Barbara Bain Movies

Miami-based gambling kingpin Frank Layton (Warren Stevens) has agreed to finance the return of a deposed Latin American dictator General Neyron (Albert Paulsen). In exchange, Layton will receive all gambling rights in Neyron's home country. The IMF agents hope to derail this bargain, and destroy Layton and Neyron, by preying upon the paranoia of both men. First aired on December 15, 1968, "The Bargain" was written by Robert E. Thompson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Gerald S. O'Loughlin guest-stars as Burt Gordon, the suspected head of a nationwide organization of contract killers. To get the goods on Gordon, Phelps and Cinnamon pose as a married couple and move next door to the suspect. The next step is to convince Gordon that he has murdered Phelps--and that he is being haunted by his victim's ghost. Nominated for several Emmy Awards, "The Killing" was written by William Read Woodfield and Allan Balter, and was first broadcast on February 25, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Written by Sy Salkowitz, "Trial by Fury" takes place in a South American dictatorship. When resistance leader Manuel Delgardo (Ernest Sarracino) is thrown into prison, his associate Santos Cardoza (Michael Tolan) has himself arrested so that he can pass on valuable information to Delgardo's followers. Unfortunately, his fellow prisoners suspect Delgardo of being a spy for the government, and plan to assassinate him. IMF agents Phelps and Barney pose as convicts to save Delgardo and expose the genuine traitor. Paul Winfield appears in the supporting role of Klaus. "Trial by Fury" originally aired March 10, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mission: Impossible launched its third season on September 29 1968 with the episode titled "The Heir Apparent." To save a Balkan monarchy from falling into the hands of Envir Quaisette (Charles Aidman), the IMF concocts a plan built around the legend of Princess Celine, the real heiress to the kingdom, who disappeared as a child and has not been seen for nearly half a century. It is up to Cinnamon to pose as the blind, elderly Celine. But in order to convince her followers that she is the genuine article, Cinnamon must be able to open Celine's puzzle box and reveal its secrets--a task better suited to her IMF colleagues Barney and Willy. "The Heir Apparent" was written by Robert E. Thompson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the second half of the two-part Mission: Impossible adventure "The Contenders", crooked sports promoter Charles Buckman (Ron Randell) still hopes to gain control of all professional and amateur athletics in the United States. Posing as an aspiring boxer, IMF agent Barney has managed to insuniate himself into Buckman's upper circle, the better to foil the villain's schemes with a "double fix." Former boxing champion Sugar Ray Robinson appears in a surprising characterizations, while Robert Conrad of Wild Wild West fame shows up unbilled. Written by William Read Woodfield and Allan Balter, part two of "The Contenders" was originally telecast on October 13, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The IMF agents are assigned to recapture $1,000,000 in gold bullion, which was targetted for a pro-Democracy underground group but has been confiscated by the Communists. The money is being held under maximum-security conditions at a hotel where an important chess tournament is being held. Complications ensue when Nicholas Groat (Don Francks), an international thief posing as a chess master, draws up plans to steal the bullion himself. Originally broadcast on January 14, 1968, "A Game of Chess" was written by Richard M. Sakal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Like the first-season Mission: Impossible episode "The Ransom," the second-season installment "The Condemned" is an unusual departure from the series' format. Racing against the clock, Jim Phelps hopes to save the life of his close friend Kevin Hagen, who has been convicted of murder and sentenced to die in a Spanish prison. Unbeknownst to anyone, the "murder victim" is actually alive and well and living under an assumed name. Other plot wrinkles include the disappearance of a diamond tiara and the curious behavior of Webster's ex-sweetheart Luisa Rojas (Mariana Hill). First telecast January 28 1968, "The Execution" was written by Laurence Heath. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After two years of playing to respectable but not spectacular ratings, Mission: Impossible finally attained the gold ring in season three, when it was ranked as America's 11th most popular series by the A.C. Nielsen Company. At this point in time, the series' formula had been committed to memory by its faithful fans. In virtually every episode, Jim Phelps (Peter Graves), head of the Impossible Missions Force, would be assigned by an anonymous governmental higher-up to undertake a covert mission in the interests of world peace, international security, the thwarting of big-time crime, or a combination thereof. After the self-destruction of the tape recorder from which these instructions emanated, Phelps would choose the IMF operatives best suited to the task at hand. Almost invariably throughout season three, these worthies would include sexy "mystery woman" Cinnamon Carter (Barbara Bain), master dialectician and makeup artist Rollin Hand (Martin Landau), electronics wizard Barney Collier (Greg Morris), and general-purpose muscleman Willie Armitage (Peter Lupus). Journeying to an exotic locale (usually in a fictional country run by despots or controlled by crooks), the IMFers utilized an astonishing array of disguises, props, and meticulously preplanned schemes (but seldom weaponry) to foil the villain of the week -- generally through the simple process of getting the villain to trip himself up with his own ego or greed.

