User Reviews

In addition to playing the Dean in "Animal House", John Vernon made a career out of playing evil, nasty characters. In practically every TV cop, detective and adventure show of the 60s and 70s, if you saw Vernon in it, you knew he was the villain....and he played a terrific one! So, when "Woman in the Shadows" began and I saw Vernon, I instantly knew he was the one....the evil killer who would battle wits with Barnaby Jones!

John Vernon plays a doctor...a doctor to whom the Hippocratic Oath is a mere suggestion, at best! He accidentally kills Mrs. Evans during a routine surgery and instead of admitting his mistake, he concocts an insane and impossible to believe plot....to have his nurse pretend to be Mrs. Evans. While this is VERY farfetched, it's not quite so bad when you learn that Mrs. Evans was in a horrific accident and required LOTS of reconstructive work. But still, the idea is insane...especially since the nurse (Susan Clark) doesn't have Mrs. Evans' memories or personality.

After a while, the nurse is having second thoughts...particularly when Mrs. Evans' estranged husband is falling in love with her. But she cannot pull out, as the doctor turns out to be super-evil! In fact, he's in the mood to kill all sorts of people to make this plan work...and he's a real jerk! Can Barnaby untangle this not too difficult to untangle mystery?!

The plot is stupid. But it's handled so well that it's STILL enjoyable. Plus, Clark and Vernon are great in the show...and it's still well worth seeing.

This is an entertaining episode of Barnaby Jones, but the premise is a stretch even for a television show. The acting is great, especially by John Vernon as character "Dr. Hank Danvers". But it's hard to go along with the basic plot.

I rate "Woman in the Shadows" 8 stars.

I agree with the last reviewer this story is a bit over the top.... however, when you have John Vernon as the villain, you are in for a treat!

Bette Davis' iconic film A STOLEN LIFE comes to mind here, to a degree. Susan Clark is cast in the dual role, playing both Karen and Leila, connected to a fatal car accident and an ensuing divorce case on top of that. Vernon plays a "really" scheming doctor (and love interest). It turns out that Clark is his nurse, and with some fantastic facial surgery, he transforms her into the "other" woman. That is a long shot, considering if he could perform such work, he would have become world famous!

You be the judge.

Linden Chiles is on board as a "close" friend who naturally smells a rat, and the house of cards begins to cave. Look for funnyman Jaime Farr (probably taking a break from M. A. S. H.), playing a scrapyard guy and sci fil cult actress Kathleen Hughes playing a beauty salon receptionist.

All said and done, it does have a soap opera feel, special thanks to director Walter Doniger, who directed nearly 200 episodes of PEYTON PLACE. At this time he was also directing MARCUS WELBY.

Watching Barnaby slowly but surely getting the goods on the twosome is always fun, that's why I kept it at 9 STARS. Fifty years ago I said the same thing.

SEASON 2 EPISODE 22 remastered CBS box set.