Unlike what the other reviewer said Jacko Thomas doesn't make his escape from Dartmoor prison, he doesn't even get there. It's starts with Jacko Thomas been escorted by two plainclothes police officers (by train) to Dartmoor prison. he starts fighting them and jumps off of the speeding train with one of them. This one he later kills. He is then transported by a boat and a Landrover to the 'Tredgar's Farm Guesthouse' in the middle of nowhere. The next day three other guests arrive, the writer Greg Parker, Joseph Parker (who is played by Robert Urguhart, in almost the same way as he played Monckton in the 'Danger Man' episode 'Man With The Foot'), the last visitor is Jacko's beautiful sister Sue who has brought his stolen money. Fast paced and excellent direction from Lance Comfort. Lots of Twists and turns in the plot including Pearson 'phoning someone to tell them where Jacko is or does he mean Parker? and with Jacko having an affair with Tredgar's wife. Pretty good plot wise. Will he make his escape or not?
Reviews
29 Reviews
Different from usual
2 January 2011
Warning: Spoilers
In Berlin, East Germany a surveillance team are following Dr. Edward Lovett for security. Back in England Craven is asked to meet security expert Denning who was also in Special Branch at some point. Craven is asked to do a security check on Dr. Lovett as well, because he exposed some secret facts about an electrics firm that makes circuitry for ground-to-air missiles as a job for the government. Craven checks Lovett's bank and finds that he has deposited £212 from Czechoslovakia. It then comes out that he stayed in a hotel under the alias Donaldson. Later Lovett gets a 'phone call from a mysterious woman. Everything up to this point makes him out to be a spy. But Craven follows him as he meets a woman and goes to a hotel, later it comes out that they are having an affair and she's Andrea, the wife of Wakins who runs an electronic making company which has Denning as a security adviser! It's okay but double sided as every clue leads to the usual espionage end which you were expecting, but that doesn't happen here as it just turns out to be plain adultery, which is a down point.
The Working Girls
(1974)
Turkey!!
1 January 2011
Warning: Spoilers
A very overrated film. It's about the life and adventures of new girl in town 'Honey' (Sarah Kennedy), who lies and cheats to get what she wants. Way down on the cast list is 'Katya' (played by Cassandra Peterson), before she became famous as 'Elvira' and so clips of her striptease are included on celebrity nude videos and DVDs like 'Famous T & A' Her nude scene is the most interesting part of the film which is full of faults. one of these is that when 'Denise' (Laurie Rose) is in bed talking to 'Mike' (Ken Del Conte) the boom mike keeps popping into shot as well as throwing a shadow onto the wall. Also you can tell that it was written and directed by a woman as the men are either weird, dumb or connected to crime in some way, and when the (male) police officers turn up to arrest a woman who wants to kill her husband, they are in 'Drag' wearing wigs and dresses!!! If I was asked to give advice I would say avoid this!! As has been said, another fault is that it's very amateur in acting and direction and because hardly anything happens it could have easily been cut down to an hour.
Highlander: The Source
(2007 TV Movie)
The Worst?
15 October 2010
Warning: Spoilers
As has been said this is pretty bad and low budget, but it's still watchable if you treat it more like a TV pilot or a TV episode rather than a cinema film, and after watching the television series you would be used to seeing the bad acting and lack of plot, also as it's only about 80 minutes it has the 'feel' of a TV episode, the ending has extra padded time filler, as it shows highlights of the film (like having a trailer for the film within it's own film?) And a kind of biblical ending where Anna, McCloud's wife gets pregnant (by God?)It also has some very Weird and wonderful crediting. Still bad and pretty lame but it could have been worst, as it's also anti church with the cardinal been crooked and betraying his friends (Judas?). Also for some strange reason they are all wearing tinted glasses. What more can be said? Bad sword fights, speeded up action, it's bad but NOT totally bad.
