The Saint Start

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THE AVENGERS with Patrick MacNee as John Steed This ground breaking series went through several successful metamorphoses. The character of Steed was a huge hit. But by the final series of The Avengers proper, there was too much pandering to American tat, with the absurd 'Mother' and the unsatisfactory Linda Thorson. Nevertheless it was almost inevitable that the Avengers would eventually become a parody of itself. With Diana Rigg, Steed's character reached a brilliant perfection, but those earlier studio-limited stories have their own charm. My favourite episode: 4.8 A Surfeit of H2O. Inventive (but then that's true of most stories), scarey and wildly improbable (ditto), but I think everything comes together in this one. Emma looks stunning and Albert Lieven must be the ultimate black and white villain, why, he's foreign! Dud story: Ignoring the Linda Thorson series, both the ones where Cathy and later Emma get trapped alone in a mansion. The Most 'Must See' story: Elizabeth Shepherd's performance in the pilot version of The Town of No Return. Best moment: 2.22 Man in the Mirror, as Steed finds Venus in the fairground. My Favourite character: Venus Smith, whom I, maybe alone, think was the best of Steed's partners. FIRST SERIES Sadly most of these videotaped stories were wiped, but we live in hope..... The series was a continuation of Police Surgeon. 1.1 Hot Snow - the beginning only, so until the complete copy surfaces, we will never see how Steed first makes his appearance. What we do see however is a a well drawn out first act with a contrast between Dr David Keel's cuddly engagement to Peggy and a sinister intruder searching for a parcel wrongly delivered to his surgery. In it, £4,000 worth of "snow" and Peggy is the one who can identify the courier: "I'm afraid the girl'll have to go." Outside Vinson's jewellers she's shot, an act leading to Dr Keel vowing to Avenge her death.... 1.6 The Girl on the Trapeze - A girl jumps off a bridge. Though Dr Keel rescues her, she later dies. "One wrong move" and there'll be a diplomatic incident" since she's a trapeze artist with a circus visiting from abroad. Keel and Carol stumble on a plot to force an important metallurgist to quit Britain. They are taken prisoner backstage, so surely Steed will ride to their rescue! He must have been on holiday this week, but who needs him, the police do just as well, despite facing seasoned opposition from the villains played by Kenneth J Warren and Edwin Richfield 1.15 The Frighteners - the "real frighteners" is being put on Jeremy de Willoughby, and Frightening is an apt word when it's Willoughby Gray behind the frightening. "Lay off that girl," is the message de Willoughby is given, from "most vicious" rich businessman (Stratford Johns). But in a shock turn around, it's the Hon de Willoughby who ends up in disgrace On video - With JULIE STEVENS as Venus Smith- 2.6 The Removal Men - What's Steed up to locking the wife of Dragna (Reed de Rouen) in her bathroom?! He steals her jewels in order to infiltrate Dragna's gang who's next job is to shoot a famous French sex symbol. Venus is working in the gang's French club and inadvertently blows Steed's cover. There in the deserted nightclub, Steed and Venus look down the barrel of a gun. Whilst she sings, Steed switches out the lights. Songs include An Occasional Man, whilst the Dave Lee Trio also play one jazz number 2.17 Box of Tricks - The Disappearing Lady magic trick with a difference- the lady reappears shot dead! Venus takes over the role with some trepidation. She also sings It's a Pity to say Goodnight and It's Delightful. Steed prevents a quack faith healer from passing NATO secrets 2.22 Man in the Mirror - Venus' amateur photography at a fairground captures the image of a man "who died last week." So we come to the incongruous sight of Steed in his bowler searching the fair for Trevelyan, a possible defector. This, the best story of this series, contains many striking visual shots in a ghost train, an iconic coffee bar plus trendy music to match. It's inevitable that Venus gets captured, and Steed, leaping to her rescue, also falls into the baddies' clutches after a shootout round the arcade. The pair face being blown to bits before the traitor is rounded up. In a lull, Venus sings I Know Where I'm Going. 2.24 Chorus of Frogs - On holiday is Steed, but not for long. He's ordered to discover what Archipelago Mason (Eric Pohlmann in a fine ambivalent role) is up to on his "not bad" yacht. Coincidentally, Venus happens to be working on board as a singer. She sings, nearly in Play School-style, Hush Little Darling, plus a snatch of The Lips that Touch Mine. Steed is in top form as a stowaway, exploring Mason's laboratory which Venus says is for "delicate fish." Actually it's a testing ground for an advanced midget submarine. John Carson also helps make this a memorable story. With HONOR BLACKMAN as Cathy Gale (also on tape) - 2.2 Propellant 23- Meyer, a courier with a sample of new rocket fuel, dies at Marseilles Airport. The flask goes missing. With Steed and Cathy, rivals Paul Manning (Geoffrey Palmer) and Siebel are in close pursuit. Lt Leclerc uses some of it as a hair restorer, but the remainder is fought over in the showdown at a baker's 2.13 Death Dispatch - Murder of a courier in Jamaica, though he only carried routine despatches in his bag. The killer is given "a second chance" when Steed takes on the courier role, a dangerous assignment: "you just can't leave dead bodies lying around about the place." Cathy is taken prisoner by Chilean assassins, but Steed outwits them 2.16 Immortal Clay - Murder of a spy in a pottery. Is the killer boss Richard (Paul Eddington), because he was jealous of his wife's lover, or is it Allen (Gary Watson) the brains at the factory who claims to have invented "unbreakable china"? "All that fuss over a little piece of mud!" 3.2 The Undertakers - In a flirtatious mood, Steed bids farewell to Cathy- he's accompanying a professor to the USA. However the prof turns out to have "renounced worldly goods" and gone into "meditation" at Adelphi Park. And he's not the only millionaire residing at this establishment run by Lomax (Lee Patterson). It has to be Cathy who gets the job of assistant matron there and she soon learns of a very useful scheme of dodging death duties. The boss (Patrick Holt) is finally rounded up by Steed and Cathy in an unusually long filmed sequence just down the road from the Studios, in the surreal grounds of York House. This lively story has a strong cast which also includes Jan Holden, Mandy Miller and Lally Bowers 3.5 Death of a Batman - Steed's old batman dies, leaving an extraordinary amount in his will. Whilst Cathy works for the man's batman from the first war, Lord Teal (Andre Morell), Steed flirts with Teal's daughter. They expose his share racket, which seems altruistic, if also dishonest- "I'm a patriot, not a traitor" 3.6 November Five - "That sort of thing doesn't happen in this country." But one and a half seconds after being elected, an MP is shot dead. He was elected on his promise to expose the hushed up theft of a five megaton warhead. Cathy stands for Parliament in a plot to blow up Parliament- on November 5th too! 3.7 The Gilded Cage - Three million in gold bullion is what Steed wants to use to lure crimebroker JP Spagge (a snapping Patrick Magee) back into business. But Spagge and his superior butler Fleming are a cautious pair and take "the necessary action" of shooting Steed and testing Cathy before allowing her to lead them into the subterranean vaults. But Cathy is found out and faces being shot too. "Very smart work, Mr Steed!" as both appear very much alive to face up to the criminals 3.12 Don't look behind you - Cathy is invited to Exmoor for the weekend, where she finds herself alone in a dark mansion, an ultra impressive set in a plot so celebrated it was reused for an Emma Peel version. Yet it's too close to the atmosphere of the pretentious Armchair Theatre to be my favourite 3.16 Little Wonders - An international convocation of 'vicars' are electing a new leader. Nice tongue in cheek story by Eric Paice with Steed as The Vicar of Mbote, alias Johnny the Horse. With a collection plate containing guns, and Cathy paying £20,000 to repair a doll, all is not quite what it seems. Lois Maxwell as Sister Johnson has a machine gun, and some muffed lines 3.17 The Wringer - 6 out of the last 7 agents crossing the Austrian borders have been "lost." Anderson (Peter Sallis) was investigating, but why hasn't he reported back? Steed finds him. Anderson alleges Steed is the traitor and "he's guilty until proved innocent." Will Steed crack under brainwashing from his own side?! Will Cathy rescue him from the real traitors? Note - a most entertaining moment is the fly on the camera lens in Act 2. It makes a return appearance later too! 3.18 Mandrake - "This is an evil business, Mrs Gale-" a nicely sinister story with a stunning set of St Alban's Church in Cornwall, where nine burials of Londoners have occurred in the past three months. "Loaded" Mrs. Turner's husband is next for the poison, whilst Steed chats up a "cracker", that is a salesgirl. A strong cast also includes John le Mesurier, George Benson and Annette Andre 3.21 Build a Better Mousetrap - Whilst Cathy joins a group of swinging bikers, Steed investigates the mysterious machines that suddenly cease functioning. Is the nearby atomic reactor to blame? Or two old ladies casting spells?! These are lovely parts for the two "witches" (Athene Seyler and Nora Nicholson)- their old mill witnesses the climax as quite a crowd gather to try and grab their invention 3.22 Outside-In Man - A traitor is returning to Britain as a general representing his new masters. Steed is in charge of security, and has a problem when the agent Mark (James Maxwell) who had been ordered to kill the traitor, escapes from prison and swears to complete his mission. Rather a tedious story, even when "the balloon goes up," or rather, doesn't 3.23 The Charmers - Alas Poor George, killed by the thrust of a rapier. He's a top man on The Other Side, so Steed cooperates with his opposite number Keller (Warren Mitchell) to expose a common enemy. Or rather Steeds persuades Cathy to work with Them, while Steed is given agent Kim (Fenella Fielding), "from us to you..." MacNee is in sparkling form as the two sides work together in mutual distrust. The enemy is unearthed at the Pimlico Charm School, which turns "mere men into gentlemen." Steed finishes off their principal (Brian Oulton) with a riposte 3.24 Concerto - Stefan, the famous young Russian pianist is protected by Zelenko (Nigel Stock) on a cultural visit to Britain. That help is needed when a girl is found strangled in his hotel room. It's an attempt to frame him, a second try occurs at The Stud Club before the third and final effort by Peterson of the British Arts Council. With a photo of Stefan at the strip club, Peterson forces Stefan to agree to shoot the Trade Minister. Steed and Cathy play a game of one sided roulette, but the bullet is never fired, nor is this story ever really fired into life 3.25 Esprit de Corps - One of those fantastic world-ranging plots that only The Avengers had. Steed asks Cathy to "infiltrate" a Highland regiment led by "crashing bore" Captain Trench (John Thaw). A simulated defence exercise of London proves to be merely an outlandish scheme to reinstate the House of Stuart on to the British throne. The archetypal Avengers villainous boss, in this instance a Scottish crank (Duncan Macrae) is somehow convinced Cathy's "second in line of succession to the Scottish throne"! Steed, meantime, is courtmartialed and is up before a firing squad. Fortunately this is presided over by a corruptible soldier endearingly played by Roy Kinnear, or who knows, Cathy might now have been our 'Queen Anne II'! On Film With DIANA RIGG as Emma Peel: 4.1 The Town of No Return - Perhaps as this had to be refilmed, the story doesn't quite come over, even though it's an archetypal Avengers plot about a sinister isolated town. Patrick Newell is bumped off- pity he ever returned to the series 4.2 The Gravediggers - Ronald Fraser plays Sir Horace Winslip, one of those mad Avengers eccentrics, who supports a home for ailing railwaymen, in which undertakers are placing radio jamming devices to render our country's defences defenceless 4.3 The Cybernauts - the immortal story about the age of the pushbutton. It's a reality at United Automation, where the boss (Michael Gough) has made an unfortunate sideline. There's a classic conclusion as Steed's deft handling forces the two robots to bash the hell out of each other 4.4 Death at Bargain Prices 8* -Business at Pinter's department store is poor, mainly because most of the staff know nothing about salesmanship. Emma joins the staff. The store has just been taken over by King Caine (Andre Morell) who, with the aid of a giant bomb, is planning to take over the country, and to prove his point he's first going to blow up London 4.5 Castle De'Ath - McSteed in a giant Scottish castle, Mrs Peel, her hair changes colour from scene to scene. Gordon Jackson plays a typically dour Scots role in a storyline that's secondary to the scenery and the fun 4.6 The Master Minds - Ransack is the organisation for superior minds, which are then secretly used to plan top secret subversive crimes. Emma joins, so does Steed, in a plot not quite so superior as one Ransack might have devised 4.7 The Murder Market - An inventive Tony Williamson script with nice roles for Patrick Cargill as the manager of Togetherness Marriage Bureau and Suzanne Lloyd as a seductive assassin. Steed visits the bureau whose motto is "we take the uncertainties out of marriage," but they also remove some of the applicants! According to Emma, Steed would require a mixture of Lucrezia Borgia and Joan of Arc, but Miss Wakefield seems to do just nicely. Emma also signs up but when her cover is blown Steed has to prove himself by killing her 4.8 A Surfeit of H2O -my favourite story. Jonah (shouldn't he have been called Noah? - alias Noel Purcell) is building an Ark because the floods are coming. Sinister experiments in a wine factory by Albert Lieven and Geoffrey Palmer are causing unusually high levels of rainfall. Steed guzzles wine whilst Emma is caught in the winepress 4.10 The Man-Eater of Surrey Green - Plants that "feel, maybe even think" with an "embryonic brain" are, truthfully, when we encounter them, more like two people gyrating under a blanket. Athene Seyler steals the show as an expert charged with destroying the tentacled plant and when Emma falls under Its spell, Steed has to fight even her 4.13 Too Many Christmas Trees - A country house weekend with the traditional guest list of suspicious characters, surrounded by a Dickensian Christmas theme. Steed is having nightmares involving a grotesque Santa Claus, all part of a plot to extract the secrets of his mind. It ends with an impressive fight in a Hall of Mirrors 4.14 Silent Dust - Ten years ago Prendergast invented a dangerous chemical. His formula has now got into blackmailer's hands. As a warning, it's bad luck on the whole of Dorset, which is the first county scheduled for demolition. Steed and Emma ride with the hounds 4.16 Small Game for Big Hunters - Bill Fraser hams it up as an ex-colonialist still living in the jungle, even though he's actually in deepest Hertfordshire. There his evil helpers are preparing a deadly strain of tropical flies. Steed emulates Tarzan whilst it's Me Emma to the rescue 4.17 The Girl from Auntie- Steed is "a small fat man with a grey moustache." Well that's how he describes himself to Emma, who has turned into Liz Fraser, impersonating the kidnapped Emma. Liz proves a fine stand-in, as she follows Steed in his quest for kidnapper Auntie (Alfred Burke) who has a host of elderly professional knitters guarding Emma's hiding place, a giant birdcage. There's plenty more in this entertaining piece of nonsense, Auntie even claiming he has smuggled the real Eiffel Tower out to Texas, before auctioning Emma off- Steed puts in the highest bid of £200,000 4.18 The Thirteenth Hole - Steed plays a round, and with cheating from Emma, he's enabled to thwart a spy ring deep under a bunker. Lots to enjoy with his opponents Patrick Allen and Peter Jones 4.19 The Quick-Quick Slow Death - Emma has her feet "cherished" and trips the light fantastic. Steed dances elegantly with Eunice Gayson in a zany Dancing Knockout. But my favourite cameo, amongst a welter of zany parts, is that of Larry Cross as the inebriated dance band leader 4.20 The Danger Makers - Respectable gentlemen are dicing with death like "irresponsible beatniks." Their Black Rose Society should be revived today as an antidote to too much Health and Safety, which even in those days was apparently overbearing. Steed's a psychiatrist, Emma's in the chair 4.22 What the Butler saw - Butlers are taking over posts at top servicemen's houses, so Steed trains as the perfect gentleman's gentleman ("Brighter More Beautiful Butling"). Nice little parts for Thorley Walters, John le Mesurier, Kynaston Reeves amongst others 4.23 House that Jack built - Uncle Jack's left Emma a mansion, "automation to the ultimate degree," built by Prof Keller in a plot just slightly akin to The Prisoner. Is the machine superior to man, as Keller claims? Or can Emma prove its master? Depending on your viewpoint, this adventure is either very intriguing or very irritating. The house is designed to drive Emma mad, or is it the viewer? 4.24 A Sense of History - One that nearly comes off, but not quite. Steed and Emma "recapture their college days" mixing with some overgrown students led by the "factious" and plain "nasty" Duboys (Patrick Mower at his best, or worst!). At a Rag Night "rave" they plan to start, wait for it, The Downfall of Europe, but there to spoil their plan are Emma dressed as Robin Hood and Steed as The Sheriff of Nottingham. Hamming it up as "live bait," Nigel Stock steals the show 4.25 How to Succeed...at Murder - An "epidemic" of deaths of prominent businessmen, JJ Hooter being the twelfth. Steed's £4m business attracts another "thoroughly efficient secretary," whilst Emma fails to properly penetrate the feminine organisation whose motto is "Ruination to All Men" 4.26 Honey for the Prince - For me, this too over-the-top story marks the series' decline to stories of merely near-excellence. "A happy bee makes bumper honey" declares Mr B Bumble (Ken Parry) before he's bumped off. The same fate awaits Ponsonby Hopkirk (Ron Moody) whose business QQF "satisfies your most repressed desires," including Steed's, which is apparently to become chief eunuch in a harem. But it's Emma who has to join Prince Ali's harem, to prevent him being killed by criminals who 'borrow' Ponsonby's fantasy master plans and use them for real Colour series: PROMO - The Strange Case of the Missing Corpse -3 minute, very-mini pilot, shot in about 3 minutes! 5.4 The See-Through Man - Low tech story about an Invisible Man using no trick photography at all. This episode's eccentric is a mad scientist inventor (wonderful Roy Kinnear). It's his formula that a foreign power has purchased. Just over the top is Warren Mitchell as the foreign ambassador. You wait for Steed to become invisible but the story is always just a little, shall we say, too transparent 5.6 The Winged Avenger - The one in which the series really did turn into a cartoon. A "huge obscene bird" is scratching to extinction ruthless businessmen. Is loony Prof Poole (Jack Macgowran), inventor of special climbing boots, the villain? And just who is masquerading as The Winged Avenger who has "a lone fight against evil"? 5.10 Never Never Say Die - Christopher Lee performs his familiar zombie routine in a great story, playing a Jekyll and Hyde who dies twice as well as smashing numerous transistor radios. He's part of a brilliant scheme to create duplicate politicians- as though we haven't enough of them as it is 5.16 Who's Who - A Frankenstein-style experiment sees Basil and Honey Love change psyches with Steed and Emma so they can bump off members of The Network. Daffodil is first to go, then Poppy. Tulip (Peter Reynolds) is sent to save the remainder of his brothers whilst Steed and Mrs Peel face an identity crisis, in a story which is nicely tongue in cheek but perhaps a little too clever 6.17 Return of the Cybernauts - Paul Beresford (Peter Cushing) has inherited the blueprints for his brother's cybernauts. Now he's kidnapped three scientists in order to devise a slow torture for his brother's killers, namely Steed and Emma. And what a torture they make reality: Human Cybernauts! 6.18 Death's Door - Sir Andrew (Clifford Evans) runs "like a frightened rabbit" from an important conference. When he's run over, Lord Melford (Allan Cuthbertson) is his replacement, but he too becomes "panic ridden." Dreams of impending disaster haunt him, whilst Steed and Emma seem very slow in believing him, before they solve the mystery and securing the conference goes ahead for a United Europe 6.19 The 50,000 Breakfast - By Avengers' standards, a rather mundane Roger Marshall story about a most shy phlanthropist, who, it's all to easy to surmise, has died. His memory and his good deeds however linger on. His butler (the marvellous Cecil Parker) is due to inherit eleven million 6.24 Mission .. Highly Improbable - Diana Rigg's last complete story is a brilliantly inventive plot of how Frances Matthews is using his eccentric professor boss' Reduction Machine to reduce anything at will to pocket size. Including the latest top secret tank which he's happy to smuggle to the Other Side (in the shape of the too smart Ronald Radd). It was bound to happen: Steed gets reduced to mini-size but it's Emma to his rescue... if she can spot him! With LINDA THORSON: 7.21 Stay Tuned - Steed can remember nothing of his 3 week holiday. Just what has he been programmed to do? 7.33 Bizarre - Bagpipes Happychap (Roy Kinnear) is worried: bodies keep disappearing from his graveyard. The last story

