Charles Mendick | Through the Shattered Lens

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Decoy, which aired in Syndication in 1957 and 1958. The show can be viewed on Tubi!

This week, Casey is haunted by the past.

Episode 1.27 “The Sound of Tears”

(Dir by Marc Daniels, originally aired on April 14th, 1958)

A wealthy young man has been gunned down in a New York park. It falls to Casey to deliver the news to both the man’s mother (Muriel Kirland) and the man’s ex-fiancée, Wendy Jenkins (Suzanne Pleshette). At first, Wendy is the number one suspect but, as she investigates, Casey comes to suspect that the killer was actually Susan Connor (Molly McCarthy), a family friend who had fallen in love with the victim.

This is an interesting episode, in that it reveals a bit of Casey’s past. Usually, Casey doesn’t let her personal feelings get in the way of doing her job but, in this episode, she finds herself thinking about the day that a policewoman told her that her husband had been killed in the line of duty. Casey has a unique understanding of the pain that the three women are feeling and Beverly Garland does a good job of showing the anguish that Casey is going through.

Unfortunately, the rest of the episode isn’t quite as good as Garland’s performance. From the start, Susan is portrayed as being so obviously unhinged that it’s not really a surprise when she turns out to be the killer. None of the guest cast, including a young Suzanne Pleshette, are as convincing as Beverly Garland is in the lead role. Indeed, Charles Mendick — cast of Lt. Doyle — gives one of the worst performances that I’ve ever seen on this show.

On the plus side, this episode does feature some good location footage of 1950s New York. The noirish black-and-white imagery nicely fits the melancholy story. The cinematography captures the world in which Casey lives, one in which pain doesn’t just go away after a few years and the guilty are often as traumatized as those they victimize.

This week’s episode is really, really good!

Episode 1.11 “Two Days To Kill”

(Dir by Stuart Rosenberg, originally aired on December 23rd, 1957)

Selma Richmond (played by a young Diane Ladd!) is the girlfriend of gangster Johnny Troy (Michael Strong). Johnny is about to go on trial and Selma’s testimony about his crimes is the key piece of evidence against him. Knowing that Johnny wants Selma dead, the police put her up in an apartment. Casey is assigned to protect her.

At first, Casey and Selma seem to become unlikely friends. Selma is flighty and obsessed with Hollywood. Even though she’s testifying against him, she claims that Johnny is just misunderstood. Casey, taking some sympathy on her, tells Selma about the man that she loved. For the first time, we learn something about Casey’s background. We learn that her husband was a cop and he died in a shoot out. It’s a surprising moment and one that’s poignantly played by Beverly Garland. (The camera closes in on her face while she slowly smokes a cigarette.) Not only does it help us understand why Casey sometimes to seems to be emotionally detached but it also shows the friendship between the two women. Casey doesn’t open up for many people but she does for Selma.

However, that friendship ends when Selma realizes that Johnny will be facing the death penalty. Selma manages to sneak a letter Johnny, letting him know where she’s being held. Johnny shows up at the apartment, carrying a knife. Casey is waiting for him with her gun drawn. During the stand-off, Johnny tells Selma that he loves her and Selma believes it. The Johnny uses his foot to unplug the apartment’s lamp. In the darkness, he lunges at Selma and Casey opens fire, killing Johnny. Selma’s response is to shout, “I bet you’re glad you killed him!”

This was an outstanding episode. Director Stuart Rosenberg, taking over from Teddy Sallis, makes good use of the gritty New York locations. Each scene is lit like a film noir, with Johnny literally emerging from the shadows at one point. Rosenberg also gets excellent performances from both Ladd and Garland. This was a strong episode and the best of the series so far.