The Avengers '64, Set 2
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Actor: Diana Rigg, Honor Blackman, Ian Hendry, Linda Thorson, Patrick MacneeCinematographer: Gerald Gibbs
Cinematographer: Walter J. Harvey
Editor: Frank P. Keller
Editor: John Glen
Writer: Sydney Newman
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, Box set, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 312 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-03-28
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: A&E Home Video
DVD Reviews of The Avengers '64, Set 2
DVD Review: *The Avengers* is largely for Anglophiles (all the details)
Summary: 5 Stars
These are 1960s-era black-and-white British television episodes which much of the contemporary world would surely scorn to watch... but personally I love them.
*The Avengers*, essentially a British spy-versus-spy production with certain deviations from that realm, first came to America in 1965 with more highly punctuated action scenes (going to color in 1967) and invested with a new partner for the primary character, John Steed [played by Patrick Macnee] -- that would have been the role of Mrs. Peel magnificently played by Diana Rigg, ergo: Avengers '65 - Set 1, Vols. 1 & 2. But before that, the somewhat less turbulent British TV years had evolved through a cycle of Steed partners, the last of whom came to be the sensual Honor Blackman as anthropologist Catherine Gale, ultimately a 007 *Bond Girl* in Goldfinger... yes, *that* one!
I watched every episode of *The Avengers* from 1965 forward as they were originally broadcast (and many times afterwards), and all the 1962-1964 episodes as the videotapes and DVDs have since become available, (and I've reviewed most of them as well.) I am a *The Avengers* nut, to put a point on it. Here are the primary episode details, (each one running for about 52 minutes), for this two-disc set:
VOLUME 3
*Build a Better Mousetrap* -- Two aging spinstresses don't like it one bit when a (very mild) motorcycle gang (of which Cathy Gale is a member) attempts to use the property next door for some racing fun. Even though the group had obtained the landowner's permission to carry out their foray, the two old women spin a curse on them and their motorcycles subsequently shut down! ...or, is there more to this apparent sorcery? Meanwhile, an atomic scientist and Steed meet in the nearby Hunter's Horn Pub to determine what secret device might be causing some electronic mayhem throughout the district -- murder follows. This is clearly the best episode of the set.
Cynthia [Athene Seyer], Ermyntrude [Nora Nicholson], Harris [Harold Goodwin], Colonel Wesker [John Tate], Caroline [Alison Seebohm], Dave [Donald Webster], Jessy [Marian Diamond], Stigant [Allen McClelland], and, Gordon [David Anderson]. The screenplay was by Brian Clemens and the director was Peter Hammond.
*The Outside-In Man* -- Steed is assigned to a security detail where he's to guard a former British traitor who now sports diplomatic protection as he represents another nation and is in England to facilitate an important agreement with the British government. A British agent in Steed's organization who had been imprisoned by the traitor for the previous five years has unexplainably been released and now chooses to go after his nefarious adversary -- Steed and Cathy have to prevent this likely assassination.
Mark Charter [James Maxwell], Jenkins [Ronald Mansell], Sharp [Philip Anthony], Quilpie [Ronald Radd], Ambassador [William Devlin], Major Zulficar [Basil Haskins], Helen Rayner [Berl Baxter], Michael Lynden [Arthur Lovegrove], Alice [Virginia Stride], Edwards [Anthony Dawes], Guards [Valentino Mussetti and Eddie Powell], and, Butcher [Paul Blomley]. The screenplay was written by Philip Chambers and the director was Jonathan Alwyn.
*The Charmers* -- (This episode was later re-made with Diana Rigg under the title *The Correct Way to Kill*.) Both Soviet and British agents are being assassinated in England and Steed suspects that a third party is at work to stir up trouble between the two nations. Subsequent to an agreement initiated by Steed, hostages are exchanged and the two adversarial spy contingents combine resources during a truce of sorts in an attempt to reveal the perpetrator. This is a somewhat frivolous episode which represented a notable shift in the writing themes for the series.
