The retail clothing business never looked dicier - and Joel Grey is very effective as the ex-con clothing empire owner born and bred to buy low, sell high, and get stiffed.
First his gorgeous much younger wife and then his attorney are shot in broad daylight by what Bobby terms "a bold shooter", but the paranoid businessman trusted neither spouse nor counselor. The only person he does seem to trust is a man he served time with, still imprisoned.
Goren and Eames discover the connection via a check made out by the dead attorney to the inmate's wife. The inmate himself is a violent cop-hating offender who offered protection to the mad merchandiser when he was locked up. He's a self-professed 'living legend', and the clothier had paid out over 200,000 dollars to him. And of course, the imprisoned hood has the connections to make folks on the outside go away, (the retailers 'enemies' as well as his)in addition to keeping his 'friends' healthy behind bars.
This isn't the prison marriage made in heaven, tho. Unfortunately, the sentiment is all on one side - the old retailer's. Even his own son is about to be executed, "he's on paranoid fugue" says Goren, and the detectives decide to prove his buddy on the inside is both behind the killings and will sell the old man out.
The main interest in the episode is the crazed old man's conviction those who loved him (or a facsimile therof) on the outside are traitorous, while his main man inside is a 'brother'. A brother who bleeds you dry, maybe, while offering protection from his own goons. And one who also has a few prison employees on his tab, and plans on escaping and retiring in Cuba. (hence the title).
The story, tho, goes beyond the typical superficial examinations of institutionalized thinking, paranoid behavior, and misplaced loyalties, to examine, if all too briefly, a special connection made long ago in space and time between a reassuring elderly tailor and a troubled boy, and the retailer's present attempt to retrieve the past by projecting onto the con the integrity of the long dead tailor.
To see the old clothing store owner "I know people!" realize he has not just been fooled, but has fooled himself, is saddening. Of course, Goren isn't about to pull any punches when letting you know you've been played like a "dummy", and the price was as inconsequential as a few more minutes of prison-time tv. :)
Grey is marvelous in his portrayal of a man who has truly lost it...and God only knows how long ago.moreless
Episode Summary
EDIT
After the trophy wife of a recently released prison inmate is murdered, Goren plays on the man's paranoia to find a connection to another inmate with a hit list.
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GUEST STAR
Charles GrayCell Guard
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GUEST STAR
Joel GreyMilt Winters
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GUEST STAR
Clifton PowellDempsey Powers
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Vincent D'Onofrio
Det. Robert Goren
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Kathryn Erbe
Det. Alexandra Eames
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Courtney B. Vance
A.D.A. Carver
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Jamey Sheridan
Capt. James Deakins
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions
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TRIVIA (2)
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Goof: Onlookers are clearly seen in many of the scenes in this episode. Two times at the pier: the guy with the hockey gear is constantly looking back at what is happening and when the hit man is brought to the pier there's a guy walking towards Goren and Eames. Just when you can almost see this person and he's almost to Goren and Eames-he makes a sharp turn to exit the shot. The scene outside the courthouse where Goren is explaining Dempsey's plan, there's a guy who is standing behind them (Goren, Eames and Carver) who is just smiling in a black beret-looking straight at the camera crew as they walk off to the left.
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Eames's father was a police officer in the 40th precinct.
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QUOTES (1)
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Robert Goren: You know, it's a shame. All this trust and loyalty look where it gets you.
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NOTES (1)
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Special billing was given to Joel Grey (and) in this episode.
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ALLUSIONS (1)
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Dempsey Powers: You're a devil. Alex Eames: You should see me in a blue dress. Devil in a Blue Dress is one in a series of books by Walter Mosley about private detective Easy Rawlins. The novels follow Rawlins as he solves cases throughout L.A. and deals with the prejudices faced by black men in the 1940s. It was made into a 1995 film starring Denzel Washington.
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