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The Saint: The Charitable Countess (1.12, ITC, 1962)

"So, uh, where you been tonight?"

"You know what I like about you Roman taxi drivers, Marco? The way you mind your own business."

"Yes. Where you been tonight?"

#the saint #the charitable countess #1962 #itc #leslie charteris #dick sharples #gerald kelsey #jeremy summers #roger moore #patricia donahue #nigel davenport #warren mitchell #anthony newlands #philip needs #anthony jacobs #marie burke #irene prador #victor rietti #neville becker #loretta parry #hugo de vernier #series 1 (in the uk at least) draws to a close with an unusually wholesome episode‚ a good fit for the festive period it originally aired #during. we're back in Rome‚ which means a return appearance for Warren Mitchell's charmingly manic taxi driver (a rare case of a non police #officer recurring as a character). Simon sets himself against a lady con artist and her crony (a beautifully understated performance from #Davenport‚ who makes his henchman figure surprisingly likeable). what sets this one apart is that both Simon and the conniving Countess #remain on friendly terms throughout their battle of wills. Donahue is perfectly cast as the elegant countess‚ unexpectedly slipping #back into her street smart broad voice as Simon picks away at her carefully constructed back story (the only downside of the episode is #that Simon is more than a little crass in this scene‚ making some pretty cheap digs at her past: sure she's defrauding charities but that's #no reason to be a pig Simon). the younger actors also equip themselves well‚ and the final dinner party twist is fairly ingenious #not an earth shattering entry in the canon of old tv‚ but a pretty nice time all the same

The Saint: The Latin Touch (1.2, ITC, 1962)

"All of a sudden you're kind of quiet."

"The meek shall inherit the earth."

"Yeah. When the strong get through with it."

#the saint #the latin touch #leslie charteris #itc #1962 #john gilling #gerald kelsey #dick sharples #roger moore #alexander knox #doris nolan #bill nagy #warren mitchell #peter illing #suzan farmer #marie burke #robert easton #carole simpson #anita sharp bolster #charles irwin #our first trip abroad! itc had already set their template for action adventure series with the likes of Interpol Calling and Man of the #World‚ and jet setting was a key component of their storytelling. In that regard Charteris' books were a good fit‚ Simon always being a #globetrotting adventurer. more surprising is the establishing location work in this ep‚ of the real Moore in the real Rome. it wasn't #unheard of for a series to go abroad for location work (the Maigret team spent a few months shooting in Paris before each series) but i #think this might have been a first for ITC‚ and certainly suggests this was a heavy investment on their part (likewise the impressive #colosseum for studio shots). Alexander Knox is the guest star of the week‚ appearing alongside real wife Doris Nolan‚ but the episode #belongs to Warren Mitchell's Italian cabby; not yet saddled with Alf Garnett‚ Mitchell was often employed to play european characters #and his goodhearted (but money conscious) taxi driver is one of his better guest spots; a part that could have been irritating as written #allows him to get some real laughs and to be actually quite charming. presumably the production team were pleased as he would return to the #role twice more in later episodes. the rest of the episode is standard kidnap drama but it's a fun enough time

Lost #DoctorWho: Is The Prison in Space as Bad as Its Reputation?

#Derrick Sherwin #Dick Sharples #Frazer Hines #Galaxy Four #Jamie McCrimmon #Patrick Troughton #Second Doctor #The Krotons #The Prison in Space #Wendy Padbury #Zoe Heriot

The Saint: The Careful Terrorist (1.3, ITC, 1962)

"Hoppy, you know me pretty well, wouldn't you swear unequivocally that I'm incapable of an assassination attempt displaying so little artistic integrity?"

"Oh... I wouldn't say that, boss."

"Why not?"

"I don't know what it means!"

#the saint #the careful terrorist #leslie charteris #gerald kelsey #dick sharples #John Ainsworth #roger moore #itc #1962 #peter dyneley #david kossoff #sally bazely #percy herbert #alan gifford #dorinda stevens #gary cockrell #robert ayres #nicholas stuart #george sperdakos #jared allen #the saint in america! and Moore's accent still doesn't seem to have settled; indeed‚ surrounded by cod americans (Dyneley was a brit who'd #lived in Canada‚ Herbert a Londoner who'd had a brief stint in Hollywood) he seems to lean further into a kind of neutral mid atlantic #delivery. speaking of percy herbert‚ he's playing Hoppy Uniatz‚ a supporting character in several of Charteris' Saint novels‚ here employed #as comic relief. I'm afraid he's less successful than Warren Mitchell in the previous episode‚ and his broad mugging pushes a little too #far in places. much better is lovely David Kossoff‚ who gets guest star status but surprisingly little screen time as a quietly distracted #bombmaker. Templar turns the bomb plot against the bad guys (oh oops SPOILER) and basically sets in motion the deaths of the villains‚ in a #bloodthirsty finale which is unusual for ITC but actually better fits the characterisation of Templar as Charteris wrote him (book Saint is #not above straight up murder if he thinks it's justified...). considering the villain here is a union boss‚ i was concerned this was going #down the route of 'unions are actually violent rackets' but it mostly avoids this with a clumsy bit of exposition from Simon in the #closing scene. Gary Cockrell would go on to star in abortive Avengers rival The Corridor People which is kind of brilliant in its own way

#dick sharples

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