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EPISODE THREE: SOMETHING FOR A RAINY DAY
Original UK transmission: 12th October 1966
Filmed: November/December 1965
Screenplay by Terry Nation
Directed by Cyril Frankel
Synopsis: Mark Seldon (Michael Gwynn) has spent the last few years in prison after being arrested for a jewel robbery, although the stones themselves have never been recovered. Upon his release, however, he has only wished never to have to go back inside, and thus has already contacted The Baron by sending him a surprise package in order to try and make a deal with him. He will recover the jewels himself if the insurance company will pay him the reward money, and then gladly hand them over in exchange for being left alone to live a quiet life with his daughter Anne (Ann Lynn). However, there are those that have other ideas. One of them is Charlotte 'Charlie' Russell (Lois Maxwell), an insurance executive whose company has already paid out for the loss of the jewels, and wishes to recover them and sell them in order to recoup the premium. Additionally, Max Holder (Patrick Allen) and his partner Lucas (Derek Newark), who originally double-crossed Seldon in the first place, are keen to capitalise on his return to civilisation. Upon receipt of the parcel, The Baron goes to see Charlie, who explains that he will get a share in the reward money if he manages to persuade Sheldon to hand over the jewels once they are recovered, and is willing to do a deal. However, this deal also involves having his every move watched, and after disposing of the first man on his tail, The Baron heads for France, closely followed by all the other interested parties. A meeting at a remote farm is arranged, but Anne is captured by Holder and Lucas before she can take The Baron to Seldon. Managing to win her back, but unable to contact her father, he finds out that Seldon has agreed to their ransom demands of handing over the jewels in order to protect her. However, when it seems as if the demands have fallen on deaf ears, Charlie tricks Seldon into taking her to the remote quarry where the jewels are hidden. The showdown thus takes place at the quarry when the other parties eventually turn up, and culminates in a fast-paced car chase between The Baron and Cordelia and Holder and Lucas. Predictably, The Baron wins through, and just about manages to stop Charlie getting away with the jewels.
Direction:
Script: Performances: Cars/Sets/Locations: General
observations: At last, a decent episode! This is the sort of story which
would lift any series above the average, and here it certainly works. There is
an unfeasible amount of location work, excellent performances from the majority
of the actors (Lois Maxwell and Michael Gwynn are particularly good, despite the
latter's unconvincing grey hair) and a fast-paced, gripping storyline. To top it
all, there is a superb list of fine cars on show, and particularly noticeable is
the end chase between a Jaguar Mk2 and a Citroen DS, which looks genuinely
dangerous to film, and is done with a superb amount of skill using three
different unrelated locations all standing in for France (the quarry, Ivinghoe
Beacon and Betchworth Quarry near Dorking in Surrey). The culmination of this
is, of course, the white Jaguar hurtling off the edge of the cliff, which was so
expensive to film that it was used as stock footage in an incredible number of
other ITC productions, and it is not hard to see why. There are shots of the car
before it hits the cliff edge, inside the car and from at least two or three
different angles. In an episode which already contains a large amount of
location filming (which must have been hard in winter), this one stands head and
shoulders above the majority of the rest. John Hough'[s second unit really went
to town on this one! Cyril Frankel also directs very strongly (he deserves all
due praise as a craftsman film maker). This just shows that the right
ingredients were there from the start for a good series. Unfortunately, they
were not all like this.
"The Baron" Copyright 1966-67
ITC Entertainment (This page
copyright 2008
www.associated-british.co.uk) itc@associated-british.co.uk