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GIDEON'S WAY with John Gregson Rather overshadowed by Baker and Berman's other successful series, Gideon's Way was even chucked all round ATV London's own 1960's UK schedules. Maybe it was rather stodgy compared with their other offerings, but at least it's available on dvd. My favourite episode: it has to be #1 The Tin God Best moment: In #15 there's a touching echo of The Ladykillers. Best role: That master comic actor Eric Barker makes a sympathetic criminal in #15 How to Retire without really Working Fairly Dud episode: #5 The White Rat My grateful thanks to Nigel Preece who pays this fine tribute to the series: It was in 1965 that "Gideon's Way" first hit our screens. ATV broadcast the first episode, "State Visit" on Thursday 18th March. The series was the brainchild of producers Monty Berman and Robert S. Baker, and their New World production company. ATV viewers were already familiar with New World productions having already seen their other series "The Saint" on the small screen since October of 1962. Like with the adventures of Simon Templar, Berman and Baker purchased the rights to another series of books. This time the exploits of Commander George Gideon of "the yard" created by John Creasey, writing under the pen name of J.J.Marric were to be adapted for television. It would not be the first time that Gideon would appear on screen. Some six years earlier cinema goers were treated to a day in the life of Scotland Yard's finest in "Gideon's Day" with Jack Hawkins in the title role. Now in 1965 the producers were looking for someone who could bring the character to life for the sixties and they had little work to do in that department. Liverpool born actor John Gregson was a fan of the Gideon books and when offered the part, jumped at the chance to play the title role. While the fifties had seen Gregson among the screens leading men, in the sixties film roles for Gregson became harder to come by and so he found himself turning to television instead. The character of George Gideon seemed tailor made for him: a family man with three children all at home and all at very different ages, together with a loving and at times concerned wife, played by Daphne Anderson. Playing Gideon's right hand man, DCI David Keen, a character specially written for the series was Alexander Davion. French born Davion had appeared on our screens in episodes of "The Saint" and "The Avengers" before landing the part of Keen. Other roles included the commissioner of the yard played by noted British character actor Basil Dingham, Superintended Bell played by Ian Rossiter, and Bell's replacement after his character left the series half way through, Supt Lemetre, portrayed by another familiar British actor in the sixties and seventies, Reginald Jessup. "Gideon's Way" ran for only 26 episodes and certainly seems good enough to have run for far more that that number. It was shot in two production blocks of 16 from June to December of 1964 and the remaining 10 from January to May of 1965. It was subsequently broadcast in those two blocks between March and July of 1965 and March to May of 1966. Many well known British and commonwealth actors and actresses guest starred in those 26 programmes. Pilot episode "State Visit" features Alfie Bass as a Jewish war émigré. Other stars to appear include a pre-Minder George Cole (the Firebug), a pre Trouble-shooters Ray Barrett (The Lady-killer), a pre-Hadleigh Gerald Harper (State Visit), a pre-Inspector Wexford George Baker (The Great Plane Robbery), a pre Hollywood stardom Donald Sutherland (The Millionaire's Daughter) a young Anton Rogers (The Nightlifers), an even younger John Hurt (The Tin God), a very old Finlay Currie (The Thin Red Line), and a slightly comedic Eric Barker (How to retire without really working). A small number of the episodes were new stories written for television, but all of them stuck to the same theme. People commit crime for a reason, and establishing the reason was part of the detection process used by Gideon. The contrast between the characters of Gideon and Keen is clear. Gideon is old school policing personified. Relying on intuition and having "nose" for solving crime. Whereas Keen, a ladies man opposite married man Gideon, is very much part of the new school of police thinking: scientific analysis. Keen had a few girlfriends during the series run, but never the same lady two shows running. Yet here too we see some familiar faces at a time before they were famous. In "The Nightlifers" Keen had a pre-Upstairs Downstairs Jean Marsh on his arm while in "The White Rat" Keen dates a pre-Crossroads Sue Lloyd, who also played Cordellia Winfield opposite Steve Forrest's John Mannering in another series based on the novels of John Creasey, produced by Monty Berman, "The Baron". After "Gideon's Way" John Gregson would continue to appear on television fairly regularly. Gideon would not be his last continuing role. In 1971 he appeared alongside Shirley McLaine the short lived "Shirley's World" series. Sadly, just ten years after his portrayal of the Scotland Yard commander, John Gregson suddenly died of a heart attack in the coastal village of Porlock Weir. A series he had just finished filming for the BBC was broadcast posthumously in his honour later that year following permission from his widow. Alexander Davion went on to star in a number of Hammer Horror pictures in the late sixties before tuning up in two of the BBC Shakespeare adaptations in the early 1980's. Gregson and Davion both put a great deal of effort into their two characters: making them both believable and contrasting. The dialogue between the two is slick and scripts in general paint a realistic picture of London as it swung to the beat of what is still a fascinating decade. The show did not pull its punches either. Some episodes would contain a liberal amount of violence, but not for the sake of it, only to illustrate and develop the character at the centre of that week's story. Because "Gideon's Way" was filmed in monochrome, it has not enjoyed much air-play over the past decades. "Gideon's Way" portrays a fascinating picture of life in 1965. A time of different values, too numerous to mention. One example sticks in the mind, where a character goes to buy a newspaper by going to the pile of papers left outside the newsagent, picking up the house brick holding them down, taking a paper, being trusted to leave the one shilling to pay for it next to the aforementioned brick, and being trusted still further not to swipe the other one shilling pieces and sundry loose change left there by other folk beforehand. Such trust simply does not exist anymore, and will never return. It's fascinating also to look at the old motor vehicles seen in the series. Old Commer vans to Zephyrs and the like. I'll often ask my father as were watching an episode, "Is that an old Morris or an Austin", or something like that. Gideon himself drove a police issue Wolsley while Keen drove a Bentley. Most of the series was shot on location, in and around London. I often wonder what it was like being among the folks going about their daily shopping only to discover that your particular high street was the setting for this week's episode. You're standing at the bus stop waiting for the number 73 and suddenly you notice a film crew are in place outside the butchers and then the standard police issue Wolsley pulls up opposite and out jump John and Alex about to do their stuff. Simpler times, yet the villains that Gideon and Keen had to outwit were every bit a complex as any villain seen on television today. The theme tune for the series was written by noted British TV and film composer Edwin Astley, whose credits include other ITC classics from this golden decade "Department S", "Danger Man", "Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)", and the aforementioned "The Saint" and "The Baron". This series is an example of television made by people who knew their audience. Television done properly.

My own brief reviews of each story 1 The Tin God - Master director John Gilling had worked many times for Baker and Berman, and knew how to get hold of a story. This superb effort begins with two prisoners (Derren Nesbitt and John Hurt) fleeing from Strangeways prison. In a 2.4 Jag (what else?), the vicious Benson heads for his home and the wife who shopped him. But police are guarding his wife, and Benson gets at her through his kid. A role right up Derren Nesbitt's street! 2. The V Men - Roland Culver plays the leader of an extreme political group, "a genius for making a nuisance of himself." With a general election forthcoming Gideon unwisely appoints to protect him Parsons (Allan Cuthbertson), who's "like garlic, a little goes a long way." As contrast to all the unrest, Angela Douglas plays a vulnerable eyewitness to the attempted assassination of the V Men's leader 3. To Catch a Tiger - Egocentric executive John Borgman is accused of murdering his first wife. With a top lawyer to defend him (Raymond Huntley in his familiar guise), why has Gideon put Spt Lee (Norman Bird) on the case, knowing he's terrified of this eminent lawyer? 4. The Rhyme and the Reason - With-it first part about mod Bill's brush with rockers. Gideon has a hunch Bill isn't guilty of killing his girl and tries to get the rest of the Force not to judge by appearances. The final chase is the best part of an unevocative tale 5. The White Rat - In his own words Mickey is a "freak". We see his gang robbing a fur warehouse, killing the security guard. Then they nick some industrial diamonds, and this time they kill an old mate of Commander Gideon. Lots of dark deeds down dark streets 6. State Visit - Bootsie is a terrorist! In a sombre tale Alfie (Bootsie and Snudge) Bass plays the victim of Nazi concentration camps, who attempts to circumvent Gideon's security plans for the visit of a German president. It's quite handy really that he's a chemist and has access to nitro-glycerine. His wife (Catherine Lacey) fails to prevent him wandering round London with this dangerous cargo. Usual interesting London location shots as the killer goes (by double decker bus! -not the mode of transport the modern killer uses, I understand) to kill the hated president. 7. The Firebug - Arthur Daley is an arsonist! Actually it's George Cole who plays a deranged killer who burns down derelict buildings: "if people die something will have to be done." His way of getting attention to the London slums. He writes to the Mail threatening The Third Fire of London. With four sticks of dynamite "he's on the loose." On his scooter he chucks his explosives right and left with Gideon in pursuit 8. The Lady-Killer - Robert Clayton (Ray Barrett) is frustrated to find the wife he has drowned wasn't as rich as he believed. So wealthy Marian (Rosemary Leach) is wooed and becomes his new wife. How will he do her in? 9. The Big Fix - Horse dopers find an easy recruit in trainer Joe (Michael Ripper), who has financial problems. Next to be nobbled- the Derby favourite- but there's a clever switch... 10. Morna - Gripping yarn as Gideon has a day in the country investigating the death of an "exquisite girl" (Angela Douglas) who seemed to have no enemies. Yet had she feet of clay? Here's a lesson in Sixties' morals, though the motive for her murder is actually much more timeless 11. Big Fish Little Fish - Mrs Bridges is a murderer! Well, at least it's Angela Baddeley playing the mother-in-law of Frisky (Maxwell Shaw), "the biggest and dirtiest fence," who's got grandiose plans. But when he's stabbed in the back five times, Gideon starts by questioning a boy who's nicked a banana. However this leads him to "a modern-day Fagin set-up". 12. The Housekeeper - An electrician (Harry Fowler) discovers a corpse in a bath. Money is missing and he has a record... and that's enough to ruin his marriage. Suspicion then turns on the victim's sinister housekeeper (Kay Walsh), but she is now busy conning a new victim, a blind man 13. The Nightlifers- The co-star of Yes Prime Minister is a teenage yob! Well at least the PM's secretary, Derek Fowlds, plays one of a gang of tearaways led by Paul (Anton Rodgers), who attack people just for a "giggle." The tale has a few insights into 60's teenage culture and the rift with adults, but mainly this is the opportunity for Anton Rodgers to bare his teeth as a vicious high-class amoral criminal. Directed by John Moxey who shows his skill at this type of dark thriller 14. Fall High, Fall Hard - Honest and innocent Tony (Donald Houston) learns his business partner, wide boy Charley (a typical Victor Maddern role) has been cheating "expediently" some of their clients. If someone needs fixing, Charley simply calls in hitman (Gordon Gostelow). Poor Tony gets a taste of this in a nice contrast between his posh background and a devious uinderworld. 15. How to Retire without really Working - "I've lost me nerve," Gresham tells his wife. He's decided to end their twenty year life of crime and a visit from Commander Gideon advising him to "retire" merely confirms that resolve. But to start a life of real work proves too hard to face, so he and his wife plan one last big payday, robbing a factory, which of course lands them in Gideon's office. A nice touch as they are taken off to the cells accompanied by the Minuet used in The Ladykillers. Though this hasn't quite the genius of that crime caper, it's a lovely bitter-sweet story with typical touches of humour from Eric Barker 16. The Wall - Sergeant Cork is a killer! An evil landlord (John Barrie) is jealous Michael Penn's £720 win on the pools. Mrs Penn wonders why her devoted husband has suddenly disappeared 17. Subway to Revenge - Why did someone try and push mild mannered Jimmy (Donald Churchill) under a train? Three similar deaths on the underground spur Gideon to investigate, culminating in a race against time after the maniac (Bryan Pringle) 18. Gang War - Jerry (Ronald Lacey) is starting a rival protection racket to Frank Romano's. Lollo Romano has grandiose plans for robbing £416,000 in used banknotes and the two rival gangs stage a fake rumble to put Gideon off the scent 19. The Alibi Man - Bruce Carroway (Jack Hedley) is "the best driver in the world" according to Gideon's son, but he's "no businessman" and his company are in the red. His accountant partner (Geoffrey Palmer) has to be silenced, and in a classic case of murder snowballing, Bruce's girlfriend also has to be bumped off. "Things are going very wrong, Bruce," complains Bruce's mechanic, who sacrificies himself when Gideon can't quite break down Bruce's "too pat" alibi 20. The Prowler - Dark moments as we follow Alan who cuts off girls' hair after his fiancee Wendy killed herself. He knows he's ill, but his oppressive mother only tells him to pull himself together. When he finds out she indirectly caused Wendy's suicide, he goes wild, and the second half of the story is a manhunt through London streets, finishing at Wendy's old flat, where he holds new occupant Marjorie hostage 21. The Thin Red Line - Surely Finlay Currie can't be robbing his own regiment? He's General Hellfire Mac who wants an "unofficial official" investigation into the disappearance of his regiment's Balaclava silver 22. The Great Plane Robbery - Inpsector Wexford is a thief! At least, it's George Baker who plays The Professor, mastermind behind a million quids worth of gold, stolen in a "damn well organised" heist from a plane at the airport. But the best laid schemes etc etc, as the Polish driver (George Murcell) goes beserk, and the Prof's deputy (Edwin Richfield) falls out with a rival and ends up with a face full of molten gold 23. The Reluctant Witness - Randall (but not Hopkirk, deceased) is a "tearaway" car stealer! An informer is beaten up, a girl Rachel witnessing the crime. Her touching romance with the local bobby (Trevor Bannister) lights up this tense drama before the conventional final chase and punch-up 24. The Millionaire's Daughter - A conman kidnaps a millionaire's daughter, in a well worn theme, ransom one million dollars. A twist when her mother gives the crook her expensive jewels, as Gideon closes in, thus leaving "one expensive liability" 25. Boy with Gun - “Mummy’s boy” shoots a teddy boy, but why? He’s not the type. His parents row over their ”effeminate” child whilst he potters round the countryside in his school blazer, carrying his gun. His improbable palling up with a Borstal lad on the run lends the adventure an air of utter unreality, though the final chase round East End streets is well executed 26. The Perfect Crime - Crane is a killer! Patrick Allen plays an uppercrust stockbroker, who doubles as a burglar by night. His accomplice, safecracker Casey is caught and Mrs Casey (Jean Marsh) demands £5,000 to ensure her husband doesn't squeal. She should have listened to our own words "that Todd is dangerous" for the nasty man kills her. Gideon ends up in court accused of assaulting Casey in jail, before he rounds up this smooth killer

