ROUTE 66: FIRST-CLASS MOULIAK (TV)
Summary
One in this series of dramas about the adventures of two young men who travel across the country in a Corvette.
A young man named Janosh chases his girlfriend Teresa through the woods at night after they've had a fight. During the chase, she accidentally plummets off the side of a hill, falling to her death. The following morning, Janosh returns to his house in a tight-knit Polish-American community. Janosh is home from college for a week and his father, who insists on being called "Jack," is upset because he missed out on a party he threw for him. Jack, like many other men in the community, works at a nearby forge, where Buz and Tod have taken temporary jobs. Janosh visits Jack at the forge anxious to tell him something, but Jack sends him away. As the day lets out, Teresa's father Mike, who is Jack's best friend, is told by his wife Anna that Teresa is missing. They are determined to find her.
Meanwhile, Jack invites Buz and Tod over to his house for dinner and they accept. There they meet his daughter Eva and learn that his wife passed away some time ago. Jack made a promise to his wife that he would find a husband for Eva and make sure Janosh got a proper education and was able to leave his hometown. Janosh appears briefly but leaves, puzzling Jack. Later Jack takes Buz, Tod, and Eva out to a mazurka dance. There, he explains to Tod that his wife prevented Janosh from working in the forge because of several fatal accidents that occurred there many years ago, including one that claimed the life of Jack's brother. During the festivities, Mike arrives, saying he still cannot find Teresa. Jack decides to organize all the men at the dance into a search party, combing every inch of the neighborhood with lanterns.
Buz and Tod locate Teresa's dead body. Mike is beside himself with grief and swears revenge on whoever is responsible for her death. Jack makes the same promise. The next day, Janosh reluctantly accompanies Jack to Teresa's funeral, terrified at the prospect of being one of her pallbearers. Buz and Tod are in attendance as well to convey their sympathies. The funeral lets out and Jack asks Buz and Tod to take Eva out; they go to an amusement park. While there, Tod and Eva talk about the many customs and rules inherent in her community and what Teresa was like. As per custom, Eva is called upon by Anna to go through all of Teresa's things. They happen across Teresa's diary and find an entry written on the day of her death citing that she would be with Janosh. Anna believes this indicates that Janosh killed her and runs off.
Mike hires a detective to confirm his suspicions against Janosh and confronts Jack about it. Jack doesn't believe that the diary proves anything but swears to kill his son if he turns out to be the culprit. Eva tells Buz and Tod about the diary entry and reveals she warned Janosh before the detective arrived and now no one can find him. Buz and Tod suspect he is at the spot where Teresa died and find him there. They chase him down and Janosh takes the blame for Teresa's death. They fetch Jack, who attempts to attack Janosh when he learns about his role in Teresa's death. However, Janosh reveals that her death was accidental and that she ran from him because he refused her offer of marriage. He further explains that he badly wanted to marry her but knew that Jack wouldn't approve, accusing him of controlling every aspect of his life. Despite Jack's promises to his wife, Janosh says it never occurred to him that he might not be happy with those decisions. He notes that he wanted to work in the forge and be like his father whom he admires. The episode ends as Jack embraces Janosh and promises to stand with him. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: October 20, 1961 8:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:50:05
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: B:57392
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1960-1964
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Herbert B. Leonard … Executive Producer, Created by
- Leonard Freeman … Producer
- William Conrad … Director
- Stirling Silliphant … Created by
- John Vlahos … Writer
- Nelson Riddle … Music by
- Martin Milner … Cast, Tod Stiles
- George Maharis … Cast, Buz Murdock
- Nehemiah Persoff … Cast, Jack
- Martin Balsam … Cast, Mike
- Robert Redford … Cast, Janosh
- Nancy Malone … Cast, Eva
- Peggy Feury … Cast, Anna
- Richard X. Slattery … Cast, Detective
- Ann Dee … Cast, Teresa
- Russell K. Kriss … Cast, Markiewicz