"Kung Fu" A Dream Within a Dream (TV Episode 1974) Poster

(TV Series)

(1974)

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7/10
Exit John Drew Barrymore
zsenorsock1 April 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Interesting whodunit has Kane discover a dead man named Norman hanging from a tree in a bog outside of town. Before Kane can tell anyone or cut the man down, he is grazed in the head by a bullet. When he comes to, he's being taken care of by a local sculptor named Alex McGregor (John Drew Barrymore) and there's no sign of the dead man. But of course Kane knows what he saw and he tries to find out what happened.

Terrific performance by Barrymore, in what was to be his last credited role. In the DVD extra, Carridine talks about how difficult Barrymore was to work with for some, but he and his director knew how to handle him and got an excellent performance out of him. The rest of the cast is kind of a who's who of mid-1970's guest stars: Howard Duff as Norman's old partner who was cheated out of millions; "Gilligan's Island" star Tina Louise as Carol, the woman Norman was having an affair with; Sorrell Brook as the crooked Sheriff who wants it all hushed up, and Ruth Roman as Norman's wife Rhoda.

The mystery is better than the eventual explanation which is kind of a lame thing about how hurtful gossip is, but its a pretty decent ride getting there.
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6/10
Final performance of John Drew Barrymore
kevinolzak4 June 2024
"A Dream Within a Dream" opens with Caine discovering the corpse of a hanged man through the fog of a boggy swamp (his white horse still present), only to be shot in the head by an unknown assailant. Taken in by sculptor Alex McGregor (John Drew Barrymore), his description makes it clear that the deceased was the town's most prominent citizen, and that several people had reason to kill him, from the corrupt sheriff (Sorrell Booke) to the town banker (Mark Mercer), whose wife (Tina Louise) was planning to run off with him. There's a neat twist at the conclusion, but the actual revelation is watching John Drew Barrymore in what turned out to be his final on screen performance, only a year away from the birth of his youngest daughter Drew (he passed away in 2004). Rarely did he essay such a sympathetic character, and his Irish accent proves impeccable, the best of a cast of seasoned veterans which also include Ruth Roman and Howard Duff.
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