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Petrocelli
S2.E13
All episodesAll
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Falling Star

  • Episode aired Jan 21, 1976
  • 1h
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
25
YOUR RATING
Susan Dey in The Falling Star (1976)
CrimeDramaMysteryThriller

This case is not an ordinary one for Petrocelli. As a matter of fact, the man he accepts to defend is none other than Dusty Rhodes, a film star who was his youth idol. Dusty is suspected of ... Read allThis case is not an ordinary one for Petrocelli. As a matter of fact, the man he accepts to defend is none other than Dusty Rhodes, a film star who was his youth idol. Dusty is suspected of having murdered Mannie Tyler, a film producer, and all appearances are unfortunately again... Read allThis case is not an ordinary one for Petrocelli. As a matter of fact, the man he accepts to defend is none other than Dusty Rhodes, a film star who was his youth idol. Dusty is suspected of having murdered Mannie Tyler, a film producer, and all appearances are unfortunately against him. But Petrocelli's favorite actor is positive he has nothing to do with the crime.

  • Director
    • Russ Mayberry
  • Writers
    • Sidney J. Furie
    • Harold Buchman
    • Leonard Katzman
  • Stars
    • Barry Newman
    • Susan Howard
    • Albert Salmi
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.8/10
    25
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Russ Mayberry
    • Writers
      • Sidney J. Furie
      • Harold Buchman
      • Leonard Katzman
    • Stars
      • Barry Newman
      • Susan Howard
      • Albert Salmi
    • 2User reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    Top cast20

    Edit
    Barry Newman
    Barry Newman
    • Anthony J. Petrocelli
    Susan Howard
    Susan Howard
    • Maggie Petrocelli
    Albert Salmi
    Albert Salmi
    • Pete Ritter
    Ken Curtis
    Ken Curtis
    • Harry Underwood
    Frank Aletter
    Frank Aletter
    • Lee Larker
    Susan Dey
    Susan Dey
    • Jenny Halliday
    George Petrie
    George Petrie
    • Mannie
    • (as George Petri)
    Francine York
    Francine York
    • Lisa Farley
    Lawrence P. Casey
    Lawrence P. Casey
    • Buddy Vanders
    • (as Lawrence Casey)
    Noble Willingham
    Noble Willingham
    • Artie Jacobs
    • (as Nobel Willingham)
    Susanne Zenor
    Susanne Zenor
    • Gigi Laverne
    • (as Suzanne Zenor)
    Ron Foster
    Ron Foster
    • Sgt. Gilliam
    Jess Riggle
    • Nick Wilson
    Arnold Jeffers
    • Judge
    Melvin Todd
    • Fred
    • (as Mel Todd)
    Roger Schuster
    • Rick Ross
    Doug Dudley
    • Assistant Director
    Frank Kennedy
    • Gus
    • Director
      • Russ Mayberry
    • Writers
      • Sidney J. Furie
      • Harold Buchman
      • Leonard Katzman
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews2

    7.825
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    Featured reviews

    7planktonrules

    Yet another murder in this very scary small town!!

    "Petrocelli" was set in the fictional town of San Remo*...a relatively small town in Arizona. Yet despite its size, more people seem to be killed there than anywhere except Cabot Cove! And, in at least half the cases, people who didn't do the murders but were caught in the same room as the victims were defended by Petrocelli and were subsequently found innocent. "The Falling Star" is yet another show that fits this familiar pattern as Dusty Rhodes (Ken Curtis of "Gunsmoke" fame) is accused of a murder he didn't commit. So it's once again up to Petrocelli to dig and determine what really happened...and in this case he's working for one of his favorite old movie stars, as Rhodes used to star in westerns.

    Curtis wasn't the only very familiar TV face in this episode. Susan Dey ("The Partridge Family") stars as Dusty's estranged daughter. Both were pretty good in the show. As for the rest of the episode, the show was well written but awfully familiar...including the almost obligatory attempt on Petrocelli's life. Still, enjoyable and worth seeing...and currently available on YouTube.



    *The show was actually filmed in Tucson, Arizona and the city was much smaller back in the day.

    Related interests

    James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in The Sopranos (1999)
    Crime
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      This episode was filmed in the fall of 1975. Tucson was celebrating its 200th birthday. Susan Day and Barry Newman were in a celebration parade for this bicentennial. The building with the white pillars where Pete and Tony meet with the protectionist was the Ramada Inn on St. Marys and Granada.

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • January 21, 1976 (United States)
    • Language
      • English
    • Production companies
      • Miller-Milkis Productions
      • Paramount Television
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Runtime
      • 1h(60 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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