Mind Games
(2001 TV Movie)
Serial Killer in London
17 August 2010
Warning: Spoilers
A pretty good Lynda La Plante creation, even if there were other writers involved. It's great because the character of Frances O'Neil is different from the usual in that (as has already been said) she's an Irish Ex-nun who because of her emotions she is nick named 'The Celtic Tiger' as well as been put down with jibes from police officers about 'Nun On The Run' and 'The Flying Nun' etc With having a Irish female lead who works for the police, this series has been matched to the early series of 'Silent Witness' (with Amanda Burton as Sam Ryan), this is different in that she's in forensics in 'Silent Witness' but is a profiler in 'Mind Games' I suppose you could also match it with 'The Bill', not character wise but in the amount of on location work shot on video around London. As I said it pretty good but I began to suspect the identity of the killer about half way through. It's still outstanding character wise and with emotions rather then some two dimensional cardboard cut out characters
Okay
7 July 2010
Warning: Spoilers
It begins with the usual Agatha Christie opening, with the 'phone ringing, but it can't be answered, as it then cuts to a body on the floor, I think the same was used on 'The Avengers' a few times. Then it goes to Brian Staples' flat where he 'phones the police to admit to a robbery he didn't commit, and also to an assault on a Co-op Manager. The late actress Diana Coupland is featured as his older girlfriend (Iris Peason), her acting here is very serious, but then she was better known for her comedy and playing Jean Bless, the wife to Sid James in 'Bless This House' Also there is another great piece taken from somewhere else, in that Sergeant Mann is asked to see Lt.Col.Hilden, who (because of his cholera) is in a heated room growing plants, which is a lot like when private detective Phillip Marlowe meets General Sternwood in Raymond Chandler's 'The Big Sleep' (with Humprey Bogart). The series was very like the early 'The Avengers' in that it was generally studio bound with variable sets, but then it's still okay. Also with the usual great Roger Marshall scripts (which you get used to), there is then a nice twist, as the Co-op manager dies from his injuries and so Staples is going to be charged with murder. He then admits his innocence and that he only said he was guilty, to have time to marry his girlfriend Iris. He is later released because he's wasting police time. It's well directed but the only bad point I see in this episode, is that one of the (English) police inspectors has an American accent throughout the episode but it keeps slipping into a welsh or Irish one every now and again. But overall it's still a good episode.
Errors
27 June 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This episode starts with Jordan driving down a deserted road, then his car is hit by a women driving a white mini. The driver turns out to be an interior decorator called Angela Baillie who appears to be a lot like a young Honor Blackman in both voice and looks. Later 'Special Branch' are asked to investigate a new organisation which is a lot like 'Greenpeace', this organisation is called 'The Guardians' and like 'Greenpeace' it is also against pollution and germ warfare. Jordan then goes to practise his target shooting at the ranges in work, but because of the accident his driving license is suspended by the traffic department's Inspector Dunwell. After some more investigation it turns out that Angela, the woman from the accident is also the sister of a scientist who died at a germ warfare plant. While having dinner with her, Jordan gets his warrant card stolen, so that protester Brian Daniels can use it to get past the security and into Wensly Chemicals. There are a few twists as Jordan is blamed for mistakes all the time and Angela turns out to be a major protester for 'The Guardians' and the organisation leader Colonel Harksted is revealed to be a Russian sleeper agent. The only bad point in this episode are the video effects, as there's a shot of Moxon with a coloured line all around his body, so the background isn't real but blue screen, he's just been added to it. This is a lot like the effects of someone floating in space, in episodes of the children's series 'The Tomorrow People' which was also made by Thames.
Missing Au Pair Girl
22 June 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This episode starts with Karolina Novakova (Gabrielle Drake) gazing into a window of an antiques shop in Richmond, London. She then notices (from the reflection) that she is been followed by a strange man. So she rushes home to escape from him. At this home she looks after the children and works as an Au Pair girl for the Ellis family (the same kind of part she would play two years later in the 1972 film 'Au Pair Girls'),officers of Special Branch are then called in to investigate. Investigating officer Sgt. Des Davis is more preoccupied with problems from his underage daughter Lynn trying to get married to be of any real help to the investigation. Later in his office he is told that Karolina disappeared five days earlier. Because of his preoccupation over his daughter, he is very abrupt when he interviews Mrs. Ellis about the disappearance. Later at a retirement party, Davis is told by Jordan that Karolina is the daughter of Czechoslovakia's president, and this is why Special Branch has been called in. After been told this, he then visits the Ellis family in Richmond again and because of his attitude last time Mr. Ellis is very forceful to him and shuts the door in his face. After some more investigation he decides to go to the playground where the Ellis children play, while there, he asks another Au Pair girl where Karolina is?, she then tells him where to find her. The lovely Gabrielle Drake is hardly in this episode, only at the beginning and the end playing her part with a foreign accent. Another funny thing is that she's also wearing a wedding ring in all of her scenes. A pretty good episode with lots of location work in Richmond, where you can get to on the 'District' and the new 'Overground' lines of the London Underground. After Davis meets Karolina he tells Jordan where she is. She is then asked by Special Branch to leave the country, due to orders from her father. As this is more of a family themed episode, there are no car chases or punch-ups. Another thing of interest is that the title to this episode 'Sorry Is Just A Word' are the last words spoken (by Jordan) in this episode. A pretty good episode but not a great one.
