HAWAIIAN EYE: TOTAL ECLIPSE (TV)
Summary
One in this series of dramas about a private detective agency based in Hawaii.
A man named Jay Morgan is killed, and many believe the culprit to be his wife, Jean Morgan. However, the jury acquits Jean of the crime. Her stepson Tony confronts her outside the courthouse, incensed because he believes Jean used his father’s money to bribe the jury. A scientist friend of hers’ named Dr. Loring invites her to come to Kauai with him to help him photograph an upcoming total solar eclipse.
Tom discovers that Jean often made trips to the mainland to visit Dr. Loring’s assistant, Jerry Dulane. Jay hired a private investigator who informed him of Jean’s visits just before his murder. Meanwhile Jean meets with Jerry, telling him that they can’t continue their affair. She then tries to get Dr. Loring to relinquish his directorship of his research foundation, much to his dismay. Her lawyer, Rowley, reveals that he bought off her house-boy during the trial so that his testimony wouldn’t convict her. She maintains that she did not kill her husband but he doesn’t believe her. Jean receives a phone call wherein someone on the other end calls her a “murderess.”
Tracy and Tom see Jean and her entourage at the hotel. Tony shows up, inebriated, and loudly accuses her of murder. When he becomes violent, Tracy steps in to save Jean. Tom takes Tony aside to calm down, and Tony offers him money to prove that Jean killed his father. Tracy walks Jean home as she talks about her passionless marriage to Jay. Jerry spies on them from the bushes. Someone shoots bullets into Jean’s house, but escapes before he can be found.
The police investigate and Dr. Loring convinces Jean to come with them to Kauai. Tracy believes the shots intentionally missed and were used merely to intimidate Jean. Alone, Jean professes her innocence to Tracy and they embrace. Tom takes Tony’s offer and Tracy accompanies Jean to Kauai. Preparations are made to photograph the eclipse. Tom is informed that someone is following Tony. Jean finds a copy of a newspaper in her room with a headline calling for her death. To ease her mind, Tracy takes her to the beach, where he asks her questions about her husband’s murder. She gets him off the subject and they kiss.
Jean returns to find the word “murderess” painted on her mirror; this causes her to fall into hysterics and she collapses. Tracy, Dr. Loring, and the others decide to keep watch in case Tony shows up. That night Tracy and Jerry spot someone snooping around and Jerry shoots him dead; it turns out to be the house-boy that Rowley bribed. Tracy confronts Jean and accuses her of lying about murdering her husband, to which she protests. They find a large sum of cash on the house-boy’s body; Jean says it was given to him by Rowley but won’t say why.
Tom and Tracy interrogate Rowley and he admits to paying off the house-boy, but more money was found on his person than he admits to giving him. Tracy deduces that Dr. Loring is behind it; he had a motive to dispose of both Jean and her husband so he could obtain their trust fund. Jean and Dr. Loring arrive on a mountaintop to photograph the eclipse. Dr. Loring admits to killing Jean’s husband and tries to push Jean off a cliff, but Tom and Tracy manage to intervene and save her. The episode ends as Jean says she can’t remain with Tracy, as she needs “time to forget.” Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: February 21, 1962 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:58:32
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: T79:0040
- GENRE: Drama, police/private detective
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, police/private detective
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1959-1963
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- William T. Orr … Executive Producer
- Charles Hoffman … Producer
- Howie Horwitz … Supervising Producer
- Robert Douglas … Director
- Charles B. Smith … Writer
- Mack David … Theme Music by
- Jerry Livingston … Theme Music by
- Anthony Eisley … Cast, Tracy Steele
- Robert Conrad … Cast, Tom Lopaka
- Connie Stevens … Cast, Cricket Blake
- Grant Williams … Cast, Gregg MacKenzie
- Poncie Ponce … Cast, Kazuo Kim
- Kathryn Hays … Cast, Jean Morgan
- Whit Bissell … Cast, Dr. Joseph Loring
- Robert Lowery … Cast, Frank Rowley
- Sherwood Price … Cast, Jerry Dulaine
- Jack Nicholson … Cast, Tony Morgan
- Mel Prestidge … Cast, Lt. Danny Quon
- Doug Mossman … Cast, Moke
- Larry Blake … Cast, Jack Field