User Reviews

Well-titled, "Double Negative" is a suspenseful tale in which Chuck is played for the fall guy by an unscrupulous freelance reporter, well-played by Frank Faylen.

But the best performance is by Karl Lukas, playing a big lug of a wrestler, whose girlfriend has gotten caught up in a scheme perpetrated by Faylen. It involves impersonation and is finally foiled by Chuck's resourcefulness, plus plenty of fisticuffs.

I especially enjoyed Lukas fully invested in his role, not too bright but crazy about his girlfriend (a dual role for Tracey Roberts). Segment also features some quality film noir look to exteriors shot on the back lot but representing New York City at night. Funniest in-joke is Lukas apologizing for having "thrown a fight", an amusing claim given that he's a pro wrestler.

***SPOILERS*** Not much of a story to tell here in free lance photographer Mike Kovak, Charles Bronson, getting involved in a murder that supposedly didn't happen; Or did it! Being tipped off by news reporter Jim Costigan, Frank Faylen, who's not known to be that accurate in his reporting that he's got a big story for him and needs him to, by photographing it, to prove it. Kovak meets Costigan outside this out of the way ginmill with murdered singer Helen Sprauge, Tracy Roberts, and paparazzi like, by popping out of the shadows, photographs her. Helen's boyfriend night club entertainer Howard Dorn, Don Durant, has been indited in her murder and now with photographic proof that she's in fact alive the D.A's office will have to drop the murder charges against him.

Everything at first seems legit in Helen being alive and well until Kovak's friend professional wrestler Pete Mantee, Karl Lukas, shows up at Kovak's pad telling him that the woman he photographed claiming to be Helen Sprague is in fact his girlfriend Connie Sawyers! Feeling that he somehow's been had by Costigan and his phony Helen Sprague Kovak does some investigating on his own to get to the bottom of this strange "murder" case.***SPOILER ALERT**** What Kovak soon finds out is that he, as well as the D.A's office, had been tricked into dropping the murder charges against Howard Dorn with both Dorn and his paid off accomplice Jim Costigan fixing the case in Dorn's favor!

With Kovak uncovering the truth behind what really happened to Helen Sprague and what exactly her boyfriend Howard Dorn had to do with it he himself becomes a target which leads to the big showdown between him Dorn and his stooge Constigan who are out to shut him up permanently. Wild ending with Kovak using his fists instead of his camera to put both Dorn and Costigian away for good. With no thanks to that big lug Pete Mantee who seemed to have no interest in helping out his friend! All Mantee did was stand on the sidelines cheering Kovak on during his life and death struggle with both Dorn & Costigan. As Mantee explained to Kovak after the slug-fest that he, all 6 foot 5 inch 230 pounds, never wrestled as in tag team partner and just didn't, with Kovak being outnumbered two to one, know what to do under the circumstances!

A great story or a hoax? That's the question nagging our hero, "Mike Kovac" (Charles Bronson) after he takes a picture of a supposedly-dead girl.

A singer is on trial for murdering "Helen Sprague" (Tracey Roberts) but free-lance writer "Jim Costigan" (Frank Faylen) calls Kovac and tells him he's going to meet Sprague but no one will believe him unless he takes her photo. Mike does that, and the defendant goes free.

However, there's a lot more to the story as we find out....a lot more. We also get to meet Mike's pro wrestling friend "Pete Mantee," who isn't the brightest guy in the world. Karl Lucas does a good job playing him.

Roberts should be noted, too, for her role as Sprague/Connie Sawyer.

It's another good episode filled with interesting characters.