Murder on Approval
(1955)
Sequel
9 June 2010
Warning: Spoilers
The earlier 'Breakaway' (1955) was probably a hit as this is a sequel (or were they made back-to-back?) and it was released around about the same time. It has Tom Conway and Michael Balfour returning as Private Detective Tom 'Duke' Martin and his friend/stooge Barney Wilson. The main plot is about the counterfeiting of rare stamps including a valuable one from Barbados. Tom Conway is called onto the case and flies to England from America. As usual he keeps bumping into some very beautiful women along the way, including secretary Jean Larson (played by Delphi Lawrence). He eventually solves the crime and if you liked the first one you should like this as it has the usual Baker/Berman private detective action formula, which they later used on 'The Saint' with Roger Moore. Pretty good!
Criminal Students
10 May 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Student Eric Tomas breaks into the shop in which he works, he steals the petty cash from the till as well as a gun. Before leaving he sets off the alarm. Van Der Valk is called to 'The American Hotel' to investigate the death by shooting of Salesman Leo Hertog. It later comes out that Hertog is really Professor Koos Van Kemp who uses this alias while having affairs with his many students. As part of his investigation Van Der Valk visits Van Kemp's English wife to tell her of the murder, but she doesn't seem to be that bothered. He later interviews Dina about the case, while there he meets Eric Tomas. After seeing her he visits the shop where the murder weapon was stolen from, the jigsaw pieces of the case then seem to start fitting together, as he also meets Eric there. So the public prosecutor puts out a warrant for his arrest. Susan Van Kemp then visits Van Der Valk to confess to the murder of her husband, but it turns out that the killer was really her daughter Annebelle. A nice twist ending here. It's well written by Roger Marshall but it seems to be over too soon with a few holes that aren't resolved. It's also good to see future comedy stars Geoffrey Palmer and Karl Howman in early roles, as well as Christopher Timothy as an unnamed police officer.
The Strange Case of Blondie
(1954)
Who is Blondie?
29 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
An entry in the 'Scotland Yard' series of cinema shorts. This case was known in the police files as 'Blondie' (minus Debbie Harry!) Edgar Lustgarten starts off by talking about the methods (or M.O.) of burglars, you then see one known as 'Flannel Foot' breaking into a house, this piece is different as usually in these shorts you just have Lustgarten talking about it, rather than seeing anything, maybe they had more budget on this one? It then goes into the story of a female cat burglar who was nick-named by the police as 'Blondie', as they didn't know their identity. On one of the many break-ins Gerald Curtis finds the burglar in his house and is attacked, due to the injuries sustained he later dies. Then information comes in to the police that 'Blondie' checked the place out(or 'cased the joint') by saying she was doing a survey for the National Public Opinion Poll. 'Blondie' is then almost caught as they try to sell the stolen jewellery to a pawn broker, while in disguise. Detective Inspector Harker (played by Russell Napier, who usually in this series of films played Inspector Harmer or Duggan, why the difference?, maybe because of the co-writer?) works out that because of their travels around England, they must have a connection with theatres or a travelling stage show. A load of London is later seen as the police follow 'Blondie' back to the theatre. A nice twist ending then occurs, in that 'Blondie'- the female cat burglar is revealed to be Eddie Leroy, a male stage impersonator and so he is finally arrested. As I've already said it's different from usual in that there's more location work, an extra piece on the beginning and one of the regular characters having a slightly different name on screen and in the credits. Okay to watch and very atmospheric. Not bad for a short.
