No. 1. Love the title. No. 2. This episode is a rather neat time capsule.
Even to this day, the stories of escaped Nazis hiding in America (and some who went unsuspected for decades) remains strong stuff. Here, Joe is assisting an international agency in tracking down a Nazi scientist (played by ever rough and gruff John Marley). The question is are they the real deal or is Mannix making a mistake by assisting them capture one of their own?
A secret formula appears to be the trophy in this case. I shaved a point off, only because, either way, this is one GIANT task for one guy, but that's poetic license and that's tv.
Barry Oringer wrote this episode who went on to super stardom in the 1980s, the creator and lead writer for HOTEL. Linda Marsh plays Irina, the daughter of the scientist, of course running into Mannix and catching his eye. Goodness! She turns in a very good performance, but her claim to fame was her marriage (albeit brief) to Richard Sinatra, cousin of Frank Sinatra. Marsh would go onto appear three more times on the show, and several times on CANNON.
John Meredyth Lucas directed, best known for BEN CASEY and MEDICAL CENTER. The greatest bit of trivia here is the appearance of singer Neil Diamond (reportedly his very first tv credit), playing himself in one of those many little coffee houses in Hollywood where Joe and Irina just happen to drop in?? What a coincidence!
Diamond sings SOLITARY MAN, but what is so fascinating -- at the time-- it was not considered a big hit. It peaked at only No. 55 on the music charts. It could have been meant as a subtle tribute to Joe Mannix, the SOLITARY DETECTIVE? Then again, a sneaky way of getting it more airplay! Take it from an old disc jockey. Diamond re-did SOLITARY MAN in 1970 for another record label (United Artists) and it became one of his signature songs.
Sit back, enjoy the music and the high adventure. SEASON 1 EPISODE 4 remastered CBS dvd box set.