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THE HUMAN JUNGLE ABC stated "No concessions will be made to trans-Atlantic TV market requirements." And for once, this resolve was kept- the series showed, said ABC Managing Director Howard Thomas "British actors playing British parts with the natural home accent required by the locale." This was a rather different series- the casebook of a Harley Street psychiatrist. It's only occasionally entertaining however, and it's best not to watch it if you are feeling low yourself. Herbert Lom gives the stories a touch of class with his thoughtful yet firm portrayal of the head shrink, yet we rarely glimpse behind his facade to his private life, which must have its own sad secrets. The 1960s advertisement on the right for The Human Jungle contains two errors: the star's name is unaccountably "Herbert Long" while producer is the less well known "Julian Winter." 1 The Vacant Chair - Dr Corder has to decide who will be the next boss of a huge multinational company, George (Ronald Leigh-Hunt) or Basil (Lloyd Lamble). After listening to "a lot of inane drivel" like a "squabble of mice among cheese," he's to choose between a democrat and an autocrat. Verdict is fairly obvious, though I guessed wrong! 2 The Flipside Man - "Too jumpy" is pop star Danny (Jess Conrad). He finally cracks up on stage- "Pop Goes The King of Pops," when he thinks he sees his double. No Dr Corder is really needed to unravel this one, but despite the confusing mix of Victorian Melodrama and the Swinging Sixties, this proves an absorbing showbiz tale 3 Run with the Devil - Brother Hewitt (Derek Farr) has a nasty secret, sadly he's a stereotyped religious fanatic, who amazingly has married a prostitute. Too daft for words 4 Thin Ice - Junior ice skating champ (Janina Faye) has a fall and won't ever skate again- she feels. Dr Corder probes her family problems, it's just like any old soap 5 The Lost Hours - Portrait of Julia (Ursula Howells), who attempts suicide. She believes husband Henry (Leonard Sachs) is having an affair. He denies it, but disappears some nights- where? Apparently he's the oldest teenager in town, gone off the rails rather like this script which started so well 7 Friend of the Sergeant Major - Cocksure Sgt Major Bennett (Alfred Burke) is being court martialled and Dr Corder has to report on him, but is it his commander Lt Gray who's the paranoid one? Corder unravels a plot and two enemy agents are exposed 9 The Wall - Anyone could diagnose the probs of Jan (Jeremy Spenser), living with his wife and both sets of parents in one house. He chucks bottles through the window before Corder sorts him out 10 A Woman with Scars - After an MP (Frank Lawton) marries his secretary, she cracks up, putting all the glasses in their washing machine. Is it the age gap that leads her to accuse Dr Corder of rape and sue him? Discreet inquiries uncover her "excessive promiscuity" including an affair with Sir Francis Leigh Brooke, "a megalomaniac maestro" conductor. Corder had treated him, and she blames Corder for causing their affair to end. A dramatic scene outside the courtroom ends the case, but doesn't quite match the excellence of what has gone before 11 Two Edged Sword - "The least thing, and something happens to my husband," Mrs Bridges tells Dr Corder. Hypnosis is the root of her troubles, which years ago she'd undergone at the hands of a quack. The proper use of this two edged sword enables Corder to help a mother who has rejected her baby. The rather laboured point about hypnotism is made in two quite absorbing little tales 12 Time Check - Burglar Bert (Melvyn Hayes) is a compulsive thief obsessed with breaking into gabled houses in order to wind up clocks. The police know he's "bonkers," though Dr Corder proves it's The War that's to blame 15 Conscience on a Rack - "I must be punished." So says Flora Robson who plays a neurotic headmistress who attempts suicide, The reason seems all too obvious but in fact her problems go deeper- she's lied about her age- for the inexplicable reason that she wants to stay in harness even though she ought to have retired! But a still darker secret is waiting to be revealed 17 Solo Performance - Margaret Lockwood plays a suicidal actress, now "a has-been," whose stage comeback hangs on Dr Corder. "I'm a natural for self-destruction." This is a parable of ageing and a fine illustration of that show-biz tradition The Show Must Go On. I wonder what, further-down-the-cast Rona Anderson, once a star herself, made of the story? 20 Heartbeats in a Tin Box - An absorbing story of secondary modern teacher Christine Box who severely beats a pupil during a lesson. Found guilty, she's amazingly allowed back into the classroom, where she gets into another "dreadful state." Dr Corder delves her past to find the reason behind her sudden viciousness 23 Ring of Hate - Boxer Leigh Garner (Dudley Sutton) is a "dead duck" in the ring. Probing his childhood, Corder loses him the overlong fight, but as a person now "he's all right" 24 Skeleton in the Cupboard - Dr Corder is asked to investigate the sanity of a dead financier (Roger Livesey) who drew up his will 20 years ago. A picture is built up of "a giant among pygmies," but it's a conflicting one, and Dr Corder has to determine whether he was "tyrant" or "paragon." The key lies with his late wife and her domineering sister-in-law, nicely portrayed by two fine actresses, Nora Nicholson and Sonia Dresdel 25 The Quick and The Dead - Richard Johnson is Jimbo Harris ace Formula One driver. Ace he must be as he's 3 laps ahead and instead of taking his foot off the pedal he breaks the lap record and crashes. Dr Corder has to find out what's bugging him before the Monaco Grand Prix. If this was The Saint I could finish the plot off myself - against the doc's orders he leaves his bed of pain to drive the race of his life... As this is Human Jungle the problem must lie in his past. Is it his repressed childhood, or that old chesnut The War (Korean, this time)?

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ESPIONAGE (1963/4) American backed British series that had promise, but never really delivered, for me. Reviews of selected stories: 1 A Covenant with Death - Two wartime resistance men are on trial for murdering two old Jews- the question is did they have to steal from them and kill them? It's a depressing tale of Jews on the run from Gestapo brutality and finally either facing it or being killed by the Allies to avoid betraying vital secrets 2 The Weakling 3 The Incurable One 4 The Gentle Spies - Old Lord Kemble leads the CND protest group which leaks details of a government bunker in the event of nuclear war. Young Gerry Paynter (Barry Foster) of the Secret Service infiltrates the group by making up to Sheila (Angela Douglas), who sings a couple of protest ditties in an American accent. Paynter's task is to expose the traitor passing secret information to Kemble, but quite expectedly, Paynter begins to sympathise with the protest group, and more particularly with Sheila. Serious issues are touched upon, though without taking sides 6 To the Very End - Prof Moreau (Clifford Evans), is kidnapped by students lead by his ex star pupil Paul (James Fox), helped by Jacques, Nicole and American Bob. The prof is in charge of the French nuclear programme and thus there's discussion on the pros and cons of the H bomb, and plenty of it, before Paul's real motive is exposed, Moreau had shot his father as a traitor in the war. The group try to use the prof to get publicity for their cause though the press either suppress or distort the story to their own ends, thwarting the kidnappers. These characters are well drawn but with so little of anything except dialogue, the plot dies, resolving nothing, fizzling out 8 The Whistling Shrimp - 0 out of 10 for this New York made bunkum. Are the Americans trying to instal a new regime in volatile Mattai? Journalist Ed (Arthur Kennedy- "it always worked for James Cagney") sniffs out the unexciting truth from politican Owen Rutledge (Larry Gates). A verbose story with a paucity of action despite a near commie takeover. But it's all "six thousand miles away," as political integrity is pretentiously examined, "is there such a thing as qualified truth?" It's all summed up in this ghastly line- "Owen, you're a practical visionary, something like a purple giraffe" 9 The Light of a Friendly Star - Kit is the precocious teenage daughter of a British Embassy official in Germany (Ronald Howard), and she reads Winston Churchill apparently for pleasure! Improbably she goes on the run with a spy, "why wouldn't he let her go?" This familiar storyline of two opposites together, not quite like 39 Steps, just a hint of Whistle Down the Wind and an ending more King Kong if anything, "sorry to be such a nuisance" 13 Never Turn Your Back on a Friend - With Michael Powell as director, you expect something a little special. Well, there was this Englishman, an American and a Russian, joined in the war on a raid on a power plant. The action focuses on the aftermath when this daft Englishman (Mark Eden) drags back this German scientist. Ja, he has discovered this "staggering" new explosive. So what should the trio do mit him? "His mother should have drowned him," is the anti-nuclear line, but which superpower should now "get the bomb"? The story makes its point about "the implications of power" too ponderously to make the drama absorbing. As in real life, the three fall out, correction the two fall out, Britain is eliminated. Then there was one, or even none, and midst the arguments, the secret is scattered to the four winds... for the time being 18 The Frantick Rebel - this appears to be a cross between Carry On and the eighteenth Century Blackadder. The rich fruity tones of Roger Livesey as Samuel Johnson blend with those of the blackadderish Stanley Baxter overacting as Boswell, pursuing an object of idolatry on the London stage. "The lemon, sir," or how the Americans won the War of Independence could be the plot which is truly awful. I believe Michael Powell was highly regarded as a director, but this is indulgent Cinema Absurde at its bonhommic pitz 19 Castles in Spain - After 25 years "beloved enemy" Professor Kemp (Chester Morris) returns home to Spain. Bill (Neil McCallum) meets him at Madrid Airport and takes him to his house. But on the way they befriend a man wounded, he says, in a fight over a girl. However he proves to be a student terrorist. With the help of an English doctor (Roland Culver) they try to outwit the police. Interesting questions over morality in Spanish politics are raised, and even the Gibraltar question gets a mention 21 Once a Spy - M'bala (Earl Cameron) is on trial in an African dictatorship and needs British help to flee the country. The task, "the full cloak and dagger bit," is assigned to Sue (Millicent Martin), whose boyfriend Phil Mason (William Lucas) has just been dismissed from the service as "dangerously unreliable" by his scheming boss (Peter Vaughan). The main focus of the story is Sue and Phil's relationship and only ten minutes is left for the simple rescue, which is only marred by volunteer Phil's old "weakness for self-dramatisation" 24 A Free Agent (final story) - A newly married couple throw their presents into a lake. Both are ex-spies, and from opposite sides, but "you can't contract out," that's the theme of this story as both sides try to drag them away from "a normal life." Had the characters been more sympathetic, the story might have been more absorbing, but as it is, the ending always keeps you guessing

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COURT MARTIAL (1966) Generally rather dull, in my view, only enlivened by the integrity of Peter Graves' acting. 15 Operation Makeshift - with Robert Beatty and Errol John. Summary from The Viewer: "The case of one desperate, dedicated Army Sergeant who seems willing to sacrifice his freedom, his honour and his career. Captain David Young takes on his defence but receives no assistance from the Sergeant." Our more prosaic summary: Five army trucks are stolen. The dramatic trial includes the subpoena of a general. The story is set in politically sensitive Persia, not much different there today, sadly. 17 All is a Dream to Me - "A real loser" (Donald Sutherland) steals an army jeep crashing it outside the Anchor pub, killing an army lieutenant. The episode title is a quote from Goethe, found in a book under the crashed vehicle, which leads Capt Young to the village spinster Laura (Gwen Watford) and an old man who's lost his memory. In the end, it all goes back to Dachau concentration camp 60's Menu

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Ghost Squad

Ghost Squad is available on Network's dvds. The follow-up series GS5 is wiped. But the dvd does contain mute footage from GS5. List in ATV London transmission order. * with Nick Craig # with Tony Miller

1* TICKET FOR BLACKMAIL 2* BULLET WITH MY NAME ON IT 3* HONG KONG STORY 4* HIGH WIRE 5* THE BROKEN DOLL 6* EYES OF THE BAT 7* STILL WATERS 8* ASSASSIN 9 DEATH FROM A DISTANCE 10* MILLION DOLLAR RANSOM 11* THE GREEN SHOES 12* CATSPAW 13* PRINCESS

14* INTERRUPTED REQUIEM 15# EAST OF MANDALAY 16* SENTENCES OF DEATH 17# THE GRAND DUCHESS 18* THE DESPERATE DIPLOMAT 19# THE GOLDEN SILENCE 21* THE BIG TIME 21* A FIRST CLASS WAY TO DIE 22# LOST IN TRANSIT 23* QUARANTINE AT KAVAR 24* RETIREMENT OF THE GENTLE DOVE 25 THE THIRTEENTH GIRL 26# DEATH OF A SPORTSMAN