The Drayton Case
(1953)
Murder
28 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This is the first in the series of cinema shorts based on the files of 'Scotland Yard' metropolitan police. Edgar Lustgarten starts his introduction by talking about the police file 'Charles Drayton' and asks if you kill someone "what do you do with the body?" He then goes into the story of Charles Drayton who murdered his wife on Christmas Eve 1941. The problem with the body was easy for him to solve, as dozens of dead bodies were been discovered all over London during World War 2, mainly because of the blitz by German bombers. And so after killing her he hides the body of his wife in the cellar of a school house on Chester Street in Islington, London. Her body is later found two years later. When her body is checked by a police pathologist, he finds that she has a fractured Larinx, so he decides that she was strangled to death. After a long check which takes weeks, by elimination they identify the body is found to be that Elizabeth Drayton. The reason her husband killed her was to save having to pay her one pound in maintenance money every week. It finally comes out from the caretaker at the school house where the body was found, that there was a fire in the cellar and the 'firewatcher' is revealed to be Charles Drayton. He is later arrested at Charring Cross Underground Station. It gets very emotional as he try's to make his escape down a circular stairs. Also of interest is the incidental music which livens this up, as well as the laid back John Le Mesurier. And been a short it rushes along and is well directed by Ken Hughes.
The Dark Stairway
(1954)
Who 'Nose' The Killer?
28 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
One of the many entries in the 'Scotland Yard' series of film shorts, made for British cinemas in the 1950's as second features. This case was known in the police files as 'The Greek Street Murder'. It begins in Soho, London on 4th January 1952. A blind man witness's the murder of Harry Carpenter by Joe Lloyld. At the same time Mrs. Morris (a neighbour) hears the noise and then sees a man in dark spectacles feeling around the dead body. The blind man, George Benson is then falsely accused of murder because the only evidence against the real killer, Joe Lloyld is that he was released from prison in the same week. As the police try to find him by checking his haunts, Inspector Jack Hammond finds the murder weapon hidden inside the cistern over a toilet. It then comes out that Carpenter was murdered because he betrayed Lloyld to the police and then he stole his girlfriend Molly Stephens. Carpenter is later arrested and is identified by witness George Benson, who detects him by his ring, voice and the smell of the aftershave in his hair. This short is mostly studio bound rather than the usual high amount of location work around London. It's very atmospheric and almost film noir in it's feel and the great direction by Ken Hughes.
Ground Breaking Case
26 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Edgar Lustgarten starts this 'The Scales Of Justice' film short off by talking about welfare of the people, it then goes into the case. While on a break from work, 28 year old Shirley Fawcett takes a four week holiday on a cruise around the Mediterranean. On the ship she meets 52 year old Joe Ashton, after a while they appear to be more intimate, then they get engaged. Shirley visits Joe at both the garage and house that he owns, She asks Joe to sell what belongs to him and move to London and work abroad. He puts them both on the market and arranges at a local church for his marriage to Shirley. He then finds out that she's seeing her ex-fiancé so he takes her to court where he sues her for the breach of her promise to marry him. She loses the case. Then all of her friends go against her, even her ex-fiancé. This is a ground breaking case as it's about the first time a woman has been taken to court for breach of promise, as it was usually men in court over a business agreement. It has a lot of stock footage of the cruise ship and shots of different places visited by Joe and Shirley, It's okay to watch but this lets it down.
Who's Guilty?
26 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This was the first film in the series of cinema shorts known as 'The Scales of Justice' It starts with Edgar Lustgarten talking about justice for all. It then goes into a case set in the divorce court, which is known (in the court) as 'Sinclair Versus Sinclair and Dobbs' As usual it then goes into flashback to explain why the people are in court. At a party for friends in their house in Mayfair, London, William Flowers visits the Sinclair's where he tells Edward Sinclair that he is a debt collector and that Sinclair owes two hundred and forty English pounds just for his drinks bill. Sinclair's wife Thelma then tells him that he owes other people over two thousand pounds. So he goes through her things and steals some of her jewellery. Sinclair then tells his wife to flirt with Dobbs while he himself is away in Germany. When he's gone she spends some time with Dobbs. On his return Sinclair takes Thelma, his wife of seven years to the divorce court for adultery with Dobbs. When he later loses the case because the evidence is against him, he dies by accident or suicide? Rather than the usual amount of location work in London this seems to have more scenes set in the court and a lot more interiors shot in the studio. Maybe, as this is the first one they were just trying things out or didn't have the budget? Still it's quite watchable but not as good as some of the rest. Also rather than the downbeat ending of Edward Sinclair dying it carry's on to say that Thelma remarried and has had a baby.
