External links
- The Mask of Janus at IMDb
- Action TV (retrieved from the Internet Archive)
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| The Mask of Janus | |
|---|---|
| Created by | John Gould |
| Starring | Peter Dyneley Dinsdale Landen Simon Oates |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 11 (7 missing) |
| Production | |
| Producer | Terence Dudley |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC1 |
| Release | 8 October – 27 December 1965 |
The Mask of Janus was a British television series produced by the BBC in 1965, and starred Dinsdale Landen as counter espionage agent Richard Cadell.
The series was set in the fictional European country of Amalia and dealt with the political interests of the British, American and Communist espionage communities within. Eschewing the action formula of its ITV contemporaries (e.g. Danger Man and the early seasons of The Avengers ), the series dealt with more politically oriented plots such as defections to the west, awakening "sleeper" agents and the leaking of official secrets. As of 2009, seven of the original episodes of this programme are still missing from BBC archives.
A spin-off series called The Spies , also starring Landen, followed in 1966.
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Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage is called an espionage agent or spy. Any individual or spy ring, in the service of a government, company, criminal organization, or independent operation, can commit espionage. The practice is clandestine, as it is by definition unwelcome. In some circumstances, it may be a legal tool of law enforcement and in others, it may be illegal and punishable by law.
Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intelligence agencies. It was given new impetus by the development of fascism and communism in the lead-up to World War II, continued to develop during the Cold War, and received a fresh impetus from the emergence of rogue states, international criminal organizations, global terrorist networks, maritime piracy and technological sabotage and espionage as potent threats to Western societies. As a genre, spy fiction is thematically related to the novel of adventure, the thriller and the politico-military thriller.
The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way or as a basis for fantasy. Many novels in the spy fiction genre have been adapted as films, including works by John Buchan, le Carré, Ian Fleming (Bond) and Len Deighton. It is a significant aspect of British cinema, with leading British directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Carol Reed making notable contributions and many films set in the British Secret Service.
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