THE DETECTIVES – Tobey's Place - 1961

This one is episode 68 of the 97 episode run of, THE DETECTIVES. This series starred Robert Taylor and ran between 1959 and 1962. The first two seasons ran at a half hour and the last season had a runtime of an hour. The series followed the detective squad in a big city precinct. Cast regulars included Mark Goddard, Russell Thorson, Tige Andrews, Lee Farr and Adam West. Robert Taylor headlines as Police Captain Matt Holbrook.

Detectives (Mark Goddard, Adam West and Robert Taylor) are having coffee and snacks at a popular coffee house. The establishment is in with the beatnik crowd. The place is run by an ex-con (Peter Whitney). Whitney has gone straight and runs the place with his daughter (Anita Sands).

Goddard and Taylor call it a night and head home. West sticks around to take in some music and try to hit on Miss Sands. West gets himself involved in a fight between two customers (Marty Ingels and Leonid Kinskey). The next day, fellow Detective' Tige Andrews gives West a hard time about his choice of friends, etc.

Back at the coffee house, Whitney is paid a visit by an old cellmate (Jay Adler). Adler is one of those perpetual loser types always in trouble with someone. Adler is on the run from underworld boss Robert Brubaker. Adler begs for a job and a place to hide. Whitney hires him as a cook and gives him a small room out back. Adler figures no one will ever look for him here.

Poor Adler is wrong on that point, however. He has been seen and the info passed to Brubaker. Out of town hit-man (William Windom) is hired and dispatched to eliminate Mister Adler.

The hit is made and Adler is soon ready for the daisy factory. The Detectives are called in and are soon filled in by Whitney about Adler. The Police have the newspapers release a story that the hit had been on the wrong man.

Brubaker is not happy about this, and refuses to pay Windom till he gets it right. Windom returns to the coffee house (Tobey's Place) to finish the job. Needless to say the Detectives are waiting with drawn guns. The trap does not quite come off as planned, and Miss Sands is grabbed by Windom as a hostage. It takes several exchanges of gunfire and a first rate curb stomping to bring Windom to heel. (This was the first of the hour-long episodesm as well as Adam West's debut on the series.)





This smart looking episode was directed by Paul (THE BURGLAR) Wendkos. Also in the mix on the production side is Wilfred Cline. The Oscar-nominated Cline served as the cinematographer on, SUGARFOOT, COLT.45, THE COMMAND, RATON PASS and TALL MAN RIDING.