Tonight then from the series Cannon - Blood Money (S03E20) from 1974.
Cast:
William Conrad as Frank Cannon
Peter Haskell as Tom Brannon
Perry King as Dr. Stephen Danver
Russell Johnson as DA John Romano
Diana Muldaur as Ava Brannigan
John Milford as Leroy Vincent
Kathleen Miller as Julie Danver
William (Bill) Joyce as E.T. Brannigan
and many more
Story:
A young doctor arrives at a prison to examine a prisoner. During the examination the prisoner reaches into the doctor's bag and removes a pistol. Cannon is hired to prove the doctor was an unwitting participant in the attempted jailbreak. (from IMDB again)
Speaking of tv baddies, such as the legendary Jack Cassidy, Peter Haskall had his fair share of nasty moments. Here he's the best of worst playing a cad (in a three piece suit) who is after a fortune in missing money that turns out to be sequestered coins. The plot is quite similar to a MANNIX story as there are a lot of twists and turns and a good shootout as Cannon goes up against a sniper (wearing thick glasses!) on a hill. The beautiful Diana Muldaur, who appeared in just about every crime show on tv, is on Cannon's side, caught in between the mystery and honorable mention to Russell Johnson (also in a three piece suit), best known as the professor on GILLIGAN'S ISLAND. Johnson was actually an accomplished dramatic actor and had some good roles come his way over the years. The story is in two parts, as it all begins with an attempted prison escape and the gun in question hidden in a doctor's bag. This may have been taken from real life headlines, too. A very good script, which returns to the day when writers may have been more creative, or at least conjured up some diabolical bad guys. Watching slimy Haskell get his due, without giving too much away, is fun stuff. SEASON 3 CBS dvd box set. - by tcchelsey on IMDB
A guy in prison is shot while trying to make a ridiculously impossible escape. It seems he got a gun out of a doctor's bag and tried to shoot his way out! Now the doctor is in trouble because he's accused of trying to facilitate the escape and Cannon's job is to determine if he was involved or not. The case later evolves a bit and becomes a search for missing money which, it turns out, is hidden in valuable coins.
This is a modestly interesting episode of "Cannon" and in some ways reminded me of "The Fugitive". After all, the guy trying to escape might be innocent AND William Conrad (Cannon) was the narrator for this excellent 1960s series. Do yourself a favor and try it...the show is a bit better than "Cannon". - by planktonrules on IMDB
Thoughts: The doctor (King) doesn't seem to notice that he's set up or better framed behind his back, and Brannon (Haskell) uses everyone to his own play, like he can - with money, which he's after in reality. So he and Cannon play a bit cat and mouse and see who's quicker and better but as usual, Cannon wins and even finds the hidden money.