Among the season's most memorable episodes are the two-part "The Contenders," in which Barney poses as a boxer making a comeback to destroy a bout-fixing syndicate (also seen in this episode is real life boxing champ Sugar Ray Robinson); another two-parter, "The Bunker," wherein the IMF must rescue the wife of a scientist who is being blackmailed into conspiring with the enemy; "The Elixir," featuring Ruth Roman as an Evita-style Latin American dictator who is duped into turning her country over to a democratic government; "The Freeze," in which the team convinces a mobster that he has been cryogenically frozen for 14 years to trick him into revealing the whereabouts of some stolen loot; "The Mind of Stefan Miklos," guest-starring Ed Asner as an enemy agent who is hoodwinked into trusting his worst enemy; "The Exchange," a tour de force for series regular Barbara Bain, in which Cinnamon is kidnapped and subjected to her worst fear -- being confined in a tiny place -- as a means to get her to betray the IMF; "Illusion," another showcase for Bain as she impersonates a dead nightclub singer; "The Execution," with Vincent Gardenia as a paid assassin who rats on his boss after the IMF stages a realistic gas-chamber execution before his very eyes; and "Live Bait," featuring a young, bespectacled Martin Sheen as a cloddish enemy operative who is literally seduced into helping the IMFers rescue a double agent from a diabolical torture device. Although the series' lofty ratings, coupled with a third Emmy award win for regular Barbara Bain, should have been occasion for celebration, all was not champagne and roses backstage at Mission: Impossible. Both Bain and her husband, Martin Landau, were publicly clashing with series producer Bruce Geller over their working conditions and the quality of the scripts, and by the end of season three, the series' two most popular actors had ankled the project, never to return. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the second half of the two-part Mission: Impossible adventure "The Slave", the IMF force has kidnapped Amara (Antoinette Bower), the niece of corrupt Elkabaran King Ibn Borca (Joseph Ruskin), Fasar (David Mauro), and sold her into slavery. It is all part of a plan to end the slave trade in Elkabar, and to topple Borca from power. Crucial to the scheme is Cinnamon's masquerade as a potential slave and Phelp's pose as a trader. Originally telecast October 15, 1967, Part Two of "The Slave" was written by William Read Woodfield and Allan Balter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Promising to smuggle wealthy Eastern Europeans across the Iron Curtain, banker Alfred Belzig 9James Daly) lures the hapless escapees to their deaths, then deposits the victims' money in his own bank to finance a neo-Nazi party. The IMF hopes to put Belzig out of business permanently by stealing his $3 million nest egg from his safety deposit box. Assisting the agents this time out is Paul Lebarre (Pierre Jalbert, a convicted bank robber who may not be entirely trustworthy. Originally telecast October 1 1967, "The Bank" was written by Brad Radnitz. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first season of Mission: Impossible came to a close with the April 22, 1967 episode "The Psychic." Some valuable NATO secrets have been appropriated in a hostile corporate takeover by ruthless industrialist Alex Lowell (Barry Sullivan). The IMF heads to South America, where Lowell has relocated in hopes of selling the documents to the highest bidder. With Cinammon posing as a psychic, the other IMF agents lure Lowell into a cleverly rigged high-stakes poker game. Written by William Read Woodfield and Allan Baltar, "The Psychic" marked Steven Hill's final appearance as IMF head Dan Briggs.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Under the guise of an LSD addict, US secret agent Vincent Deane (Jacques Denbeaux) has managed to hide some top-secret information in one of his "doped" sugar cubes. Unfortunately, Deane is arrested and placed in a Communist-controlled rehabilitation clinic. Posing as Deane's wife, Cinnamon infiltrates the clinic, hoping to retrieve the cube, while Rollin, impersonating Deane's contact, has himself arrested and placed in the selfsame clinic. Veteran Czech character actor Francis Lederer appears as Brobin. Written by William Read Woodfield and Allan Balter, "A Cube of Sugar" first aired on April 1 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Powerful but gullible German industrialist Otto Kelmann (Wilfred Hyde-White) is on the verge of handing over his munitions empire to a "new Hitler" named Colonel Marcus Von Frank (Hans Gudegast), aka Eric Braeden). It is up to the IMF to smash Marcus' movement by forcing Kelmann to realign his thinking. This is the episode in which IMF agent Rollin Hand convincingly poses as the real Adolf Hitler. Written by Mann Rubin, the man responsible for the thematically similar first-season Mission: Impossible episode "The Legend", "Echo of Yesterday" first aired on December 10, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide