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FATHER DOWLING MYSTERIES: THE VISITING PRIEST MYSTERY {SEASON TWO PREMIERE} (TV)

Summary

One in this mystery series about a Chicago-based Catholic priest and nun who solve murders and mysteries together.

A hitman named Paul Damon takes a job and passes himself off as a visiting priest from out of town. He has dinner with Father Dowling and Stephanie, who both note that his appearance and behavior do not support his cover story about being a missionary. Damon offers to help Father Dowling with his busy schedule and conducts a mass the following morning; Father Dowling is in the midst of preparing for a wedding and is glad to have the extra help. One of the parishioners, Harvey Gorsky, seems to recognize Damon and comes to see him the back following the mass. He realizes that Damon is here to conduct an assassination, so Damon strangles him before he can leave. As Harvey struggles he pulls a crucifix from Damon's neck. Father Dowling and Stephanie find Damon kneeling beside Harvey and take him to the hospital; Damon claims that Harvey suffered a stroke and collapsed. Harvey dies in the hospital just as he seems he is about to tell Father Dowling something.

Damon returns to recover the crucifix but Stephanie finds him there. He concocts an excuse for being there and says the crucifix belonged to Harvey, Stephanie takes it herself. The next day she brings the crucifix to Father Dowling and points out that the chain is broken, as if it were ripped off. She gets a photograph of Damon while he's having a chat with Father Prestwick. Later she searches through Damon's room and finds a bar of soap in his bag from the nearby Viscount Hotel. She investigates the hotel, but finds that the desk clerk cannot recall signing Damon in. Meanwhile, Father Dowling visits a hair salon where Teresa Gorsky, Harvey's granddaughter, works. She confirms that the crucifix did not belong to Harvey. After asking around, Stephanie finds Damon's room at the hotel and infiltrates it, looking for clues. He returns to his room suddenly, forcing Stephanie to go out the window and cling to the side of the building. She spies on Damon getting undressed and notices a mark on his neck, proving her hypothesis that the crucifix is his and it was ripped off. She clambers along the side of the building before finding another open window and escaping.

Father Dowling learns from Teresa that Harvey used to be an expert forger for the mob many years ago, but quit that life and turned to religion. His career for the mobster Victor Malko was ended when one of Malko's associates betrayed the organization and sent several of them to jail. Father Dowling and Stephanie reconvene and share the information they learned. They follow Damon into a pornography theater, much to Father Dowling's discomfort. There, Damon receives a "cold gun," a firearm with the serial numbers filed off to make it untraceable, from one of his contacts. They then follow him outside. Father Dowling believes that the hit has been placed on Malko and goes to warn him while Stephanie continues to follow Damon. Father Dowling meets with the wheelchair-bound Malko in his mansion. Malko says he doesn't recognize Damon and asserts that he had no involvement with Harvey's death. However, Damon arrives and it turns out that he is working for Malko. Malko and his men capture Father Dowling as Stephanie hides outside. It is revealed that the man who betrayed Malko ten years ago was put into the witness protection program, and that he is the father of the bride getting married at the church. Thus, Malko has hired Damon to pose as a priest officiating at the wedding and kill the man.

Malko orders his men to drive off with Father Dowling and kill him. They bring him to an abandoned ranch, but Stephanie secretly clings to the roof of their van and drives off with Father Dowling when they stop. Father Dowling and Stephanie then race to the church to try to stop Damon from making his hit. Damon and Father Prestwick begin the ceremony in Father Dowling's absence. Father Dowling and Stephanie arrive but cannot seem to enter the locked church. The bride is late coming down the aisle but approaches with her father. As they near the altar, Damon draws his handgun, but the "bride" is actually Sergeant Clancy, who draws her own weapon and shoots Damon before he can make a move. She thanks Father Dowling and Stephanie for informing her of the danger and allowing them to make the switch. Damon and Malko are sent to prison for their crimes. Includes commercials.

Details

  • NETWORK: ABC
  • DATE: January 4, 1990 8:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 0:57:57
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: B:16283
  • GENRE: Drama, mystery/suspense
  • SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, mystery/suspense
  • SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1987-1989; ABC - 1990-1991
  • COMMERCIALS:
    • TV – Commercials – Actifed cold medicine
    • TV – Commercials – Alka-Seltzer Plus cold medicine
    • TV – Commercials – Benadryl cold medication
    • TV – Commercials – Crest toothpaste
    • TV – Commercials – Duracell batteries
    • TV – Commercials – Era detergent
    • TV – Commercials – Folgers coffee
    • TV – Commercials – Head & Shoulders shampoo
    • TV – Commercials – Payless shoe stores
    • TV – Commercials – Plax mouthwash
    • TV – Commercials – Sears department stores
    • TV – Commercials – Vaseline skin lotion
    • TV – Commercials – Whirlpool appliances
    • TV – Promos – "20/20"
    • TV – Promos – "Family Matters"
    • TV – Promos – "Free Spirit"
    • TV – Promos – "Full House"
    • TV – Promos – "Good Morning America"
    • TV – Promos – "Heartbreak Ridge"
    • TV – Promos – "Just the Ten of Us"
    • TV – Promos – "Kojak"
    • TV – Promos – "Life Goes On"
    • TV – Promos – "Mission: Impossible"
    • TV – Promos – "Mony Tournament of Champions"
    • TV – Promos – "Perfect Strangers"
    • TV – Promos – "Primetime Live"
    • TV – Promos – "Rock Hudson"
    • TV – Promos – "The Young Riders"

CREDITS

  • Fred Silverman … Executive Producer
  • Dean Hargrove … Executive Producer, Developed by
  • Robert Schlitt … Supervising Producer
  • Barry Steinberg … Producer
  • David Solomon … Co-Producer
  • Timothy King … Associate Producer
  • Christopher Hibler … Director
  • Joel Steiger … Developed by
  • David Hoffman … Writer
  • Leslie Daryl Zerg … Writer
  • Ralph McInerny … Based on characters from The Father Dowling Mystery Books by
  • Dick de Benedictis … Music by
  • Tom Bosley … Cast, Father Frank Dowling
  • Tracy Nelson … Cast, Sister Stephanie "Steve" Oskowski
  • James Stephens … Cast, Father Philip Prestwick
  • Mary Wickes … Cast, Marie Murkin
  • Anthony LaPaglia … Cast, Paul Damon
  • Nathan Davis … Cast, Victor Malko
  • Lezlie Deane … Cast, Teresa Gorsky
  • Regina Krueger … Cast, Sgt. Clancy
  • Danny Dayton … Cast, Harvey Gorsky
  • Debra J. Brown … Cast, Hotel Clerk
  • Michael Damian Cleeff … Cast, Hotel Waiter
  • Charles Guardino … Cast
  • Scott Lincoln … Cast