ADVENTURES OF HIRAM HOLLIDAY, THE: HIRAM'S HOLIDAY (TV)
Summary
One in this comedy/adventure series about a nebbish yet highly skilled newspaper proofreader who travels the world as a man of action.
In the Ridwick-on-Trent Resort in England, Inspectors Shawcross and Hartley are tracking down a master criminal responsible for stealing a pound-note printing plate that could, in the wrong hands, devastate the British economy. Shawcross suspects that Holliday and Smith are behind the whole thing, but in actuality they are merely there on vacation. However, the other guests at the resort, led by the seemingly innocent Mrs. Primrose, are the criminals responsible for the theft of the plate. Mrs. Primrose tricks Holliday into giving her a plan for smuggling the plate into the resort unnoticed.
Mrs. Primrose lures Shawcross and Hartley to the post office, where Holliday is picking up a package that they believe contains the stolen plate. Disguised as robbers, they try to take the package from him by force but he knocks them unconscious. During the commotion, Mrs. Primrose slips in and grabs her own package before leaving. Shawcross and Hartley reveal themselves and arrest Holliday. Upon being questioned by the police, Holliday reveals that his package merely contained an assortment of seashells. Mortified, they begrudgingly release Holliday from custody.
Holliday starts to become suspicious of the other guests, realizing he must solve the case in order to clear his name. He passes on his suspicions that Mrs. Primrose is the one with the stolen plate to Shawcross and Hartley, but she appears with a package of treacle, thus establishing an alibi. Still suspicious, Holliday searches her room but finds one of the guests' nurses there. She gives him the package, double-crossing Mrs. Primrose. She tries to convince him to run away with her and keep the plate for themselves, becoming rich. They are interrupted by Mrs. Primrose arriving with Smith at gunpoint.
After sending Shawcross and Hartley away, Mrs. Primrose plans to take Holliday, Smith, and the nurse out back to murder them, and is accompanied by the other guests, all armed. Using a timely distraction, Holliday and Smith are able to escape their captors and incapacitate all of them. The episode ends as Shawcross and Hartley arrive just in time for Holliday to hand them the package and leave them to arrest the criminals. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: February 20, 1957 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:26:07
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: B:41571
- GENRE: Comedy; Action/Adventure
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; Action/Adventure
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1956-1957
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Philip Rapp … Producer
- Robert Stillman … Associate Producer
- William J. Hole … Director
- Richard Powell … Writer
- Paul Gallico … Based on the stories by
- Frank J. Worth … Music by
- Wally Cox … Cast, Hiram Holliday
- Ainslie Pryor … Cast, Joel Smith
- Lee Patrick … Cast, Mrs. Primrose
- John O'Malley … Cast, Inspector Shawcross
- Ben Wright … Cast, Hartley
- Lisa Davis … Cast, Nurse
- Cyril Delevanti … Cast, Innkeeper
- Jefferson Searles … Cast
- Basil Howes … Cast
- Fred Cavens … Cast