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Adventures of Nick Carter
USA 1972
produced by Stanley Kallis, Richard Irving (executive) for Universal/ABC
directed by Paul Krasny
starring Robert Conrad, Shelley Winters, Broderick Crawford, Neville Brand, Pernell Roberts, Pat O'Brien, Sean Garrison, Laraine Stephens, Dean Stockwell, Brooke Bundy, Sorrell Booke, Joe Maross, Ned Glass, Paul Mantee, Jaye P. Morgan, Arlene Martel, Byron Morrow, Arthur Peterson, Booth Colman, Warren Parker, Larry Watson, Leon Lontoc, James McCallion, Charles Davis, William 'Billy' Benedict
written by Ken Pettus, based on a character created by John R.Coryell, Ormond G.Smith, originally published by Street & Smith, music by John Andrew Tartaglia
TV-pilot Nick Carter
review by Mike Haberfelner
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New York, the early 20th century: Nick Carter's (Robert Conrad) best
friend is found murdered, and since Nick's a master detective, he proceeds
to investigate. His trail soon leads to Freddy Duncan (Dean Stockwell),
whose wife the deceased is said to have had an affair with - an encounter
that leads to a nightclub brawl ... but the next day, Nick is hired by
Freddy's rich dad Otis (Broderick Crawford) to find Freddy's wife - since
while Freddy's a useless playboy, she was the only one who took care of
Otis. The nightclub Nick had a brawl in provides a significant clue, as
its owner Bess (Shelley Winters) is wearing a set of earrings that once
belonged to Freddy's wife - but Bess has Nick thrown out of the club. No
matter, so he tracks down Bess's boyfriend Deams (Sean Garrison), who is
said to have eloped with Freddy's wife - but once he has found him, too
much in the story doesn't add up. Then the body of Freddy's wife is found
while Deams is murdered and evidence is planted on him to suggest he has
killed her. It doesn't need Nick long to notive there's fishy (and he's
right, even Freddy's wife's body isn't really hers), which is only
confirmed when Bess hires him to find Deams' killer. Further
investigations lead Nick to none other than the chief of police (Neville
Brand), who has orchestrated the whole thing, with the help of Bess,
deams, and ... someone from the Duncan family. After Nick dukes it out
with the chief of police on a rooftop that ends with the chief of police
falling to his death, he pays another visit to the Duncans to finger out
the real baddie of the piece - and it's not young hothead Freddy but his
older, more level-headed brother Neal (Pernell Roberts), who has had the
hots for Freddy's wife for quite a while, but when the turned him down for
the umpteenth time, he seems to have snapped and ... well, that got the
whole thing rolling. In parts, The Adventures of Nick Carter
is an enjoyably old-fashioned (even for 1972) murder mystery of the dime
novel-variety, with all the elements in place: Some far-fetched deductions
and even further-fetched plottwists, some nightclub scenery including a
bit of sleaze to spice things up (though firmly within
good-taste-parameters), the occasional fistfight just to keep things
going, and whatnot. On the other hand though (and this is probably why
this pilot was never picked up for a series), the whole thing is also
over-convoluted, at times fails to make all that much sense, and is a bit
on the wordy side. And while most of the supporting cast is brilliant,
Robert Conrad just doesn't totally cut it as the lead. Well, it's ok TV
entertainment I guess, but there's definite room for improvement.
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