Overview of 'Homicide' Season 8 - Movie Intelligence

Episode 1 - Two for the Money

Release Date: 1971-01-19

After discovering that she is short of money in the till, Margie, a popular barmaid in a Carlton hotel, goes to the police. She learns from the investigations that she has been fooled by two confidence men who demonstrated a 'magic trick' to her, using money from the till. The subsequent investigation soon becomes a possible murder case.

Episode 2 - Help Yourself

Release Date: 1971-01-26

After discovering that she is short of money in the till, Margie, a popular barmaid in a Carlton hotel, goes to the police. She learns from the investigations that she has been fooled by two confidence men who demonstrated a 'magic trick' to her, using money from the till. The subsequent investigation soon becomes a possible murder case.

Episode 3 - Short Circuit

Release Date: 1971-02-02

The man detectives seek for the murder of a young girl in a motel is a psychopath. But the killer eludes police with tragic results.

Episode 4 - The Terrible Stranger

Release Date: 1971-02-09

Ben Davis, a depressed man under his mother's influence, takes part in a group psycho-therapy session and recalls horrifying memories from his past which throw light on a current murder case.

Episode 5 - Mein Herr Wenzel

Release Date: 1971-02-16

Parts of Kurt Wenzel's body are found scattered in various areas. Suspects emerge when police probe his role in a fanatical political party.

Episode 6 - Denny

Release Date: 1971-02-23

When factory hand Denny Mullins, formerly a union representative, is murdered at work shortly after clocking on, detectives learn from fellow workers that the man who replaced him as union delegate had a reason for wanting him out of the way. Complicating matters is Denny's brother Ray, who has a dubious interest in Denny's wife Jude.

Episode 7 - Death on the Vine

Release Date: 1971-03-02

A woman journalist, Leigh Gardiner, dies after drinking a glass of port. Her husband and teenage daughter become prime suspects in a tragic situation involving drug addiction and suicide.

Episode 8 - Red Carpet Treatment

Release Date: 1971-03-16

When chicken farmer Alex Propi disappears, he is feared murdered when his girlfriend tells police that she heard a heated argument between Propi and his partner, followed by a gun shot.

Episode 9 - The Corrupter

Release Date: 1971-03-23

Blackmail, corruption, and the finding of a body in a park causes some complex problems for the Homicide squad, who find it difficult to sort out the truth from a mass of conflicting evidence.

Episode 10 - Just Throw Money

Release Date: 1971-03-30

When two young women are strangled and another brutally attacked, detectives question the host of a party where the girls were guests. Policewoman Burke later acts as a decoy to trap the killer.

Episode 11 - Lost

Release Date: 1971-04-20

Several small girls are attacked, and police suspect Hughie McBride, a mentally retarded, lonely man, who has befriended young Janet Forrester, who is then reported missing.

Episode 12 - The Wall

Release Date: 1971-05-04

Police investigate when elderly watchman Sid Brown is shot dead after disturbing two students painting protest slogans on a factory wall.

Episode 13 - In The Dark

Release Date: 1971-05-11

Police search for Susan Scott, a girl psychopath, who they believe shot dead her boyfriend with a sawn-off rifle. They believe she could kill again. A tablet found near the victim provides an important clue for detectives when they question a doctor at a psychiatric clinic.

Episode 14 - Killer

Release Date: 1971-05-18

Did John Meadows accidentally shoot dead a prowler at his home or was it a planned murder? Detectives are puzzled as to why Meadows returned home from a hunting trip earlier than expected.

Episode 15 - David's Diary

Release Date: 1971-05-25

Englishman David Ryan dies mysteriously in his greenhouse. His diary, containing a list of women's names, provides clues to an unusual side of his character, as well as a possible motive.

Episode 16 - The Acquittal

Release Date: 1971-06-01

Major Curtis, a key witness in the murder trial of Jim Lennox, is shocked when Lennox is acquitted. Curtis can't understand the resigned attitude of Inspector Fox who says the case cannot be re-opened.

Episode 17 - A Kind of Freedom

Release Date: 1971-06-08

After receiving anonymous letters threatening to kill her, Muriel Lumsden, an efficient shopkeeper, is shot. Homicide detectives find their task a difficult one when they discover she has many enemies due to her greater love of money than people.

Episode 18 - Urge to Kill

Release Date: 1971-06-15

A compulsive psychopathic killer has strangled two women connected with beauty salons. The only clue for detectives is the white card he leaves behind with a large 'C' printed in lipstick.

Episode 19 - Thou Shalt Not

Release Date: 1971-06-22

A devout minister, Pastor George Langley, preaches a forceful sermon. His emphasis on a particular commandment provides detectives with a clue and a number of suspects when two people are found murdered in the church building.

Episode 20 - Inquest

Release Date: 1971-06-29

The brutal murder of a service station attendant; an accident involving Sen. Det. Patterson's son, Jimmy; and the shooting dead of a criminal bring many problems to Sen. Det. Patterson when he is forced to face an inquest.

Episode 21 - Thursday's Child

Release Date: 1971-07-06

Ruth Ritchie's death plunge in her car over a cliff edge, and a suicide note left at her home seems to be a straightforward case. But detectives suspect murder when they learn that she had invited a small girl from the local children's home, Sue Thomas, to spend another weekend with her - and the girl subsequently disappears.

