GILLIGAN'S ISLAND this ain't! This tour on a fishing boat boasting a gruff but kindly old sea dog captain, his youthful first mate, and a strikingly beautiful woman takes an ugly and terrifying turn, which makes for an outstanding and exciting series opener.
With a copyright date of 1959, "The Widow of Kill Cove" may be the series pilot. It presents Dan Adams less as a private investigator and more as an adventuresome boat captain for hire. His young mate Jimmy prods him into taking a grieving young woman to Mexico to confirm the death of her husband. The boat sets sail and the peaceful voyage, punctuated by a whale sighting, lulls the viewer into a complacent vulnerability for what happens next.
Doris spots through the binoculars a man in a rowboat bailing water over the side and waving his arms for help. Dan and Jimmy bring the fellow aboard and all hell breaks loose when he pulls a shotgun from his bag. Turns out he's Jack Bona, the very much alive husband of Doris, and the whole rotten ruse is revealed.
The story then transitions into a suspenseful hostage drama. Jack is unhinged and unpredictable, as his rash murder of Jimmy proved (motivated in part by insane jealousy). Now he needs Dan to navigate the boat through the rocks, but Dan's not indispensable as Jack is confident Doris could do it in a pinch. Dan knows he has only a short window in which to act. Doris vacillates between supporting Jack and fearing him, admitting "he's changed" and attempting to conceal a flare gun to defend herself. The story upends the typical narrative in that despite Dan's persuasive attempts he never turns Doris against Jack.
Anthony Caruso plays with relish the sadistic Jack Bona, escaped convict with a fetishist's affection for his hand-woven bullwhip. I always associate Caruso with Bela Oxmyx in the "Piece of the Action" episode of STAR TREK, where he played a 1930's-style gangster with a touch of humor. There's nary a glimmer of humor here and Caruso is downright scary as Jack. It's one of his greatest performances.
Beverly Garland is beautiful as Doris Bona, the battered wife of the prison-hardened Jack. I was completely blindsided when this disarmingly charming young woman was revealed to be a femme fatale. One could argue Doris is a victim of Jack's brutality, especially after Jack furiously flogs her with his bullwhip (a shockingly brutal scene). Did you also feel disgust tinged with pity when she later tells a stone-faced Dan that she deserved it? Were this program produced in the 1970s, it would have been a "very special episode" larded with psychobabble, but being produced in 1959 it was refreshingly free from any such hand-wringing. Yes, Doris may be a victim, but she is also a ruthless victimizer with blood on her hands for knowingly duping Jimmy and Dan into a life threatening situation.
Speaking of the hapless and ill-fated Jimmy, I was stunned when he was suddenly and unexpectedly dispatched to Davy Jones' locker. Surely they can't kill a major character in the first episode? But they did. I guess McClure was never intended to be the youthful Archie Goodwin to Cameron's aging Nero Wolfe that I initially assumed he would be. And in hindsight that was a good thing for Cameron because the dashing Doug McClure surely would have wooed away the spotlight as he did from top-billed William Bendix on OVERLAND TRAIL, a Western series broadcast this very same 1960-61 season.
I've watched a few more episodes and the series settles into a more standard detective format. CORONADO 9 struck me as a precursor to THE ROCKFORD FILES in its featuring a tall, burly, dark haired leading man who nonetheless gets beat up regularly. One major difference, however, is that CORONADO 9 has no recurring cast of characters. The series' fifth episode, "The Groom Came D.O.A.," had Jerry Madison playing Dan's youthful sidekick, but only for that one episode. In that sense the show underscores the lonely profession of the hardnosed p.i., but also disallows the banter and camaraderie that highlight other shows in the detective genre.
Lawrence Kimble and Richard Irving, the writer and director of this episode and of more to come, worked with Rod Cameron on his best known series, STATE TROOPER (1956-59), and this opening episode of CORONADO 9 testifies to their storied history as it plays to Cameron's strengths and zips along like a well-oiled machine. (Speaking of zipping along, director Richard Irving went on to direct the first SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN TV movie in 1973). I applaud writer Lawrence Kimble for using the seemingly unimportant scene with the whales to foreshadow the climactic denouement of the loathsome Jack.
