Somebody Loses, Somebody... Wins? (31 Jan. 1968)

British agent Ruth Klinger apparently defects to the East Germans,who set her a loyalty test involving her old flame McGill,in Germany to track down the missing Johann Liedkind. Johann is ... See full summary »

Director:

John Glen

Writers:

Richard Harris (deviser), Jan Read,

Stars:

Richard Bradford, Godfrey Quigley, Jacqueline Pearce

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Richard Bradford	...	McGill
Godfrey Quigley	...	Johann Liebkind
Jacqueline Pearce	...	Ruth
Philip Madoc	...	Kommandant
Carl Duering	...	MfS Colonel
Paul Hansard	...	Oberfeld
Carl Bernard	...	Karl Braun
Gordon Sterne	...	Ernst Liebkind
Peter Hager	...	Fedora
David Scheuer	...	Official At Airport
Derek Prentice	...	Doorkeeper
Wendy Hall	...	Receptionist In Hotel
Gerda Koeppler	...	Old Crone
Maria Warburg	...	Young German Woman
Bettina Jonic	...	Singer in Bierstube

Storyline

British agent Ruth Klinger apparently defects to the East Germans,who set her a loyalty test involving her old flame McGill,in Germany to track down the missing Johann Liedkind. Johann is in fact part of a neo-Nazi revivalist group,the discovery of which places McGill in a dangerous situation. But at the same time he is faced with a dilemma. How can he escape and save Ruth with him without blowing her cover?

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 January 1968 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Incorporated Television Company (ITC)

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

The Winner Loses All

'Somebody Loses, Somebody...Wins?' marked the directorial debut of John Glen, who went on to direct all but one of the James Bond movies of the '80's.

British agent 'Ruth Klinger' ( Jacqueline Pearce ) is arrested whilst caught taking photographs in an unauthorised part of East Germany. She claims she wanted to be arrested, to enable her to offer her services. The offer is accepted. But her new employers arrange a little test of her loyalty. In London, McGill is hired by 'Ernst Liebkind' ( Gordon Sterne ) to locate his missing pianist brother 'Johann' ( Godfrey Quigley ) whom he believes to be somewhere in East Germany. Nervous about being recognised from past assignments, McGill makes ridiculously high terms in the hope he will be turned down. To his surprise he is not. In Dresden, he meets up with Ruth, an old flame ( how many old flames does Mac have? ). They first met while he was on assignment in Greece years before. Mac finds her turning up again after all these years suspicious. Could she be leading him into a trap?

Written by Jan Read, who became the show's script editor towards the end of the run, this is a spy story with more than a touch of LeCarre and Deighton about it. The girl, Ruth, is like him inasmuch as she is also being used by her superiors as a pawn in a much bigger game. Mac has been lured to Dresden not as part of a trap, as he suspects, but to establish Ruth's loyalty to the East German security force. Johann turns out to be part of a resurgent neo-Nazi group. After he is killed, Mac must get out of the country fast.

Glen brings to this the same tempo and punchy style he later applied to Bond. The Berlin section of 'The Living Daylights' ( 1987 ) is a good comparison. Mac has at his disposal for this story a car with a built-in tear gas dispenser, which he uses to shake off his pursuers, the one and only instance of him using gadgetry.

No guest stars are credited. Presumably it was felt Jacqueline Pearce was not well known enough to be called a 'guest star', yet 'Property Of A Gentlemen' accorded this right to Gordon Gostelow. The actress had previously played 'Miss Brown' in 'Sweet Sue'. She is terrific as 'Ruth', and a decade later earned her place in cult television history as the villain 'Servalan' in the B.B.C.'s 'Blake's Seven'. Philip Madoc is the 'Kommandante'. Nuff said! He also played a psychiatrist in 'Who's Mad Now?'. The hotel receptionist is Wendy Hall, who earned herself a much bigger role in 'Essay In Evil', before moving onto the B.B.C.'s 'Doomwatch' in 1970.

As Glen went over budget and over schedule, he was not invited to direct for the show again. A great pity, as 'Wins?' is one of the jewel in the show's crown. Glen became editor and second-unit director on the seminal Bond movie 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' ( 1969 ).

The ending is similar to that of 'The Boston Square' - Mac escapes with his life, but has to leave behind a friend, and is powerless to help her. The final shot shows him walking off alone, clearly hurt and angered by the whole messy business.