all this nonsense piles up, but 60+ years later it's impossible to swallow.