27* HOT MONEY 28# THE MAN WITH THE DELICATE HANDS 29# THE LAST JUMP 30* THE MAGIC BULLET 31# POLSKY 32* THE HEIR APPARENT 33* ESCAPE ROUTE 34# THE MENACING MAZURKA 35# MR. FIVE PER CENT 36* GERTRUDE 37# SABOTAGE 38* PG7 39# THE MISSING PEOPLE

ITC's first hour long filmed series. A pilot was made by Rank eventually titled 'Death from a Distance', featuring Hazel Court as Jackie, an undercover agent and William Sylvester as police officer Brett. A TV Mirror reporter describes his visit to Walton studios as they were completing the pilot in September 1960. (It had been intended to make it at Pinewood.) The story editor for this pilot was Lewis Greifer. Leslie Harris of ATV had planned the series be partly filmed in Hong Kong, but changed his mind, saying "when I surveyed the possibilities in Hong Kong I was appalled. There is only one ramshackle studio there." With sales guaranteed to America, the pilot was reworked and 12 more stories were filmed at Beaconsfield. Michael Quinn starred as agent Nick Craig with Donald Wolfit as Sir Andrew Wilson. A long 1962 Equity dispute caused production to move to video. Somehow the magic of the filmed stories was gone! New agent Tony Miller (Neil Hallett) was introduced alongside Nick Craig with Anthony Marlowe as new boss Geoffrey Stock.
When the series returned in 1964, now oddly renamed G.S.5, there was a surprise, agent Nick Craig was dead, agent Tony Miller was joined by agent Peter Clarke (Ray Barrett). Complained one disappointed viewer, "surely everyone associates the dashing Nick Craig with this programme? It will never be the same without him." Episode 1 showed Nick's murderers being tracked down. Publicity for GS5 stated- "The death of his old colleague Nick Craig has made Tony Miller bitter and tougher than ever. A shrewd operator is he, quick witted and a man to fear." Hallett said of his role: "It's an all-action part and really something I can get my teeth into." As for Peter Clarke, he "looks and acts the city gentleman, is always cool and self-assured and uses his own charm and subtle humour to get him out of tight spots." Barrett said of his role: "I thoroughly enjoy the role of Clarke. He is a man who does not like to use violence, a man after my own heart." In fact Barrett is only in a few of the 13 episodes, another agent appearing in the starring role in one story, Sally Lomax, played by Patricia Mort. She also has bit parts in two other stories, having made her debut in the Ghost Squad story The Thirteenth Girl, and it's possible ATV were considering building a future series around her.
Best story: I do like #13 Princess. Dud episode: #15 East of Mandalay
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The Sentimental Agent (1963) Carlos Thompson was the star of this short lived series. Only 13 stories were ever made, a spin-off from the Man of the World story #6 in which Carlos Thompson first appeared. Other semi regulars were Burt Kwouk as Chin, and Clemence Bettany as Susy John Turner appeared as Bill Randle in 4 stories, starring in one of them. Distinguished directors included Charles Frend, John Paddy Carstairs and Harold French.

Click where highlighted for my reviews 1 All That Jazz 2 The Beneficiary 3 Express Delivery 4 Never Play Cards with Strangers 5 May The Saints Preserve Us 6 Meet My Son Henry

7 A Little Sweetness and Light 8 Height of Fashion 9 A Very Desirable Plot 10 Finishing School 11 Scroll of Islam 12 Not Quite Fully Covered A Box of Tricks

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. . . . . . . . A Very Desirable Plot "Retire to a tropical paradise" is the slogan that lures the colonel (William Mervyn) to buy a building plot in the Bahamas. But he's been sold a swamp by an associate of Carlos Varela, even though Carlos himself is apparently innocent of any wrong doing. However he tries to set matters right by getting Carlos' assistant Chin to pose as an eager buyer for the remaining plots, as part of a plot to persuade the crooked seller Lamont (Paul Maxwell) to buy back all his worthless land. The plan nearly fails when Francy, the colonel's daughter (Diana Rigg in her maiden tv part) misunderstands Varela's good intentions. But Lamont finally gets "his comeuppance," hoisted by his own petard. A miserably thin storyline from Brian Clemens who had not at this stage grasped the complexities of the fifty minute episode- frankly the story would only just have fitted into a 25 minute slot.

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Man of the World (1962) The star was Craig Stevens who played Mike Strait, international photographer. Stevens was from that American school of acting where you only move from the neck upwards, and even in a crisis betray little emotion. Mike Strait was initially assisted by Hank (Graham Stark) in story #2, while a more regular helper was Maggie (Tracy Reed) who appeared in about 8 stories. In #6 The Sentimental Agent, he is all but replaced by Carlos Thompson. Later stories saw Craig Stevens all on his ownsome. 26 episodes were planned but due to an actors' strike only 20 were completed. They are listed below in ATV transmission order Best story: #9 anticipates some of the fine later ITC storylines. #5 The Frontier has a fine climax Worst story: too many of the others! Perhaps #19 is the pits, while #14 The Bandit suggests the producers had too quickly run out of ideas.

1 DEATH OF A CONFERENCE 2 MASQUERADE IN SPAIN 3 BLAZE OF GLORY 4 THE RUNAWAYS 5 THE FRONTIER 6 THE SENTIMENTAL AGENT 7 THE HIGHLAND STORY 8 THE NATURE OF JUSTICE 9 THE MINDREADER 10 PORTRAIT OF A GIRL

11 SPECIALIST FOR THE KILL 12 A FAMILY AFFAIR 13 SHADOW OF THE WALL 14 THE BANDIT - 15 THE ENEMY 16 DOUBLE EXPOSURE 17 JUNGLE MISSION 18 IN THE PICTURE 19 THE BULLFIGHTER 20 THE PRINCE

Trivia- The working title for this series when it was first mooted in 1960 was A Man of the World

