SUMMARY: APPROX. RUNNING TIME: 47:00 Min.
First broadcast by CBS-TV, on March 17, 1985, Walter Grauman directed this early episode off Mary Ann Kasica & Michael Scheff’s script.
From Cabot Cove, Jessica Fletcher (Lansbury) accompanies Sheriff Amos Tupper (Bosley) on a cross-state bus ride to attend a police conference that evening in Portland, Maine.
On this dark and stormy night, the bus driver (Constantine) stops to collect an enigmatic new passenger (Chandler) just released from Maine’s state prison and, then soon after, a stranded motorist (Glover). Forced to pull over at a secluded restaurant, the passengers huddle inside while the drenched bus driver attempts repairs on the disabled engine. Flooded roads from the torrent rain will keep them there for hours.
Amidst the storm, one passenger is found murdered. Jessica & Amos are now stranded with an assortment of suspects possibly linked to the victim. At stake is long-lost loot from a notorious bank heist years before.
Jessica Fletcher: Angela Lansbury
Sheriff Amos Tupper: Tom Bosley
Steven Pascal: John Glover
Jane Pascal: Linda Blair
Ben Gibbons: Michael Constantine
Miriam Radford: Rue McClanahan
Professor Kent Radford: Larry Linville
Carey Drayson: Don Stroud
Ralph Leary: Mills Watson
Joe Downing: Albert Salmi
Gilbert Stoner: John Davis Chandler
Cyrus Leffingwell: David Wayne
REVIEW:
Anchored by Angela Lansbury & Tom Bosley, this cast of familiar TV faces contributes satisfyingly low-key performances more reminiscent of a classy Agatha Christie adaptation than the routine episode they’re actually in. The only caveat is a gimmicky last plot twist, which risks rendering too much of the story’s second half as superfluous.
Still, “Murder Takes the Bus” delivers a solid mystery, even for non-fans.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 6½ Stars
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