Kim Lawrence [Fenella Fielding], Keller [Warren Mitchell], Harrap [Frank Mills], Mr. Edgar [Brian Oulton], Martin [John Barcroft], Betty Smythe [Vivian Pickles], Horace Cleeves [Malcolm Russell], Sam [John Greenwood], and, George Vinkel [Peter Porteous]. The screenplay was written by Brian Clemens and the director was Bill Bain.
VOLUME 4
*Concerto* -- A Russian concert pianist is sent to London to unofficially break the ice for a trade delegation. The international agreement is jeopardized when the pianist is nefariously framed for murder. This is a good story but it was poorly directed... dull. At least you'll get to hear a bit of nicely-played Chopin and Beethoven.
Zalenko [Nigel Stock], Stefan Velik [Sandor Eles], Darleen [Dorinda Stevens], Peterson [Bernard Brown], Burns [Geoffrey Colville], Receptionist [Carole Ward], Polly White [Valerie Bell], and, Robbins [Leslie Glazer]. The screenplay was written by Terrance Dicks (of Doctor Who: The Brain of Morbius (Story 84) fame) and Malcolm Hulke (an early mentor to Dicks and another major *Doctor Who* screenwriter.) The director was Kim Mills.
*Esprit de Corps* -- A rogue faction of Scottish Highland Guards plot to take over London and to rule Great Britain through the revived Monarchy of the Royal House of Stuart! Cathy Gale infiltrates the group after it becomes known that they have executed one of their own. Steed poses as a Brigadier whose interest ostensibly lies in documenting guard history.
Private Jessop [Roy Kinnear], Captain Trench [John Thaw, who later starred in Inspector Morse - Complete Collection], Brigadier General Sir Ian Stuart Bollinger [Duncan Macrae], Lady Dorothy Stuart Bollinger [Joyce Heron], Mrs. Craig [Pearl Catlin], Sergeant Marsh [Douglas Robinson], Admiral [Hugh Morton], Private Asquith [Anthony Blackshaw], Signaller [James Falkland], Piper [George Alexander], Drummer [Tony Lambden], and, Highland dancer [George Macrae]. The screenplay was written by Eric Paice and the director was Don Leaver.
*Lobster Quadrille* -- One of Steed's fellow agents is killed by a crime syndicate of lobstermen. The dead agent left behind an ornate chess piece as a clue to his demise which steers Cathy and Steed toward an Oriental chess-master who appears to be a key member of this smuggling and murder ring. This was Honor Blackman's final episode of *The Avengers*.
Mason [Burt Kwouk], Captain Slim [Leslie Sands], Bush [Gary Watson], Katie [Jennie Linden], Dr. Stannage [Norman Scace], Quentin Slim [Corin Redgrave], and, Jackson [Valentino Mussetti]. The screenplay was written by Richard Lucas and the director was Kim Mills.
If you happen to be a fanatical enthusiast of *The Avengers* as I am, or even if you simply enjoy older British television presentations, this is a great set for viewing. I highly recommend it for fans of the genre.
Description of The Avengers '64, Set 2
According to one Avengers-appreciation Web site, three of the seven episodes contained in this three-volume boxed set--"Too Many Christmas Trees," "A Surfeit of H20," and "Dial a Deadly Number"--rank among the 10 best episodes from the series' Mrs. Emma Peel era (a fourth, "The Hour That Never Was," is ranked in the top 20), making this the perfect chaser to The Avengers '65 Set 1. "What nasty situation have you got in store for me this time?" Mrs. Peel asks in "The Man-Eater of Surrey Green," another of the vintage, black-and-white episodes from the series' breakthrough fourth season, which introduced Diana Rigg in her signature role. The answers make for diabolically clever entertainment in classic Avengers tradition: a "herbicial" plant from outer space (in "The Man-Eater"), matrimonial matchmaker assassins (in "The Murder Market"), a rainmaking vintner (in "H20"), and a brainwashing dentist (in "The Hour"). "Christmas Trees" alone is worth the price of the boxed set. In this haunting episode for all seasons, Steed is plagued by deadly nightmares that have begun to come true. Outfitted at one point as Oliver Twist, Mrs. Peel proves herself to be the woman of our dreams. Each volume is also available separately. --Donald LiebensonBestsellers in DVD
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