60's Menu . . . . . . Death of a Conference A Peace Conference to settle the French withdrawal from Algeria is at risk after the Algerian minister is assasinated. With some help from Alex (Warren Mitchell) Mike Strait tours the country and interviews French General Montreux (John Phillips) and the new Algerian minister, Joseph a weak old man who seems under the thumb of his security officer Sayed (John Carson). Mike's brief, under cover of his newspaper reporting, is to find out who killed the minister. Thiboeuf, a wanted criminal on the run, appears to be the hired assassin. His wife, tired of living the life of the hunted, arranges an introduction to him, for a fee. Through back streets, strangely quiet, Mike is taken, and into the refuge of 'The Madman' (Patrick Troughton), at point of a machine gun. Freely Thiboeuf admits to the killing. However he's an embittered revolutionary and Mike is sceptical, "nothing he says adds up to what Sayed told me." So Mike examines photos he had secretly taken of the room where the assassination occurred. Wise old Mike notices that the bullet hole in the window is no bullet hole, "I just can't figure it out." Well Mike isn't too bright, we all guess who the villain is. Mike somehow gets the conference slightly delayed so he can get incontrovertible proof as to this killer. Despite the tight security round him, he gets to Joseph and proves to him that the killing must have been an inside job. "A post mortem will confirm everything I've said." So Joseph, suddenly reinvigorated, attends that conference, just in time to prevent its collapse. Thus there was no Death of a Conference, only Death of a Feeble story. Note- the elusive Hank gets one mention, but is not seen To Man of the World Menu . . . . . . . 2 Masquerade in Spain It's interesting to see this pilot in colour. It certainly makes good use of the colourful Spanish coastline scenery, but location isn't the only ingredient needed in a successful recipe. Kidnappers are planning their job down to the final second. As it turns out, this never appears relevant later. In Spain, ace photographer Mike Strait is offered the chance of shooting "the richest girl in the world," surrounded by bodyguards. Denzo her daddy (Clifford Evans) treats Cleo almost as a prisoner, but now she's growing up she is starting to rebel. A long tiring week of posing ends, you've guessed it, with her ogling Mike and persuading him to give her guards the slip. The idiot goes along with her and off they speed in his sports car to a really awful club where singers don't sing, they just wail. Midnight, and home time, but on the way it's the well worn Man Lying in the Road trick. Mike steps out. Cleo is whisked away. The idiot is questioned by distraught daddy, and the police. "She doesn't make any sense," muses Mike, rather too late seeing that he's been made a sap. It didn't need a lot of help. An explosion out at sea suggests Cleo is no more. But the idiot knows a thing or two, and though daddy cannot believe his dear daughter would stage her own kidnapping, it was so. For "the very neat set up" is exposed by our clever idiot, who finds Cleo safe and well, lazing in a luxury ship. A final twist hardly justifies the storyline. You need a plot a good deal more exciting than this, not merely lovely location, though at least the main characters are here quite adequately introduced To Man of the World Menu . . . . . . . Blaze of Glory Racing driver Pietro crashes. Who will take his place? The boss' son Ricky Chirrano, "young, attractive, wealthy," or works driver Tony Gardner, perhaps past his peak? It looks as though Tony may have inadvertently caused Pietro's fatal accident, for he is having occasional blackouts, which he tells noone about. A practice workout for the new 156 car is photographed by Mike Strait. However 'Shorty' tips Mike off that Tony is getting too old, "he's pushing his luck." The two cars drive side by side for the photo shoot, Tony has another of his blackouts and forces Ricky off the road, but luckily no damage done. "I think his depth perception is off," Mike suggests to his assistant Maggie. Despite all this, Chirrano announces that the experienced Tony will drive in the next Grand Prix. Tony's wife confides in Mike, she is sure her husband isn't well. Can Mike find out? She tells Mike of a road accident Tony had had last year, so Mike consults the neurologist who had treated him at his St Etienne clinic. The doctor is horrified that Tony has been driving at all, how he hadn't read the papers and knew Tony had been in Grand Prix seems rather improbable. The accident Tony had suffered had been more serious than his wife had realised, Tony should not be driving. Tony's wife has decided to leave him as he is stubbornly insisting on grabbing his last big chance of grand prix glory. "You'll quit when you're killed or crippled," she warns him. Despite all Mike's arguments, Tony insists he will drive. It's race day, after the warm up Tony goes into the pits. Then the race starts, Mike trackside, to take his photos. We see that Tony isn't racing, he has wisely swapped with Ricky. "Something is wrong," observes Chirrano, and with the 156's speedo indicating only 65mph, he's certainly right. "I don't believe in miracles," he sighs, though we know how it will end. These were the days when grand prix cars actually raced wheel to wheel, and overtook each other a lot. The long filmed sequences would have been more exciting if we could have been more involved with the characters. With the race win sealed on the last corner, we see Tony happily reunited with his wife To Man of the World Menu . . . . . . The Runaways Michael Pertwee's script tries to play it for laughs, but the punchlines are all too easy to anticipate in this plodding bit of fun that is played with far too heavy a hand. For that fine director Charles Crichton never comes at all near to emulating his best cinema comedy films. On the Riviera, young American millionairess Joanna Kempson (Erica Rogers) is attacked. Her boyfriend Lord John Allwood doesn't cover himself in glory protecting her, and instead a stranger rescues her, one Martin King, a penniless scoundrel. So utterly grateful is Joanna, she elopes with her hero who has contacted The Daily Globe in Paris for exclusive photos of the happy couple. Mike Strait is assigned to the case, "I've never been so happy," etc etc Joanna tells him. But clever old Mike can spot a put up job and doesn't have to delve too deep to prove it. Martin's explanation is that he didn't want to sponge off his fiancee, and the exclusive was his way to earn his own money and pay his own way. Martin's Plan B is to blackmail Joanna's father for $100,000 but he seems strangely unsympathetic, so Martin's next ruse is to suggest to his beloved they purchase a boat to elope on. Kind Mike offers them the use of his, "that's darling of you Mike," exclaims Joanna, though Martin isn't so pleased. On Mike's boat, Mike gets a shock when Martin and Joanne request him, as ship's captain, to marry them. Hwoever Fate intervenes in the shape of a storm at sea, which Joanna finds thrilling, but it only makes poor Martin seasick, scared, and in his panic he pushes her overboard. He can't swin, so a new hero emerges, yes old Mike. Martin is in disgrace. All her new knight in shining armour can do, to escape her admiring clutches, is find her another hero. He provides one with another attack in which he signally fails to come to her assistance. But to the rescue comes Lord Allwood, yes her first hero is back in favour again To Man of the World Menu . . . . . . . The Sentimental Agent Something of a relief, for Mike Strait photos a Havana villa and is arrested and is not seen again until the end. His loyal secretary over in Panama persuades likeable rogue Carlos Barello to rescue her boss... for $5,000. Carlos warranted his own spin-off series, proving himself an adept hero. In Cuba he knows a high up minister (Peter Jones) who can open a few doors. But not enough to get Strait released. Carlos breaks into Strait's hotel room to find it has been ransacked in the quest to uncover the elusive photo. Carlos, of course, soon locates it, in the waste pipe of the basin. Lee (Shirley Eaton) is something of a pleasant distraction, a photography expert and she helps doctor Strait's photos, one of which rather needs altering as it shows in the house that has been photographed one Arturo, an Argentinian scientist long thought to have been dead. Lee airbrushes Arturo out. The minister is most eager to get these photos, and Carlos offers him a deal, the photos for Mike Strait. Despite bribery, Carlos won't budge from this deal, and although he is meticulously searched, and his room, the film is not found... the photos are in his pipe holder! Carlos creates a diversion with Lee, kissing her interminably in full view of the watching police, but in fact leaving her fondling a dummy while he sneaks off to rescue Arturo. Over a wall he climbs, past one guard, and straight into the scientist's room. Arturo is a tired old man, not too bothered about escape, so Carlos carries him, having chloroformed him, back to Lee where another diversion enables her to drive him away. Arturo is transferred to a crate being loaded on Carlos' ship, while Strait is exchanged for the film. "You will be back next week?" the minister asks Carlos. Well, he was, if not next week, next year. Strait thanks his saviour and gets quite a surprise when he is introduced to the escaped scientist Man of the World Menu . . . . . . The Nature of Justice By the Euphrates, the expedition of Professor Hugh O'Conner (Robert Flemyng) is excavating artefacts from the Sumerian civilisation. At last a big find... a royal burial chamber. Here's a tablet in a very old cuneform script, most likely the Code of Hammurabi, but when O'Conner starts to translate it, maybe it's even older. "The Face of Justice is the Face of God" reads one line, another, "only the nature of Justice changes." Professor Gault (Ewen Solon), O'Conners' head of department, is soon on hand to take the discovery back to their university in Cairo. But O'Conner has other notions. En route through the desert to the airport in Kuwait, somewhere along that 100 miles, the pair disappear. Mike Strait follows their tracks with O'Conner's assistant Miss Jane Rogers (Jacqueline Ellis). Police find a corpse, but it is unrecognisable. However O'Conner's watch is nearby, as well as an empty crate that had contained the ancient tablet. A zone for homeless refugees nearby may yield some clue about the death and the whereabouts the the missing man. Certainly Bernard Archard playing the Sheik, the Arab leader of the group is odd, but rather typical casting of the era. "The man you're harbouring may be a murderer," Mike warns him. That man, no surprise, turns out to be O'Conner. He can't remember much. A Bedouin attack. Mike sees through that thin story, but Bedouin law states that O'Conner cannot be arrested in this neutral area. The Sheik also refuses Mike to take away O'Conner. Instead, there's an ancient test of guilt or innocence. O'Conner attempts to trick his way through the test and the wise Sheik concludes, "you have killed for greed." He will pronounce sentence shortly. Now Mike finds himself releasing O'Conner, rather than see him face the expected death sentence. O'Conner zooms off in his jeep leaving Mike in hot water for releasing the guilty man. He and the Sheik discuss the nature of justice. But maybe it is a rough justice, for in his wisdom, the Sheik had made sure that jeep had little petrol. Knowing the professor will be stranded in the desert waste, Mike and Jane set out to rescue him. The wicked professor totters round the studio desert, dehydrated, in the best tradition. Too late Mike finds him, dead, and where he had buried that law code remains a secret for ever. Note O'Conner's name is spelt as 'O'Connor' in the credits, but on his watch it is spelled thus Man of the World Menu . . . . . . Specialist for the Kill In Berlin, another wounded man totters round the bombed ruins, a Merc following him. A phone booth that has miraculously survived the bombs, and the pursued man, Stoll, puts a call through, "they are bringing in a specialist for the kill...." he can say no more, for he is shot dead. A jaded Colonel Cutler (rather well played by Paul Maxwell) plays a tape of this conversation to Mike Strait and his assistant Maggie. "The old and dreary story" relates to a likely attempt on the life of President Majek, a less than popular dictator, who is on a visit to the city. It is known that the killer is arriving at Tempelhof on Flight 164 from Bucharest, though his identity is not known. Mike's task is to photo everyone as they leave the plane. This he does, but which one is 'The Croat' (Ken Baker)? Several likely suspects are trailed. Mike can now return to his day job, photographing models. But he leaves off to take pictures of Majek as he leaves his hotel en route to open a trade fair. But as the president emerges from the hotel he is shot, he collapses and dies. Now Cutler wants to scrutinise Mike's new set of photos. Improbable though it seems, the shot seems to have come from a pram! Fraulein Nina, in charge of the pram is not around. In fact we see her back at a circus where we had earlier seen Mike taken more of his pictures. The Croat is there too, a midget clown, entertaining the audience. When Cutler does catch up wth Nina, she acts the innocent. "She's no nursemaid," decides Mike, and after comparing his photos of the circus he sees she is the trapeze artist. As Mike is getting too close to the truth, Polikoff (Derren Nesbitt) is ordered to bump him off. The midget is used to sneak into Mike's hotel room. "You take too many pictures my friend," The Croat warns him. Yes, Mike has taken his last photo, but Mike's not quite through yet, for he trips the little man up and though The Croat jumps through the window, he is run over by Polikoff, who in turn is arrested by police. So Mike has not quite taken his last picture! Did I add "unfortunately"? Heaven forbid Man of the World Menu . . . . . . 12 A Family Affair At Delmaine's in Paris there's an explosion aimed at killing a French official. Michael Strait is on hand to snap some pretty "hot" photos but Inspector Jacques Duval (Richard Leech) confiscates his role of film for security reasons. Mike gets rather riled when he learns there's no such policeman! The real police warn him not to get involved in French political intrigue, but Mike isn't taking any of that! He recognises the man with Duval as an old wartime buddy Corbet (Eugene Deckers), but this cannot be, as he was supposed to have died in a car smash with his wife two months ago. Mike does a tour of Corbet's friends starting with his sister who admits she wasn't "particularly fond" of Corbet's right wing tendencies. "Is he dead?" asks the unsubtle Mike. "Of course." Next stop is Corbet's father-in-law who had identified the corpse. Corbet was "scum" as he'd been having an affair with another woman. So it's off to the mistress, Madamoiselle Simone, a nightclub singer, who helpfully plugs the series' theme song. Then follows a political speech blaming the old war for everything. All very corny. "Did you love him?" asks Mike. "Yes, and I will." Mike, ever quick on the uptake, spots that faux pas. Up the top of the Eiffel Tower, Mark finally comes face to face with the elusive Corbet. It's very high up there! There's a philosophical discussion between the old mates on the lines of "what happened to you," lost idealism etc, until we reach the nitty gritty: "if I go over that rail...." Mark doesn't of course, and his micro-camera secretly snaps a telling shot of the very much alive Corbet. That leads to a bomb attack on poor old Mike before Corbet and his gang are copped by the cops. Man of the World Menu . . . . . . 14 The Bandit We are in Sicily where a film is being shot. A scene with an ancient car turns to reality when three bandits drive away with the car and the attractive star. Mike is wandering the island alone when he bumps into one of the carabineri as he photographs local children. He asks the way to a ruined temple, but is informed the road is closed. That's not enough to dissuade our hero, who by circuitous means reaches the magnificent ruin, high up in the mountains, "no-one ever comes here." Which is why the gang of bandits have hidden film star Maria (Natasha Parry) here. This turns into a dispiriting story of boorish men and a spoiled starlet, none likeable. That includes Mike, who is forced to stay in the temple, the ruin the only attractive part of the tale. Maria tells Mike why she is kept here, and it could be the end for poor Mike. However "it's not good to kill Americans," according to the bandit leader Nicola (Sam Wanamaker) a complex character with a penchant for playing bridge. As Mike, for sure, knows the game, he has found in him a rare player. With Maria as dummy hand, I rather lost count of the dummies. But soon the game turns to poker and this sends the rest of the gang into a bored sleep, like myself. Action at last, a policeman drives up to the temple. But Mike's hopes are dashed, as the gang are in league with this official. He brings no ransom payment only a warning that the police are combing the district for the star. Mike and Maria make a break for it, scrambling over boulders dodging gunshots. They hide in a cave and the bandits can't find them. A fire keeps the fugitives warm, and a kiss, or two, or three. She's now ready to give up her career for Mike! Next morning the couple continue their flight, creating a landslide to confuse the enemy, and all would have gone well until, you will never guess, Maria slips and can't carry on. They are recaptured. More temple card games, the law closing in, at present still in the distance. Nicola's obsession with gambling keeps him distracted. An improbable bet as Mike bets his life on the game. Win, he goes free, but if he loses... The game diffuses what tension there ever was in the kidnap, but I suppose that if you care for dear old Mike, it would be different. No prize for guessing the winner, Mike and Maria are permitted to go free, for Nicola is a man of his word. However his gang fall out over the release, but the police are now here to arrest the bandits. Mike spins a tale that this was all a publicity stunt so that the 'honourable' bandit is all but cleared of kidnapping charges. And Mike and Maria ride off into the sunset Man of the World Menu . . . . . 15 The Enemy Mike Strait is photographing the war in Vietnam, but is himself injured. Nursed back to health in a Kampala hospital, he seems more worried about the whereabouts of his precious cameras. Idealistic Dr Moretti (Anthony Quayle), a specialist in jungle diseases, is in charge of the shoestring mission, treating friend and foe alike. "I'm a doctor, not a politician," he declares, but the time is coming when he has to take sides. Mike seems more interested in other things also, namely Nurse Souen (Tsai Chin inevitably), even when the army of Commie Major Teong (John Meillon) takes over the Christian foundation. Mike is used by Teong to write an article, "no restrictions" on how the regime is now run. However Moretti is now under restrictions, being required to run the hospital treating only Commies, and western influences are not permitted, good heavens, even baseball. I think American influences would be a better description. And worse Bible reading to the children in the mission is prohibited. In those days this was an issue to rightly get worked up about. Thus Mike is in hot water when he teaches a youngster about baseball. Typical Commie trickery follows, confess to his crime and face re-education, or else. Mike of course must refuse so he is placed under arrest. Dr Moretti's conscience cannot allow him to comply either so he joins Mike in jail. However Mike is set free, so he can testify in the kangaroo court trial of Moretti. The People's Court is a mockery with bribed witnesses, and it would take Perry Mason to get Moretti acquitted, and despite an impassioned plea by Mike, Moretti is sentenced to death in this "farce." However sentence will be suspended if he signs up for re-education, but he still refuses to sign. He's a free spirit and it's a moot point whether he will break first or Major Teong. However the major is something of a rare breed, a thinking Commie, and he enlists good old Mike to help the doctor to secretly escape. "Why are you doing this?" Mike asks. Teong's reply is to permit this exodus, Moretti taking his staff and mission children with him, all lead by Moses, aka Mike Strait. You won't be surprised to know that there must be a bit of exciting kung fu before freedom is gained Man of the World Menu . . . . . . Jungle Mission A hostile tribe of natives bring a young boy, suffering from a deadly snake bite, to a remote mission post run by nuns in the Amazon jungle. The celebrated Mike Strait is in the region, seeking an interview with a clever peasant Padron (Alexander Davion), who is wanted by police chief Perez. The law officer takes Mike to the nun's mission where until recently the wanted man had been staying, waiting for one of his followers to be nursed back to health. The trek through the jungle in search of Padron ends when Perez walks right into a simple trap. After a long exchange of gunfire, the police are forced to retreat, Mike however gets up close to Padron and asks for his interview. People say he is a murderer- is he? Mike wants to hear his side of the story. With thunder presaging a fearsome storm, Perez with his policemen seeks shelter in the mission, where the young lad is now in a critical condition. In fact news has reached the natives that he has died, that is not yet correct, but it causes the jungle drums to start beating, mingling with the mighty thunder to create an electric tension that is quite washed away in the downpour. To gain safety from the natives, rather than from any altruistic motive, Padron decides to shelter with the nuns also, so that all the whites can make a united stand agianst the natives. Mike acts as a gobetween twixt Perez and Padron, though it is the reverend mother who grants Padron a safe haven. United now agaisnt the common enemy, gunfire scares off the locals, at least temporarily. The lad must have a blood transfusion or he will indeed die, and only Padron has the right blood type. That does the trick, the boy is cured, but a native attack is now imminent. Perez shows his true colours by planning to desert the sinking ship, taking the child as a kind of bargaining tool. Mike stops that nonsense, but Perez and his men decide to go anyway, backed up by a volley of machine gun fire, yet they do not get far. The native boy is shown to his family, and no longer are they restless Man of the World Menu . . . . . . . In The Picture Chamacy's enlargements of Mike's photos of a new bridge are nearly destroyed when the delivery van is forced off the road. (Music in this scene is originally from the incidental music used in International Detective.) But the photos are safely delivered to the Galerija Bledska where Mike's world important exhibition is shortly to open. The Minister of Culture (Peter Madden) is ideallistically opposed to the new liberal regime of President Ruscher, which is gradually opening up the country to Western influences. Maria (Nagja Regin), a small time journalist, makes friends with Mike, so he grabs his chance and has a meal with her. Also at the meal is Troyan, Albert Lieven, an adept hand at playing sinister foreigners, and he's up to his usual tricks in this story also. He is planning a coup. Though of course even clever old Mike doesn't know this, yet. The dinner is cut short with news of a break in at the gallery. Mike's local photographs have been vandalised, but Mike has the negatives, and Chamacy promises to do a rush job to ensure the exhibition can open on time. But thieves also ransack Mike's room and many of his negatives are also stolen. Mike struggles to puzzle out the reason for this. Then Chamacy's lab is burned to the ground, but the good news is that Chamacy had been developing Mike's local photos at his home. The negatives are safe and Maria offers her own small laboratory for developing the negatives. "There's something in one of my photographs," believes Mike, for at last the penny has dropped! "Everything was destroyed," Troyan is informed, not entirely accurately. So Troyan prepares for his coup: as Ruscher is to cut the tape opening the new bridge, Troyan will send a radio signal to explode a device on the bridge, "charming, I like it very much." But when Mike scrutinises his picture of the bridge, he can't spot anything amiss. "I'm an idiot. it's got to be the bridge." (Er- No comment.) The bridge picture is magnified, though by now the president is on his way to the grand bridge ceremony. That much enlarged photo reveals a radio mast on the bridge, "it could be a radio controlled bomb." Having made that brilliant deduction, Mike races off in a Merc, to Troyan's home, to prevent him pressing the button. No standing on ceremony by Mike, the villains are shot and the president is calmly able to declare the bridge open Man of the World Menu . . . . . . The Bullfighter "It's only a man that can face up to a fighting bull and survive." Your attitude to bullfighting may cloud your view of this story which I found very very slow. Sitting next to Mike Strait at a bullfight is Ferdy Mayne, who explains that the fighter is having "an off day." Luiz, the bullfighter, is trying to follow his father's footsteps, that celebrated matador Francisco Rivera, who had died in the ring. Mike stays at the Rivera hasienda, taking a shine to Luiz's sister Carmen. Luiz shows him round the ranch, and demonstrates how he practices in the ring with a dummy. Maybe the interest picks up when we sense there is some dark secret in the Tower Room, but then it collapses again as we are treated, if that's the word, to local colour, singing and dancing. Far too protracted, tuneless even. Mike is locked inside the training ring and a bull let loose on him. It's what I'd been thinking of myself, so me I was rooting for the bull. But at least Mike isn't made to win, he simply avoids the confrontation, unusually wisely for him. Carmen is certain something is being kept from her, relating to her father's fatal accident. And why is someone destroying Mike's precious photographs? Mike senses Francisco had not been gored to death by a bull, maybe just bored? That night Mike does some snooping but is knocked senseless. When he recovers his senses, such as they be, Katrina, Francisco's wife tells all... in case you were as thick as Mike, you may be surprised to learn the great bullfighter yet lives. He's in a wheelchair. Something about fatherly pride, hiding away. Plus the fear of the fighter. You can guess the rest too... Inspired, Luiz returns to the ring in Madrid, Ole! Plodding, all too easy to read this plot, which must have had viewers switching over at the time, and now reaching for the fast forward . . . Man of the World Menu . . . . . .

The Baron
with Steve Forrest as John Mannering, the one they call The Baron. Also with Sue Lloyd as Cordelia (in stories 4, 7, 9-26, 28-30).
This ITC series marked the decline of the adventure genre. The mediocrity of The Baron in comparison with the high point of the suspiciously similar sounding The Saint can perhaps be put down to the desire to have an American star, and one who clearly didn't win much respect from his English colleagues. Then also the longstanding partnership of Baker and Berman had split up, and maybe the rehashing of some old Saint scripts, thinly disguised, was a recipe for failure. As you can gather, I am not a fan. If you are, my apologies, and tell me what I'm missing! Perhaps it was significant that the old satellite channel Granada Plus showed six episodes, but then didn't screen any more. Further, ITV3 and ITV4 have repeated numerous colour ITC series, but never The Baron. However if you want to see it, the whole series is available on the Network dvd reissue.

1 SAMURAI WEST 2 RED HORSE, RED RIDER 3 THE LEGIONS OF AMMAK 4 DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY 5 PORTRAIT OF LOUISA 6 FAREWELL TO YESTERDAY 7 EPITAPH FOR A HERO 8 THE PERSUADERS 9 SOMETHING FOR A RAINY DAY 10 ENEMY OF THE STATE

11 THERE'S SOMEONE CLOSE BEHIND YOU 12 AND SUDDENLY YOU'RE DEAD 13 A MEMORY OF EVIL 14 MASQUERADE 15 THE KILLING (continuation of 14) 16 LONG AGO AND FAR AWAY 17 YOU CAN'T WIN THEM ALL 18 THE SEVEN EYES OF NIGHT 19 THE LONG, LONG DAY 20 THE EDGE OF FEAR

21 TIME TO KILL 22 SO DARK THE NIGHT 23 THE MAZE 24 NIGHT OF THE HUNTER 25 STORM WARNING 26 THE ISLAND (continuation of 25) 27 ROUNDABOUT 28 THE HIGH TERRACE 29 THE MAN OUTSIDE 30 COUNTDOWN

Programmes are listed in production order, with grateful acknowledgement to the Network booklet
60's Menu

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Samurai West
A depressing and confused first story. No wonder the producers realised the need for change after this badly written script, summed up by the comment, "I don't think I shall ever understand."
John Mannering has bought a Samurai sword, a family heirloom for £10,000. The vendor is Asano, apparently Japanese, though Lee Montague who plays him is far from convincing. His faithful servant is Yasugi. His daughter Samantha lives with him. Col Sterling (the reliable Raymond Huntley) takes exception to Asano, accusing him of atrocities at a prison camp. Maybe in that era the attitude was to forgive, and Sterling is somehow seen as a villain in wanting revenge for what the Japs did to the pathetic Tom, who is a physical wreck and not very rational. "Do you still say the war is over?"
But Asano's attitude is naturally more on the lines of forgetting it all. "Am I to be held eternally responsible?" He has his own tale of tragedy, for Samantha's mother died at Hiroshima.
Why Asano has never faced a war crimes trial, I didn't hear, and it's hard to imagine Lee Montague as a Jap anyway, indeed at one point it is remarked "The man was as Western as you are!"
Sterling takes the law into his own hands and after a face to face confrontation with Asano, there's a fight and Asano dies.
Yasugi swears revenge, even though police believe Asano has committed suicide. But John Mannering knows different too. Yasugi steals back his master's sword and takes it to kill Col Sterling. Mannering arrives to find Sterling determined to bump off another "Japanese murderer." Mannering stops the combat, but finishes up fighting with Yasugi himself. Yasugi retreats to take his own life.
Fortunately the series did improve.

