"School for Traitors" was the fourth of the six episodes featuring Julie Stevens as nightclub singer Venus Smith, and continues the improvement as her partnership with Steed shows a great deal of warm affection. Venus is now performing (snatches of three songs) at an exclusive university where students are being blackmailed into revealing government secrets, resulting in a rash of suicides revealed to be murder. Here, Steed's superior is One-Seven (Frederick Farley, making his only appearance), who pops in at a local pub run by Higby (Reginald Marsh), one of the traitorous ringleaders, assisted by Claire Summers (Melissa Stribling, previously seen in "Hunt the Man Down"), who lures young male students into her web of deceit by imploring them to forge checks on her behalf. Venus is especially charming attempting to warn her partner by whistling (the actress clearly cannot whistle). In unusually villainous mode, Melissa Stribling, who appeared with Michael Gough, Peter Cushing, and Christopher Lee (all AVENGERS veterans) in Hammer's 1958 classic "Horror of Dracula," stands out among a good cast, featuring Terence Woodfield (previously seen in "Mission to Montreal") and John Standing as blackmail victims, and Anthony Nicholls ("Night of the Eagle," "The Omen") playing the head tutor. The next episode with Venus would be "Man in the Mirror."
6 Reviews
Blackmail and murder at university
Tweekums3 May 2017
Warning: Spoilers
This episode opens with Venus Smith singing at a university rag week event, shortly afterwards she discovers the body of one of the lecturers
a man Steed was having her keep an eye on. The police believe the man killed himself but Steed isn't so sure so goes to the university in the guise of doing some research. It soon becomes apparent that something is going on; we see that both staff and undergraduates are being tricked into a position where they are open to blackmail
not immediately but later when they may have ascended to positions of power. In order to smoke out the culprits Steed puts it around that the dead man wrote a letter to Venus shortly before his death
something that puts her in quite a bit of danger.
I rather enjoyed this episode; the villains are suitably villainous and there is a good sense of danger. Julie Stevens makes a welcome return as Venus; a fun character who is a good counterpart to Steed's professional attitude. Reginald Marsh does a fine job as blackmailer Higby and Melissa Stribling is equally good as the even more unpleasant Claire Summers a woman who goes as way as sending Venus a jar of face-cream that contains acid. The story unfolds well with various villains being gradually unveiled and a good ending where the latest blackmail victim is instructed to kill Steed. Of course it isn't perfect; as is often the case with TV shows made on a limited budget there is a small cast given that it is meant to be set at a university, we are also expected to believe that everybody, students and staff alike, drink at the same pub. That is a small quibble about an enjoyable episode.
I rather enjoyed this episode; the villains are suitably villainous and there is a good sense of danger. Julie Stevens makes a welcome return as Venus; a fun character who is a good counterpart to Steed's professional attitude. Reginald Marsh does a fine job as blackmailer Higby and Melissa Stribling is equally good as the even more unpleasant Claire Summers a woman who goes as way as sending Venus a jar of face-cream that contains acid. The story unfolds well with various villains being gradually unveiled and a good ending where the latest blackmail victim is instructed to kill Steed. Of course it isn't perfect; as is often the case with TV shows made on a limited budget there is a small cast given that it is meant to be set at a university, we are also expected to believe that everybody, students and staff alike, drink at the same pub. That is a small quibble about an enjoyable episode.
Fantastic episode -- by far one of the show's best
bmulkey-8159715 April 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The most memorable bit is when Venus Smith sings a calypso song to an increasingly large crowd while a college student named Ted is playing guitar.
The plot is deep and involved but the episode bears attention and never gets boring. A gang of some kind is running an extortion ring at and nearby a prestigious university ( where Venus is taken to singing at). Several suicides occur at and near the campus and Steed is convinced they are possibly murders. A beautiful lady artist and female seductress named Claire is involved with several men just before their "suicides". She is a chief blackmailer and watch closely in the scene when Teddy comes to her apt. There is a quick closeup of her nyloned foot showing partially how she gets many men to fall for her. An excellent ep but be prepared for multiple viewings to get all the twists though.
The plot is deep and involved but the episode bears attention and never gets boring. A gang of some kind is running an extortion ring at and nearby a prestigious university ( where Venus is taken to singing at). Several suicides occur at and near the campus and Steed is convinced they are possibly murders. A beautiful lady artist and female seductress named Claire is involved with several men just before their "suicides". She is a chief blackmailer and watch closely in the scene when Teddy comes to her apt. There is a quick closeup of her nyloned foot showing partially how she gets many men to fall for her. An excellent ep but be prepared for multiple viewings to get all the twists though.
School for Traitors
Prismark1019 December 2019
With a cast that includes John Standing playing a university student when he is pushing 30. It is hard to figure out who are the students and who are the lecturers.
Inspired by the the likes of the Cambridge Four who were revealed in 1963 as Russian agents. Steed is investigating a spy ring at a prestigious university. Venus Smith is also at hand singing jazz numbers at a university event.
