AUGUST MURDERS: THE ADVENTURES OF NICK CARTER

Posted on by The Beard

A detective discovers that a colleague’s death is tied into the disappearance of a wealthy playboy’s wife.

The NBC MYSTERY MOVIE (1971) was an umbrella series with three separate shows appearing on a rotating basis. The three shows were COLUMBO, MACMILLAN AND WIFE, and McCLOUD. Each episode was 90 to 120 minutes long – which was why they were called movies. Any mystery geek will tell you that the three shows were hits and the NBC MYSTERY MOVIE was a huge success. 

This did not escape rival network ABC’s attention and they wanted their own mystery movie night. But they decided to take a different approach. Rather than create shows around whole new characters they decided to create their umbrella series with rotating shows based on classic detectives. Pilots were made for each of them. The first of those pilots was THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES with Sherlock Holmes. The second was THE ADVENTURES OF NICK CARTER (1972) starring Robert Conrad. 

Nick Carter first appeared in 1886 as a dime novel private detective. He was conceived by Ormond G. Smith and created by John R. Coryell. The character has been around for more than a century and after starring in his own magazine for many years he had a series of novels from 1964 to 1990. There was also a Nick Carter radio show, Nick Carter movies (lots of them), and even Nick Carter comic books. 

THE ADVENTURES OF NICK CARTER (1972) is a made-for-TV mystery film executive produced by Arthur D. Hilton and Richard Irving and produced by Stanley Kallis. It was directed by Paul Krasny and written by Ken Pettus. It stars Robert Conrad, Pernell Roberts, and Brooke Bundy. 

CAST

Robert Conrad as NICK CARTER

Pernell Roberts as NEAL DUNCAN

Brooke Bundy as ROXY O’ROURKE

Shelley Winters as BESS TUCKER

Neville Brand as CAPTAIN DAN KELLER

Broderick Crawford as OTIS DUNCAN

Sean Garrison as LLOYD DEAMS

Unspecified – 1972: Dean Stockwell appearing in the Walt Disney Television via Getty Images tv movie ‘The Adventures of Nick Carter’. (Photo by Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

Dean Stockwell as FREDDY DUNCAN

Byron Morrow as SAM BATES

Synopsis

It’s New York City in 1912. Private detective Sam Bates is shot dead while working a case. Bates was Nick Carter’s friend and mentor. He decides to find out who killed his friend.

Bates’ case had something to do with the wealthy Duncan family. Ivy Duncan has disappeared. She was the wife of Freddy Duncan and daughter-in-law of the patriarch Otis Duncan. Ivy’s disappearance and Bates’ killing are somehow tied together. 

Otis Duncan claims his family had nothing to do with Bates’ death. But he does hire Carter to find the missing Ivy and at the same time solve Bates’ murder. Carter agrees. 

His investigation leads to the involvement of unsavory characters, the appearance of witnesses, and lots of dead bodies as attempts are made on Carter’s life as they try to eliminate him.

Through muscle, brains, and a talent for disguise, Nick Carter finds the answers to all his questions.  

  • Robert Conrad was known for two things on television – taking off his shirt (which he did repeatedly on both HAWAIIAN EYE [1959] and THE WILD WILD WEST [1965]), and fight scenes (which were elaborate on THE WILD WILD WEST). In this movie, in the very first scene with Nick Carter they find an excuse for him to take off his shirt and get into a fight. 

Dislikes

  • Not exactly the most exciting plot for a movie. Not that the film is badly written. It’s just that if you’re a mystery fan and a private eye fan you’re not going to find anything original or exciting. 
  • The film has an all-star cast with the likes of Shelley Winters, Broderick Crawford, Pernell Roberts, Neville Brand – and lots more – but none of them seem to have brought their A game with them. It’s like they phoned in their performances. I was especially disappointed with Shelley Winters.

