The Checkmate Detective Agency is hired by the rich owner of a horse farm, after what appear to be bogus attempts on her life. This all happens after her husband is found guilty of murder and receives the death penalty.
A newlywed bride faces disaster when her new husband suddenly disappears, unknowingly at the hands of an escaped criminal trying to escape a death sentence.
Two car thieves run down an innocent man and kill him. That man's best friend wants to find the thug behind the two thieves, extract a confession and then execute him by cyanide.
Checkmate comes to the aid of a woman with a traumatic past when it becomes evident that someone is trying to make it appear she's mentally unstable. discrediting her eye-witness testimony at a murder trial.
A well respected archaeologist is about to murder a mysterious man, supposedly dead for many years. The doctor's fiancée hires the Checkmate team to stop the murder.
A wealthy heiress is trying to escape not only her money hungry relatives but also the criminals who want her dead before she testifies as a witness against them. The Checkmate agency steps in to help.
Whitney Thorne is an oil magnate who is being targeted by an ex-partner. His daughter hires the Checkmate agency to help prevent his murder, but Thorne wants a showdown with his nemesis.
Checkmate enlists the help of a Major in the Marines to prevent an action taken against the widow of a dead private, whom the Marines claim never lived.
Barbara Rush plays a dual role in The dark divide. Why should Margaret Russell's life be threatened? Her aunt keeps getting phone calls from a woman named Nikki Garnett, threatening Margaret. What motive could the woman have?
Jed is on vacation in Mexico and meets up with a beautiful woman. But when he arrives at the beach they planned to meet at, Jed finds her stabbed and bleeding in the sand. Of course, just as he pulls the knife from her chest, the police arrive, arrest him and charge the innocent man with attempted murder.
The daughter of an Ambassador with a history of speeding runs over and kills a Chinese child. She is not charged because of diplomatic immunity but soon she starts to receive threats from those in the Asian community. Checkmate is called in to provide protection.
Attorney Emory Olivant invites Corey, Sills and Dr. Hyatt to a party. Once all the guests have arrived, Olivant announces that they are going to play a game—a murder game in which he will be the killer.
Checkmate's housekeeper is thrown from a window. But before she dies, she calls Jed and tells him she heard one of her clients speak of an upcoming murder. Now Jed and Checkmate must find the one to be murdered and figure out who the killers are.
Reverend Wister, who has spent many years of service in China, is wounded in an apparent assassination attempt upon his return to San Francisco. He hires Checkmate to help him find a Chinese man of mystery, ostensibly to warn the man of an impending assassination attempt. The good reverend, however, proves to be a man of mystery himself
Arguably the finest episode of the series, featuring guest star Peter Lorre as an ex-con criminal mastermind determined to wreak revenge on master criminologist Sebastian Cabot. An intricate series of cat and mouse moves between the two geniuses culminates in a surprise and ultimately poignant ending, befitting the episode title. This episode stresses the close friendships between the three detectives of CHECKMATE INCORPORATED as it contrasts with that of the brilliant, but soulless Lorre. Directing, writing and acting are all exemplary.
A friend of Dr. Hyatt's, Judge Ralph G. Addison, has been receiving anonymous calls and letters warning that he will die if a man he sent to death row is executed. Checkmate's investigation raises questions about the condemned man's guilt, and the judge's character.
Jed and Dr. Hyatt go undercover as employees in a well-to-do household after Checkmate is hired by an anonymous client to protect the family from an unspecified danger. While there they encounter a grumpy housekeeper who hates beards, a woman who is about to marry for a third time, the woman's patrician uncle, her mysterious intended groom, and her high-spirited young daughter who imagines things, most of which are fantasy. Most. less
Television comedian and crusader Dan Whitman is advocating stricter penalties for drunk drivers, especially for a woman charged with two DUI fatalities. The woman's husband is an ex-mobster with powerful connections who wants Whitman dead. Whitman hires Checkmate for protection.
The checkmate team is being held hostage by a gang led by rogue gangster Joe Farrell, who is running from the mob. He demands that Don act as courier for his estranged wife and a fortune in stolen cash, or Jed and Dr. Hyatt will die. When Don discovers that one of Farrell's men plans to double-cross Farrell, Don tries to take advantage of the situation by pitting the two men against each other.
Ernie Stone, reformed and repentant thanks in part to Dr. Hyatt, is paroled after serving 20 years for his role in the Christmas Eve armed robbery of a novelty store that resulted in a crippling bullet wound to the proprietor. Immediately upon his release there is an attempt on Ernie's life, and suspicion at first falls on the now-dead proprietor's unforgiving son, Chuck Ellis, who has been harassing Ernie. Checkmate, however, suspects Ernie is harboring a secret that would shed new light on why someone would want him dead.
