A young woman from Kansas hires LA private detective Philip Marlowe to find her missing brother.
Quiet young Orfamay Quest from Kansas has hired private detective Philip Marlowe to find her brother. After two leads turn up with ice picks stuck in them, he discovers blackmail photos concerning TV star Mavis Wald. She rejects Marlowe's help, and this is forcibly underlined by her gangster boyfriend. So, wonders Marlowe, is there a link between Orfamay and Mavis?—Jeremy Perkins {J-26}
On a case to track down a missing person, Philip Marlowe (James Garner) is contacted by sweet Midwesterner Orfamay Quest (Sharon Farrell) to find her brother who had come to Los Angeles several years earlier. When Marlowe tracks down two men who knew the brother he discovers an ice pick in each man. Deducing theres more to this case than meets the eye when he is questioned by the local Lt. Christy French (Carroll OConor) Marlowe suggests the trade-mark ice pick stabbing may be the work of well-known gangster Sonny Steelgrave (H.W. Wynant) but there seems to be no real connection he can prove. When Marlowe finds photographic prints of popular sit-com actress Mavis Wald (Gayle Hunnicut) and realizes she is the older sister of Orfamay Quest and the missing brother, many pieces to the puzzle start to fall into place. After a meeting with Sonny Steelgrave leads to a follow-up meeting with his crony Winslow Wong (Bruce Lee) who redecorates Marlowes office with Karate chops, Marlowe takes a meeting with a serpentine Dr. Vincent Lagardie (Paul Stevens) who attempts to sidetrack Marlowe with some special cigarettes. This leads Marlowe to the missing brother, and the most unlikely and beautiful suspect holds the key to the whole mystery.
