TV REVIEW : CBS’ ‘Shakedown on Sunset Strip’ Is a Bust Thanks to a Sketchy Script

“This case is enough to scramble the brains of Einstein,” says the hero of CBS’ “Shakedown on the Sunset Strip” (Channels 2 and 8 at 9 tonight). Unfortunately, Harold Gast’s script doesn’t make this case any easier to follow.

The subject is an actual scandal that resulted in the indictment of a group of Los Angeles Police Department officials in the late ‘40s. The story is told from the perspective of Charles Stoker (Perry King), an honest cop whose investigations reveal Police Department kickbacks from Hollywood’s hottest madam (Joan Van Ark).

Stoker’s point of view is hardly omniscient, and confusion arrises when Gast attempts to fill in the missing details. Names and events rush by without adequate identification or explanation. Nor is it easy to see how the opening scene fits into the long flashback that follows.

The sketchy quality of the script not only muddies the story but also inhibits the development of dramatic momentum. On the other hand, a few moments seem oddly repetitious. Near the end, for example, we hear some of the same testimony twice--first in a courtroom, then at a Police Department hearing.

The final images stake quite a claim for the significance of it all. Not only did Stoker permanently rid the Los Angeles police of corruption, we’re told, but he “helped the city grow up”--cut to shots of the downtown Los Angeles skyline. Too bad he didn’t tackle the smog.

King is too casual for his role and fails to evoke ‘40s style. His leading ladies fair better: Season Hubley as his partner, Joan McMurtrey as his estranged wife, and Van Ark, all snarls as the madam. Walter Grauman directed.