Tightrope

5.5

1959•30m

Tightrope is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 1959 to September 1960, under the alternate sponsorship of the J.B. Williams Company, and American Tobacco. Produced by Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene in association with Screen Gems, the series stars Mike Connors as an undercover agent named "Nick" who was assigned to infiltrate criminal gangs. The show was to have originally been titled Undercover Man but it was changed before going to air.

Seasons

37 Episodes • Premiered 1959

1. Getaway Day

2. The Casino

3. The Frame

Undercover agent Nick Stone infiltrates a gang of jewel thieves to find evidence that a man convicted of murder during a jewel robbery is actually innocent.

4. Stand on Velvet

The agent joins the gang of William Kane, their objective is to run the leader of the numbers racket out of town.

5. The Cracking Point

The undercover agent joins in on a robbery.

6. Thousand Dollar Bill

7. Music and Mink

8. Man in the Middle

9. The Patsy

10. The Money Fight

After a boxer is killed for not throwing a fight as ordered, Nick goes undercover by taking over as manager for another young prizefighter, planning eventually to get him to turn evidence against the crooked promoter who ordered the killing.

11. Black Tie Kill

12. The Perfect Circle

Barney MacCready puts his train-robbery plan into action. First he kidnaps a detective, then he has two of his henchmen board the train one posing as the missing detective the other as his prisoner.

13. The Lady

14. Cold Kill

An undercover agent assumes the identity of a killer hired to rub out a murder witness. But the intended victim is hiding, and the first task is to smoke him out.

15. The Neon Wheel

16. Two Private Eyes

Sam Keely and Jeff Stewart are a bit on the shady side. The undercover agent's strategy is to muscle in on their racket.

17. Night of the Gun

Dan Hawley and David Johnson, witnesses to a murder committed by gangster Jimmy Farrow, are a target for Larry Maddox, a hired killer. After Maddox kills Hawley, police take Johnson's wife and children into protective custody. Johnson, fearing for his life, goes into hiding. Nick is put on the case.

18. Broken Rope

19. Cold Ice

20. Appointment in Jericho (a.k.a. Assignment in Jericho)

21. Three to Make Ready

22. The Model and the Mobster

23. The Long Odds

A detective assigned to investigate a phoney health club is killed by one of the club owners. An undercover agent follows up, convincing the gangsters that he's a gambler on the run.

24. The Brave Pigeon

Underworld leader Max Rommey wants Paul Anderson dead. To protect Anderson, the undercover agent becomes part of Rommey's gang.

25. First Time Out

26. Park Avenue Story

27. Big Business

28. The Chinese Pendant

29. Achilles and His Heels

30. The Gangster's Daughter

The first step for Nick in infiltrating Vince Baron's gang is foiling the attempted kidnapping of Baron's daughter. He must also contend with a young upstart who wants to push Baron out as leader. What Nick was not expecting was to fall for the daughter.

31. The Penthouse Story

32. The Shark

33. The Horse Runs High

The undercover agent is assigned to break up a gambling ring that bets heavily on certain horses--and then makes sure they win by doping them.

34. The Hired Guns

35. Borderline

The undercover agent is assigned to smash a dope ring that sells to Americans from a base in Mexico.

36. A Matter of Money

Nick is assigned to break up a gang headed by Steve Taylor. This particularly unsavory gang uses threats and violence to force small shopkeepers to pay for protection.