The Baron Menu

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Red Horse Red Rider
In the Khakanian Embassy, one of the attaches refuses to reveal to boss Salan (John Bennett) the contents of a message to John Mannering. It actually reads:
Must sell Four Horsemen- contact the Baron.
Mannering is explaining to some blonde why they call him The Baron, when the attache, who has escaped his embassy, delivers the message.
Civil war is raging in Khakania, everyone trying to leave, but our brave Baron is coming in. At the airport he is met by Savannah (Jane Merrow), granddaughter of one of the main supporters of the rebels, a rich, old, tired but determined man. The Father of the Country they call him.
He is the one selling The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to John Mannering, to raise funds for the rebel cause, but how can this statuette be got out of the country? "It's going to be a pretty rough trip."
Dressed as a farmer, Savannah accompanies the Baron as his wife, showing him the back roads. But Salan's men are watching and the couple are captured at a checkpoint. The statuette is confiscated. Fortunately also on the watch are the rebels, lead by the irritating Miros, and it is recaptured. Miros shows them the way, but their truck breaks down. "We walk." They jump a freight train, but Salan knows their every move, and the train is halted. By a stroke of luck, they get away and get to the border- but it's not safe to cross until dark. (Miros' men seem to have all gone AWOL.)
At a farmhouse they wait for nightfall. Again Salan tracks them down: "at last we meet face to face." Miros saves them again, though Mannering's arm - don't cry- gets a graze.
As night falls, Miros tries to walk off with the Horsemen statuette. Greed has got the better of him. The Baron stops him, despite his arm, and the issue is settled with a fair fight. Well, not so fair as Mannering has one arm. But sportingly Miros fights one handed also.
After this time filler, the border is crossed, and The Baron delivers the Four Horsemen. For a fat profit.

To The Baron Menu

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The Legions of Ammak

Cossackian, an eccentric, demands to withdraw three million dollars from his bank account. "The last of the big non-spenders" is suddenly splashing out, on the Legions of Ammak, but why as he is such a spendthrift?
John Mannering is selling the valuable jewellery on behalf of a client, the king of Ammak (Peter Wyngarde). Authentic, pronounces the expert, and thus the transaction is concluded happily. It's nice to see Peter Wyngarde for once upstaged, by George Murcell as the miserly millionaire.
Champagne flows as the deal is celebrated, but later the deal seems less secure when we watch the king taking off his make-up, he's nothing but an actor, called Noyes.
However he has made a small slip, the wrong old school tie. John Mannering asks the royal representative, Colonel Ahmed Bey what it means. Mannering's assistant David finds Noyes enjoying himself in a club with his girlfriend Sirocco. After Noyes has left, she is asked about Noyes, whose photo is in her dressing room.
Noyes has got greedy and having a photo of the deal being sealed, tries to blackmail Col Bey for £10,000. Bey himself had been planning to use these pictures as a way of discrediting the king, so that he can gain political control in Ammak. Bey's solution to his dilemma is the simple one, shoot Noyes ad recover the photos. David arrives at the flat of the late Noyes only to be knocked out. Mannering is third to reach Noyes, and he consoles the distraught Sirroco before calling the police. But the police can't enter the Ammak embassy, though The Baron can! He creeps in, and explains the plot to the king and the order goes out to arrest Bey. but Bey gets the upper hand and holds Mannering a prisoner. The king is also guarded: "I was a fool ever to have trusted that man."
Sirocco is out for revenge and wants to shoot the evil Bey. The Baron has got free, naturally, and stops her shooting the colonel, but Bey's plot is foiled and Cossackian does return the Legions of Ammak to its rightful owner.
The elements of a good story were there, but the character of Cossackian is wasted, and Mannering's assistant David looks as though he knows his role in the series is doomed. Only Wyngarde, as ever, seems to be enjoying himself, with his dual role.

Baron Menu

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Diplomatic Immunity

This story introduces Cordelia, firstly (half-) seen in a bath in The Baron's hotel room.

The Baron has gone behind the Iron Curtain on the trail of Eva who has stolen a Faberge sedan chair on exhibition in John Mannering's London antique shop. It had been easy for her to take it out of Britain in a diplomatic pouch.
The Baron has been co-opted by Templeton Green of British Intelligence to recover the stolen goods, as well as other rarities Eva has stolen. He's given the latest in spy gadgetry.
Cordelia and The Baron are nearly framed for Eva's murder, when her corpse is found in his bedroom, but there's "no particular difficulty" in accomplishing the mission, and having seen him safely to the border and the waiting Templeton Green, she returns to Britain with him.

Menu for The Baron

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PORTRAIT OF LOUISA
In a spooky churchyard, at night of course, Mrs Louisa Trenton (Delphi Lawrence) pleads with her sneering blackmailer for more time to pay.
To raise that cash, she offers her old boyfriend John Mannering some rare jewellery. He obliges, but wants to know why she needs the money. She won't say.
Louisa's sister Jane (Jo Rowbottom) is worried about her. So is her lover Peter, for different reasons.
The crowd at The Voodoo Club are all likely villains, including the manager Nigel (Terence Alexander) and Smiler Sutton the photographer (Brian Wilde). Louisa Trenton waits there, to meet her blackmailer. But she is found dead- is it suicide, or murder?
The police incline to the former, but the Baron is certain she was murdered.
Peter has jibbed at her death and Sutton has to silence him. The Baron is questioning Peter about blackmailing Louisa. Who killed her? Peter wants to do a deal but before he can talk, of course he is shot in the back. The Baron has to be silenced also, except the police have now concurred with the great Baron's viewpoint and gone to talk to Peter, thereby causing Sutton to run off. They save John Mannering, but he is nearly arrested for Peter's murder!
Jane has been kidnapped. Sutton demands he is given the blackmail money that Louisa was bringing him. Otherwise Jane will end up "as dead as Mrs Trenton."
27 Stone Street is where Sutton lives. A fight destroys much of his photographic equipment, as the Baron rescues Jane. The blackmail pictures are retrieved and burnt. But then Sutton himself is shot. This corny tale ends with the showdown as John Mannering traps the organiser of the blackmail operation
To The Baron Menu

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Farewell to Yesterday
Driving along an empty motorway, a pilot suddenly crashes his car, now in a crowded street!
Templeton-Green asks The Baron to go to Rome to see an old flame, another old flame, of his, Cathy Dawn (Sylvia Sims). For in this pilot's wallet was proof he was working for a smuggling ring which had nicked from The Vatican no less, a set of eight rare medallions.
Local agent Cavendish informs Mannering that Cathy sings at Nick's. Cavendish has infiltrated the gang and got his first assignment, to smuggle one of the medallions to London, orders of the boss Nick (William Sylvester), "the rottenest man I ever met."
He's Cathy's boy friend, and even John Mannering can't quite persuade her to leave Nick... for him. Nick has some hold over her.
"I don't like you," Nick tells The Baron, and orders his right hand man Dino to finish off Mannering. Of course that fails, though Cavendish is not so lucky, winding up with a knife in his back.
Cathy is used to trick Mannering to go to Dino's where he believes the medallions are concealed. It's a trap. Nick has already shot Dino, who had wanted out, and when The Baron enters the room, he is knocked out and framed for Dino's death.
Then Nick hides the medallions in his suitcase and hurriedly leaves Rome by train. The Baron eludes arrest and also joins the eight o'clock Geneva express. For some reason he brings Cathy along, and as they separately search the train for Nick, she is imprisoned in Nick's compartment. As they reach a bridge, Nick prepares to throw her out the window, but who's this climbing in through the same window? Why, The Baron of course! A punch up and it's the end of the line for Nick.
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Epitaph for a Hero
The Baron is attending the funeral of "a world champion redfink" for the good reason this Jim (Paul Maxwell) had saved Mannering's life in the war. But it's evident Jim was not greatly loved.
At a steam baths the Baron encounters this dead man, who offers a million dollars if the Baron will fence some stolen property. Mannering refuses but Jim politely reminds him, "you owe me a favour."
Templeton Green orders Mannering to join the crooks, and with Cordelia as his contact, things are perking up!
The Baron travels by train to Edinburgh, with Cordelia briefing him en route. Jim's henchman Charlie (Nosher Powell) is also aboard, and he pulls the communication cord and makes the Baron alight in the middle of nowhere. From there it's back to London, and a hideout in Battersea Funfair.
The boss of the gang is introduced as Helge (Patricia Haynes). This shift of focus from Jim has the effect of making what has gone before seem rather unimportant and although Helge is a cunning leader, the story never really has any tension. The gang practise the caper which is to steal eight million's worth of jewels from an exhibition: "makes the Crown Jewels look like trinkets!"
Luckily Cordelia tracks down the gang's headquarters, but is caught, and the Baron is forced to help in the robbery, even though his cover has been blown.
We see the ingenious plan, Mission Impossible-like, to steal the jewels, which is never very engrossing and it proceeds like clockwork. Afterwards it's time for Jim to bump off Mannering and Cordelia. He can't resist a final jest to the Baron, admitting it was not he who saved Mannering's life but a Cpl Moxey (in joke there on director John Moxey). Thus riled, single-handedly, incredibly, the Baron stops the villains
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The Persuaders
David, The Baron's assistant is kidnapped. John Mannering says he's concerned, but does he look it?
Roddy (James Villiers) and his girl Vicky (Georgina Ward) are behind it, they demand The Baron sells a Renoir to Sir Robert Ellacot for £100,000, it's a fake of course. Refusal means David will die.
Mannering's first move is consult Templeton-Green. Then to Lindley in Kent where Sir Robert resides. The Baron puts up at an inn where it's clear he is already expected. The kidnappers have left a walkie talkie. They instruct The Baron to phone Sir Robert next morning at 10.30. "There's more to this than just ransom," shrewd John Mannering realises, as he does go to Sir Robert and does sell him the painting. At Sir Robert's mansion he bumps into Roddy, nephew of Sir Robert, though clearly not a friend. To us, if not yet to The Baron, it's obvious Roddy wants to get one over on his uncle.
Pay off time at a quarry which Temp has staked out. The case with the money has been fitted with a tracking device, but this little trick is foiled when Vicky collects the £100,000 for she transfers the cash to her own case, then, rather professionally, she is picked up by helicopter. However Temp's men move in to prevent a landing and Vicky is arrested.
She finally reveals where David is being held prisoner, but Roddy is too cunning and has transported David away in his Land Rover and he phones the Baron, ordering him to bring the money, and "come alone." Mannering complies, now with a special carrying case supplied by Temp. He is directed to a deserted farm barn. Roddy sneers, "I'm going to kill you Mannering." Then the trick case explodes, and the money blows all round the barn. "It's a fake," cries the wretched Roddy.
And thus David is rescued, safe and sound, why though, as he now fades out of the series for ever, ironic really. You'd have thought this would've been an ideal way of writing him out the series
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Something for a Rainy Day
Outside the Scrubs waits Ann (Ann Lynn), out after seven years is her father Seldon (Michael Gwynn), an art robber, now a broken man.
A jazzed up Cordelia has now joined John Mannering, who has received an Aztec mask from Seldon, a sample of the stolen Davion collection that Seldon wants the Baron to sell on his behalf. Insurance agent Charlie (Lois Maxwell) is prepared to buy it from Mannering becuase she's ruthless: "you have got a computer for a heart,"Mannering tells her blandly.
Then he flies with Cordelia to Paris tosee "tired frightened old man" Seldon. In an isolated farmhouse, it's Ann who meets The Baron, though they are both shadowed by two villains who had been part of Seldon's gang, Max Holder (Patrick Allen) and Lucas. They snatch Ann as a hostage to force Seldon to give them the art treasures: "you're out of your class, Mannering."
But he drives with Cordelia to a dingy caravan site, where Seldon is hiding. It has all been "a pipe dream," for Seldon must get his daughter back. Mannering goes to the Chateau Celestine, where Seldon guesses Holder might be hanging out. Ann is indeed held captive there, but a vicious guard dog ensures the Baron "doesn't do a very good job of it." However he turns the tables and now it's a race to get to the Davion treasure first. Seldon is there accompanied by Charlie, who's hoping to get the loot back for free. In a cave, she grabs it. But Holder and Lucas stop her getting away and then Mannering drives up, a car chase follows. The Baron's Citroen keeps up with the crooks' Jag, which in true crime drama tradition ends up over a cliff in pieces. Pulling out the case with the loot they've grabbed, it turns out to be full of rocks. Charlie has switched, though of course the Baron catches up with her and Cordelia switches Charlie's case and sad Seldon winds up with the fortune
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Enemy of the State

In an East European state, agent Bell cracks under extreme torture and reveals that John Mannering will be delivering him money at the Koblinz Bar.
In fact, it is Cordelia who brings the cash, and she is soon surrounded, and taken prisoner by the evil Szoblik (Anton Diffring). Colonel Bucholz (Joseph Furst) seems a little more sympathetic, but "she will confess," insists Szoblik.
Templeton Green orders Mannering back to London, but naturally the order is ignored and Mannering manages to get to see Cordelia- "I'll get you out of this," he promises. But his visa is withdrawn, and he is deported.
On the way to the border, Mannering causes the car to crash, and handcuffed to his guard, but pointing a gun at the guard's head, Mannering gets to British agent Colin, and a hacksaw sets him free. The daring plan is formulated to kidnap "Comrade Szoblik."
At an isolated country railway station, Szoblik's state Mercedes has to wait at the level crossing. A potato strategically placed on the exhaust, and the car breaks down, and Szoblik winds up "in the exchange business."
Col Bucholz leads the hunt for his comrade, though secretly he finds it rather amusing. However he's not so happy about having to exchange Cordelia.
He has one ace, Colin's wife Claire is a double agent. She's the one who had betrayed Bell. But Mannering spots her treachery, and he takes Szoblik to the rendezvous near the border.
But more duplicity from the colonel- he has prepared an ambush en route, outside the Kafina. Cordelia snaps defiantly at him, "you'll need a lot more than a road block to stop John Mannering." And of course the trap is eluded, "Mannering was too smart for you."
At the frontier, prisoners meet face to face in the twilight. Mannering exchanges for Cordelia and the pair run for it. "Kill them!" screams Szbolik as they swim across a river. Incredibly a volley of bullets misses them. "You did it, John."