It looks like a femme fatale is luring her admirers to forge signatures on a cheque and they then find themselves open to blackmail.
A suspicious death of a tutor is passed off as a suicide by the police. Venus is sent face cream which contains acid. It is a good job she did not like the smell of it.
Steed's job is not to get the foot soldiers but the actual ring leader. It is not pretty hard to guess who that is.
There is plenty of things that happen but it is all rather routine and even confusing. The blackmail part is rather hackneyed. Thankfully Venus only sings a few snippets of songs. It does look like an episode that emerged with rumours of British toffs as Soviet spies in the press.
Inspired by the the likes of the Cambridge Four who were revealed in 1963 as Russian agents. Steed is investigating a spy ring at a prestigious university. Venus Smith is also at hand singing jazz numbers at a university event.
It looks like a femme fatale is luring her admirers to forge signatures on a cheque and they then find themselves open to blackmail.
A suspicious death of a tutor is passed off as a suicide by the police. Venus is sent face cream which contains acid. It is a good job she did not like the smell of it.
Steed's job is not to get the foot soldiers but the actual ring leader. It is not pretty hard to guess who that is.
There is plenty of things that happen but it is all rather routine and even confusing. The blackmail part is rather hackneyed. Thankfully Venus only sings a few snippets of songs. It does look like an episode that emerged with rumours of British toffs as Soviet spies in the press.
Painfully dull.
Sleepin_Dragon21 January 2024
A College lecturer is killed, The Police believe it to be suicide, Steed is convinced it's murder, once again he relies on Venus to be on the inside.
A contender for the show's most boring and incomprehensible episode, I've watched this one a few times, and on each occasion I've zoned out, and found myself struggling to find any interest in it.
1963, so there are cold war vibes I guess, and I half expected it to go down that route, it may have been a more interesting pathway. The actual nub of the story, just didn't make sense.
I found it so hard to put the pieces together, it's all letters, face creams and horrible songs, honestly if you manage to put the pieces together, and get some enjoyment out of it, then credit to you, it just sent me to sleep.
Melissa Stribling and John Standing both do a good job, but they are up against it, the script is so tedious. I honestly thought Standing was a tutor initially.
4/10.
A contender for the show's most boring and incomprehensible episode, I've watched this one a few times, and on each occasion I've zoned out, and found myself struggling to find any interest in it.
1963, so there are cold war vibes I guess, and I half expected it to go down that route, it may have been a more interesting pathway. The actual nub of the story, just didn't make sense.
I found it so hard to put the pieces together, it's all letters, face creams and horrible songs, honestly if you manage to put the pieces together, and get some enjoyment out of it, then credit to you, it just sent me to sleep.
Melissa Stribling and John Standing both do a good job, but they are up against it, the script is so tedious. I honestly thought Standing was a tutor initially.
4/10.
The College Blackmail Caper
profh-129 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
A spy ring is operating at a college, blackmailing students & faculty into doing their bidding, and those who don't play along wind up "committing suicide". Steed must have known something was going on for some time, as he manages to get his singer friend Venus a job there during "rag week" to keep an eye on someone who was doing important research.
Cathy Gale once angrily asked John Steed, "WHY don't you do your OWN work?" Some time before THE MAN FROM UNCLE, Steed was regularly playing a dangerous game by putting innocent people's lives at risk. With Dr. David Keel, he had a willing partner who was on a vendetta after the murder of his fiancee. With Cathy Gale he had a very capable, independant widow who saw the good in his work and appreciated "being in on the kill". With Venus Smith... well, this was getting closer to what Solo & Ilya used to do, recruiting innocent bystanders, only in her case, when he first met her, he never bothered to tell her who he was and what was going on. THE CAD! In this story, she starts out barely having any idea what's going on, but thankfully, by midway, she's up to speed (especially after someone tries to KILL her) and eagerly helps out by lying about a non-existent letter, acting as stake-out when Steed breaks into someone's apartment, and nearly bashing someone on the head when Steed gets into a real brawl (NO stuntmen involved in this "live on tape" show, heh). She also gets to sing a few tunes, including "Yellow Bird" (a lifelong fave of mine) and "Put On A Happy Face". (She's such a sweetie.)
Among the guest cast is Frederick Farley in his only appearance as one of Steed's bosses, "One-Seven". This guys comes on as even more upper-class and snooty than One-Ten or One-Twelve, especially when he says, "You know, Steed, I disapprove of amateurs; however, that's so much water under the bridge." I was greatly amused when Steed explained he was planning to pose as someone doing literary research, and he replied, "You know, Steed, your cover usually has a large portion of wishful thinking." He reminds of the "Chief of Staff" in the Roger Boore Bond film FOR YOUR EYES ONLY. The only other thing I've ever seen him in was a DANGER MAN, and his resume was so short, I have to figure he spent most of his acting career on the stage.
Reginald Marsh is "Higby", the bar-owner who does blackmail on the side. I've only seen him in a SAINT and a RANDALL & HOPKIRK (DECEASED). Here, he reminds me a bit of Richard Leech, but a bit more low-key.
