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Vegas Heist (25 February 1981) Appearing as Jerry Lang Broadcast 25 February 1981 on the ABC television network. When a beloved friend and security guard is murdered while trying to foil a robbery, Philip Roth (Tony Curtis) challenges Dan Tanna (Robert Urich) to test his security system. Accepting the charge, and the promise of $25,000 for each man if the fake robbery is successful, Tanna gathers together a dream team of ex-cons and shady characters: Siegfried Klaus (Werner Klemperer), a professional gambler and the group's mastermind; Freddie "Fingers" (Dick Bakalyan), a safe cracker; Vinnie Rilato (Joe E. Tata), electrical expert; and Jerry Lang (James MacArthur), the wheel man. The following evening the team begins to put its daring plan into motion. Klaus and Freddie sneak into the security area and substitute an innocent-looking pre-recorded tape for the live feed from the security camera, then install a timer so that their tape will be played at the appropriate time. Meanwhile, Dan and Vinnie time the musical numbers in the casino's show, planning to use its lights and noise for cover during the actual robbery. Not needed for that portion of the plan, Jerry meets with his girlfriend, Madeline (Tiffany Bolling), and the two soon realize that they have the perfect opportunity to turn the fake robbery into a real one. They agree that Madeline will be waiting outside the casino with a gun for Jerry while the others are inside. Then, after the conclusion of the successful phony heist, Jerry will make off with the expected $2-3 million, instead of returning it in exchange for his promised $25,000. Everything goes off without a hitch until the very end, when a young security guard becomes suspicious about the too-calm picture on his surveillance screens. Alerting his boss, the robbery is discovered just seconds after the team exits the building. Unaware that they've been discovered, the team loads the money into Jerry's waiting ambulance, congratulating each other ecstatically. While the others remain behind, Dan climbs aboard to accompany Jerry on the short trip to the front door of the casino, where they will then return the money. However, much to Dan's surprise, Jerry pulls out his gun and orders Dan to drive the ambulance off casino property. Realizing it's futile to argue with a man holding a gun to his head, Dan agrees. Before they get more than a few hundred yards, though, the police show up, having been alerted by casino staff. A dramatic chase ensues through the garishly lighted streets of downtown Las Vegas, ending when the ambulance is wrecked while trying to break through a squard-car barricade. A dazed and defeated Jerry is hauled off to justice, leaving a highly embarrassed Dan to explain things to the police. Special Note: No, it's not your browser or your monitor; the images presented on this page really are fuzzy. Due to the scarce availability of this program on video, we've had to make do with a less than perfect copy; however, we thought fans unable to view any version of this program would appreciate even low quality images rather than nothing at all. Therefore, we've cleaned up the images as best we can and present them here for your viewing pleasure. If at some future date we are able to acquire a video with better picture quality, we'll update this page with better images. |
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