Savage Says, "The Most Dangerous Bird is the Jailbird" - Recap

E.L.'s parole officer, Larry Craig, comes to visit the agency and warn E.L. that he can't move without notifying the office. Larry wants to know where E.L. is living now and E.L. doesn't want to explain. Lionel intervenes and claims that E.L. is suffering from wanderlust, but Larry doesn't buy it. E.L. has no choice but to claim he's living with Lionel. Larry trusts Lionel, but Lionel can't bring himself to lie. E.L. tries to bluff and Lionel finally has no choice but to lie. They're interrupted when a woman comes in and asks for Lionel. E.L. immediately claims to be a satisfied customer and leaves with Larry. She pays up front to hire Lionel but says she can't explain right now.



Outside, Larry wonders what happens when E.L. stops lying, and warns that he'll break E.L.'s parole personally if he catches him. As Larry leaves, E.L. notices two thugs entering in the back.

Lionel tries to get the woman's name without success. The thugs come in and identify the woman as Phyllis, and try to take her out. E.L. intervenes as a water deliveryman, but the thugs draw guns and tell the partners to forget anything happened. When Lionel tries to go after them, E.L. warns him that it's a bad idea and distracts him when he tries to get his gun out of the safe. By the time he has it, the thugs have left with Phyllis. Angry, Lionel warns that he won't let E.L. move in with him unless he helps them recover Phyllis. E.L. finally admits that he's living with George Hamilton and watching his bald eagle while the actor is in Europe. Lionel realizes that E.L. gave him the bald eagle so he'd get an invitation to stay there and take care of it. When E.L. notices that Phyllis left sizeable cash payment, Lionel wants to take out an ad but E.L. has a better idea.

As the partners drive out, they debate the merits of Mark Savage novels and notice Phyllis Lattiger's face on a billboard advertising her as a lounge singer. Lionel doesn't notice at first until and E.L. tries to distract him without success. When he spots the billboard, Lionel insists on taking the case since they've been paid. They go to the hotel that hosts her club, The Grove. They're informed it's a sellout and try to figure out a way in. E.L. insists they need to be careful and suggests they go backstage. They impersonate hotel inspectors, take a waiter's jacket, and then E.L. impersonates a waiter to bring Phyllis her dinner via the backstage exit. Once they get into her dressing room, they discover that she isn't there. They realize all the gift flowers are from a man named Tony.



Outside, crook Tommy Tedesco is out of prison. He arrives in a limo. Phyllis is with him, crying, and she begs him to let her see somebody. Tommy can't understand why she doesn't to pal around with the nude ice skaters and sends her inside with his main thug, Truck. When his driver, Chip, calls Phyllis a broad, Tommy takes offense. He then wonders why Lionel is involved, and explains that he plans to get revenge on the detective now that he's out of prison. Chip tries to calm Tommy down, and Tommy insists that he isn't crazy. He tells Chip to pick up Lionel and E.L. and goes inside to watch Phyllis' performance.

In the dressing room, Lionel is trying to put things together when Truck arrives with Phyllis. E.L. fakes a phone call and distracts Truck long enough to knock him out. While Lionel reassures Phyllis, E.L. claims to be a doctor and that Truck had a malfucntioning pacemaker. The partners get Phyllis out the front but run into Tommy and Chip. There's a fight and the partners knock Tommy and Chip out, and E.L. realizes which Tommy is involved. He tries to apologize to the unconscious jailbird but Lionel gets him out to the car and they escape ahead of Truck. When Tommy wakes up, he vows that he'll eliminate the partners that night.



E.L. takes Lionel and Phyllis to George Hamilton's manor. Once they make Phyllis comfortable, Lionel discovers that E.L. is putting on George Hamilton's clothing. E.L. tries to explain how much trouble they're in for someone who isn't even their client. He can't make Lionel understand that nobly putting Tommy away is a bad idea.



Phyllis calls her lover, Las Vegas lounge singer Johnny McClain, and tells him what happened. The partners realize what is going on and E.L. tries to tell Johnny to stay away. Once he realizes that Phyllis is in danger, Johnny is glad to stay in Las Vegas. Phyllis explains how she got involved with Tommy, who was always talking about the partners and how they put him away. She then fell in love with Johnny. Lionel is eager to help.



The next day, Johnny flies in from Las Vegas to explain and confess. The singer insists that he thought Tommy was out of the picture after he went to prison. Tommy plans to remove Johnny's teeth until the singer offers to take them to George Hamilton's manor.

At George Hamilton's manor, Lionel is reading a Matt Savage novel as Tommy and his men arrive outside. Tommy and Johnny discuss their mutual upbringing in the Bronx while Truck and the others cover all the exits. Once everything is sewn up, Tommy hauls Johnny out and slams him into a lamppost, kicks him, and goes to the door. They try to get Lionel to open the door but when he doesn't fall for their ruse, they bust the door open.



Despite E.L. pretending to be Pelé, the thugs round him up. Tommy then addresses everyone and starts with Johnny. Lionel can't help noting that Tommy acting like a nut is what drove Phyllis away. He has Johnny start by admitting that he doesn't really like Phyllis, and Tommy takes offense at him for insulting his girlfriend. He then orders Johnny down on his knees and prepares to shoot him. E.L. frees the (fake) bald eagle and then explains that committing murders in a famous actor's house is a bad idea. He suggests they go to a more secluded spot. When they shove him back, E.L. knocks the cage over and the partners get Phyllis out the back and down to the beach. E.L. and Lionel start throwing rocks to break windows, setting off alarms and summoning the police. Tommy and his goons open fire, wounding Lionel in the shoulder. The partners hide and the thugs can't find them, and Tommy starts shooting at them. The police arrive and arrest the raving gangster. Phyllis runs to Lionel and apologizes.



Later, E.L. is moving into Lionel's house, while Lionel finishes his novel and recovers from his wound. Lionel is unhappy that Johnny turned out to be such a snake, while E.L. is unhappy that Lionel gave Phyllis her money back. She promised to pay them back once she's back on her feet. E.L. brings in a TV dinner and wine for his partner and they watch a newscast about Tommy being under observation at a psychiatric hospital. In a related story, the police are trying to capture an angry bird that is wrecking George Hamilton's home.



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