Most Likely To Murder turns 50!

Today is the 50th Anniversary of "Most Likely To Murder"!

I have to plug Mr. Mike's review: http://www.fiveohomepage.com/5-0log2.htm#44 (An excellent job as always!)

The case revolves around a woman strangled to death who is the wife of an HPD officer (Tom Skerritt). The problem is both went to high school with Danno who finds his loyalties tested. Danno identifies the woman as Marjorie Morgan, her husband is Lew Morgan. Because Lew's a cop, HPD and Five-O take on the case personally to find her killer.

The episode is intense because Marjorie wasn't waiting at home for her husband: she was having affairs with at least two men. One is Lonnie (Lanikai) but the second (Sam Melville) is the one everyone tries to close in on. However, when it's all said and done it's Lew who is the guilty party! He killed Marjorie and later Oliver who was her latest lover. We find out what really happened at the end when Mrs. Hadwell (Jane Adrian) comes forward with new information. McGarrett confronts Lew with the truth and Lew has absolutely no remorse saying something to the effect they both had it coming - a creepy ending. When the dust settles, Danno is left picking up the pieces that are left.

This is one of my favorite episodes as we get some rare background information on Danno (he played baseball in high school and had a group of friends that were pretty close at that time). It's also cool to see how strict McGarrett is about the law, seen best after one of the first times they question Lew about what happened. The scene in the car outside the house sets a tone for the episode and really the series.

I also like seeing Tom Skerritt in some of his earlier roles as there was another when he appeared in "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" as a werewolf. Many people know him from his turns in "Alien" and "Contact". He's one of those actors that's fun to watch, regardless if he's a good guy or a bad guy. :)

Happy 50th "Most Likely To Murder"! :cool:

Excellent episode, even though we could kinda see the twist coming from near the beginning.

Tom Skerritt plays Lew Morgan, an old high school friend of Danny's who ended up in HPD. Morgan is one of those guys who peaked in high school, similar to Al Bundy from "Married With Children". However, unlike Al Bundy, Morgan is constantly depressed regarding his failure to reach potential, seeing himself as a loser whose life took a downward turn when he entered a slump on his high school baseball team.

When Danny tries to convince him that he was a success because of his HPD career, Morgan complains that he's just writing citations, and never moved up in the department. Morgan tells Danny that the one good thing in his life was his wife Marjorie, who Danny also knew from high school, and was found murdered at the beginning of the episode.

Danny has several tense moments with McGarret regarding Lew being a possible suspect, but eventually comes to be upset by Lew's behavior. Lew first wants in on the case, and then goes on a vigilante mission to find and kill the prime suspect. That suspect is Gary Oliver (Sam Melville), a habitual "player" of the ladies who was Marjorie's latest fling.

Five-O comes to learn that Marjorie was having multiple affairs, despite having "worshipped" Lew in high school. Apparently Lew's depressive state and low self esteem drove Marjorie to seek other men for thrills. Interestingly, one of the other men Five-O interviewed (and initially suspected), Lonnie, indicated that Marjorie seemed like a sociopath, pretending to be in love with him, then moving on and letting him know exactly why.

Despite a general tone which Mike accurately called "tense" in his review, the show managed to insert some humor into the story, via various strange women that Gary Oliver had romanced. At one point, a middle-aged woman named Mrs. Shivley (Alice Lemon) comes to Five-O's office and acts offended when Danno asks what kind of relationship she had with Oliver. She responds, "I understand cops have to know personal things, but there's a limit." After Danno tones down the question and eventually leaves, she says to Chin, "You know, I've decided to tell you everything after all", and Chin doesn't look happy! There are various other offbeat moments involving Mrs. Shivley and the other women of Oliver's.

(spoiler ahead)

Of course, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that Lew Morgan was the true killer, and that he set the whole thing up from the start, knowing that Oliver's extensive police record would make him an easy suspect, and he could kill Oliver and play the crazy grieving husband to get a lighter sentence. Amazingly, he almost gets away with it and fools everyone, but is foiled by another one of Oliver's lovers, who gives him a posthumous alibi after Morgan killed him.

The episode ends with Morgan apologizing to Danny for being a loser, and for even being a loser in how he treated his friends, which seems oddly sincere.

Very good episode!

Sam Melville, who played Oliver, looked too old to be 24, and indeed he was 33 when this was filmed in 1969. Melville unfortunately passed away early in life, reaching just 52 years old before a heart attack killed him in 1989.

Lani Kai, who played Marjorie's other boyfriend, passed away in 1999 at age 63.

The rest of the guest cast, including all of Oliver's girlfriends, are still alive over 51 years after filming!

Tom Skerritt is doing much better, now 87 years old and still kicking.

Alice Lemon (Shivley) was a Hawaii local who was an amateur actor, taking three roles on Five-O and one on Magnum, but hasn't acted in over 40 years. She's still around, also at age 87.

Jennifer Billingsley (who played Oliver's girlfriend Barnes) is still alive at 80.

Linda Ryan, who played Oliver's lover Gloria Warren (who was also ogled by Chin and Kono, and even somewhat by McGarrett), was another Hawaii-based actress who also appeared on Magnum. She was in 11 Five-O episodes, and 4 Magnum episodes, and as recently as 2015 was quoted in an article about Magnum. My guess is she's still alive, as well.