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6/10
That's like giving a recovering alcoholic a job as a wine taster!
sol-kay22 February 2012
***SPOILERS**** It's when the nutty multi millionaire and pillar of the community Wills Stone, Ian Wolf, ends up getting himself locked up in the safe of his own bank that drastic matters had to be taken to get Stone out before, with the air in the vault being exhausted, he suffocates to death.

With time running out in not being able to crack open the bank vault it's decided to get jailed master safe cracker Eddie Carew known as "The Human Can Opener", Dean Jones, to get the Job done. Eddie who's been undergoing therapy to overcome his compulsion to crack safes is now given the task to do exactly that. Thus making all the help he got from his prison psychiatrist Dr. Falery, Harry Townes, go straight down the drain! With a pardon from the governor withing for him if he saves Stone's life Eddie has no choice but to do the kind of job that he's been trying to avoid all these years behind bars. There's also the fact that Edde'girlfriend Sally,Shellah Walls, who's been withing for him all the time he's behind bars wants him to do the safe cracking that he decides to finally do it but with one condition: Have his friend Pinky Ferguson, Stanely Adams, the human blowtorch give him a hand with it!

As Dr.Falery feared Eddie by being given a chance to crack open safes again resorted back to his criminal past. In not only planning to crack open the safe and save Stone's life but check out, together with Pinky, with the hundreds of thousands in cash locked inside in it! Even if it jeopardizes his governor's pardon and being with the girl Sally who's withing for him on the outside!

***SPOILERS*** It's in fact Sally who gets Eddie to change his mind and finally go straight after he and Pinky took off during all the confusion,in a police squad car, with the cash! Sally did that even if she had to lock herself up in the bank vault and put her life on the line,in suffocating to death,to get Eddie to come back and turn himself in in order for him to save her life! In the end it was Eddie who in fact got the last laugh with his prison Warden Dewitt, Alan Hewitt, who's been giving him such a hard time all throughout the movie. Dewitt also accidentally locked himself in the vault with Eddie now guaranteed a pardon, despite his momentary laps of being a law abiding citizen, the only one who can open it. And he took his sweet time to get the job done. Making Warden Dewitt feel as helpless as the many convicts, like Eddie Carew, in the prison that he's in charge of.
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5/10
Dean Jones Plays it Safe
wes-connors2 May 2012
When 90-year-old multi-millionaire and "Sunrise National Bank" founder Ian Wolfe (as Ellis Stone) accidentally gets himself locked up in the bank's vault, authorities contact expert safe-cracking prisoner Dean Jones (as Eddie Carew). He's a "human can opener." Promising Mr. Jones an early parole or pardon, warden Alan Hewitt (as DeWitt) is surprised when Jones refuses to become tempted by his old profession. To encourage Jones' change of heart, pretty blonde girlfriend Sheilah Wells (as Sally McClure) is contacted. She successfully gets Jones to cooperate, but he is tempted by crooked pal Stanley Adams (as Pinky Ferguson) to turn the rescue into a heist. Okay comedy as the color series gets closer to ending.

***** The Rise and Fall of Eddie Carew (6/24/65) Joseph Pevney ~ Dean Jones, Sheilah Wells, Alan Hewitt, Stanley Adams
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6/10
Dean Jones plays a criminal?!
planktonrules20 July 2021
How much you enjoy "The Rise and Fall of Eddie Carew" really depends on whether you want a funny episode of "Kraft Suspense Theatre" or not. I loved this old series and love the suspenseful episodes...so for me, this one was a bit of a disappointment but it's still worth your time.

In a bizarre bit of casting, Dean Jones plays Eddie Carew, a career criminal and safe cracker. At the time, this casting must not have seen as strange, as it immediately preceded his career in a variety of (mostly forgettable) Disney flicks. But when seen today, you are surprised to see him playing a criminal!

The story begins with a rather daft old man (Ian Wolfe) wandering into a bank vault and getting locked inside. No, they bank didn't just let him walk in...he is the bank president...but also a very scatterbrained guy! The problem is that they cannot open the vault for three days as it's on a time lock...and there's not enough air inside to have him survive these three days. And, since he's such a well-connected old gent and friend of the governor, folks start springing into action to extricate this man.

The problem is that apparently no one can crack this safe and the only guy who could is Eddie...which seems pretty contrived. But Eddie is in prison and doesn't want to do the job because he says he's trying to reform....and his dippy psychiatrist insist he NOT crack the safe as it will set back his recovery(?). Eventually, however, he agrees...and is soon on his way to the bank. But, since these sorts of shows require a twist, there certainly are a few.

I think the best thing about the show is Ian Wolfe. While he looked older than a man who grew up in the Ice Age, Wolfe was actually quite lucid and must have enjoyed playing such a daft old man. Incidentally, while appearing ancient, Wolfe lived another 27 years AFTER this appearance!!

Overall, a clever show but one which is mostly for laughs and the twists, though interesting, are not particularly thrilling.
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