Assistant Traitor
26 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This is one of the cinema shorts in 'The Scales of Justice' film series. It has a twist and a coincidence ending, in that the story is about treachery in business. In modern business the senior sales executive Harry Turner is put into jail for two months for driving his car after a business meeting while he was drunk. When he's in prison his personal assistant Lewis Carter takes over his job and becomes the new boss. The twist then comes out, in that it was Carter who informed on Turner to the police in order to have him arrested so he would get the job of chief sales executive and marry Turner's daughter Pat. The coincidence then comes in. The irony is that like his ex-boss Turner, Carter is arrested after a driving accident and is sent to prison for six months for driving a car while drunk. A nice twist. Some location work around 1960's London. And it has an interesting plot about betrayal much like Judas and Jesus.
Can You Trust Your Wife?
26 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Another one of the cinema film shorts made by Merton Park Studios under the umbrella title 'The Scales of Justice' Edgar Lustgarten starts his introduction by talking about the supreme court and the welfare of the people, he then changes the venue he's talking about to cover the smaller bankruptcy court. This court case is about Sam Warren, who ran a small café called 'Warren's Cafe' in London before going bankrupt. It then goes into flashback to tell you why Warren is in the bankruptcy court owing sixty thousand English pounds that he says he lost by gambling. After visiting his home to tell his wife the results of the case, he uses his Rolls Royce car to visit his secret lover Beryl, to ask her for help with money. She refuses and kicks him out, he then goes to St. James' club where he meets Donovan, who demands his money back or he will let everyone know that Warren had secret microphones installed in all of the tables at his restaurant. Warren then tries to escape from his home by using a few taxis and registering in 'The Royal Hotel' with his wife Joyce under the names 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' But still Donovan finds him and 'phones them there. Warren then moves from the hotel by hiding in the back of a laundry van which takes him to the airport. He again meets Donovan there and receives a note from his wife to say that she has taken all of his money and is on a different aeroplane, but doesn't say to where. This is one of the two twist endings, as in the note to him she says she "will use the money to enjoy what years she has left". Lustgarten then explains that she took his money and then died of a heart attack three years later, but left the remaining money to him in her will. But the other twist in the story is that the money he inherited from her, was just enough to pay back what he owed to his creditors, and so he was still penniless. It has more twists than usual. It's not one of the best in the film series but It's still watchable even with it's pretty downbeat ending and the two twists in the story with Warren getting all that he deserved. Highly entertaining at half an hour.
Who Can You Trust?
25 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This is an entry in the series of cinema film shorts made under the umbrella title 'The Scales of Justice' This is a pretty good film and has a nice twist ending. As usual it starts off with a court case and then goes into flashback to explain why they are there. Edgar Lustgarten tells the story of how Simon, the son of Sir James Deniton is thrown out of university after he rebelled against his rich family by having a drunken brawl in the local bar. When he arrives back home, also as a rebellion against his family he breaks up with his girlfriend Julia. He then goes to get drunk again at the local French bistro in Pimlico, London. While there he meets a mysterious French girl called Yvonne. After a few days together he takes her for a holiday in Brighton. At the hotel there, Simon meets a detective called Robbins who tells him that Yvonne is married, because of this Robbins later tries to blackmail Simon for five thousand pounds. As another sign of his rebellion Simon takes a gun from a drawer in his home and goes to Robbins' house, where he kills him. He is then taken to court where (for some reason) Yvonne turns up in his defence. He gets off with it and is later released. The twist ending is that Yvonne's relationship with Simon was just so that he could be blackmailed by her real husband, who turns out to be William Pervis, the manservant to Simon's rich family. So this is where the title comes from, as Pervis abuses his 'Position of Trust' Great to watch and a nice twist ending with the villain been the last one who you would suspect.
