The idea for this film is very much like the TV show "Barnaby Jones". You have an elderly private investigator who employs a younger guy to do pretty much all the work! So, just like Jedidiah who did all the real investigating and regularly got his butt kicked in the TV show, in this case Jake Wade (Doug McClure) has these duties while his boss, the Judge (Bette Davis) mostly stayed at her desk making phone calls. Not a bad set-up for the boss! The only big difference is that Jake is an ex-con and you would think, even with the Judge's help, he'd never get a license to do this sort of work post-prison!
The case in this episode concerns a guy whose death has been ruled a suicide. His daughter (Joan Van Ark) employs the private detective agency to find out whether he actually might have been murdered. Considering that several people beat up Jake or threaten him, it sure looks as if something sinister is afoot.
Apart from laughing because Davis' character HATES cigarette smoke and can't be around it (she was a HUGE smoker in real life), this is a decent but not especially great made for TV detective show. Never dull but also never so good you wish they'd turned this into a TV series.