Episode 22 - There Must Be a Reason

Release Date: 1971-07-13

Mrs. Bettine Fraser and her seven-year-old daughter are bashed to death with no apparent motive. Suspects include a door-to-door salesman and the youth who found the bodies.

Episode 23 - The Puppy

Release Date: 1971-07-20

16-year-old Kirsty Mills, just released from a girls home, has her adjustment period made more traumatic when police inquire about her father, who is believed to be involved in a hold-up and the death of a guard. She becomes more involved when police begin to suspect her criminal friend, Ron Fisher.

Episode 24 - A Boy's Best Friend

Release Date: 1971-07-27

Shy teenager Elly Goss disappears while on her way to her first party. Detectives fear foul play and question two layabout brothers, Arnie and Joe Watson, who were seen with the girl that evening. Involved in the investigation is Gordon Allen, whose marriage is on the rocks because he treats his wife Nola more like his mother, and Nola is embittered because of it.

Episode 25 - A Change of Habit

Release Date: 1971-08-03

Criminal Ern Fuller is killed by a shotgun as he walks down along with his defacto, Elsie. Investigating his death, detectives question Elsie about her former husband believed to be killed in a car crash in Britain. They have reason to suspect that he could be still alive.

Episode 26 - On the Run

Release Date: 1971-08-10

An Italian prisoner is wrongly accused of taking part in the murder of a warder at Maldara Prison Farm during an escape. The actual murderer, George Mason, escapes and terrorises the people of the surrounding district.

Episode 27 - Sugar and Spite

Release Date: 1971-08-17

Marjorie Nolan, a 22-year-old computer operator, is shot dead at home. Detectives question a man known to have been at the girl's home on the night of her death. A photograph of the victim's former boyfriend from Sydney also provides a clue.

Episode 28 - The Bikie

Release Date: 1971-08-24

Bikie John Murray kills to avenge the serious injury of his sister; another man kills through fear; and police race against time to prevent a third killing.

Episode 29 - Don't Call the Cops

Release Date: 1971-08-31

The only witness to a murder is a wine-drunk derro; the only suspect is a stoned hippie, Rollo, who threatens Eve Harrison, the murder victim's wife. Rollo can't be found - and it takes some time to find the body.

Episode 30 - Expectations

Release Date: 1971-09-07

A man suspected of bashing a wealthy woman to death is fleeing in a car, pursued by Det. Sgt. Mackay and Det. Barnes. They find the car in the bush at Warrandyte, with a dummy rigged up in the front seat, and dynamite in the back with the fuse nearly burnt down.

Episode 31 - The Professional

Release Date: 1971-09-14

Det. Barnes is cynical when he hears that Joe Craig, known to him as a professional gunman from Sydney, is working legitimately in Melbourne as a social worker.

Episode 32 - Brer Fox

Release Date: 1971-09-21

Inspector Fox finds himself a possible target when a fisherman acquaintance is shot dead while Fox is on leave.

Episode 33 - All the World is Queer

Release Date: 1971-09-28

Sen. Det. Patterson takes his family to the zoo on his day off, and is horrified when someone goes berserk with a rifle, shooting dead a number of people. Another random shooting in the city leads detectives on the trail of a man with an unusual phobia.

Episode 34 - Masquerade

Release Date: 1971-10-05

Tragedy comes to Jane and Charles Hutchinson when their three-month-old baby is kidnapped during a fancy dress party at their home, which provided a perfect disguise for the kidnappers. The solitary clue police have is that two people left the party early, but there is no evidence to reveal their identities.

Episode 35 - A Game of Chance

Release Date: 1971-10-12

The young leader of a street gang pretends to buy a gun from a sports store proprietor, then uses it to shoot him in cold-blood. After a series of armed robberies occur, police suspect the same youth is responsible.

Episode 36 - Fighting Fred

Release Date: 1971-10-19

The discovery of a body at Stony Point, a fisherman's obsession with oil pollution and his claim that fish are dying near the Hastings oil refinery present the Homicide detectives with an intriguing case.

Episode 37 - Blood

Release Date: 1971-10-26

When hamburger shop owner Bill Walker is stabbed to death, his son Michael, with blood on his hands, tells police that an intruder murdered his father, and when he tried to intervene his hand was slashed with the knife.

Episode 38 - The Experts

Release Date: 1971-11-02

A man is killed when the car he is driving explodes and bursts into flames. Homicide is told by Forensic that the explosives used were the work of an expert, and they later question John Turner, an electrician with past convictions.

Episode 39 - Handle with Care

Release Date: 1971-11-09

A young delivery van driver, Greg Lane, is killed when a parcel labelled "Handle With Care" falls at his feet and explodes. The only clues are a few splinters of wood, a piece of jagged metal, and some charred paper. With the help of Det. Bill Williams from Forensic, they are enough to enable the Homicide squad to track down a psychopathic killer.

Episode 40 - Lover Boy

Release Date: 1971-11-16

Playboy Roger Taylor is fascinating to women, but a pathological liar. His many affairs catch up with him when one of his old girlfriends Is killed, and police are anxious to question him about his involvement with her.