In the 1960s, Patty Duke was justly praised for her acting and poise on "The Patty Duke Show" and in her Oscar-winning performance in "The Miracle Worker". For such a young lady, she showed great talent and range. This being said, Ms. Duke also occasionally had a penchant for incredibly overwrought performances, such as in "Valley of the Dolls" and in this installment of "Police Story". Here, unfortunately, she emotes in such a shrill manner that it is a bit laughable....sort of a female William Shatner when he over-emoted on a few episodes of "Star Trek" (such as "Turnabout Intruder"). I mention all this because while I almost always love old episodes of "Police Story", her acting seriously impacted this one. Perhaps it wasn't entirely her fault, as her serious struggles with mental illness were openly discussed by the actress in her later years.
This is the final episode of a recurring character, Detective Sgt. Calabrese (Tony Lo Bianco). He and his partner, Detective Thorpe (Glenn Corbett) are investigating a sniper shooting. Unfortunately, after shooting several people, the shooter disappeared. When they later get the lead in the form of an emotionally labile lady (Duke), the episode nosedives and her antics must be endured by Calabrese and Thorpe (as well as the audience) in order to get her to talk about her psycho boyfriend...the guy who may have been the shooter.
To say Ms. Duke's performance was bad is perhaps a bit generous. It unfortunately made an otherwise good episode a bit hard to take. The boyfriend's performance, at times, was also a bit overwrought and the show was a rare dud.
