Hawaii Five-O King Kamehameha Blues (1968–1980) Online

This episode reminds me of great caper films like RIFIFI and GRAND SLAM, as a huge portion of the episode is devoted to showing the intricacies of the heist. During these moments, the show is exceptional. However, once the crime is completed, the characters themselves are allowed to shine through--and they were quite annoying--though not so much that I wouldn't recommend the episode.

A group of college friends are led by a very bright but morally retarded fellow-student (Brandon De Wilde). He creates a complicated plan to rob the Bishop Museum and steal the priceless cape of King Kamehameha. It's a beloved treasure of Hawaii's past and these four punks steal it just for kicks. Amazingly, almost half the episode is devoted to showing the planning and execution of this heist.

The people of Hawaii are so upset by this theft that the Governor offers not to prosecute the criminals if only they'll return the cloak. It's not like the punks can sell it, but De Wilde is insistent that the cape never be returned and he states that he'd rather destroy it than return it. So it's up to McGarrrett and a miracle to stop this senseless destruction.

As I stated above, when the film focused on the robbery, it was great. But, afterwords the thieves seemed like a group of obnoxious jerks--so much so that it actually detracted from my enjoyment of the episode. I just wanted them to shut up! Overall, a decent episode that is probably most noteworthy as one of the last performances of De Wilde before he was tragically killed in a traffic accent in 1972. Oh, and if you can't place the name, he was the little boy from the movie SHANE. You know...the kid who yelled out "Shane....come back, Shane!!" as the movie ended.

This is a breezy but fast-paced entry dealing with a caper to steal the feathered cloak of the eponymous King Kamehameha. The plot devolves into an establishment-versus-rebellious-teens conflict that was probably inevitable given its 1969 origins; still, the plotting of the caper is intricately edited, and in one noteworthy scene, the discussion among the students regarding their plans is carefully inter-cut with another scene in which McGarrett reviews the museum's security system with its curator. Still, if you've seen "How to Steal a Million," "Topkapi, or "Dead Heat on a Merry-go-Round," it will look somewhat familiar.

The episode is primarily interesting today, therefore, from the standpoint of the four actors playing the college kids. Vincent Eder, as the "muscle man" of the quartet, makes his second and last appearance of the series (his earlier role, in "To Hell with Babe Ruth," was as a police officer!). Randall Duk Kim, billed as "Randall Kim," makes his third and final "Five-O" appearance as the "flyweight" member of the team; although he was later lauded as a stage performer, his film career virtually disappeared after this, until he came roaring back in the '90s and '00s with roles in the likes of "The Matrix Reloaded." Jennifer Leak, already married to her former colleague Tim Matheson from "Yours, Mine and Ours," wasn't given much to do here except react to the others; she acted only sporadically until the mid-80s.

Most noteworthy, sadly, is the presence of preternaturally young Brandon De Wilde; he had only three years to live before he would die at 30 in a road accident on his way to a theater performance in Colorado, and as he had begun acting in these out-of-the-way venues, his filmed performances were fairly rare in his last years. This isn't a particularly rewarding role as the anti-establishmentarian rich kid, but it's fun to see him sporting a thin mustache in an attempt -- at the age of 27! -- to look a little older than he almost always did. Even in a thankless role like this, mostly trading barbs with McGarrett or urging his cohorts to "stick it to the Man," De Wilde was always interesting to watch, and having this performance is just a reminder of the tragedy of his loss at so young an age.

Years ago, I had the pleasure of watching Randall Duk Kim act in a Shakespeare play at the American Players Theater in Spring Green, Wisconsin. I heard through the grapevine that he didn't like to be reminded that he was once on Hawaii 5-0. I don't know if that's true or not, especially since he was on only 3 episodes, and I would think that was pretty plum work for a young actor; and he acquitted himself well in all three (even this one: I'm sure he was following the director's instructions). But if it is true, I'm guessing this is the episode he didn't want to be reminded of (in season 1, he was in two episodes, "Deathwatch" and "By the Numbers," both of which are pretty good). This episode had good potential. A good plot, with an intricate plan to steal the priceless cloak that once belonged to King Kamehameha, and is made of feathers from now-extinct birds (the mamo or hoohoo). Four college kids come up with this plan as a prank. Clearly, all four are intelligent. But they are possibly the most annoying characters to ever appear on this series... at least that's how the characters were played. I wonder if that was the director's fault? Or maybe the script called for it: "Arnold and Diana: to be played as over-privileged obnoxious college students who do not understand the importance of what they are studying. They are to neck, annoyingly, in public as often as possible." "Eddie: to be played as an electronics whiz who laughs like an idiot, annoyingly, as often as possible." "Johnny: to be played as a dumb lug, annoyingly, until he finally wakes up and smells the coffee." When McGarrett confronts them in their hippie pad, there is a good exchange regarding priorities. But these youths are so obnoxious, you just want McGarrett to slap them into next week (at one point Danno looks like he's just about to do that, but McGarrett shoves him out the door before he can). The youths are being offered not only a reward, but amnesty as well, if they'll just return the cloak. But the leader, Arnold, is so bitter against the "establishment" that he'd rather destroy the cloak. That's a little odd, since the cloak is an important symbol not to the white establishment, but to the native Hawaiians. Arnold, and his squeeze Diana (who is an anthropology major!!) clearly haven't thought this all through. They are annoying for this reason, and because they do everything to the cloak that they've been told not to do: they bend it, they fold it, they lay on it, they use it as a toreador cape, they expose it to direct sunlight, etc. Finally Johnny's conscience and ethnic pride get the best of him, so he spills the beans to McGarrett and the cloak is saved. Since the conspirators did not turn themselves in, they get neither amnesty nor reward, but instead are arrested, which means they're about to get up close and personal with the "establishment." (At least, presumably, until Arnold's rich parents tell the judge he's suffering from affluenza and buy his way out of trouble). If the show had made the kids slightly less annoying, and slightly more watchable, I would rate the episode higher. But since the kids make you want to fast-forward through their scenes, I'm rating it lower.