User Reviews

While there were a few plot flaws here and there, this was a very exciting episode--one of the best of the first season. It begins with a woman being stabbed to death--seemingly for absolutely no reason. Oddly, at her body, the killer leaves a #1. Then, even more oddly, he sends a letter to McGarrett--taunting him about the killings and implying there will be a lot more. When the second woman is killed, a connection between them is seen--they both work for the same company. So, the Five-O team heads to the company run by Aunt Martha to investigate. Martha is assisted by her two nephews, Arnold (Farley Granger) and Charlie--Arnold is the strong dependable type and Charlie the somewhat irresponsible type. Could one of them be next or could one of them be the murderer? See it yourself to find out.

This is a fine psychological thriller and seeing the twisted motivation for the killings and the way the maniac thought they were so clever really made this episode. The only deficits were a few times when the killer seemed to slip--but the cops didn't seem to catch. For example, the killer uses rubber gloves when committing the killings--yet took them off and then touched a car key--which would have left a finger print. But, considering how entertaining and well written the rest of the show was, this can be forgiven.

Steve McGarrett receives a photo of a murdered woman with a placard with a #1 drawn on it and a cryptic poem indicating that there will be more murders. Sure enough, there is a second killing, this time of an older woman, with a #2 drawn on a card near the body. You see the first attack, and the woman knew the man. Five-O investigates and it turns out that the two women worked for the same company, but further investigation turns up nobody who would have wanted to kill them.

It turns out that the killer is using the methods of a maniac to hide his own very motivated killing. This episode is interesting in that the killer is counting on nobody finding it odd that there would be a thrill killer out there somewhere, because by 1969 motiveless crimes of violence were getting to be more common.

Note that Farley Granger shows up here as a guest star yet has a rather small part in the proceedings. It's even more interesting when you consider that one of his early film roles was that of a thrill killer in Hitchcock's Rope.

Jeanette Nolan and Farley Granger play Aunt Martha and her nephew. When two brutal murders are linked to their company, MacGarrett and Danny believe there is a killer loose at the family company. We soon learn more about Granger's character. Aunt Martha has another nephew, Charlie, who she loves and respects more. Granger's character is a troubled man so it is no wonder. Granger did a terrific job in his performance. There are holes in the story lines and the episode. But the performances of Jeanette Nolan and Farley Granger highlight the episode.