Rock 'N' Roll star Buddy Robbins (played by 1950s pop star Jimmie Rodgers) has been receiving chilling death threats, and his agent hires Checkmate to investigate. Jed goes undercover as an aide to Buddy. After someone fires a shot at Buddy, Jed discovers that the person who made the threats and the person who fired the shot are not the same person.
A woman claims her husband killed a male friend of hers and that she will be next, but her moody behavior, and her past as a psychiatric patient, make Don wonder if her story is legitimate. Don and Dr. Hyatt try a gambit to see who needs protection from whom.
A temperamental lady soprano, Lola Tuscany, has premonitions of her own death, and Checkmate is asked to help keep her safe. A series of publicity stunts, and Miss Tuscany's superstitious nature, leave the Checkmate team skeptical- until Don's car explodes just after he and Lola get out.
Althea Todd has become the most reviled citizen of Jericho, California after writing a novel that aired some of the town's dirty laundry, including a twenty-year-old unsolved murder. Her life is endangered when she begins work on a sequel, so she hires Checkmate for protection.
Steve Margate is a highly successful comic strip artist who plans to kill off his title character, O'Hara. Someone is trying to make Margate appear legally incompetent by appearing before him donned as O'Hara and apparently trying to kill him when he is alone, and Checkmate suspects it is someone who stands to take over the strip and all its financial benefits with Margate out of the way.
Lee Tabor is a daring but claustrophobic big game hunter and friend of Dr. Hyatts, who asks his help in finding out who's trying to kill him. Dr. Hyatt and Jed fly to Tabor's castle in the jungles of Malaya where they expect one of the guests is the culprit . The guests include Lee's estranged wife, Kay, and his girlfriend, Mary Lou Keyes.
A deaf mute schoolteacher runs to Don's apartment for protection from thugs after she lip-read a conversation they were having at a restaurant. She could make out only jumbled portions of it, but it was enough to make her a target for murder. Don stays at her side while Checkmate looks for her would-be assassins.
Ex-convict Griff Nolan is jealous because his wife Libby earns more as a magazine editor than he does as a mechanic. More domestic strife develops when Griff becomes jealous of Libby's boss Lewis Bates --- and buys a gun.
Ballerina Janine Caree calls Checkmate, ostensibly for protection from a shadowy man with underworld connections who at first appears to be an obsessed fan. Don and Dr. Hyatt, however, have to leave for Seattle, so they refer her to a trusted friend and colleague. When the colleague and the shadowy man turn up dead, they are led on a trail of intrigue and murder that leads right where it began.
Corey is onboard a cruise ship to protect a woman who claims that her husband is trying to kill her, but her odd behavior raises doubts in Corey's mind. Also aboard is another private detective who was hired by the woman's husband, ostensibly to protect her from herself.
While on the verge of giving a speech Dr. Hyatt is called away by a request to investigate a murder at the Deervale Military Academy. With Sills going undercover one thing leads to another and the investigation leads to smuggling.
Successful fashion designer Georgia Golden calls on Checkmate after attempts are made to ruin her business, and end her life. The suspects at first are her younger sister, whom Georgia raised and who's tired of listening to her, and a business rival who used to be Georgia's lover. The Checkmate team, however, may be barking up the wrong tree.
Checkmate gets the job of protecting recently-widowed, thrill-seeking Gloria Kenyon from her rich, vengeful mother-in-law, who believes Gloria arranged her son's death by parachute to collect his inheritance. The elder Mrs. Kenyon soon dies, but not before hiring someone to kill Gloria, an order which still stands.
Movie stuntman Joe Martinez is quick to anger. When a propman causes an accident, Joe takes a swing at him - and knocks himself right out of a job.
Status-seeking retired contractor Ernie Venable gets Dr. Hyatt's seal of approval for a new security system, but that doesn't stop someone from throwing a poisonous snake on his property in an effort to scare him, or kill him. The Checkmate team must contend with Ernie's coarse manners while they try to keep from getting pneumonia from staying in his frigid home to find who's responsible and protect him from the snake.
A patient with an overactive imagination at a hospital for the elderly asks Checkmate to investigate strange happenings at the facility, and a series of carefully planned "accidents" aimed at Anne Elliot, wealthy heiress and wife of the facility's director, Dr. Thomas Elliot, seems to corroborate her suspicions. In the investigation Don ends up as a patient himself after suffering an accident on the property. After his recovery his suspicions are aroused by what looks like more than a professional relationship between Dr. Elliot and the head nurse.
A fictional state governor running for re-election stages a phony assassination attempt to boost his chances for victory, and hires Checkmate, ostensibly for protection, but in reality to provide an appearance of credibility. The governor's son is vocal in opposing his father's tactics, but dutifully goes along, mindful of a future political career of his own. Meanwhile, as the campaign winds down, a real threat to the governor's life emerges from within his own campaign.