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There's Someone Close Behind You
The Lynsted Collection of gold artefacts is the target of a gang of thieves. But Marty Cranwell overhears their plot, so who could pay him for a tip off? The Baron of course.
But it seems duff information after the police and John Mannering waste a night on the watch for nothing. But as soon as they leave, the thieves pounce. An impressive array of British acting talent they are too, Richard Wyler, ex-Man from Interpol, is the boss Gregg Wilde, with Mike Pratt, the future Randall of Randall and Hopkirk, plus Michael Robbins, of On the Buses fame.
But The Baron isn't taken in by the lack of action, and prevents Wilde in the middle of his thievery. A Yard inspector with him is shot dead as Wilde flees empty handed. But Mannering can identify the crook, and does indeed pick him out in an identity parade. "It won't get to a jury," Gregg's lawyer promises him. And with Philip Madoc as Frank, also part of the gang, that's no idle boast. First Frank has "a little talk" with Marty, silencing him for good. Then it's John Mannering's turn, he's lured into a friendly chat at a chamber concert in the Workers Hall. More an assassination attempt actually, but Cordelia has alerted the police and in a scene with the vaguest of echoes of The Ladykillers, it is Frank who is eliminated.
At Old Street Magistrates Court Wilde is committed for trial.But his gang trail the police car that is returning him to prison, past Kentish Town West, and in the shadow of a gasometer the police car is halted and Wilde freed. John Mannering is on the ball, and interrupts this hijack, though Wilde makes a break for it in a truck. Mannering leaps into this vehicle as Wilde drives to WD's deserted Seldon Village, where a plane is scheduled to pick him up.
"It's just you and me," as the two men have a showdown. As the plane readies to land there's a shootout. However Wilde accidentally falls down a huge hole, and The Baron saves him from certain death, but only to hand him over to justice
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Suddenly You're Dead

Ten million dollars is the asking price for a wonderful new scientific discovery, but Peter Franklin, a CIA agent, steals it from the Swiss lab. "He has to be stopped."
Luckily he's an old pal of Cordelia, who introduces him to John Mannering. No brakes on Peter's car, so we see that familiar car zoom over the cliff edge. Cordelia identifies the corpse and takes his personal effects, to return to his brother in London. But no sign of his gold pen, and that's what they're after. 'They' includes Ingar, the scientist inventor, but also Holmes, her rich buyer, who hopes to save money now by obtaining the pen direct.
An intruder searches Cordelia's bedroom, only to be interrupted by the noble Baron. The crook exits via the window, clings precariously on a ledge as The Baron tries to save him... in vain. "I can't think what they were after." But even John Mannering can work out, it must be this pen. He buys a similar looking implement.
Ingar and her cronies find Mannering searching the wreckage of Franklin's car. She stops him and finds the fake pen. She explains it contains deadly bacteria, "a very powerful strain." There's no known cure. In one of the best lines she gleefully adds, "it makes ze H-Bomb look like ze bow and arrow."
At a garage where Franklin had stopped for fuel, a garage mechanic has noticed the pen, either hidden or dropped by Franklin. The Baron calls at this same garage to find one dead mechanic. But though he grabs the apparently now harmless pen, Holmes grabs it from him. The Baron is knocked out and Holmes sets light to the garage. Of course John Mannering does get out, and refreshed, he visits the lab where Ingar is recreating her experiment to make more of the nasty bacteria. Her men take first John then Cordelia prisoner and they are tied together. This proves another error of judgement, for with the aid of that useful article, a cigarette lighter, The Baron burns the rope that holds them and just manages to prevent Holmes from leaving with his purchase. The Baron then confronts Ingar in her lab. He berates her greedy self centred philosophy, but she grabs her dear bacteria, and, poetic justic, the little things kill her
Note: Templeton-Green gets a mention by The Baron in this tale, though we never see him.

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Masquerade
Mannering has been driven to The Gables, an isolated place in the country. Noone seems to be at home. Then a girl's cry for help. He looks in a small room, where he is locked in. "He's not going to die until Saturday," the girl says.
Cordelia calls in Special Branch, but is frustrated by the plodding approach of Fox Stuart (Kenneth Warren). He's pessimistic about finding her boss.
The Baron's found a way out of his room via a concealed shaft, and elsewhere in the mansion he sees a bandaged man, Eddy, who has been having plastic surgery. He overhears Dr Revell (John Carson) utter joyfully, "your face is our fortune." For this Eddy is now Mannering's double!
Mannering returns to his cell, having doctored the bolt so he can enter and exit at will. Eddy is sent to talk to Mannering through the barred door, to learn his mannerisms, but it works both ways, Mannering learns Eddy's too. At the right moment The Baron knocks out his double and changes places, thus masquerading as his own double. Just in time really, as The Chief (Bernard Lee) has no further use for his prisoner, and has him shot.
Mannering manages to phone a message to Cordelia, and she leaves the news for Fox Stuart, but it never reaches him. She goes to explore The Gables.
There, The Baron is watching a film so he can learn his own speech patterns and gestures. Not too difficult. Cordelia find's Eddy's corpse, screams, and is taken prisoner. What's the job? "The world's biggest robbery," the Crown Jewels. "The Great Train Robbery'll look like pennypinching!"
(end of part one - to part 2)

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The Killing (the conclusion of 'Masquerade')
That stormy night, Mannering tells the imprisoned Cordelia he is still alive. Revell finds him out of his room and is suspicious, "all of a sudden you've changed." But what exactly is different? He finally spots that Mannering Mark 2 has not got the tattoo that Eddie had. The Baron chases Revell round the grounds and ties him up. The chief decides Revell must have run off, scared, so the gang move their base to London, where Eddie will be able to meet his old pal Frank Martin, who is also to be part of the heist.
Fox Stuart moves into The Grange too late, but finds Revell who is closely questioned without revealing the gang's plans.
Mannering is being shown what that job is by The Chief. They are at the Tower of London watching "The British Crown Jewels" (!) being transported by armed guard to the Crown Treasury, the Bank of England security vaults, to be cleaned and polished. Now John Mannering is one of the very few men to have unquestioned access in there.
Cordelia almost escapes from the luxury London flat where the the gang is hiding out, but is stopped in her tracks when The Chief returns. Mannering is introduced to Frank. "You ain't Eddie." No, the plastic surgery has worked well. Reminiscing with Frank is a trifle hard when Mannering doesn't know the crowd Frank knows.
The Chief goes through his plan with the gang down to the last detail. But Frank overhears The Baron explaining to Cordelia what to do, "you fooled us all along the line."
John Mannering is forced to go through with the robbery with Cordelia kept as a hostage.
He enters the bank with The Chief. Mr Castle, in charge of security, welcomes them. But in the vault, Mannering unexpectedly faints. Summon a doctor, he mustn't be moved. However he is moved by two ambulance men, who suddenly drop their disguise and draw their guns. Ignominiously, the Crown Jewels are dropped into a sack. (I'm not sure whether they are to be melted down, horror of horrors, or what.) But a diversion locks the gang in the vault. But remember that threat of The Chief killing Cordelia? Since she must be more important than the Crown Jewels, The Chief is allowed to leave. But he doesn't get far and the the biggest robbery ever is also the biggest failure ever!

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Long Ago and Far Away
Cardboard characters in this poor script by Dennis Spooner.

Cordelia is buying Aztec treasures in a South American villa from an explorer. In a kitchen she finds the butler with a knife in his back, but when she calls the police, the body has gone.
After police questioning, it seems clear that the man to whom Cordelia talked was not explorer Ramon Petraca but an imposter. She explores round the house but is taken prisoner.
In flies a worried Baron. He finds the ex-president of the country Rafael (Douglas Wilmer) at the villa. Rafael says he ain't seen Cordelia, try the police. But the police claim not to have seen her either.
Up country to Pernambuco in the jungle, John Mannering drives. The natives there are not too friendly. Unfriendly in fact and The Baron gets into a bar brawl. He wants a guide to take him up country, and finds one in a drunken Brit, Roly Haswell. Petraca, that's the man Mannering wants to be taken to. In fact we see he is being kept captive, along with Cordelia, in a remote hideout, by Rafael and the mini army he is controlling. The prisoners succeed in getting away but are pursued through the jungle, Cordelia her clothes still as new. Petraca is shot and Cordelia taken back to her cave where she is tied up.
With Roly, The Baron arrives on the scene, to overpower her guards and release her. "How nice it is to see you."
A gun battle with soldiers results in a stand off. Nightfall, and John takes on the garb of one of Rafael's revolutionary soldiers and captures his arsenal. Why not blow it up? He lights a fuse and everyone scarpers at the double, all except a desperate Rafael who tries to stave off disaster- in vain. His plans are shattered like his arsenal. There's not much left of him either. "I guess the revolution is over"

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17 You Can't Win 'Em All
A carpet is delivered by night to the Peerage Club. Wrapped inside is one Osborne, a thief who had stolen something from here. The owner Sefton Folkard (Sam Wanamaker) wants it back, it being a rare collection of icons. Osborne eludes his captors and seeks sanctuary in a police station. In jail, he asks The Baron to investigate if The Petrograd Icons that had been sold by John Mannering to the Kemston Gallery have actually gone missing. Gallery owner Jim (Peter Bowles) claims the icons are being kept in a vault. But he is clearly scared and lying.
Osborne breaks out of prison with another inmate Danby, part of Folkard's plan to get Osborne to talk. But in the escape Osborne panics and Danby rashly silences him. Rather luckily, Osborne has left a key for John Mannering, a safe deposit box at Waterloo station. At the terminus, Cordelia waits to meet The Baron at 7pm, but she is grabbed (oddly the station clock shows 10.45!).
Mannering comes and opens Box 351. There are the icons. But no Cordelia. But someone dressed in her clothes sprays him and snatches the icons.
Together again, John and Cordelia question Jim. Yes the icons were fakes, made by Folkard.
The Baron beards him at the Peerage Club, challenging Folkard to a poker game the following night. Inspector Filmer is promised that the crooks will be delivered to him on the proverbial plate. So to the game. The two exchange unpleasantries. Then in a haze of smoke, round one. Folkard, as we can guess, is cheating, using hidden cameras.
The big one. The Baron has a full house 3 kings and 2 twos. But Folkard has drawn 4 queens. The Baron puts £100,000 cash on the table. A confident Folkard is happy to call, but for collateral he can only offer one thing, the real Petrograd Icons. Folkard triumphantly displays his hand, but now The Baron is holding 4 kings! Any other crook would surely have snatched the £100,000 anyway, but luckily Inspector Filmer pounces to arrest the gang. Observes Cordelia to John,"you've been cheating"
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The Long Long Day
"Sometimes I can't understand it myself," confesses The Baron, and certainly if he was referring to the script, it is one of the worst Brian Clemens wrote.
It starts at a way out party in Rome where 17 year old Pia is killed by Bruno (Brian Rawlinson). His brother the evil Marco (Peter Arne) helps chuck the corpse over a cliff. The dead girl's sister Maria escapes their clutches, "I want her dead before nightfall."
John Mannering is to receive some Sistine maunscript in exchange for his exposing these racketeers, "Mafioso." That is, if he can locate where Maria is hiding, protect her and escort her to the trial of some villains (not apparently Marco and Bruno as they are still at large).
Santa Montena is where she is, an isolated village in the mountains. Marco and Bruno, after a tip-off, tail him. It's a sleepy little place and John finds her easily enough. Marco is close behind and advises the landlord, "stay off ze street and lock ze door." He summons reinforcements, these villains are so evil they even kick a goat and steal a ball from a child.
The town is no longer quiet as The Baron and Maria escape via the window when Marco calls. Unfortunately BAR1 is being watched, so they can't get away in The Baron's car. They ask the local police to help, but he is in the pay of the crooks and so they end up trapped inside the police station. It's a shoot out like those you see in Westerns. The only prisoner in the police jail is one Murphy (Eddie Byrne) whom John Mannering releases and lets him walk away, with the promise he will bring a car up to the station front door.
But the building is now surrounded by armed men. "We make our own luck," The Baron suggests to Maria, as Murphy does honour his promise and drives up with a car. It's really more like a war film. Poor Murphy is shot dead. The Baron starts a petrol fire to distract the crooks and he grabs Maria and they rush to the car. It is rather too comic to take this final scene seriously as they somehow elude all those flying bullets, "it's all over." Thank goodness. This wasn't The Long Day or even The Longest Day but a very long hour of cliched situations
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Edge of Fear
The most interesting thing about this story is the relevance of the title. It's a competent enough thriller, though Steve Forrest's lack of charisma is painfully obvious.

It starts well enough, on a flight from Paris to London. One passenger develops typhoid. On landing, he is rushed to an ambulance, but en route to the hospital, the doctor treating him overpowers and kills the driver. As his reward, he in turn is shot dead by the patient!
It has been a devious way of sneaking into Britain. He is called Kent Jordan (William Franklyn), and he reports to his boss Colbert (Willoughby Goddard). His trick has enabled him to smuggle in a painting stolen from The Louvre ("very well known"), which Colbert is hoping to sell to Lord Mountford (Alan Wheatley, who completes this enviable trio of villains).
The Baron's phone is being tapped. When he finds the bug, John Mannering goes to the Foreign Office to complain. Foster warns him not to pursue his complaint. The bugger, as it were, then explains to Mannering that he is working for the French government, and is hoping to hear news of the stolen painting, which so far has been kept out of the headlines. Indeed, The Baron is soon approached, asked to authenticate the painting, which is now revealed, in case there had been any doubt, as The Mona Lisa. Some tests soon confirm the painting's genuineness.
"You fool!" cries Colbert, as The Baron makes a sudden movement, grabs the picture, and runs. Jordan goes in hot pursuit. The Baron wins that battle of wits and subsequent fight, but then Lord Mountford steps up, gun in hand. He demands his picture. Oh dear, Mannering chucks it in the fire, to Mountford's horror. Lord Mountford is suitably distracted. The police arrive, as always too late for the action, for Colbert is now being rounded up by The Baron. "I burnt the painting," Mannering calmly informs the horrified Colbert. But of course, now the villains are under lock and key, The Baron can dig out the real Mona Lisa from its hiding place, still safe... thanks to the wonderful John Mannering.

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Time To Kill

A beautiful cameo once belonging to Lady Theresa, is allegedy cursed, though Cristina wears it because her father orders her to. But a burst tyre, then failed steering on his Jag convinces him that this Death Stone is worthy of its reputation, but by now Cristina has taken it to the one man who can help, yes The Baron!
It's bad luck, the curse perhaps, that the great man is out of town, so Cordelia keeps it until he returns. Maybe that legend is true for she now faints and more seriously Cristina is killed in a car smash.
The 'Don Juan of the Antique Business,' no, not John Mannering but someone called Carlos confirms to Cordelia that the emerald cameo is genuine and by phone John Mannering authorises her to offer $50,000 for it, maximum $60,000. She goes to make the offer to Cristina's father but finds him dead in his luxurious villa, apparently suicide. Somehow she convinces the dim local policeman that it is definitely murder.
Back at her hotel, she is accosted by Menendez (Peter Bowles) who demands she hands over the cameo. You won't believe this, but somehow she overcomes both him and his assistant Gardo. But soon Cordelia finds herself a prisoner of Menendez's boss Carreras who once used tio own the cameo and for some reason wants it back. The Baron is sent a message, the cameo for Cordelia. However it seems she doesn't need much help, for she electrocutes her guard and escapes. However Carreras recaptures her and now locks her fiendishly in a radiation chamber. Yes, she really does need help from The Baron now! He obliges, releasing her just before she can be exposed to a fatal dose of radiation, as the reasons for Carreras wanting that cameo are revealed

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So Dark The Night

"The Warrior"- these are the dying words of an old man, found lying in his stately mansion by his daughter Joyce (Gillian Lewis).
Staying at a local inn are The Baron and Cordelia, in the area to make a purchase off Mr Grant, the dead man. According to the local doctor, he had died of a heart attack.
Enjoying the night air out on a short walk, The Baron happens to bump into a screaming Joyce in her nightie. She's scared.
The Baron kindly takes her home where the doctor tucks her up in bed. She's too scared to explain. But next morning she relates how she had heard these footsteps, and then heavy breathing on the phone had made her panic.
Joyce's home has been vandalised. John Mannering speculates that Grant had some secret to hide. He learns that The Warrior is a copy of a Rennaisance bronze- what has it to do with Grant's death?
He travels to London to discover from a Fleet Street newspaper who exactly Grant was. Cordelia stops with Joyce.
More dirty tricks that dark night. Inexplicably Cordelia and Joyce are actually wandering the countryside when they stumble over old Ben the poacher, dead. He'd been killed by Frank Ashton (George Baker) who is in league with none other than the local doctor, on a quest for missing bullion that Grant had stolen years ago. The doctor lures the gullible Cordelia into a trap at Ben's cottage, leaving Ashton free to get Joyce to reveal where the bullion is hidden, not that she knows, "my father told me nothing," she protests. Ashton searches the house and finds what he wants in The Warrior, information as to the secret bank vault where Grant had stashed the stolen bullion.
About to dispose of the unfortunate Joyce, Ashton is interrupted by Cordelia, who has very deviously managed to get herself free, and by The Baron, back from London. The mansion has been set alight to kill off Joyce, and amid the ever rising flames, John Mannering disposes of Ashton and just about rescues Joyce. The final picture of the house wildly alight seems to bear little relation to the earlier fight scene

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The Maze
Stop me if 'Tony O'Grady's' script seems familiar...
In fact this is a mish-mash of several familiar themes from the pen of Brian Clemens, this one starting with some panache, but then getting lost in its own cleverness and opting for a dull too conventional explanation.

