-
CENTER OF PERIL
Original Airdate: Jan. 17, 1971
Synopsis. The theft of a painting by Dutch master Franz Hals from the Midstates National Art Museum in Kansas City reminds Erskine of a similar large-scale robbery in St. Louis that involved a stolen work of Renoir. Bureau sources indicate that the thieves, led by syndicate dealer Porter Bent (played by Vic Morrow), plan to sell the Hals to Raul Decker, a crooked art dealer in Europe. When Bent learns that Decker is dead, he has two choices: Either destroy the painting—valued at more than a million dollars—or sell it back to the museum. The museum agrees to the deal, provided that it can send a certified expert to authenticate the Hals. After taking a crash course in art appraisal, Erskine poses as the expert to recover the painting. Unbeknownst to the inspector: One of Bent’s accomplices (played by Susan Howard) not only volunteers at the museum, but is a convicted interstate transporter whom Erskine arrested in Los Angeles eight years before.
LEARN MORE about “Center of Peril” in THE FBI DOSSIER, everything you wanted to know—and more—about the long-running ABC-TV series produced by Quinn Martin and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.
THE FBI DOSSIER is available through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.