Luther Gage, an egomaniacal, methodical killer whom Dr. Hyatt helped send to prison, vows revenge and conducts a plot planned to the last detail to carry it out. Checkmate employs the services of Chris Devlin, seen here for the first time, to enter the prison posing as a new inmate to figure out and thwart Gage's plan.
At Corey's urging, a reluctant Dr. Hyatt is staying at a lodge for some much needed rest and recreation. The lodge's handyman is plotting the death of the owner, with the help of an escaped convict. The owner's wife, who is also the handyman's ex-lover, is in on the plot, but is ambivalent. When Hyatt's suspicions are aroused, he calls the Checkmate headquarters, and Jed arrives at the lodge, posing as a guest.
Jocko, a man whom Dr. Hyatt recommended be remanded to a psychiatric facility for treatment at his parole hearing five years earlier, still holds a grudge, believing that Hyatt wanted him confined for life as a psychopath. On his birthday, Hyatt gets a surprise visit from Jocko, who holds him at gunpoint with the intention of forcing him to concoct nitro for deadly use.
Gina Burton is a photo-journalist who has pictures that prove sensitive to a prominent men's club. In an effort to fend off an intruder trying to gain possession of the pictures while she's developing them, she accidentally gets acid in her eyes, resulting in permanent blindness. Hired to provide protection, Corey also helps her cope with her blindness.
The son of a prominent businessman has been murdered in San Felipe. The town suspects Juan Moreno, a migrant worker, but the men at Checkmate think he is being railroaded. They investigate, and in the process, uncover details that are embarrassing to both the defendant and the victim's family.
Sid Caesar appears as Johnny Wilder, a highly popular but guilt-ridden, somewhat neurotic San Francisco disk jockey who believes that a former rival whose own career went on the skids blames Johnny and wants to kill
Zoe Kamens is an artist who just wants to paint honestly by copying masterpieces, but her husband, a man of questionable ethics, has been pressuring her to make copies and pass them off as originals. He in turn is being pressured by a crooked art dealer. Zoe turns to Checkmate, but keeps changing her story because of her shifting feelings for her husband, and complicating matters is the fact that she and Don were once an item, something Don has trouble forgetting.
Highly successful construction engineer Howard Gentry calls on Checkmate after an apparent attempt on his life. Checkmate suspects his identical twin brother Robert, but Howard does everything he can to dissuade them of that suspicion. His reasons for doing so lead to an intriguing conclusion.
Police Lieutenant Dave Harker, a friend of Don's, is bitter after being denied a promotion to Captain, and decides to frame nightclub owner and high school rival Nick Culley, whom he blames for the pass over, for murder. Harker in turn is being blackmailed by a man who knows the truth. Devlin goes undercover as a rookie cop to keep an eye on Harker.
An amnesiac woman is taken home from the hospital by a man claiming to be her husband, but the woman doesn't believe that she could be his wife, and despite her memory lapse believes she has reason to fear for her life. Checkmate investigates.
In a mostly comedic episode, Jack Benny guest stars as Jack Bowen, a beloved TV comedian much like Benny himself, who is serving as the Grand Marshal of the Pioneer Bowl Parade and football game. Also in town for the big game is the Checkmate team, and while there they end up mixing business with pleasure after Jack becomes the apparent target of a would-be assassin.
Jed poses as a publicity man on a movie set to keep a close watch on suicidal actress Vicky Page, accused of trying to kill another actress who she suspects is having an affair with her boyfriend, director Ernie Chapin.
Checkmate is called to investigate the disappearance of an employee at Venus West, a beauty farm for women. Don finds himself falling for the beauty center's manager, who is not all she seems.
Eddie Phillips is a gifted but troubled young art student with an anger management problem. After being informed of his father's arrest on embezzlement charges, he attacks Dr. Hyatt and is put on a year's probation. Laura Hammond, an art teacher, takes an interest in Eddie and tries to help him with his anger problem by encouraging his painting, but must take care he doesn't misunderstand their relationship.
A widow who runs a yacht club hires the Checkmate agency to investigate an apparent attempt on the life of a married man she is having an affair with, who happens to be a member of the club.
John Baker, a lawyer friend of Dr. Hyatt's with a mysterious past, is threatened with disbarment. He decides he wants to die, and asks a friend to arrange for his death, then changes his mind. When his friend is found murdered, he fears his death has already been arranged, and goes to Checkmate for protection.
Aging theater star Richard Gilmore is nearly killed in an apparent accident during a rehearsal. His wife, actress Beatrice Lawlor, suspects it was no accident, and consults Checkmate. A subsequent attempt on his life confirms her suspicions, but the culprit turns out to be an unlikely suspect.
