"Hawaii Five-O" was often a violent and gritty -- and sometimes even grim -- television show, dealing with international spies, murder, prostitution, and even nuclear blackmail, so its rare forays into something approaching comedy were a rewarding change of pace. There were the two shows featuring Hume Cronyn as the clever thief Lewis Avery Filer, the one with David Wayne as hotel burglar (and disguise expert) 'Monsieur Bordeaux' and the fifth season's "I'm a Family Crook -- Don't Shoot!" with Andy Griffith as the head of a family of grifters.
And then there was this episode, which featured two relatively well-known guest stars (Cameron Mitchell and Frank Gorshin) as another pair of con men. Mitchell and Gorshin's characters bring the swindle uncomfortably close to home for Five-O, by breaking into its headquarters in the dead of night and taking enough pictures of the environs to duplicate it in an abandoned building. In many ways, the con that this pair are pulling is more out of "Mission:Impossible," as they not only perfectly recreate Five-O headquarters, but also manage to find four look-a-likes for Chin, Danny, Ben, and the big guy himself, McGarrett.
Although the episode has its share of (faux) violence, most of the emphasis is on the con game, and is definitely played with a lighter touch, as the crooks try to shake down a variety of recently-arrived businessmen who might not be as familiar with where Five-O headquarters is located as the longer-term residents of Oahu. The story by Jerome Coopersmith is played just straight enough throughout most of the episode to make it seem like it could be a real con, although things become looser and sillier as the episode progresses, leading at one point to what looks like might be the two sets of Five-O detectives -- the real ones and the ersatz -- getting together.
James MacArthur has an interesting double role, playing both himself and his doppelganger (the latter dubbed with a different-sounding voice) for most of the episode, although his mannerisms are pure Danny Williams throughout. There's also regular guest actor John Stalker (who played, for example, attorney Harvey Drew, the chief witness against McGarrett during one segment of the 'Vashon' trilogy during Season 5), complete with a hearing aid, as the first victim of the con who instead goes to District Attorney John Manicote with a wild story about being shaken down for money by Five-O. That could have been an interesting variant on the story, if the con had been intended from the beginning just to discredit McGarrett et al. -- but that's only a sidelight here.
A more jarring note is another frequent guest actor, Doug Mossman, as another victim of the con game, this time with the unusual last name of "Shatner." Unfortunately, Mossman had played one of his more regular stints -- as sometimes-member of Five-O Frank Kemana -- in both of the episodes broadcast just before this one ("How to Steal a Masterpiece" and "A Gun for McGarrett"), so accepting him as a potential crime victim is something of a stretch. (He's also described at one point as a "Caucasian," something that no one on the islands would really have ascribed to Mossman, who looked like he had considerable Polynesian ancestry.) The one regrettable shortcoming of the episode is that the normally over-the-top Frank Gorshin is given nothing out of the ordinary to do, including no mimicry (something that the fake Five-O members have to do in abundance). Gorshin could chew the scenery with the best of them, so it's a little disappointing that here, during his prime, he's given only a conventional role that could have gone to a dozen other actors -- there are only a couple of scenes when he's allowed to show any flash at all (as when he's called upon at one point to switch two briefcases).
Still, despite being in its seventh season, "Hawaii Five-O" continued to show a remarkable capability to mix things up and keep the viewer guessing. It's no doubt one reason -- among several, including the intensity of the acting in most episodes (this one excluded) and the lovely scenery -- that it managed to make it through a dozen seasons, still showing no signs of strain at this point.
And then there was this episode, which featured two relatively well-known guest stars (Cameron Mitchell and Frank Gorshin) as another pair of con men. Mitchell and Gorshin's characters bring the swindle uncomfortably close to home for Five-O, by breaking into its headquarters in the dead of night and taking enough pictures of the environs to duplicate it in an abandoned building. In many ways, the con that this pair are pulling is more out of "Mission:Impossible," as they not only perfectly recreate Five-O headquarters, but also manage to find four look-a-likes for Chin, Danny, Ben, and the big guy himself, McGarrett.
Although the episode has its share of (faux) violence, most of the emphasis is on the con game, and is definitely played with a lighter touch, as the crooks try to shake down a variety of recently-arrived businessmen who might not be as familiar with where Five-O headquarters is located as the longer-term residents of Oahu. The story by Jerome Coopersmith is played just straight enough throughout most of the episode to make it seem like it could be a real con, although things become looser and sillier as the episode progresses, leading at one point to what looks like might be the two sets of Five-O detectives -- the real ones and the ersatz -- getting together.
James MacArthur has an interesting double role, playing both himself and his doppelganger (the latter dubbed with a different-sounding voice) for most of the episode, although his mannerisms are pure Danny Williams throughout. There's also regular guest actor John Stalker (who played, for example, attorney Harvey Drew, the chief witness against McGarrett during one segment of the 'Vashon' trilogy during Season 5), complete with a hearing aid, as the first victim of the con who instead goes to District Attorney John Manicote with a wild story about being shaken down for money by Five-O. That could have been an interesting variant on the story, if the con had been intended from the beginning just to discredit McGarrett et al. -- but that's only a sidelight here.
A more jarring note is another frequent guest actor, Doug Mossman, as another victim of the con game, this time with the unusual last name of "Shatner." Unfortunately, Mossman had played one of his more regular stints -- as sometimes-member of Five-O Frank Kemana -- in both of the episodes broadcast just before this one ("How to Steal a Masterpiece" and "A Gun for McGarrett"), so accepting him as a potential crime victim is something of a stretch. (He's also described at one point as a "Caucasian," something that no one on the islands would really have ascribed to Mossman, who looked like he had considerable Polynesian ancestry.) The one regrettable shortcoming of the episode is that the normally over-the-top Frank Gorshin is given nothing out of the ordinary to do, including no mimicry (something that the fake Five-O members have to do in abundance). Gorshin could chew the scenery with the best of them, so it's a little disappointing that here, during his prime, he's given only a conventional role that could have gone to a dozen other actors -- there are only a couple of scenes when he's allowed to show any flash at all (as when he's called upon at one point to switch two briefcases).
Still, despite being in its seventh season, "Hawaii Five-O" continued to show a remarkable capability to mix things up and keep the viewer guessing. It's no doubt one reason -- among several, including the intensity of the acting in most episodes (this one excluded) and the lovely scenery -- that it managed to make it through a dozen seasons, still showing no signs of strain at this point.
