The Hotel Dick

Episode Number: 111
Season Number: 6.5
Air Date: 10/17/1985
Writer: Reuben Leder
Director: Douglas Heyes
Producer: Chris Abbott
Exec Producer: Donald P. Bellisario

Guest Stars

Candy Clark (Leslie Emory), Phyllis Davis (Cleo Mitchell), Granville Van Dusen (Clyde Daltrey), Joe Moore (Willard X. Huxley), Norm Compton (Nick), Wayne Storm (Leo), Jeff Habberstad (The Catman)

Episode Brief

Magnum decides to get a "real job" and takes on the challenge of being the house detective for a Waikiki hotel, but finds his boss all too Higgins-like and is tasked with apprehending an elusive thief before an upcoming jewelry convention to be held at the hotel.

Rating

8.0

(37 votes)

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Notes

¹ Candy Clark and Phyllis Davis begin their roles as Leslie Emory and Cleo Mitchell, two Waikiki call girls. Leslie will return again in "Straight and Narrow" (7.4), and Cleo will appear in "Murder by Night" (7.14), "The Great Hawaiian Adventure Company" (8.9), "Transitions" (8.11), and the series finale, where she marries Rick! Candy Clark is best known for her role as Debbie Dunham in the 1973 George Lucas film American Graffiti, which garnered her an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress. Phyllis Davis was a regular cast member on Vega$, playing the character Beatrice Travis. She also appeared with Tom Selleck and Roger E. Mosley in the 1973 drive-in, prison film Terminal Island.

² The "Hawaiian Gardens Hotel" is fictional. All of the hotel scenes were shot at the Marriott Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa (Kealohilani Tower & Paoakalani Tower) in Waikiki. Other than the one brief scene at the King Kamehameha Club, the entire episode takes place at the hotel. This is one of the very few episodes to feature no scenes at Robin's Nest.

³ Magnum appears to be wearing and using the same blazer and briefcase as he just did in the previous episode ""The Kona Winds" (6.4).

⁴ In one of the scenes with Leslie at the hotel room (just after Magnum finds the phone number in the coat), Tom Selleck delivers a piece of dialog in a noticeably unusual way. His little "It Matters" speech seems almost mechanical in nature, with a strangely subdued tone. Normally, Magnum would say these type of lines with more anger and passion. It may be intentional on Selleck's part, a kind of "tip-of-the-fedora" salute to the title of the episode (and film noir Private Dick's). (Noted by IslandHopper & golfmobile)

⁵ It appears that Magnum's office in the hotel is the same soundstage set that is used for his bedroom at the guesthouse, only redecorated. The size of the room and the location of the door and closet are exactly the same in both sets. (Noted by eeyore)

⁶ A closeup of a computer screen at the hotel shows a date of "10-17-85", the same date that this episode originally aired.

⁷ Magnum is seen wearing his reading glasses for the first time since the early Season One episode "Thank Heaven for Little Girls and Big Ones Too" (1.4). He mentions to Higgins that his eyesight isn't as good as it once was. We will see him wearing his glasses more and more in future episodes.

⁸ The scene when Higgins and Rick (in waiter uniforms) intercept/collide with the security guards is clearly done by two stunt doubles. John Hillerman's double is especially obvious, with and without freeze framing. (Noted by Tim)

⁹ Magnum's rooftop jump at the very end (where he overcomes his shaken confidence from a previous jump attempt) is one of the most memorable denouements of the entire series and features one of the best "final frames" ever. The scene was shot at the Kuhio Ebbtide Hotel (2462 Kuhio Ave) in Waikiki. (Filming location ID'd by rubber chicken)

¹⁰ The beginning of the closing credits show the scene where Magnum chases the Catman around the pool, but the footage is slightly different than what was seen in the episode. It appears to be a different take, as Magnum almost collides with the Catman when the chase starts, and when they run around the backside of the pool no one is seen jumping into the pool, as was seen in the episode.

Quotes

¹
Magnum: Higgins, if you are here on a siteseeing tour, I am busy, or do you miss me already?
Higgins: Hardly. As a matter of fact, the aura of pastoral serenity that has permeated the estate since your departure is positively delightful. The birds sing. The Lads frolic.
Magnum: The Lads frolic? What are you here for Higgins?

²
Leslie Emory: Thomas, if you turn me in, I'm gonna go to jail. And if you let me go, I'm sure as hell dead. You got any ideas??

³
Leslie Emory: Who cares? I'm gone tomorrow, so are you. It's not our problem anymore. What's it matter?
Magnum: It matters.
Leslie Emory: ...Why?!
Magnum: It matters. It matters, because sometimes you get to a point where easy rationalizations don't cut it anymore. There's gotta be a place where you stop and examine your life, and if it isn't right then maybe you just gotta say no, and no more, ... or stop looking in the mirror.

Flubs

¹ When Higgins first meets up with Magnum at his hotel office, look closely at Higgins' tie. For a split second, a small yellowish circle of light illuminates on the tie and then disappears! This may have been caused by an acidic chemical which burned a hole in the original print. (Noted by MaximRecoil)

² In Magnum's office at the hotel, the telephone and card game on the table suddenly change positions (in the same scene) in a time span of 12 seconds (23.07 to 23.19). (Noted by Bernd-Christian Schulze)

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