Cannon: Season One, Volume Two – DVD Review

DVD Reviews, Reviews

Frank Cannon (William Conrad) sounded like a 68″ hulk of a man in a dark room. His husky voice unloaded more of a blast than any legal handgun. When the lights came on, he was only a 58″ tubby guy. The only thing larger than is appetite for fine food was his hunger for justice. He was an ex-LAPD cop that entered the world of private investigation. Odds are he did it to avoid the weight requirements. His clients varied from the extremely rich to quite a bit pro bono work. During the early 70s when detectives were all over the TV dial, Cannons gut set him apart from his height and weight proportionate rivals. Cannon: Season One, Volume Two fills his plate with 13 cases heaping with action, deceit and mystery.

“Death Is a Double Cross” boards Cannon on a train to protect the wife and children of a rich guy. Leif Garrett is one of the kids. Its nice to see Leif before his Tiger Beat music career and the hard drugs reduced him into a trainwreck superstar of Behind the Music. Dawn Lyn (My Three Sons) not only plays Leifs sister in the episode, but is also his sister in real life. The two siblings work well off each other while Cannon charms their mom. “Treasure of San Ignacio” shows that Cannon doesnt need a rich client to recover priceless treasures. A small church in Mexico is robbed of their religious artifacts. Cannon fishes in that area so hes attached to the church and the priest. He does the Lords work for a church that cant afford his dayrate. Turns out the masked robbers are from Los Angeles so he gets to shake trees on his own turf.

“To Kill a Guinea Pig” drops Vera Miles (Psycho) inside a prison for a drug study. A mobster demands that she has an imprisoned union leader become part of the lab rats. The mobster has Geoffrey Lewis (the creepy actor who looks like Robert Pine after a biker fight) terrorize her to let her know he means business. She hires Cannon for protection. Things get ugly when the mobster wants to control the placebo content. “A Deadly Quiet Town” has John Rubinstein (Family) running a little Manson cult in a rural community. Cannon has to come into the area to rescue a rich guys daughter from the diabolical Rubinstein. This was done before the big “deprogramming industry took off in America to combat the brainwashing trend.

“A Flight of Hawks” slips Cannon in the middle of airborne soldiers of fortune. The prologue features a World War II fighting plane gunning down a sportscar on the highway. Cannons hired to discover what really happened. This isnt the normal roadside accident. Instead of being a simple murder, hes dragged into a plot to overthrow an African country with antique airpower. This is a case that he cant do alone so he drags in future President Martin Sheen (The West Wing) to be his wingman. Even with all the aviation action, the big action moment is when Cannon “gut checks” a gunman during a stand off. This might be the first belly buck outside of slapstick shorts. But the offensive move doesnt play for laughs. Like any good street fighter, Cannon does whatever is necessary. The only rule is to survive. This is a case of a detective throwing his weight around. Later in the episode, Cannon goes Rambo with an automatic machine gun on the air strip. His weight absorbed the recoil. Hes a tough hombre. “Murder By Moonlight” has a prisoner with study release standing being used as an outside connection by a mobster. Who knew a prison education could cost so much?

For a detective show with an overweight star, Cannon is an action-packed series. Hes not sitting behind a desk and working the phone. Hes tangling with the bad guys. Hes unloading automatic rifles. Hes driving people off the road. How could such an active guy not lose weight? He should have a physique to match his voice. The last five minutes of each episode have me hyperventilating. Cannon could have tangled equally in a street fight match with Rockford and Mannix. Cannon: Season One, Volume Two brings another batch of classic 70s crime busting muscle courtesy of the husky William Conrad.

The Episodes
“Death Is a Double Cross,” “The Nowhere Man,” “Flight Plan,” “Devil’s Playground,” ” Treasure of San Ignacio,” “Blood On the Vine.” “To Kill a Guinea Pig,” “The Island Caper,” “A Deadly Quiet Town,” “A Flight of Hawks,” ” The Torch,” “Cain’s Mark” and “Murder By Moonlight.”

The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The transfer does not appear to be a high definition mastering from a 35mm source. This looks like a lift from the broadcast tapes so its not nearly as sharp and detailed as Hawaii Five-0. The audio is Dolby Digital mono. You can heard Cannons stomach grumble when he walks past a pie. The episodes are Closed Captioned.

Episodic Promos (0:30) introduce most of the episodes.

Cannon: Season One, Volume Two makes a case that William Conrad was a great TV detective. He might not be as sexy as Magnum P.I., but he knew how to work a case. He charges top dollar because hes damn well worth it.

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CBS DVD presents Cannon: Season One, Volume Two. Starring William Conrad. Boxset Contents: 13 episodes on 4 DVDs. Released on DVD: December 2, 2008. Available at Amazon.

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.