Cain's Hundred was a series that ran on NBC during the 1960-61 television season which starred Peter Mark Richman as former mob attorney Nicholas Cain. Cain, after the death of his fiancee in a mob hit, decides to switch sides and work for the government. It's his mission to travel across the country and bring down top mobsters. Here, in The Swinger, Cain is not after any particular mobster but rather information about a meeting of top mobsters being held in Las Vegas. To get this info, Cain approaches an old pal, entertainer Hank Shannon. Shannon, who's obviously based on Frank Sinatra, is friends with many mobsters, and thus the recipient of Cain's request.
Guest star Robert Culp wrote this episode and he gives a bravura performance as Shannon along with crooning a few songs. Sammy Davis, Jr. makes a cameo appearance and former heavyweight boxing champ Jersey Joe Walcott appears as well in a small role. But that's not all. Bruce Gordon takes time off from his role as Frank Nitti on The Untouchables to play another mobster named Marcus Jackson. Only Jackson isn't quite Frank Nitti. He's a burned out shell of a man who's wife has been institutionalized and who's daughter can't stand the sight of him. It's Jackson on whom Shannon must rely in order to keep his hide in one piece. Culp obviously wrote this episode as a showcase for himself and his talents but it's Gordon who steals it right out from under him as a man who's lost his soul but in the end manages to retrieve perhaps a little piece of it. I couldn't help but think while watching Gordon that this was how his Untouchables character of Frank Nitti would have been after reaching the end of his own rope.
So if you ever get a DVD of Cain's Hundred make sure that The Swinger is included in your purchase. It's a classic episode of a series that was perhaps too short-lived.moreless
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Episode Summary
Cain asks the help of an old friend from the old days with the mob. Entertainer Hank Shannon is to provide him with information from an upcoming meeting of top syndicate gang lords set to be held in the Las Vegas home of burned out mobster Marcus Jackson. Shannon learns the information for Cain, but it's up to Jackson as to whether he'll remain in one piece.moreless
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Peter Mark Richman
Nicholas Cain
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Sammy Davis Jr.
Himself
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Bruce Gordon
Marcus Jackson
Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions
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Trivia
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Notes
ADD NOTES- Jersey Joe Walcott was once heavyweight boxing champion of the world. Edit
- Bruce Gordon, who took time off from playing Frank Nitti on The Untouchables to appear in this episode, gets to repeat his Untouchables catchphrase, "You're dead." Edit
- The character of Hank Shannon, an entertainer with Mob connections, appears to be heavily based on Frank Sinatra who reputedly had numerous ties to organized crime. Edit
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Quotes
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Season 1 Episodes
See AllEp 30
The Quick Brown Fox
Ep 29
The Left Side of Canada
Ep 28
Women of Silure
Ep 27
A Creature Lurks in Ambush
Ep 26
Inside Track
Ep 25
The Swinger
Ep 24
Savage in Darkness
Ep 23
The Cost of Living
Ep 22
The New Order
Ep 21
Blues for a Junkman
Ep 20
Blood Money
Ep 19
Murder by Proxy
Ep 18
The Manipulator
Ep 17
The Schemer
Ep 16
The Debasers
Ep 15
Take a Number
Ep 14
The Plush Jungle
Ep 13
Cain's Final Judgment
Ep 12
The Fixer
Ep 11
Five for One
Ep 10
In The Balance
Ep 9
Dead Load
Ep 8
Comeback
Ep 7
The Penitent
Ep 6
King of the Mountain
Ep 5
Degrees of Guilt
Ep 4
Markdown on a Man
Ep 3
Blue Water, White Beach
Ep 2
Crime and Punishment (pt 2)
Ep 1
Crime and Commitment (pt 1)
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