Likes

  • I like Robert Conrad’s TV shows, I like his movies, and I like his style. I find the stuff he appears in entertaining, and entertainment is why I watch movies. I found this movie entertaining and a lot of that was because of Robert Conrad. 
  • Nick Carter uses disguises. I got a kick out of seeing Robert Conrad in all that make-up. For years he was partnered with Ross Martin in THE WILD WILD WEST and Martin got to use the disguises. It was cute to see Conrad do it this time. 
  • I like that the movie is set in New York City of 1912. I’m a native New Yorker so I get a kick out of any movie that has my hometown in it. I also like period pieces and so here I got two things I like. 

As movies go this one is flawed. I had hoped for a gem and got a diamond-in-the-rough. Despite Robert Conrad giving it his best shot, despite the setting and the time period, the movie remains lackluster. So sad!

Now if you think this means I am not going to recommend this movie I’ve got a surprise for you. I do recommend this movie but with certain reservations. I recommend this movie for those of you who like Robert Conrad and his type of movies/TV shows. I also recommend this movie for fans of private eye films. It’s not often we get a story set in 1912. That alone is worth a look-see. 

I’ve given you fair warning about what I think is wrong with the movie. Try watching it now and you might be more entertained than disappointed. 

I give this movie three grey geeks on our rating scale. 

Okay, my peoples. That takes us through the second of these ABC classic mystery movies. The first was THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, and now we have looked at THE ADVENTURES OF NICK CARTER. Next time we will examine THE RETURN OF CHARLIE CHAN (1973) starring Ross Martin. Until then I want all of you to do me a favor. Tonight, go outside and look at the stars. Then find the brightest and wish upon it. All of you wish for something big – and change the world! Hasta la vista!

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Published by The Beard

I’m Eliseo Figueroa Jr. and you’re not. I was born in Saint Francis hospital across the street from Saint Mary’s Park in the Bronx. I was born there because that was where my mother was and I wanted to be near her. My parents came from Puerto Rico and moved to New York City when they were kids. My dad spoke fluent English – with an accent – but he’d had a stint in the army and had mastered the language. However, he needed a little work on reading and so everyday on the way to work he would buy a comic book and read it on the subway. In those days they were ten cents, a quick read, you could fold them and put them in your pocket, and when you finished you threw them away. Back home my mom would tell my dad to read me a story to put me to sleep. My dad had no desire whatsoever to read me any of my baby books so he read me one of his comic books instead. While other kids dreamed of Mother Goose, the Old Lady who lived in a shoe, or Little Red Riding Hood, I dreamt of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. And this went on for years. When I got older I asked him to give me the comic books. At that point he stopped throwing them out and I had a comic book collection even though I still didn’t know how to read. During the day I would make my mom read me my comics over and over again. I was dying to learn how to read and had been told that you learn to read in first grade. I remember being so excited the first day of school for the first grade. I couldn’t contain myself. I thought it was like magic – poof! – I was going to come back home and be able to read all of my comics. My mom had to sit me down and explain that it was a process. That over time I would learn how to read and by the time I finished the first grade I would be reading. I must say I was disappointed but more determined than ever to master this thing called reading. Over the years my comic collection grew (my dad had to keep building bigger and better shelves) and so did my interests. I mastered reading and went on to read books. I discovered the library where they actually let you borrow books – what a concept! And my interests in literary science fiction and fantasy expanded to include television and movies. Yes, I was and still am a full-blown geek! By the way, I’m the beard in our little duet. I have a goatee and no moustache. In all that time while growing up my dad never once complained. How could he? This was all his fault and he knew it. One time we were in a store where I was purchasing some comics and it all came to twenty bucks. As my dad was paying the man the owner commented on how much I was spending on comic books. My dad’s reply was, “Well, at least he’s not on drugs!” Science fiction, fantasy, horror, secret agents, giant monsters, and more are my drug of choice. Anyone who has ever sat in a darkened theater and has had their heart start racing in excitement as the music to STAR WARS begins to play knows exactly what I mean.