Johnny Columbo was just a boy in 1900 New York when a gang of extortionists known as the Black Hand murdered his father. Now Johnny's a grown man eager for vengeance. His switchblade and his anger are the weapons he intends to use but he ultimately realizes there's a better way. He can use the legal system to deport the Black Hand terrorists by proving they are in the U.S. under false identities. But brining that proof to light will put Johnny and the people close to him in great peril. Movie-musical great Gene Kelly plays the change-of-pace role of Johnny in this suspenseful tale directed by the prolific Richard Thorpe (more than 180 IMDB credits). Kelly had played an Italian-American before in Pilot #5. He would portray a Greek-American in It's a Big Country.