Feb 24, 2023
Man in a Suitcase: Somebody Loses, Somebody... Wins? (1.19, ITC, 1968)
"Mr. McGill, I was told that you do dangerous work for money. I offer you dangerous work - and I offer you money in proportion."
"What proportion?"
"Name your price."
"Ok. I get a legitimate visa. I travel under my own name, using my own passport. I'll obey every law in the book. And if I smell the slightest aroma of trouble, baby, I'm heading home. And if I locate your brother, it's gonna cost you twenty thousand dollars, plus expenses. And if I don't locate your brother... it'll cost you twenty thousand dollars, plus expenses."
"Those are difficult terms."
"Do me a favour, turn me down."
#man in a suitcase#somebody loses‚ somebody... wins?#itc#1968#jan read#john glen#richard bradford#jacqueline pearce#godfrey quigley#carl duering#philip madoc#gordon sterne#paul hansard#carl bernard#peter hager#derek prentice#wendy hall#david scheuer#bettina jonic#maria warburg#gerda koeppler#for me‚ not just the pinnacle of MiaS‚ but one of the best individual episodes of tv that ITC ever produced. and an unlikely success too:#this was the final episode of the first production block‚ with Bradford and crew growing tired and in need of a break. it was also John#Glen's directorial debut (having worked as an editor and a.d.) and went over schedule‚ to his horror (he thought he'd blown his chance)#plus on set accidents and bts arguments.. but no‚ the final product is absolutely wonderful (ymmv ig). Jan Read had ended up writing for#show through pure coincidence (his Spanish wife did some language work on 1.16 The Man Who Stood Still) but his script is the show at its#sharpest‚ wittiest‚ darkest and most cutting. Jac Pearce‚ having forged a genuine friendship with Bradford on 1.7‚ returned in a bigger#role as a former love of McGill's who may or may not have defected. cue a bitterly nihilistic study of the collateral victims of the cold#war‚ as a job in East Berlin gets murkier and more complicated. it's beautifully written‚ but wonderfully played too; the pair have genuine#chemistry‚ and you really feel like in another world they could have made it work together. sobs. maybe next time round.