HONG KONG "The Jade Empress" 1960
Rod Taylor headlines this 1960-61 series as a newsman who is stationed in Hong Kong. Taylor is constantly in trouble with various shady types who are always involving him in their troubles. It usually takes several round of fisticuffs, a dead body or two and a gun battle before things get settled. This is the 5th episode in the production run.
A fellow reporter pal of Rod Taylor is shot and badly wounded. The Police and Taylor are soon on the scene. The man, Richard Grey, hands Taylor a room key and whispers to go and retrieve a small package hidden in the television there. Grey wants Taylor to deliver the package to a woman flying in from Japan the next day. Grey then expires.
Taylor takes the key and hits the apartment said key belongs to. Inside he finds that the place has been thrashed and there is a woman, Madlyn Rhue, hiding in the bedroom. Questions are soon asked and Miss Rhue claims that it is her apartment, and that Grey is her boyfriend. The room is a mess because two rather nasty oriental types had broken in and ripped up the place looking for something. She says that whatever it was, they never found it.
Taylor, knowing where the item is soon retrieves a small wooden case from inside the TV set. Inside the package is a jade figurine. Miss Rhue's eyes go wide when she sees the statue. Taylor grabs up the box and contents and heads off. Several minutes later another man, Michael David, enters the apartment. Now the viewer finds out that Miss Rhue and David are in cahoots. She is not the dead man, Grey's girlfriend. She sends David after reporter Taylor.
Michael David follows Taylor to an art dealer friend of the reporter, Richard Loo. Loo has a look at the figurine and laughs. He points at a shelf holding 7 or 8 of the same figure. They are glass copies of a 700 year old statue of a Chinese Empress, worth 15 bucks. Loo's tune quickly changes when he handles the item. "It is the real deal" he now says, adding that it is worth a cool 150,000 dollars.
Needless to say, there is a series of beatings, break-ins and a couple of murders ensuing before the figurine can be returned to its rightful owner.
In the cast we have, Richard Ermhardt doing his best Sydney Greenstreet impression from THE MALTESE FALCON, James Hong as a swine of a Red Chinese agent also after said jade piece. The female lead is played by Pat Crowley.
The director is former actor turn helmsman, Don Taylor. The screenplay was by Jonathan Latimer. Latimer is well known to noir fans as screenplay writer on films like, PLUNDER OF THE SUN, THE BIG CLOCK, ALIAS NICK BEAL, NIGHT HAS A THOUSAND EYES and THE GLASS KEY.
This is a good looking episode with twice Oscar nominated cinematographer, Philip Lathrop at the controls. He also handled the lensing duties for 61 episodes of the popular series, PETER GUNN.
This is an entertaining entry in the series.
Rod Taylor headlines this 1960-61 series as a newsman who is stationed in Hong Kong. Taylor is constantly in trouble with various shady types who are always involving him in their troubles. It usually takes several round of fisticuffs, a dead body or two and a gun battle before things get settled. This is the 5th episode in the production run.
A fellow reporter pal of Rod Taylor is shot and badly wounded. The Police and Taylor are soon on the scene. The man, Richard Grey, hands Taylor a room key and whispers to go and retrieve a small package hidden in the television there. Grey wants Taylor to deliver the package to a woman flying in from Japan the next day. Grey then expires.
Taylor takes the key and hits the apartment said key belongs to. Inside he finds that the place has been thrashed and there is a woman, Madlyn Rhue, hiding in the bedroom. Questions are soon asked and Miss Rhue claims that it is her apartment, and that Grey is her boyfriend. The room is a mess because two rather nasty oriental types had broken in and ripped up the place looking for something. She says that whatever it was, they never found it.
Taylor, knowing where the item is soon retrieves a small wooden case from inside the TV set. Inside the package is a jade figurine. Miss Rhue's eyes go wide when she sees the statue. Taylor grabs up the box and contents and heads off. Several minutes later another man, Michael David, enters the apartment. Now the viewer finds out that Miss Rhue and David are in cahoots. She is not the dead man, Grey's girlfriend. She sends David after reporter Taylor.
Michael David follows Taylor to an art dealer friend of the reporter, Richard Loo. Loo has a look at the figurine and laughs. He points at a shelf holding 7 or 8 of the same figure. They are glass copies of a 700 year old statue of a Chinese Empress, worth 15 bucks. Loo's tune quickly changes when he handles the item. "It is the real deal" he now says, adding that it is worth a cool 150,000 dollars.
Needless to say, there is a series of beatings, break-ins and a couple of murders ensuing before the figurine can be returned to its rightful owner.
In the cast we have, Richard Ermhardt doing his best Sydney Greenstreet impression from THE MALTESE FALCON, James Hong as a swine of a Red Chinese agent also after said jade piece. The female lead is played by Pat Crowley.
The director is former actor turn helmsman, Don Taylor. The screenplay was by Jonathan Latimer. Latimer is well known to noir fans as screenplay writer on films like, PLUNDER OF THE SUN, THE BIG CLOCK, ALIAS NICK BEAL, NIGHT HAS A THOUSAND EYES and THE GLASS KEY.
This is a good looking episode with twice Oscar nominated cinematographer, Philip Lathrop at the controls. He also handled the lensing duties for 61 episodes of the popular series, PETER GUNN.
This is an entertaining entry in the series.
