Synopsis
Includes:
The Streets of San Francisco: Most Feared in the Jungle (1973)
The Streets of San Francisco: The Runaways (1973)
The Streets of San Francisco: Winterkill (1973)
The Streets of San Francisco: Death and the Favored Few (1974)
The Streets of San Francisco: Inferno (1974)
The Streets of San Francisco: A String of Puppets (1974)
The Streets of San Francisco: Crossfire (1974)
The Streets of San Francisco: The Hard Breed (1974)
The Streets of San Francisco: Chapel of the Damned (1974)
The Streets of San Francisco: Rampage (1974)
The Streets of San Francisco: Commitment (1974)
The Streets of San Francisco: Blockade (1974)
The Streets of San Francisco: Most Feared in the Jungle
Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) are obliged to track down a perpetrator who under normal circumstances might have been the heroine of the story. Refusing to believe that her baby was stillborn, young mother Barbara Talmadge (Kity Winn) goes on a desperate search for her child, who has been spirited away by a crooked adoption agency. By the time the hapless Barbara catches up with the unwitting couple who have adopted her baby, she has already committed murder--and is willing to kill again if necessary! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Streets of San Francisco: The Runaways
With the child-welfare authorities breathing down his neck, orphaned teenager George Morgan (played by future ChiPs costar Larry Wilcox) desperately tries to hold his family together. Going on the run with his younger siblings, George is forced to steal medicine for his ailing sister--and as a result, faces charges of kidnapping and homicide. Joining Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) as the obligatory Adult Authority Figures in this tense episode is Jeanette Nolan in the role of a judge. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Streets of San Francisco: Winterkill
Venerable character actor Paul Fix guests in this episode as Wade Tillman, a self-styled septugenarian Robin Hood. Outraged at the isurmountable medical bills facing himself and his fellow nursing-home residents, Tillman resorts to robbery and extortion to buck the system. Within its usual "cops and robbers" framework, this episode makes a strong case for the rights and dignity of senior citizens in an increasingly youth-oriented society. Featured in the cast are such familiar Hollywood "seniors" as John Qualen, Ruth McDevitt, and 89-year-old Burt Mustin. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Streets of San Francisco: Death and the Favored Few
Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) mingle with the cream of San Francisco society in search of a murderer. The victim was the blackmailing publisher of a sleazy tell-all magazine--and as a result, the detectives are confronted with a veritable "Who's Who" of suspects. This is the final episode of Streets of San Francisco's second season. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Streets of San Francisco: Inferno
San Francisco is held in thrall by a professional arsonist who burns down businesses for insurance purposes. Detectives Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) enter the story when one of the arsonist's assignments results in the deaths of two firefighters. A number of Streets of San Francisco "repeat offenders" make guest appearances in this episode, including Barry Sullivan and Kaz Garas. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Streets of San Francisco: A String of Puppets
A robbery gang comes to the attention of homicide detectives Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) when the crooks murder a fellow gang member. Going undercover, Keller tries to determine if there is a link between the criminals' activities and a sultry nightclub singer. Lola Falana makes a rare dramatic appearance as the songbird in question, who happens to have been the murdered man's sweetheart. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Streets of San Francisco: Crossfire
A Bay Area college campus is besieged by a mysterious sniper, who shoots the mistress of a prominent professor before killing the professor himself. Can it be that the prof's widow Mrs. Shaninger (Celeste Holm) knows more about the supposedly random killings than she's letting on? Featured in the cast as a disabled Vietnam veteran is star-in-the-making Nick Nolte. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Streets of San Francisco: The Hard Breed
The guest-star cast in this episode is studded by several seasoned movie-western veterans, including Jim Davis, Noah Beery Jr and Harry Carey Jr.--not to mention comparative newcomer Sam Elliott. The plot involves a rodeo rider whose biggest professional rival is his own brother. It so happens that the brothers are also rivals in love, both vying for the attentions of the same woman--who is married to one of them. Inevitably, murder gallops into the rodeo ring, and that's when Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) become involved in the intrigue. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Streets of San Francisco: Chapel of the Damned
Signe Hasso guest stars as Madame Vasiliev, a self-styled psychic operating out of her own "Chapel of the Mind." Though Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) suspect that Madame Vasiliev is a phony, they cannot deny that most of her prognostications have come true--and thus the two cops are forced to work alongside the Madame in hopes of locating a kidnapped girl. Cast as the victim's mother is Diana Douglas, the real-life mother of series costar Michael Douglas. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Streets of San Francisco: Rampage
A group of solid citizens, upset by the increase of crime in their neighborhood, form a vigilante team. During the team's assault on a sleazy bar, a street informer is killed and the head of the vigilantes--who happens to be an old college friend of detective Steve Keller (Michael Douglas)--is accused of murder. As it turns out, however, the killing has far more serious and wide-ranging ramifications, with a vicious drug ring ultimately taking center stage. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Streets of San Francisco: Commitment
On assignment, Stone (Karl Malden) kills a suspect who turns out to be an undercover cop. Though he insists that the killing was an accident, tests in the police lab would seem to suggest that he has committed murder. As the story develops, Stone realizes that he has been made the fall guy in an elaborate frameup. This episode was directed by Richard Donner, whose later film credits included Superman: The Movie and Lethal Weapon. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Streets of San Francisco: Blockade
With only fragmentary evidence at their disposal, Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) search for the person who raped and murdered a young waitress. Meanwhile, the killer (Don Stroud) and his reluctant accomplice (Charles Martin Smith) are holed up in the home of two innocent bystanders (Ida Lupino, Patricia McCormack). Seen briefly as the murder victim is starlet Cheryl Stopplemoor, soon to achieve stardom as one of Charlie's Angels using her married name, Cheryl Ladd. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
