"The Frighteners" | |
---|---|
The Avengers episode | |
Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 15 |
Directed by | Peter Hammond |
Written by | Berkely Mather |
Featured music | John Dankworth (theme) |
Production code | 3412 [1] |
Original air date | 27 May 1961 |
Guest appearances | |
"The Frighteners" is the fifteenth episode of the first series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers , starring Ian Hendry and Patrick Macnee. It was directed by Peter Hammond, designed by Robert Fuest, written by Berkely Mather and first broadcast by ABC on 27 May 1961.
For many years it was the only full episode which remained from the first series until the earlier episode Girl on the Trapeze was discovered in 2001 and the later episode Tunnel of Fear in 2016; as of 2022 it is the earliest complete episode to feature both Steed and Keel and the earliest surviving episode to feature Steed (owing to the debut episode, Hot Snow, surviving in incomplete form and extant footage ending before Steed's appearance and Girl on the Trapeze not featuring him at all).
A wealthy businessman, Sir Thomas Weller, hires criminal thug racket named "The Frighteners" led by "The Deacon" to persuade his daughter's ill-suited boyfriend Jeremy de Willoughby to leave her. Weller is aware that de Willoughby is a gold digger.
Dr Keel and Steed rescue de Willoughby from the gang and Steed investigates him, whilst Keel investigates the organisation. Concurring with Weller that de Willoughby is a scammer, it is up to Steed and Dr Keel to frighten his daughter away from de Willoughby.
Production for the episode was completed on 25 May 1961. [2] The episode is the first full episode which remains intact from the first series. [3] For many years it was the only full episode which remained from the first series until Girl on the Trapeze was discovered in 2001 [3] [4] and Tunnel of Fear in 2016.[ citation needed ]
The episode was first broadcast by ABC on 27 May 1961. [5] Anthony Aldgate described the episode as a "tantalising glimpse into the content and style of the first season and suggests that, at least to begin with, the series was a low-key crime drama which bore little relation to the fantasy and stylistic excess that was to follow in later years... It is essentially a thick-ear melodrama, featuring seedy underworld locations and villains with a nice line in slang dialogue ("I'm out on ticket, see? One lumber on me present form an' I'll be eatin' porridge till it's comin' out of me flippin' ears")." [3] Aldgate also highlights that the episode does much to inform the viewers that Steed and Dr. Keel are still not professional detectives. [3] The Avengers Forever! website described "The Frighteners" as technically being " just a teeny bit sloppy around the edges, with a few bumped cameras and fluffed lines (Keel: "I want two answers to two facts!"). [2] Not to mention the audio is rather muffled which, given that Ian Hendry tends to mumble, makes for some spotty dialog." However, they consider Philip Locke to be one of their favourite guest stars, playing a "shifty-eyed" "young, brass-knuckled ruffian." [2]
Daniel Patrick Macnee was a British-American actor, best known for his breakthrough role as secret agent John Steed in the television series The Avengers (1961–1969). Starting out as the assistant to David Keel, he became the lead when Hendry left after the first series, and was subsequently partnered with a succession of female assistants. He later reprised the role in The New Avengers (1976–1977).
The Avengers is a British espionage television series, created in 1961, that ran for 161 episodes until 1969. It initially focused on David Keel, aided by John Steed. Ian Hendry left after the first series; Steed then became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants. His most famous assistants were intelligent, stylish, and assertive women: Cathy Gale, Emma Peel, and Tara King. Dresses and suits for the series were made by Pierre Cardin.
"A Touch of Brimstone" is the twenty-first episode of the fourth series of the 1960s British spy television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee as John Steed and Diana Rigg as Emma Peel. It was filmed c. December 1965, and was first broadcast on British television on 15 February 1966. The episode was directed by James Hill and written by Brian Clemens. The plot involves Steed and Peel infiltrating the Hellfire Club whilst investigating harmful pranks on high profile political and business figures.
Dr. Catherine "Cathy" Gale is a fictional character played by Honor Blackman, on the 1960s British series The Avengers. She was the first regular female partner of John Steed, following the departure of Steed's original male co-star, Dr David Keel. She made her first appearance at the start of the series' second season in 1962.
Major The Hon. John Wickham Gascoyne Beresford Steed usually known as John Steed, is a fictional character and the central protagonist on the 1960s British spy series The Avengers and its 1970s sequel The New Avengers, played by Patrick Macnee in both; by Donald Monat in the South-African radio series adaptation of The Avengers; by Ralph Fiennes in the 1998 film of the same name and by Julian Wadham in various audio adventures from Big Finish Productions.
