Hawaii Five-O (TV Series) The Singapore File (1969) User Reviews

ooooo marj dusay

[j_eyon · 7/10 · 27 June 2011]

i've been watched some episodes from the Season 2 DVD set - and i chose this simply cuz of Marj Dusay's presence - i've always thought she was remarkably beautiful and sexy - and an equally good actress - she didn't disappoint

some of the dialog had the give-and-take that the old hardboilers had - and she and Jack Lord were very good at it

my gripe have mostly to do with the shooting - altho set in Singapore and The Phillipines - the scenes were obviously shot on sets or in Hawaiian locations - for a show that boasted of their location shooting - the effort to fool viewers seemed like a cheap trick

and what's with the Singapore cop with the fake bald head - being bald it turns out to be unnecessary to the role - altho - maybe it was feared that American audiences wouldn't realize it was the same guy in a later scene without some clue

the story was too obviously formula - but - in the case of the quasi-romantic pairing of an adversarial couple on the run - it was good formula

Great idea, but the episode is occasionally sloppy

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 22 November 2009]

This was an interesting change of pace for the show--having McGarrett go to Singapore to retrieve a witness. And, the sexual chemistry is a nice change of pace, too, as you see a sexier and more vulnerable side of the normally stolid head of Five-O. All these should have worked together for a better episode, but occasionally sloppy lapses kept this from being as good as it could have been. More about that after a quick summary.

The show begins in a bar in Singapore. A lady is nearly killed and soon contacts Five-O. Apparently, she is a witness from a case against a mobster in Hawaii and she thought running away would solve her problems. But, as the mob's goons have found her even there, she feels she has no choice but to contact authorities in Hawaii and have them come to her rescue--though they'll only do this if she agrees to testify. McGarrett is sent and everything looks fine until there is a double-cross. The police inspector who was working with him turns out to be quite a guy--and ready to kill McGarrett and the witness in order to earn a bounty on their heads. In a case of quick thinking, he not only escapes but kills the crooked cop. But what to do?! Who can he trust?! Can he get her back alive?!

As I said, there were some sloppy moments. For example, Inspector Fong is a bald man. But in a tussle later, you can clearly see he's wearing a bald cap--he actually has hair and the creases showing this are evident. Why didn't they notice this and just re-shoot the scene? Later, when Steve and the girl are on board a freighter (after having escaped from Singapore), you learn that one of the passengers is an assassin. You have no idea who it is, but when the passengers all meet for dinner, the camera clearly shows you the identity of the killer. Why do this? Why not just let this come as a surprise? Why build a spoiler into the episode?! It would have been great to build some suspense and it's clearly an opportunity lost.

Overall, well worth watching but sloppy--too sloppy to say it's a perfect episode.

A good episode

[stevesfan · 10/10 · 26 July 2014]

I was particularly interested to watch this one, having visited Singapore several times. I knew immediately it wasn't filmed there,because of the left hand drive of the car McGarrett was in. That aside, I thought it was a very good storyline. I do think Nicole was rather over hysterical and I never thought McGarrett would get involved with her, but he sure wanted to. I imagined he may have done at the end. The lucky woman. I agree Jack was very sexy, but then he was the sexiest man on t.v. Then and now. In my opinion anyway. I loved his messed up hair on the truck. They actually let him get rained on. I loved the temple scene also. They used it quite a few times in later episodes. At least there was a decent ending in that he said goodbye, unlike many abrupt endings in most episodes in later seasons.

Singapore File

[vredler · 10/10 · 19 July 2007]

This was one of the most sexy episodes I have see Jack Lord in. He was incredibly sexy. I wish they had more shows written around his incredible sex appeal. What a hunk. I still have not seen any modern day actors more sexy. At 47 years old none of the young actors of today can hold a candle even close. Jack you sexy guy. The fact that this series ran for 12 years, and is still running on syndication on many stations proves what a complete success this show was. I have watched many episodes and have been watching them for years. I wish Jack was still living, but he will be living through his great work. His shows will be on for generations to come. Virginia

This is what psychology defines as "projection"

[pmicocci-18908 · 2/10 · 25 November 2021]

BS like this episode, which portrays Singapore as a shadowy, sinister hellhole, when it is actually one of the cleanest and safest cities in the world, and had been for several years beforehand, or the prior episodes about hypnotism or Latino revolutionaries, are making it very hard for me to enjoy a series I grew up watching.

That's aside from all the rampant sexism, which was very certainly a commonplace in the USA until recent decades, as much as the ubiquitous smoking. And if any younger folks believe that such things are exaggerated, I can assure that they are not.

This series was pioneering in some senses (even when it occasionally lapsed), such as the ethnic diversity of the major players, but, in other senses, it still remains indicative of some nearly-universal prejudices of those days.