Walter Koenig's a complex, pretty but cruel gang leader in this. Just watch. And of course, there's the smooth James Caan, butting in.This episode by the imaginative screenwriter Ellison is about an aspiring writer character, Shaw--perhaps named for another famous writer--living dangerously far away from the safety of his usual desk.Investigating gangs still isn't exactly fun and games. Hold your breath for another classic unexpected double-twist Hitchcock ending. This would be great on a live stage, but maybe it's too much like "West Side Story."Hitchcock's disdainful wisecracks about the sponsors are priceless.Cool jazz score by Lalo Schifrin, period twist music, big hair and grease, lots of switchblades. White American youth gangs didn't seem to have machine guns or run crack and heroin during this period.Teleplay by WGA award-winning Harlan Ellison (screenwriter for "I, Robot," "Valley of the Dolls," and TV episodes of "Batman," "Star Trek," "The Twight Zone," "Outer Limits," "The Man from UNCLE," Logan's Run," and many others). [Ellison is suing CBS Paramount for an allegedly contracted but unpaid 25% portion of the merchandising and story derivative millions made from the popular original "Star Trek" episode, "City on the Edge of Forever." He is also suing the Writers Guild of America for a single dollar, plus costs, for failing to act is his behalf. He says he's dying, and so may no longer fear offending anyone.]Starring:
James Caan (of "The Godfather," "Thief," "Misery," "A Bridge Too Far," and many other films; also known for his alleged unusual "platonic" relationship with high-profile Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss, whose life has been marked by both tragedy and controversy);
Lynn Loring (of "Splendor in the Grass," and TV series "The FBI," "The Wild, Wild West," "The Man from UNCLE," and "The Mod Squad");
Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekov of the "Star Trek" TV series, and Alfred Bester of "Babylon 5;" his son Andrew unfortunately committed suicide in 2010);
Prod. by Joan Harrison;
Dir. by Joseph Pevney;
Tony Musante as Candle;
Zalman King as Fish;
Dir. of Photog., John F. Warren;
Art. Dir. Alexander A. Mayer;
a Hitchcock/Shamley production.

This episode was based on a book written by Harlan Ellison. It is based on his experiences when he joined a gang to get background. It's one of Ellison's earlier writings before he started writing his imaginative speculative fiction

This episode was a trip cause I recognized all these TV actors before they hit the bigtime. Caan was good, as always, and he was so serious in this-still a beginner in the profession. I saw Walter Koenig (Star Trek's Chekov), Tony Musante (Toma), Zalman King (Storefront Lawyers & later producer), and Mark Slade (High Chapparel)! This didn't seem like a typical Hitchcock episode, more like a Suspense type show.