A prisoner breaks loose of her bonds and gets away from the mansion where she's been held captive. Through a forest and straight into the path of The Baron's flash car. Picking her up, he zooms off, but gunmen halt their progress and the car crashes.
After a weird nightmare, John Mannering awakes in hospital to relate his experience to the disbelieving police. They can find no trace of the girl when they locate his vehicle. But it's not found at the site of the crash, claims The Baron. Cordelia: "John, you must be mistaken." She puts it down to his concussion. Then the bombshell- it's a day later than John Mannering thinks. What happened to him during the missing 24 hours?
Setting out to prove his story to Cordelia, The Baron does find the place where he is sure he crashed. They make for the village in the direction from where the girl had been running. At the Ancient Golfer pub, there's a photo of the very girl on the wall.
Prize corny line follows: "there's something going on round here."
Her name is Jill. She lives at Crestfield, a large Victorian mansion.
Her father listens to Mannering's story. He then fetches Jill who denies the whole thing ever happened. "You're mistaken."
In the grounds of Crestfield is a maze which recalls to The Baron part of his nightmare. In the centre of the maze is a pavilion, the place Mannering is sure he was held prisoner. A man attacks them, but is beaten off. He claims he is a policeman.
The plot now changes direction as we hear the cop was here to check security for a visiting NATO general, who has come for a quiet round of golf. Killers are readying themselves to shoot him from one of the high windows in Crestfield. John Mannering plays cat and mouse with the killers round the maze, then to the house to prevent an assassination. To the turret room, just as the trigger is being pressed. The general never knows what a close shave he has had!

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Night of the Hunter

The wife of a deposed president, Madame Nicharos, is facing sentence of death at the hands of revolutionaries. But she is snatched away by friends.
The Baron is in the country to deliver to her half a million dollars, that he has raised from the sale of her late husband's antiques.
But The General wants the money, and intends to use The Baron to help him find Mme Nicharos, who has gone to ground.
11pm at the Temple of Mithras. It's dark and spooky as John Mannering makes contact. But The General's men shoot John and snatch his briefcase.
Cordelia comes on the scene to find her boss wounded, but not at all badly, the bullet had missed its mark, and the cash is safe, hidden in a money belt. Amazing.
Daniella is sent by Mme Nicharos to fetch The Baron to her, but every move is being watched. John Mannering knows that they know, so he dupes them by getting Cordelia to dress as Daniella. They leave by car, The General's stooges following. Unseen, The Baron jumps on to a lorry, leaving Cordelia to speed away in the Merc, chased by The General's men, the fools thinking they are still following the trail to the missing lady.
Daniella, who has remained at The Baron's hotel, then makes a rendezvous with The Baron at the Greek temple. From there, they make for the hideout, but frightened, the good lady has already fled. Worse, police are waiting and John and Daniella barely escape via the rootops. A small army of the law fail to capture the pair, but The General somehow knows where to find Mme Nicharos.
Her ultimate destination is Captain Grant's ship, which will carry her to safety in Yugoslavia. When John climbs on board, The General is waiting and relieves him of the money belt.
Imprisoned on the ship are John, Daniella and also Cordelia. "There will be no mistakes general," a flawed promise for John wriggles free and delivers The General a few well earned thumps. The general is defeated and ignominiously tied up, Mme Nicharos is safe

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Storm Warning

At the docks, one box is missing from a consignment for John Mannering. Cordelia searches for it on a ship about to sail and just happens to witness a murder.
The Baron has traced the missing crate, but now has to look for Cordelia. She is telling Captain Brenner (Reginald Marsh) what she has seen. She shows him the cabin, belonging to Carlton (Dudley Sutton) where she witnessed the killing. As she knows too much, she is tied up.
John Mannering stows away on "the very bad ship," but his hiding place is not the best. It's the refrigerator room, and by chance he is locked inside. The corpse also happens to be stored there, rather unhygienically. By blowing a fuse, The Baron gets someone to look in, and he promptly exits.
Far out to sea, Cordelia is free to roam the ship. She bumps into John- "do you know what's going on here?" No.
The pair are soon caught, but by a stroke of luck it's by a CIA agent, Garvey, who was spying on the ship with the dead man. But Garvey's cover is now blown, and John Mannering rescues him from interrogation, the pair hiding in the hold where there's a pitched gun battle, Garvey killed. As Mannering has found a machine gun, Cpt Brenner offers a parley, which The Baron rather takes advantage of, to force Brenner to the radio room, so he can send an SOS. But foiled again! Gas is piped into the room and John and Cordelia are tied up.
Sportingly, Brenner explains to Mannering what he's up to. It's all about this rocket being launched now from Cape Kennedy. With his equipment, Brenner is able to divert the returning capsule, capture it himself.

This adventure continues with The Island

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The Island
(conclusion of the story Storm Warning)

Air and sea search for The missing Baron, "an awful lot of ocean."
"Nobody's going to find us," believes the confident Captain Brenner, so confident he permits Mannering to radio the Hong Kong authorities to confirm he is safe and well... at gunpoint. Luckily Inspector Willis spots a flaw and intensifies his search for The Baron.
Time for Mannering to make his move. He overpowers the guard and dons that man's uniform. The ship is nearing its destination, so he and Cordelia grab a dinghy and paddle ashore. Get them! orders Brenner, when their escape is noticed. The dinghy is hit and capsizes but The Baron and Cordelia manage to swim the last bit to the shore.
The old twisted ankle trick traps one of their pursuers, another is so slow he is machine gunned down by Mannering. His plan is to go "from the frying pan into the fire," the cave , that is, where Brenner and his team have set up an operations room. Ready to bring down that capsule....
The cave is naturally heavily guarded, but a cleverly worked diversion by Cordelia draws the incompetent defenders, enabling John to sneak in. The US cavalry (yes, really) come to Cordelia's aid but don't need to assist The Baron, who has already put paid to the fiendish plot, "get away from those controls!"

All the usual British-based Americans are in this, ie David Healy and an uncredited Alan Gifford, though their English counterparts sometimes struggle to maintain their Yankee accents

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Roundabout

A Jack Jones LP is playing as Georges (Edwin Richfield) settles down to a lovely evening with "out of this world" Jeanne. Unfortunately Lisa, his wife (Lisa Daniely) catches him at it. But Georges stands up to her, "you are 31 years old, and you look it." So you can't really blame her for vowing to destroy him. She walks out with cash and a statuette.
She hides out in London at the Lindsey Hotel, to where Georges sends his hired killer. But she has already phoned Georges' boss, John Mannering, which is just as well, as he arrives to prevent her murder. There's a life and death struggle on a windowsill, we all know who falls from the fourth floor.
Lisa is taken in an ambulance, but is just well enough to pass a key of a locker to The Baron. It's one at the Gard du Nord Paris, and Mannering opens it and finds the statuette. Naturally he is watched all this time.
Next he calls on Jeanne, who runs an exclusive hairdressing salon. Flashing the statue is as good a way as any to get a quick appointment, and The Baron only narrowly avoids a knifing. The plan is to dump him in the gravel pits after they can learn how much he knows of their drug operation.
But tied up in an attic, he's unexpectedly rescued by a girl who had been watching him at the station. She's Samantha (Annette Andre) of the drug police. Heroin was hidden in that statuette. After this chat, maybe it is time to get out the attic, and they do so entertainingly. Then she persuades him to act a part, so we next meet The Baron asking Jeanne for "a piece of the action." In fact, he tells her, he's taking over the smuggling. The next drop of drugs is in a few days and is worth millions. Jeanne plans with Georges to grab the drugs and flee the country- after killing The Baron.
Lisa however has caught up with her errant husband, and she shoots him, though not fatally. The job must go on, and in the grounds of a derelict chateau flares are lit to indicate to a helicopter where to land. The delivery man is shot by the injured Georges, and John Mannering is next to go, but The Baron anticipated that, and had removed the bullets from his gun. Yours truly also prevents Jeanne from escaping in the helicopter and gets his congratulations from Samantha, via "an old French custom"

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The High Terrace

In a deserted London street walks a swinging lady (Jan Holden), then to a Thames bridge, where she jumps off. Eluding several brave bystanders who try to rescue her, it is a different girl's corpse that is finally dragged out of the river.
Phyllis Thornton is selling some rare miniatures to The Baron, but she has oddly disappeared. Her husband is unsure of her whereabouts. A medium, Mme Bregonzi, a friend of Phyllis may be able to enlighten John Mannering as she holds a seance, the sort of familiar scene that's been done rather better elsewhere, there's a message for The Baron. But it is never delivered, for in through the French windows staggers a dying detective, Reynolds, who had been on the case of rich Caroline Spencer, the girl fished out of the river.
We then see Mrs Thornton who is being held a prisoner by The Order of The Seven Stars, their leader The Chosen One, and his assistant Sara (Jan Holden). They want to get hold of her fortune. For a not too convincing reason, The Chosen One decrees The Baron must have an accident, but of course he is only a bit injured and is taken to recuperate in the Hazelwood Nursing Home. The blundering sidekicks of The Chosen One make a second blundering attempt, for at midnight they creep into The Baron's room, only snag for them is Mannering is ready for them. As these feeble assassinations fail, The Baron is given an invitation to come and meet the sick Mrs Thornton for himself at the Seven Stars. She lies in bed very ill, "everyone here is being very kind," she tells The Baron rather incorrectly. But the ever alert Baron has noticed that she has been pumped full of drugs.
Once The Baron has gone, The Chosen One demands Phyllis Thornton signs power of attorney over to him, and success at last, he informs his gullible band of followers that he is departing. As he does so, The Baron convinces poor Mrs Thornton that she has been tricked and rescues her. There's a scuffle with The Chosen One before John Mannering exposes the phoney in front of his disciples.
This is a poorly written cliched story that doesn't hold together, and what convinced Max Adrian to take on the role of The Chosen One, only he knows

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The Man Outside
In Cairnstorn, a dealer buys a rare enthronement ring and offers it to The Baron. However some obnoxious Americans crash Macrae's car and one of them, Vince (Michael Coles) helps himself to the ring. Then the car with Macrae inside is set on fire.
John Mannering drives up to Scotland with Cordelia to be told that no ring had been found in the car or on Macrae. Now The Baron has handed out $10,000 for it.
The thieves are hanging out in a Scottish mansion, their leader the gangster Bruno (David Bauer), with his right hand man Dino (Paul Maxwell). They are sheltering in the home belonging to Phillip (Jeremy Burnham) waiting to put six million pounds worth of forged currency notes into circulation.
The stupid Vince is spotted by The Baron in a pub, buying booze. The ring he's wearing is The Baron's! He succeeds in getting away however. The crooks are so dim they believe the ring is "junk jewellery." Since Vince is becoming a "liability," Bruno locks him up, planning to have him put away permanent-like.
John and Cordelia make a meticulous search of the area for the car Vince had got away in. The Baron doesn't recognise Phillip when he calls at his mansion, but snooping around, he finds the car and is at once taken a prisoner, "take him down the cellar and put a gag on him."
Bruno's new plan is to bump off The Baron and Vince together, crashing their car, "we'll make it look real good."
But of course The Baron breaks loose and gives Bruno the punching he deserves. Vince however grabs Bruno's gun and uses Bruno as his hostage. Vince does try to reason with his former mates, but to no avail, it ends in a shootout, everyone killing everyone else- except of course John Mannering. It ends with his sermon on the theme of loyalty. He even gets his ring

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Countdown
Driving his car at night with Cordelia, the Baron falls for that old dodge, the Road Diversion. In a tunnel his way is blocked off, and he is whisked out of his car, a letter he is carrying taken from him by the leader of the gang, Compton. The crooks dump John Mannering in a railway truck, but Cordelia, who has been following, sets fire to straw inside the truck, and the baddie guarding the Baron is distracted enough to give John the chance to escape. The pair resume their journey, but Compton has reached the Baron's destination first of course. The meeting is with the scared White, who has vital information to pass on about the Corelli Sword, stolen 30 years ago. Before White can reveal the hiding place, The Baron drives up and rescues White. But they are cornered, and nearly crushed by a bulldozer. In fact, this does become poor White's fate, though before he dies, he passes a cryptic clue to Mannering.
The clue is buried in a newspaper, the address, The Crusader, Parkstone House.
Arkin Morley (Edward Woodward) is an antique dealer, a rival to The Baron, who is behind the attacks. He wants that sword.
The Crusader is a deserted mansion. "A long hard search" by John and Cordelia is interrupted by Arkin and Compton. who lock their two prisoners in a crypt. While they now search every nook of the mansion, John discovers the hidden sword in their prison, in the tomb of an ancient knight. That was lucky. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
But it's bad luck, for Arkin catches The Baron admiring the sword. There's a car chase after Arkin has grabbed his treasure, and snatched Cordelia as a hostage. But this is a double edged sword, for she forces Arkin to swerve and crash. He flees to a windmill, still clutching his sword. "I'm taking you in," cries The Baron. But he doesn't, it's inevitable really that poor Arkin falls on the sword and is killed.
Though as this was the last, if rather bitty, story in the series, I have thought of a much better ending, could it not have been The Baron who gets bumped off? Heartless I know, but I'd have cheered that one

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MR JERICHO (1969)

ITC snapped up Patrick MacNee after The Avengers ended, with this one-off adventure directed by Sidney Hayers. The awful title song by Lulu is best forgotten. This is a sort of proto-Persuaders in its setting, and displays the usual ITC flair for excitement.

Patrick MacNee plays confidence trickster Dudley Jericho. "He could be a millionaire by now, but he has scruples."
On the Riviera, he has had made a replacement for the Gemini diamond, only two of which are known to exist, one being in the hands of the wealthy Rosso (Herbert Lom). Jericho plans to elude all Rosso's security devices, which appear to make his mansion impregnable, steal the gem, replacing it with his fake, and then selling the original back to the unsuspecting Rosso for half a million.
The plan seems to work childlishly easily as Jericho steals the real Gemini avoiding all the costly security devices, but just as the plot is starting to tail away, a rival Gemini seller, Claudine, materialises. Jericho finds out he somehow never stole the original after all and has to commit burglary number two. Once again he somehow ends up with a fake Gemini.
There's a lot more conning the conmen, and conwomen before the final showdown at Rosso's villa, which is followed by a car chase along the cliff tops. Some good twists keep up our interest, as Jericho finally ends up happy, if no richer.

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It was of course ST1
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