The Marionettes

The Marionettes is the 23rd episode of Season Two of Land of the Giants and the 49th episode overall. It aired March, 1970.

Plot
After a gorilla escapes from a circus and captures Valerie, Steve and the others try to help guide a puppeteer named Goalby in finding the beast. Although Valerie is freed from the ape, Betty becomes caught in an animal trap, and Goalby helps release her too. In doing so, he injures his hand and cannot perform. To repay him, Betty and Fitzhugh decide to be Goalby's marionettes until his hand heals. Meanwhile, Dan and Valerie are captured by Brady, the circus master; and he quickly realizes Goalby's puppet show is a farce. Instead of firing the puppeteer, Brady schemes to make a fortune off the realistic puppet act and forces Goalby to maintain the illusion. Goalby instead tries to help Steve and Mark rescue their friends.

Cast

 * Gary Conway as Captain Steve Burton
 * Don Marshall as Dan Erickson
 * Heather Young as Betty Hamilton
 * Don Matheson as Mark Wilson
 * Deanna Lund as Valerie Scott
 * Stefan Arngrim as Barry Lockridge
 * Kurt Kasznar as Alexander Fitzhugh

Supporting Cast

 * Frank Ferguson as Goalby
 * Victoria Vetri as Lisa
 * Robert Hogan as Brady
 * Sandra Giles as the Harem Dancer
 * Martin Liverman as the Giant Trainer
 * Janos Prohaska as Bobo Gorilla
 * Carl Carisson as the Giant Knife Thrower
 * Al Lampkin as the Giant Fire Eater

Notes & Trivia

 * Frank Ferguson is a veteran and character actors from Fifties and Sixties TV, particularly "The Andy Griffith Show."
 * Janos Prohaska is best know for playing various creatures and beasts on various TV shows, such as "Lost In Space," "Gilligan's Island" and "Bewitched."