"Joe Friday" and "Bill Gannon" are assigned to the bunco squad, meaning they deal with con artists, of which are many in every city and town and always have been.
Friday goes on a local TV show, filling in for someone, to explain some of the rackets these guys use. It's quite interesting. You'd be amazed at the tricks people play on gullible, trusting citizens.
The story in this one involves a guy posing as a Marine selling magazine subscriptions so the boys in Vietnam will have something to read. He's quite successful, too, having bilked one lady for $1,800 in subscriptions.
Another one he swindled is interviewed by Friday and Gannon and she, "Marilyn Tate," is a hoot. The expressions she uses are ones I've never heard anyone say. She's a real character in a TV program that likes to feature weird characters here and there. Sarah Selby was the actress. Her husband, "Cliff," was weird, too. He used the word "there" in every sentence. He was played by Doodles Weaver. Later, we get some more great dialog as Larry Mann plays "Pete Benson," the head of the subscription service. He's a real wise guy who spouts one film-noir expression after another. All of this made this episode one of the best I've seen in the series.