Woman kidnapper
24 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Made in the same way as the 'Scotland Yard' series of film shorts. This film series was based on crime cases in court rather than just the police side which was covered in the earlier films. Maybe it's more like the future 'L.A. Law' or 'Crown Court'? In that it covers the crime and the later court case. This one starts with Edgar Lustgarten doing his intro and telling you some background information on the case. This case is then told in flashback. Helga Schumaker, a nanny takes the baby (Brian Chesham) that she looks after to Wimbledon Common on the outskirts of London. While there she meets her German fiancé and kisses him, as she is doing this the baby is taken by Mary West, who, because of medical reasons is unable to have a baby of her own. Her husband Bert returns home to find her with the baby. After seeing the news on television (read by a young Michael Aspel) Bert finds out that there is a reward for the return of the baby, because of this he starts to become more of a criminal in every way to get the money. To do this he frames the local shopkeeper Mrs.Davis for the kidnapping. He gets the money but is later arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison. This short is okay and is one of the last series of short films made by Merton Park studios. I prefer the 'Scotland Yard' films but they are both in the same vein and as a short it only runs for about half an hour so it's not a waste of time. Very engrossing.
The White Cliffs Mystery
(1957)
Murder on A Train
17 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This is another of the Merton park film shorts that make up the series of low budget second features which were known in British cinemas as 'Scotland Yard' This series of film shorts were based on the files of the 'Scotland Yard' police force in London rather that the regional ones. This one was based on the case known to the police as 'The Matrion Case' As usual it starts with the presenter Edgar Lustgarten telling you background information to get you in the mood to watch the film. In this one he starts by talking about men travelling across the earth either above it or below it. It then goes into the story. The story opens with an express stream train travelling from Seahaven to the Waterloo station in London. On it's way there the train passes through Branton station where the body of Engineer Edward Matrion falls onto the platform dead from the moving train. Superintendent Duggan is called in to investigate as it looks like Matrion had been strangled to death. This short seems to have had more budget than usual as there are more police officers and people as well as location work at some of the train stations in London including Waterloo. Duggan finds out that before he was killed Matrion stayed in a hotel in Seahaven under the name Baylis, A dead body of his secretary Elizabeth Welton is later found off of one of the local cliffs with a lot more people around to retrieve it. The killer of both Matrion and Welton is later revealed to be middle eastern student Josef Armed.
Who is 'The Smiling Widow'?
17 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
One in the series of Merton Park's film shorts which were made under the title 'Scotland Yard' and released as second features to cinemas in the British Isles. These were later repackaged and sold for screenings on television abroad and in Great Britain under that title and as 'Casebook'. This film opens with the dour Edgar Lustgarten talking about 'The Case of "The Smiling Widow"' which was known in the police files as 'The Adams Case' A very low budget short, made in under a week but it doesn't seem rushed. It begins after painter Peter Adams is found dead in Art dealer Christopher Nicholls' home after supposedly gassing himself by using the oven at the house in Hamstead, London. At the coroner's inquest Nicholls talks about Adams' last night alive by saying he had a lot to drink, But Doctor Harding goes against this by stating that there was hardly any alcohol in Adams' body. Because of this statement the police then open an investigation lead by Superintendent Duggan. The film seems very cheap and downbeat with Bates, the police driver finding out more information than Duggan by talking to Nicholls' servants while having a tea break with them, rather than been on the beat investigating. 'The Smiling Widow' is later revealed to be a painting by 'an old master' that was faked by Adams and later sold by Nicholls. To find out more Duggan later goes (via stock footage) to Rome, Italy where he meets an Italian inspector played by Roger Delgardo (later made famous as the original 'Master' in 'Doctor Who'). As the running time is only half an hour it goes along pretty fast and everything comes out at the end, in that Adams was blackmailing Nicholls for selling imitation masterpiece paintings, so Nicholls killed him, or did he? In a nice twist ending it turns out that his wife Janet killed him and moved the heavy body downstairs by using a wheelchair. She killed Adams due to her been his jealous lover. Nice scenic shots of 1950's London and something quick and interesting to watch for half an hour with a great unexpected ending.