Ian Mackendrick Hendry was an English actor. He worked on several British TV series of the 1960s and 1970s, including the lead in the first series of The Avengers and The Lotus Eaters, and played roles in the films The Hill (1965), Repulsion (1965), Get Carter (1971), and Theatre of Blood (1973).
"The Cybernauts" is the third episode of the fourth series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg. It was first broadcast by Scottish Television on Tuesday 12 October 1965. ABC Weekend Television, who commissioned the show, broadcast it in its own regions four days later on Saturday 16 October. The episode was directed by Sidney Hayers and written by Philip Levene.
"From Venus with Love" is the first episode of the fifth series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg, and guest starring Barbara Shelley, Derek Newark, Jon Pertwee, Jeremy Lloyd and Philip Locke. It was first broadcast in the Southern region of the ITV network on Monday 9 January 1967. ABC Weekend Television, who commissioned the show for ITV, broadcast it in its own regions five days later on Saturday 14 January. The episode was directed by Robert Day, and written by Philip Levene.
"Hot Snow" is the debut episode of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Ian Hendry and Patrick Macnee. It originally aired on ABC on 7 January 1961. Only about 15 minutes, the first of three acts, remain. The episode was directed by Don Leaver and generally acknowledged to have been written by Ray Rigby, but Brian Clemens claimed to have written it.
"Dance with Death" is the twelfth episode of the first series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Ian Hendry and Patrick Macnee and guest starring Caroline Blakiston, Angela Douglas and Geoffrey Palmer. It was first broadcast by ABC on 15 April 1961. The episode is considered to be lost. The episode was directed by Don Leaver, designed by James Goddard, and written by Peter Ling and Sheilah Ward.
"Crescent Moon" is the fifth episode of the first series of the 1960s British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Ian Hendry, Patrick Macnee and Ingrid Hafner, and guest starring Patience Collier, Roger Delgado, Harold Kasket, and Bandana Das Gupta. It was performed and aired live on ABC on 4 February 1961, and is one of many Season 1 episodes that as of 2012 is considered lost. The episode was directed by John Knight, and written by Geoffrey Bellman and John Whitney.
"Six Hands Across a Table" is the twenty-fifth episode of the second series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman. ABC first broadcast on 16 March 1963. The episode was directed by Richmond Harding and written by Reed R. de Rouen.
"The White Dwarf" is the twenty-first episode of the second series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman. It was first broadcast in the Teledu Cymru region of the ITV network on Friday 15 February 1963. ABC Weekend TV, who produced the show for ITV, broadcast it the next day in its own regions. The episode was directed by Richmond Harding and written by Malcolm Hulke.
"Mission to Montreal" is the fifth episode of the second series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee. It was first broadcast by ABC on 27 October 1962. The episode was directed by Don Leaver and written by Lester Powell.
"Mr Teddy Bear" is the first episode of the second series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman. It was first broadcast by ABC on 29 September 1962. The episode was directed by Richmond Harding and written by Martin Woodhouse.
"The Grandeur That Was Rome" is the tenth episode of the third series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman. It was first broadcast by ABC on 30 November 1963. The episode was directed by Kim Mills and written by Rex Edwards.
"Mandrake" is the eighteenth episode of the third series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman. It was first broadcast by ABC on 25 January 1964. The episode was directed by Bill Bain and written by Roger Marshall.
"Girl on the Trapeze" is the sixth episode of the first series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Ian Hendry and Ingrid Hafner, and guest starring Mia Karam, Howard Goorney, and Kenneth J. Warren. It was performed and aired live on ABC on 11 February 1961, and is one of only three series 1 episodes which are currently known to exist, complete. The episode was directed by Don Leaver, and written by Dennis Spooner.
"Tunnel of Fear" is the 20th episode of the first series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Ian Hendry, Patrick Macnee and Ingrid Hafner, and guest starring John Salew, Anthony Bate and Miranda Connell. It was recorded on 405-line monochrome videotape on 3 August 1961 and was first broadcast by ABC on 5 August 1961. It is one of the three known complete series 1 episodes to have survived being purged from the ABC archives and was rediscovered in 2016 when it was found in a private collection. The episode was directed by Guy Verney and written by John Kruse.