The Avengers
4.20: The Danger Makers
A bit of a plod this one, enlivened by a couple of scenes,
admittedly, but not enough to salvage The
Danger Makers. The title pretty much tells you the score, as military
personnel, dismayed by the lack of conflict in peacetime, create thrill-seeking
exercises for themselves. Unfortunately, the thrill seeking only intermittently
extends to viewer enthralment.
Robertson: There are very few wars nowadays. They’re
rapidly becoming push-button affairs. No, your concept of military life is
changing, Mrs Peel. The military man is becoming defunct, obsolete, a dodo.
On the plus side, veteran film director Charles Crichton
delivers a polished rendition of Roger Marshall’s screenplay, in which Apollo
(revealed to be Dr Long, played by Douglas Wilmer, perhaps best known as the
BBC ‘60s Sherlock Holmes, before Peter Cushing took over) has discovered that,
in some soldiers, combat fatigue led to mental regression because they actually
missed the shock of war – “Yes, you could
call it an addiction to danger” – and envisages tapping into “all that potential energy, destructive
energy”.
His plan to harness it, having set various veterans on
jaunts where they are “dicing with death
like irresponsible beatniks” (including Admiral Jackson crossing the
Atlantic in Force 8 gale and chemical warfare expert Gordon Lamble “trying to climb the side of St Paul’s
Cathedral when he fell”) is to be put into action via a rather mundane plot
to steal the Crown Jewels (why not, I guess).
Mrs Peel: What have we got so far?
Steed: Two black roses, three corpses.
Mrs Peel: Four white feathers…
Steed: And a partridge in a pear tree.
The black roses are the Danger Makers symbol (making Steed’s
access remarkably easy, announcing himself as a member of their Northern
Chapter), the feathers one of failure, both appearing on the crest of Manton
House, a military museum run by Colonel Adams (Fabia Drake), oblivious to the goings-on.
While Steed fakes being one of the select group, Emma attempts to join up,
seeking an in with Major Robertson (an eyepatched Nigel Davenport). Steed
suggests: “Show him… (looking at her
cleavage) Show him your bumps. He’s a
part-time phrenologist”.
Steed: Clearer?
Mrs Peel: Much. A bunch of schizoid, paranoid
sociopaths.
Steed: And incidentally dangerous.
Maybe I’m being a bit hard on this one. There are a number of nice moments, such as
Steed making up his society name; plumping for a Roman God, he naturally picks
Bacchus, and receives a funny look from Peters (Moray Watson, The Quatermass Experiment, Black Orchid). There’s also a lovely punchline
to the scene in which Emma receives a box of chocolates from Robertson, and
Steed warns her not to touch it while he apparently inspects it for explosives:
Steed: Whatever you do, don’t touch the wrapped
ones.
Mrs Peel: Why not?
Steed: Cos I like ‘em.
Mrs Peel’s initiation, in which she plays a deadly,
full-scale version of the wire loop game (touch the sides and she’s electrocuted),
moving along seesaws, is a masterful set piece, full of sweaty close-ups from
the onlookers (and an impromptu cough from Robertson).
And then there’s Steed,
who was unable to hoodwink Apollo that he was a member, obviously, facing his would-be
executioner with disarming cheerfulness:
Robertson: I’ve got to kill you.
Steed: Don’t make too much noise about it, will
you.
Robertson: I said, I’ve got to kill you.
Steed (reading
the newspaper): My goodness me, British
tin down another point.
Robertson: Stand up.
Steed: Why?
Robertson: Because I’m going to kill you.
Steed: Major, your hand isn’t shaking at all. It’s
as steady as rock. There’s more danger in stamp collecting.
He appeals Robertson’s flair for jeopardy, persuading him they
should both have an equal chance of taking the gun, placed on the table. They
sit opposite each other, the Major beginning a count to three. Robertson
doesn’t get to two when Steed plucks up the gun and promptly hits him over the
head with it (“Sorry, Major. I never did
believe in rules”). Ungentlemanly, but very amusing.
Steed: How did you get out?
Mrs Peel: I knotted some sheets.
Mrs Peel: I knotted some sheets.
Steed: Oh, that old thing.
Mrs Peel: Well, originality didn’t seem imperative at
the time.
Emma, of course, proves just as resourceful in her own
off-camera way (above). Despite the high points, though, this one tends to the
rather dry and militaristic elsewhere, right down to a Journey’s End-inspired character name (Stanhope, played by Adrian Ropes,
although he’s more of a Raleigh, plotwise). The laugh-off is similarly
breathless to The Girl from Auntie’s
verbiage, only with Steed delivering this time, before their stunt doubles head
off in go-carts:
Mrs Peel: Steed, I still don’t understand how you
stumbled on the Danger Makers.
Steed: Simple, Mrs Peel. When Groves died, I saw
Lowry, who put me on to Lamble, who led me to Robertson, through whom I met
Stanhope, who later was killed, who passed on info about Manton, where I met
Colonel Adams. I simply put two and two together.
Mrs Peel: Elementary.
Steed: Basic.
Mrs Peel: Shall we drive?
Agree? Disagree? Mildly or vehemently? Let me know in the comments below.
Comments
Post a comment