User Reviews

Frank just loves to go undercover. He must have a death wish. In every instance, his cover is blown at some point and it always looks like he's dead meat....but "Det. Lt. Frank Ballinger" (Lee Marvin) always gets out of it, even if just by the skin of his teeth.

In this story, bank robbers can't escape too far because a cop fired a bullet into their gas tank and the getaway car is on its last legs. They make it to a garage and suburban home just ahead of the pursuing cops, who don't see the car. Why the bandits didn't fully shut the garage door is beyond me because a few hours later Frank spots the license plate.

The men have a mother and small girl holed up in the house as they wait for a third member of their group to come and pick up them and the stolen loot. The little girl turns out to be a key part of the story and in a way that is unexpected. It that's kind of thing that makes M Squad a very good show - the unexpected, and the fact that our hero doesn't always succeed.

Two familiar actors played the bank robbers: Jack Elam and Dick Miller. A couple of years after this television show was filmed, Miller became known (at least in later years) as the flower-eating wacko in the 1960 cult favorite, "Little Shop of Horrors." Elam, meanwhile, is well-known to all film buffs.

M-SQUAD – Hideout -1958

This is the 27th episode of the 1957 to 1960 Crime series, M-SQUAD. The series ran for 117 episodes and features Lee Marvin as the headliner. Marvin is a Lt with the elite M-Squad unit of the Chicago Police.

There has been a bank robbery, and the two crooks escape in a car after an exchange of rounds with the bank guard. Before the guard catches a round, he puts one into the gas tank of the escaping robber's auto.

The two hold-up men, Jack Elam and Dick Miller, just make it to the suburbs when the car runs out of fuel. They pull up and park in an open garage. The two then enter the home and take the single mother, Stacy Graham, and her 7 year old daughter, Terry Burnham hostage.

M-Squad is called on to help in the search for the two hold-up men. They catch a break when the getaway car is spotted hidden in the garage. Detectives, Lee Marvin, Paul Newlan and De Forrest Kelly set up in the house next door in order to watch the suspected hideout. The area is closed off and the Police wait for nightfall.

A telephone tap on Graham's phone soon establishes that the crooks are indeed hiding there. The Squad Detectives do not want to rush the house for fear the hostages might be killed. Marvin decides on a ruse to gain entry to Graham's house. He calls on the house and pretends to be Graham's beau. The quick thinking Graham plays along. Elam pulls Marvin inside and waves his piece in Marvin's face. "Sit down and shut up".

The Police have hidden a revolver near the kitchen window at the back of the house. Now if only Marvin can get to it. Over the radio comes a news flash that the bank guard has died of his wounds. It is now a murder beef. Elam and Miller are waiting for a buddy to pick them up and drive them out of town. Marvin is kept covered and has no chance at the pistol.

Graham's daughter, Terry Burnham is no slouch in the brain department and knows Elam and Miller are "bad men". She had spotted the pistol outside the window. While getting a glass of milk, the kid grabs said weapon and hides it in the cutlery drawer. She then lets Marvin know the location of the gun.

Now the killer's ride, Paul Comi, shows. He recognizes Marvin as a cop and calls him on it. This forces Marvin into action. He decks Miller with a solid punch and dives into the kitchen. He grabs the snub-nose .38 just in time to drill the crooks as they enter the kitchen in chase.

The rest of the Police and Detectives boot the doors and put the grab on Comi. Miller and Elam do not need any cuffs having expired due to a low blood count.

A pretty good episode, that is handled with style, by feature film director, John Brahm. Brahm, is well known to film noir fans as the helmsman on, LET US LIVE, HANGOVER SQUARE, GUEST IN THE HOUSE, THE LODGER, SINGAPORE, THE LOCKET and THE BRASHER DOUBLOON.