Hong Kong Passage (Hawaiian Eye)

Infobox Television episode
Title = Hong Kong Passage
Series = Hawaiian Eye


Caption =
Season = 1
Episode = 19
Airdate = February 10, 1960
Production =
Writer = Robert J Shaw
Director =Charles Haas
Guests = Merry Anders : Lisa Barton
Whit Bissell : Jason Plain
James Hong : Key
Episode list = List of Hawaiian Eye episodes
Prev = Sword of the Samurai
Next = Cut of Ice

"Hong Kong Passage" is an episode of the American television detective series "Hawaiian Eye".

ynopsis

A chartered flight from Hong Kong to Honolulu carries eight passengers, including Tracey Steele. Unknown to them, the plane is hijacked by co-pilot Barney Mitchell, who forces Capt John O'Neill to fly off-course. In the cabin, Steele sees an old girl friend Lisa Barton, who is traveling with Ed Turner, a US government agent. Before long, the stewardess Su Ling finds Ed Turner's murdered body. Steele and Su Ling try to contact the pilot, but are unable to gain entry to the cockpit. Meanwhile, Mitchell radios a Mayday call with a phoney position, then directs O'Neill to land at an airstrip on a small island near the Philippines.

Once the plane lands, passenger Jason Plain takes charge, holding a submachine gun on Tracey Steele. Another passenger named Key has a pistol, and joins Jason and Mitchell in herding the others off the plane and into a stockade at the remote airstrip. Back in Honolulu, Tom Lopaka is told Steele's plane has gone down at sea. Lisa Barton is separated from the other passengers; she is also a US agent, and is to be delivered to Mainland China. Steele manages to escape, and also frees Lisa, but there is nowhere to go on the small island. When Jason threatens to kill elderly passengers Mr. and Mrs Jennings, they are forced to surrender.

Steele and Capt O'Neill are separated from the others in a more secure storeroom. They discover a drum of aviation fuel, and use it to make a Molatov cocktail. While Key is distracted by Kin San, the crazy old man who hangs around the airstrip, O'Neill overpowers him and Steele firebombs the captor's quarters. Mitchell is killed, Jason is overpowered, and the captives are free to resume their flight.

Episode cast

eries regulars

* Anthony Eisley ...as Tracy Steele
* Robert Conrad ...as Tom Lopaka
* Connie Stevens ...as Cricket Blake
* Poncie Ponce ...as Kim

Recurring characters

* Doug Mossman ...as Moke
* Andre Philippe ...as Paul ("uncredited")

Guest stars

* Merry Anders ...as Lisa Barton
* Whit Bissell ...as Jason Plain
* James Hong ...as Key
* Robert Gist ...as Barney Mitchell
* Paul Langton ...as Capt John O'Neill
* Maria Tsien ...as Su Ling
* Byron Foulger ...as Mr Jennings
* Louise Lorimer ...as Mrs Jennings
* Mark Tapscott ...as Ed Turner
* Kei Chung ...as Wong
* H T Tsiang ...as Kin San
* Tom Ingersoll ...as Pat Miller

Musical interlude

All the Warner Brothers detective shows of the late fifties and early sixties had a musical interlude written into the teleplay. For this episode Connie Stevens sang an abbreviated version of "A Very Special Day" with the Shell Bar band.

Episode notes

The series main characters Tom Lopaka, Cricket, and Kim are only present in a few brief scenes of this episode.

The tense drama of this episode was somewhat lightened by the bizarre antics of the character Kin San, who mocked and bedeviled captors and captives alike. This was a rare touch of the absurd in a series that usually stuck to mainstream humor.