Power Play – Episode Review

By Episode Review, Season 3

POWER PLAY

Airdates: October 19th, 1961 and July 12th, 1962
Written by Harry Kronman
Directed by Paul Wendkos
Produced by Lloyd Richards
Director of Photography Charles Straumer
Co-starring Albert Salmi, Mary Fickett, Carroll O’Connor.
Special Guest Star Wendell Corey.
Featuring Robert Bice, Larry Breitman, Paul Genge, Bing Russell, Richard Reeves.

“Towards the end of 1932, the power of Chicago’s underworld seemed to be waning. But by Summer of the following year, a new wave of crime had engulfed the city. Frightened and angry, civic groups demanded action. The appointment of Willard Thornton followed. Willard Thornton: age 48, Chicago Society, eastern college; recently retired from a distinguished career at the bar. His immaculate reputation and his impressive record of public service had made him an almost unanimous choice for the newly created post.”
Read More

The Troubleshooter – Episode Review

By Episode Review, Season 3

THE TROUBLESHOOTER

Airdates: October 12th, 1961 and April 26th, 1962
Written by Louis Pelletier
Directed by Stuart Rosenberg
Produced by Alan A. Armer
Director of Photography Charles Straumer
Special Guest Star Peter Falk
Co-starring Murray Hamilton, Ned Glass, Vincent Gardenia.
Featuring Michael Dana, Vladimir Sokoloff, Frank Wilcox, Barnaby Hale, John McLiam

”In the Summer of 1934, a new gambling device swept across the country. A mild-looking game of chance which anybody could play and everybody did play. A nickel and dime game that looked like small-time stuff. In one year, the mild-looking punchboards grew bigger than the numbers racket. The take in Chicago alone rose to $70 million dollars. Because of Eliot Ness’s raids on punchboard manufacturing sites, the city-wide profit on the boards dropped a sizable fifteen percent. But Ness wanted the men on top. There were five men who ran the punchboard syndicate. Their headquarters was an old building down by the freight yards. The five top men represented the five major cities controlled by the syndicate. At the head was Chicago, then Cincinnati, St. Louis, Detroit, and New York. ”
Read More