I've swallowed the hook of this series and am eagerly anticipating enjoying all the episodes yet to come.
With a copyright date of 1959, "The Widow of Kill Cove" may be the series pilot. It presents Dan Adams less as a private investigator and more as an adventuresome boat captain for hire. His young mate Jimmy prods him into taking a grieving young woman to Mexico to confirm the death of her husband. The boat sets sail and the peaceful voyage, punctuated by a whale sighting, lulls the viewer into a complacent vulnerability for what happens next.
Doris spots through the binoculars a man in a rowboat bailing water over the side and waving his arms for help. Dan and Jimmy bring the fellow aboard and all hell breaks loose when he pulls a shotgun from his bag. Turns out he's Jack Bona, the very much alive husband of Doris, and the whole rotten ruse is revealed.
The story then transitions into a suspenseful hostage drama. Jack is unhinged and unpredictable, as his rash murder of Jimmy proved (motivated in part by insane jealousy). Now he needs Dan to navigate the boat through the rocks, but Dan's not indispensable as Jack is confident Doris could do it in a pinch. Dan knows he has only a short window in which to act. Doris vacillates between supporting Jack and fearing him, admitting "he's changed" and attempting to conceal a flare gun to defend herself. The story upends the typical narrative in that despite Dan's persuasive attempts he never turns Doris against Jack.
Anthony Caruso plays with relish the sadistic Jack Bona, escaped convict with a fetishist's affection for his hand-woven bullwhip. I always associate Caruso with Bela Oxmyx in the "Piece of the Action" episode of STAR TREK, where he played a 1930's-style gangster with a touch of humor. There's nary a glimmer of humor here and Caruso is downright scary as Jack. It's one of his greatest performances.
Beverly Garland is beautiful as Doris Bona, the battered wife of the prison-hardened Jack. I was completely blindsided when this disarmingly charming young woman was revealed to be a femme fatale. One could argue Doris is a victim of Jack's brutality, especially after Jack furiously flogs her with his bullwhip (a shockingly brutal scene). Did you also feel disgust tinged with pity when she later tells a stone-faced Dan that she deserved it? Were this program produced in the 1970s, it would have been a "very special episode" larded with psychobabble, but being produced in 1959 it was refreshingly free from any such hand-wringing. Yes, Doris may be a victim, but she is also a ruthless victimizer with blood on her hands for knowingly duping Jimmy and Dan into a life threatening situation.
Speaking of the hapless and ill-fated Jimmy, I was stunned when he was suddenly and unexpectedly dispatched to Davy Jones' locker. Surely they can't kill a major character in the first episode? But they did. I guess McClure was never intended to be the youthful Archie Goodwin to Cameron's aging Nero Wolfe that I initially assumed he would be. And in hindsight that was a good thing for Cameron because the dashing Doug McClure surely would have wooed away the spotlight as he did from top-billed William Bendix on OVERLAND TRAIL, a Western series broadcast this very same 1960-61 season.
I've watched a few more episodes and the series settles into a more standard detective format. CORONADO 9 struck me as a precursor to THE ROCKFORD FILES in its featuring a tall, burly, dark haired leading man who nonetheless gets beat up regularly. One major difference, however, is that CORONADO 9 has no recurring cast of characters. The series' fifth episode, "The Groom Came D.O.A.," had Jerry Madison playing Dan's youthful sidekick, but only for that one episode. In that sense the show underscores the lonely profession of the hardnosed p.i., but also disallows the banter and camaraderie that highlight other shows in the detective genre.
Lawrence Kimble and Richard Irving, the writer and director of this episode and of more to come, worked with Rod Cameron on his best known series, STATE TROOPER (1956-59), and this opening episode of CORONADO 9 testifies to their storied history as it plays to Cameron's strengths and zips along like a well-oiled machine. (Speaking of zipping along, director Richard Irving went on to direct the first SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN TV movie in 1973). I applaud writer Lawrence Kimble for using the seemingly unimportant scene with the whales to foreshadow the climactic denouement of the loathsome Jack.
I've swallowed the hook of this series and am eagerly anticipating enjoying all the episodes yet to come.