J. Carol Naish
16 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
When you usually read about this series in guidebooks the reviewer ultimately states that J. Carrol Naish was badly miscast. But if you compare this with the serial 'Batman' (1943), then you will notice that even though the two parts of Charlie Chan and Dr. Tito Darka are different, in that one is good and the other bad, for some strange reason Naish played them the same. Maybe this is why the reviewers say this or maybe it was the reason he was cast as Charlie Chan in the first place? This episode opens in Venice, Italy. Where someone has sold a vast amount of jewellery that is to be taken safely to the new owners, but the seller is really Pietro Monti in disguise. Pietro later tells Chan that he is only doing this to save his brother Victorio from the gangs, but in reality it's to alibi himself and to get rid of his gang members who are his opposition. Chan catches him in the end. Been an early ITC/TPA co-production it's very low budget with loads of stock footage, it's okay to watch but the best thing about it is that it's over in 25 minutes.
1950's London
16 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This episode tells the story of a case in 1950's London, Which the Police have nick-named 'Spaceman'. It starts off with a robbery by gunpoint, with the robber standing on the top of a removals lorry to rob an office's payroll through the first floor window. Then the robber escapes by hanging on the back of the lorry as it drives away, after their escape the robbers change their van for motorbikes. Maguire is then called in to investigate, he finds the lorry and continues his search for the gang. One of the trio of crooks is Sue, a woman (played by Jo Owen) while the two men in the gang are Kemp (played by Neil McCarthy) and Groves (Michael Ely). While checking for evidence around the stolen lorry Maguire notices some holes in the ground made by a woman's high heels. This is an okay series and at 25 minutes it races along, so there aren't any pregnant pauses. It was also filmed in black and white rather than videotaped, which gives it a kind of film noir look. It's also good for the total of location work, well directed by Robert Lynn. The end of the episode has Maguire finally catching them at the old Wembley Stadium by working out their M.O. as they try to do two jobs in one day. Outstanding.
Trouble in Switzerland
12 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This is okay as it has some great location work shot in Switzerland, but it also has the usual story of a gangster who runs a village by blackmail, with threats and an underdog (this time author Paul Temple) who takes them on to save the village. I think the same plot was also used in an episode of 'Return Of The Saint' (maybe Paul should change his name to Temple-la?) But the story differs here, in that the mountain village people of Soglio, try to make money by smuggling coffee beans across the border into Italy. It has some bad points to it too, as it has some very flat two dimensional back projection (rather than 3D) when Temple is with his wife up The Alps, then it cuts to interiors shot on videotape at a studio in London. By the way it looks, it reminds me of another 1970's drama 'Secret Army', where the exteriors were filmed in Belgium and the interiors videotaped in London. There is however a good (James Bond OHMSS like) P.O.V. shot of Dermot Nolan doing the Cresta Run which he loses. He then gets the villains Angelo and Il Muto to steal the trophy for him, but he is later caught. It has a happy ending. As I've said it's watchable in acting and plot, it's just having to watch the fake exteriors which differ greatly from the interiors. It looks like some of the background was a blown up photo because it has no depth. Still it's a flashback to 1970's television.
London Conspiracy
(1974)
Stuck together
5 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
As has been said this has a confusing start as it begins with an uncredited clip from the episode 'Angie..Angie' scripted by (an also uncredited)Milton S. Gelman. Maybe it was just been used to pad out the running time? In the clip Danny Wilde almost gets run over by a French girl on a motorcycle,outside a bank in Cannes, France. Inside he meets Brett Sinclair and the Judge,who blackmails Danny into doing a job for him. But then it goes into the episode 'Greensleeves', which is one of the better episodes of 'The Persuaders', and was scripted by Terence Feely with his usual wit and comedy. The reason it's confusing is that It's no longer in France, but back in England and also it's a job for Brett (not the Judge!), So why have the Judge in the first place? Brett wants to find out who has taken over one of his homes and why they have improved it? The episode guest stars the lovely Rosemary Nichols (Annabel Hurst in 'Department S') and the late Cy Grant (famous as the voice to Lt. Green in 'Captain Scarlet & The Mysterons') The second segment is the inferior 'Home Of Ones Own' by Terry Nation, which tells the story of Brett and Danny going into the country where Danny has bought a cottage which he wants to rebuild. It's also confusing (as a whole) in that it has a great title 'London Conspiracy' but London only appears in this 'film' when Brett goes to the talent agent. The 6 points I give are for the outstanding 'Greensleeves' episode, not for the film as a whole.
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