MURDER, SHE WROTE: THE GRAND OLD LADY (TV)

Summary

One in this murder mystery series about an unassuming Maine mystery writer turned sleuth named Jessica B. Fletcher who uses her professional insight to help solve real-life homicide cases. In this episode, originally intended as an episode of the failed "Ellery Queen" television series, Jessica eulogizes the recently departed Abigail Austin, a famed writer who once found herself embroiled in "a real-life mystery," not unlike Jessica herself. Shortly after World War II, a passenger aboard the Queen Mary, Peter Daniken, sends an important message to shore and is then fatally stabbed by an unseen assailant, begging for the captain's help as he dies. The passengers and crew are forced to stay aboard the ship until the crime is solved, and would-be journalist Christy McGinn eagerly offers to cover the story, pleased to learn that his father, Lt. Martin McGinn, has been assigned to the case. Christy is further excited to learn that the famous Abigail is onboard, and she is equally charmed to meet him, as she is fond of his crossword puzzles in the newspaper. They resolve to crack the case together, and she explains that Daniken's message contained a veiled reference to a famous chess match and guesses that he was using an assumed identity.

U.S. Treasury Agent Lennihan arrives and partially confirms Abigail's theory, explaining that the dead man was actually Otto Kreutzmann, a former Gestapo officer in hiding. He adds that Kreutzmann was likely smuggling a counterfeit currency plate into the country, intending to damage the economy with a flood of fake money, and that the killer presumably now has the plate. Another passenger, Edwin Chancellor, accuses Nicholas Crane of being involved, as he was seen playing chess with Daniken/Kreutzmann shortly before the murder, though Martin is unconvinced. The cop interviews Arthur Bishop, a fashion executive who was heard angrily demanding to leave the ship because of an important deadline, and Lennihan questions Paul and Henri Viscard, a French father and son, having noticed that they, along with Bishop and a few others, booked their passage at the last second, just after Kreutzmann bought his own ticket. Abigail chats with Eleanor Cantrell, an American Army nurse, but they are distracted when Bishop suddenly leaps off the ship into the sea, briefcase in hand. Major Daniel McGuire follows suit and later states that he assumed Bishop to be the killer, though Edwin seems suspicious. Christy again questions the Viscards, and Henri admits that he lied about the details of his passage, not wanting to be caught with a secret stash of morphine.

Abigail announces that she has figured out the identity of the killer, and Bishop's drowned body is soon pulled from the sea. Edwin also declares that he has solved the case and suggests that Kreutzmann's dying words referenced McGuire, who was formerly a captain and fought against the Nazis. Eleanor, however, alibis him, revealing that they are having an affair. Abigail argues that Bishop was the true culprit, stating that Kreutzmann's reference to a chess match was actually a veiled reference to Bishop's name and that the plate was in the now-lost briefcase. Everyone seems satisfied with the explanation, but Christy then finds the plate in Edwin's stateroom and explains to Lennihan that Kreutzmann actually used chess lingo in the message to explain where he had hidden it, but admits that he did not want to embarrass Abigail by debunking her theory in front of everyone. Paul Viscard then confesses to the murder, stating that Kreutzmann and his fellow Nazis murdered his brother in the war, and Christy notes that Henri's use of morphine damaged his son's alibi of being in their room together, as morphine puts one into a heavy sleep. Martin swallows his annoyance at his son's "guesswork," and McGuire happily announces that his wife has left him, leaving him free to marry Eleanor after all. Jessica notes that Christy never published his story about the scandalous case, wanting to preserve Abigail's reputation, and concludes that the author truly was "a grand old lady." Commercials deleted.

Details

• NETWORK: CBS
• DATE: October 8, 1989 8:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 0:47:19
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: B:33873
• GENRE: Drama, mystery/suspense
• SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, mystery/suspense; Drama, police/private detective
• SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1984-1996
• COMMERCIALS:
  • TV - Promos - "CBS Sunday Movie: Mystic Pizza"
  • TV - Promos - "CBS This Morning"

CREDITS

• Peter S. Fischer … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
• Robert F. O'Neill … Supervising Producer
• Robert E. Swanson … Producer
• Robert Van Scoyk … Producer
• Anthony J. Magro … Associate Producer
• Richard Levinson … Created by
• William Link … Created by
• Vincent McEveety … Director
• David Bell … Music by
• John Addison … Theme Music by
• Angela Lansbury … Cast, Jessica Fletcher
• Mark Lindsay Chapman … Cast, Paul Viscard
• Dane Clark … Cast, Henri Viscard
• June Havoc … Cast, Lady Abigail Austin
• John Karlen … Cast, Lt. Martin McGinn
• Gary Kroeger … Cast, Christy McGinn
• Joan McMurtrey … Cast, Eleanor Cantrell
• Aubrey Morris … Cast, Mr. Bellows
• Henry Polic II … Cast, Arthur Bishop
• James Stephens … Cast, U.S. Treasury Agent Lennihan
• Gordon Thomson … Cast, Daniel McGuire
• Robert Vaughn … Cast, Edwin Chancellor
• Paxton Whitehead … Cast, Captain Oliver
• Wolf Muser … Cast, Peter Daniken
• Floyd Levine … Cast, Harry Krumholtz
• Donald Craig … Cast, Nicholas Crane
• Michael Douglas Scott … Cast, 2nd Officer
• Derek Partridge … Cast, Doctor
• Gregg Binkley … Cast, Copy Boy
• Terry Sheppard … Cast, Bus Boy
• Joi Staton … Cast, Nurse
• Lisa Ryan … Cast, Woman