Synopsis
Moscow sends two agents to Palm Springs to pose as Kelly and Scotty, who are supposed to be guarding a foreign scientist and his beautiful daughter.
[Location: Palm Springs, USA]
French title: Usage de faux
Italian title: I tipi veramente in gamba
Guest Stars
Lee Philips (Kelly # 2), Hari Rhodes (Scott # 2), Anna Capri (Jolie Gagny), Henry Wilcoxon (Lazlos Gagny), Val Avery (Josef), Leon Askin (Boris), Kurt Lowens (Zunicky), Garth Pilsbury (Waiter), Richmond Shepard (Cabbie), Joan Swift (Hatcheck Girl)
Written by
Rick Mittleman
Directed by
Richard C. Sarafian
Original Airdate
2 November 1966
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Currently available on DVD
(UPC: 14381983029)
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Review
Kelly and Scotty are given the task of guarding Lazlos Gagny, a scientist who has devised a new propulsion system, during his working visit to Palm Springs. But before they even meet Gagny they are captured by the Soviets and replaced by a pair of enemy agents posing as them. Then Gagny's beautiful daughter is carried off by the bad guys, and he's given a choice -- either hand over all the notes on the propulsion system or get used to the idea of never seeing his daughter again. Of course, Kelly and Scotty manage to escape from their captors -- not once, but twice -- and arrive just in time to rescue Gagny from their dopplegangers and then free his daughter from the two Soviet operatives who are holding her.
Rick Mittleman scripted a crackling good yarn with but one weak sequence -- the handful of scenes in which Ivan and Vladimer, the Soviet agents selected to replace Kelly and Scotty, are trained to act and talk like our heroes. Considering the time constraints of an hour-long program, perhaps it was all we could reasonably expect, but what we're shown of the training process seems too simplistic. And, since the fake Kelly orchestrates Jolie's abduction moments after they first meet, one has to wonder why they even bothered learning how Americans used their cutlery at the dining table. The repartee of Culp and Cosby is of particularly high quality; there are several classic one liners, and the scenes during which they are trapped in a garage are extremely entertaining. Sarafian's direction is crisp, the acting all around is solid, and the story is exciting and plausible from beginning to end. If nothing else, this episode illustrates the magic of the chemistry that existed in the team of Culp and Cosby; watching Lee Phillips and Hari Rhodes give their rendition of Kelly Robinson and Alexander Scott leaves one convinced that probably no other two actors besides Bob and Bill could have made this series work.(Look for Sheldon Leonard in the final scene; he is sitting down in a lounge chair by the pool.)
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