Victor Ragar, a cellist at a music conservatory that fronts for an Eastern Bloc freedom movement of which he is the leader, is in danger of being assassinated by a compatriot who accuses him of betraying the cause. The would-be assassin, Paul Delorio, also has a personal motive- Victor ran off with Paul's wife while Paul was in prison in the old country. The conservatory's director, also a member of the movement, hires Checkmate to protect Victor.
Karen Vale, who served five years for acting as a courier for enemy agents, is staying at a halfway house for women run by a senator's widow, Mrs. Creighton, and faces the hostility of her fellow citizens and from protesters outside the house. Mrs. Creighton hires Checkmate to protect her. In the course of their services, the Checkmate team finds Karen's greatest threat is from her former comrades who have infiltrated the protesters and even the house itself to try and bring her back into their circle, or eliminate her.
Jed and Dr. Hyatt go undercover as members of a hobo community to protect a man known as Doc, acknowledged leader of the community. Years ago Doc was disinherited by his wealthy father for behaving irresponsibly with money, but now his dying father wants him back, and others in his family want him dead so they won't have to pay him an allowance. When Doc winds up inheriting the entire estate, he goes to town with it, making Checkmate's job more difficult.
The death of powerful business magnate Arnold Brack from an apparent gun accident, and his widow's and brother's apparent lack of emotion, leaves his grieving son, Daniel, to suspect it was no accident. His father recorded all of his dealings on tape, and Daniel searches for a recording of the moment of his father's death to find out what really happened. Checkmate is hired to aid in the investigation.
Two convicts, both former Catholic schoolboys, escape by shooting a policeman, then hole up in a monastery while Dr. Hyatt is visiting and hold the Father Abbot and Dr. Hyatt hostage. Dr. Hyatt appeals to the penitential instincts of one of the men in an effort to end the situation.
Checkmate is hired to protect the life of Judge Leland McIntyre, who is conducting a series of lectures concerning a trial over which he presided eight years ago resulting in him sending a man to the gas chamber. Checkmate suspects that one of the students may be connected to the case and signed up for the course to get to him. In the course of their investigation, the judge begins to question his own conduct in the trial.
Checkmate is hired to protect rodeo star Len Kobalsky from his girlfriend Marcy Lowell's brother, who disapproves of their relationship and prefers she marry someone from a wealthy family such as theirs. As it turns out, the real threat to Len is from one of his fellow rodeo riders.
A woman who runs a home for struggling artists has been receiving death threats, and suspicion falls on her boarders, including a pretty young poet who is the object of Jed's affections.
The Checkmate team is in Chinatown on behalf of a colleague of Dr. Hyatt's, a Dr. James Low, who claims his Chinese wife may try to kill a man who is supposedly blackmailing her in an attempt to ingratiate himself into Chinese society. Their investigation reveals that they are being used as pawns in an elaborate web of deceit, greed, and possibly murder.
Checkmate is hired by a woman to protect her husband, Stephen Jordan, who publishes a newspaper opposed to a referendum on legalized gambling in the city of Midvale. He has been receiving death threats and, thanks to Dr. Hyatt, survived an attempt to kill him by poisoning. The culprit at first is thought to be a supporter of the referendum, but there may be something in Jordan's past that could shed light on a different motive.
In a tour-de-force performance, Don Taylor guest stars as an ex-pro football player, now fronting a cheap health club and always on the make for one big score. Wealthy thrill seekers enlist him in an elaborate conspiracy to convince his college football protege to throw the big game. The detectives at Checkmate attempt to untangle the deceptions and restore Taylor's pride.
Wealthy industrialist Frederick Haley, who has been appointed to an important position at a humanitarian foundation, asks Checkmate to find out who has been threatening his mistress, whom he plans to marry after leaving his wife.
After an attempt is made on the life of bankrupt ranch owner Harl Stoner, the Checkmate agency goes undercover at the ranch's stockholder's meeting, where a ruthless business man sets out to take the ranch and split it up for sale and profit.
When a powerful millionaire dies, his three sons suddenly start to suspect everyone as potential threats to stealing the old man's fortune, including each other. They hire the Checkmate agency to keep them alive until the reading of the will. Only there may be another threat to the fortune that comes from outside the family.
A young hotel convention hostess is being used to escort businessmen attending the convention to their rooms, and then have her picture taken with them for the purpose of blackmail. The proprietress, Mary Reed, is suspicious and asks the men from Checkmate to investigate.
The personal relationship between entertainer Johnny Kay and his singing partner Pete O'Mara has hit a sour note. Corey (Anthony George), who has been asked to keep a protective eye on them, shows up during one of their recording sessions - which angers Johnny into storming out of the studio.