Sat 20 Feb 2010
A TV Review by Mike Tooney: KRAFT SUSPENSE THEATRE “One Tiger to a Hill.”
Posted by Steve under Reviews , TV mysteries[5] Comments
“One Tiger to a Hill.” An episode of Kraft Suspense Theatre (Season 2, Episode 8). First air date: 3 December 1964. Barry Nelson, James Gregory, Diane McBain, Peter Brown, Warren Stevens. Writer: Robert Hamner. Story consultant: Anthony Boucher. Director: Jack Arnold.
When $400,000 worth of valuable jewels are stolen, Lieutenant Wade (James Gregory) is certain who did it, his constant adversary cat burglar Colin Neal (Barry Nelson). But at the same time the theft occurs, Wade is enjoying some fine wine with Neal and his girlfriend Diana (Diane McBain) in a swanky restaurant, giving Neal an ironclad alibi.
Lieutenant Wade knows Neal must be behind this somehow; what he doesn’t know is that Neal, well aware of the close police scrutiny he is under, has been training an apprentice, Chris (Peter Brown), to steal for him.
But what even Neal doesn’t know is that his girlfriend has been seeing Chris on the side — and that Chris has plans for the loot that don’t include Neal. When Neal does become aware of these developments, however, he is moved to take action. How does the old saying go? You must set a thief …
… To Catch a Thief, Hitchcock’s 1955 thriller, was undoubtedly the inspiration for this one. (And any instances of ingenuity you may detect in the storyline are most probably due to story editor Anthony Boucher, who excelled at this sort of thing.) The police lieutenant and the master thief are the best of enemies, each one having grudging respect for the other.
Barry Nelson’s criminous credits include Eyes in the Night (1942), Casino Royale (1954, as the very first screen James Bond), The Borgia Stick (1967), and appearances on Nero Wolfe (1981) and Murder, She Wrote (1988).
James Gregory appeared in nearly 200 TV shows and movies, including Naked City (1948), The Lawless Years TV series (1959-60), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), the lousy Dean Martin “Matt Helm” film series (1966-67), Columbo (1972), Police Story (1974-75), Detective School (1979), and a long run on the Barney Miller series (1975-82).
Unlike Nelson and Gregory, Peter Brown is still with us. His longest-running involvement with TV has been in Western series: as a deputy marshal on the serious Lawman (1958-62) and the humorous Laredo (1965-67).
February 20th, 2010 at 10:38 pm
It amazes me how many of these episodes I remember with some clarity considering I haven’t seen most of them since they first aired. Once I began to read the description of this one much of it came back.
I have no doubt Mike is right about Anthony Boucher, but Robert Hamner was a capable writer too with a long list of credits on everything from LOST IN SPACE to ROCKFORD FILES.
February 21st, 2010 at 1:01 am
Heading off in another direction, I’d completely forgotten that James Gregory was a big part of the BARNEY MILLER repertoire company. I wasn’t watching a lot of TV back when that show was on, and I think it was on for a couple of years before I watched it at all.
Just mentioning Gregory as Mike has done brings back vivid memories of the episodes I do remember seeing. A darn good series, with each member of the cast perfect in their parts.
February 21st, 2010 at 1:45 am
BARNEY MILLER was one of the best and in some ways most under rated series of its time, and probably closer to the reality of daily life in a police precinct than most of the dramatic series that so much praise is heaped upon.
Like you I had almost forgotten Gregory’s very funny turn as an old school superior to Barney and his crew. He also had a good role as the policeman hunting the hero in NIGHTFALL with Aldo Ray, Anne Bancroft, and Brian Keith.
February 21st, 2010 at 2:45 am
My favorite performance by James Gregory is as the man Angela Lansbury would cunningly make President in John Frankenheimer’s superb 1962 film of Richard Condon’s novel THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE.
For anyone who needs a further jog of the memory, Gregory plays Lawrence Harvey’s stepfather/Lansbury’s good ole boy husband…
(An amusing bit of trivia: Angela Lansbury played Lawrence Harvey’s mother and she was only three years older than Harvey.)
February 21st, 2010 at 3:10 pm
Re the age between Lansbury and Harvey, Beulah Bondi once played James Stewart’s mother and she was actually younger than he was. And Sean Connery played Harrison Ford’s dad despite being only ten years Ford’s senior.
But CANDIDATE is a great film and Gregory memorable in the role, though his television career was so extensive I always think of that first. He was one of those endlessly reliable character actors that always seemed to elevate anything they appeared in.