Those tech guys behind the scenes at Paramount really loved bombs. Of course, the trend started with MISSION IMPOSSIBLE. This crew knew how to blow up cars and buildings, and how we kids loved it. In this case, a real, live ticking timb bomb is meant for one of Joe's clients, a movie star with an "attitude"???
The casting people found the right match with reliable Jan Sterling, Oscar nominee for THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY. Jan, with those famous pouting lips, played some tough cookies in her career, including playing opposite Humphrey Bogart. She was having fun with this role. This episode must have been a treat to make.
Jan plays fading movie star Anne Marion, who is attempting to make a comeback; she's also writing a tell-all book and that in itself may be the reason for the bomb. BOOM! She comes very close to getting killed and Joe takes the case ASAP, although it's a rocky road. This episode also is a first, where Joe is NOT too happy with his bossy client, and there will be more to come in the seasons ahead.
Making her first appearance on the show is Rona Barret who, long before Barbara Walters, posed the tough questions to the stars, and she's also having fun with her role. In fact, in real life, Rona probably interviewed Jan Sterling on the set. Why not? That's Hollywood.
Producers also lucked out with Denis Sanders, famous director who would go on to direct one of the greatest documentaries about Elvis, called ELVIS, THE WAY IT IS (1970). Sanders also wrote the screenplay for the legendary WWII film, THE NAKED AND THE DEAD. This was the only episode he directed, and that's a shame.
By the way, it worth noting a fantastic story about Jan Sterling. She tells the tale that as a teenage model she took a trip to Germany in 1937 and traded her tickets on the ill-fated Hindenberg blimb for ship tickets when coming home to New Jersey. Had fate not intervened, she would have died in that horrible explosion in which there were few survivors. An incredible story she told on talk shows.
A great episode for movie buffs, and see if you can spot some other familiar actors. First episode of 1968. SEASON 1 EPISODE 15 remastered CBS dvd box set.