I kept staring at Melissa Stribling for the whole episode and wondering where I'd seen her before. As it turns out, she played "Mina" in the 1958 HORROR OF DRACULA (a role that, however good she was in it, I always felt she was totally miscast, but then that film's script didn't follow the book anyway). Here she's "Claire Summers", a woman who lures men with her charms and then tricks them into doing things they can be blackmailed for. She's so ROTTEN and EVIL, for a good chunk of the story I suspected she was the ring-leader! The part of her con-game where she mentioned her "mother being in the hospital" reminded me of the scene in THE DEADLY NECKLACE where Dr. Watson (Thorley Walters) out-witted such an obvious lie by telling the women who tried it on him, that's okay, HE's a doctor, he'll do the operation FOR FREE!
John Standing plays "East", a student who figures out there's a blackmail ring going on, and becomes the 2nd one Steed recruits to help him. He proves to be even smarter than he seems, especially at the climax where he's ordered to KILL Steed and instead teams up with him to nab the ring-leader red-handed. (A good thing, too, as the person Steed recruited a few scenes earlier wound up getting found out and MURDERED-- off-camera!)
Not for the first time, they were apparently running quite late with this one, and taped it only a few hours before it was broadcast! Not quite "LIVE", but, almost! Sheesh.
Writer James Mitchell did 5 AVENGERS over seasons 1, 2 & 3, and later created the series CALLAN for which he also wrote quite a few episodes.
The 2009 Region 2 DVD had EXCELLENT picture quality (except for one bit where it jumped) and only slightly-fuzzy sound.
Cathy Gale once angrily asked John Steed, "WHY don't you do your OWN work?" Some time before THE MAN FROM UNCLE, Steed was regularly playing a dangerous game by putting innocent people's lives at risk. With Dr. David Keel, he had a willing partner who was on a vendetta after the murder of his fiancee. With Cathy Gale he had a very capable, independant widow who saw the good in his work and appreciated "being in on the kill". With Venus Smith... well, this was getting closer to what Solo & Ilya used to do, recruiting innocent bystanders, only in her case, when he first met her, he never bothered to tell her who he was and what was going on. THE CAD! In this story, she starts out barely having any idea what's going on, but thankfully, by midway, she's up to speed (especially after someone tries to KILL her) and eagerly helps out by lying about a non-existent letter, acting as stake-out when Steed breaks into someone's apartment, and nearly bashing someone on the head when Steed gets into a real brawl (NO stuntmen involved in this "live on tape" show, heh). She also gets to sing a few tunes, including "Yellow Bird" (a lifelong fave of mine) and "Put On A Happy Face". (She's such a sweetie.)
Among the guest cast is Frederick Farley in his only appearance as one of Steed's bosses, "One-Seven". This guys comes on as even more upper-class and snooty than One-Ten or One-Twelve, especially when he says, "You know, Steed, I disapprove of amateurs; however, that's so much water under the bridge." I was greatly amused when Steed explained he was planning to pose as someone doing literary research, and he replied, "You know, Steed, your cover usually has a large portion of wishful thinking." He reminds of the "Chief of Staff" in the Roger Boore Bond film FOR YOUR EYES ONLY. The only other thing I've ever seen him in was a DANGER MAN, and his resume was so short, I have to figure he spent most of his acting career on the stage.
Reginald Marsh is "Higby", the bar-owner who does blackmail on the side. I've only seen him in a SAINT and a RANDALL & HOPKIRK (DECEASED). Here, he reminds me a bit of Richard Leech, but a bit more low-key.
I kept staring at Melissa Stribling for the whole episode and wondering where I'd seen her before. As it turns out, she played "Mina" in the 1958 HORROR OF DRACULA (a role that, however good she was in it, I always felt she was totally miscast, but then that film's script didn't follow the book anyway). Here she's "Claire Summers", a woman who lures men with her charms and then tricks them into doing things they can be blackmailed for. She's so ROTTEN and EVIL, for a good chunk of the story I suspected she was the ring-leader! The part of her con-game where she mentioned her "mother being in the hospital" reminded me of the scene in THE DEADLY NECKLACE where Dr. Watson (Thorley Walters) out-witted such an obvious lie by telling the women who tried it on him, that's okay, HE's a doctor, he'll do the operation FOR FREE!
John Standing plays "East", a student who figures out there's a blackmail ring going on, and becomes the 2nd one Steed recruits to help him. He proves to be even smarter than he seems, especially at the climax where he's ordered to KILL Steed and instead teams up with him to nab the ring-leader red-handed. (A good thing, too, as the person Steed recruited a few scenes earlier wound up getting found out and MURDERED-- off-camera!)
Not for the first time, they were apparently running quite late with this one, and taped it only a few hours before it was broadcast! Not quite "LIVE", but, almost! Sheesh.
Writer James Mitchell did 5 AVENGERS over seasons 1, 2 & 3, and later created the series CALLAN for which he also wrote quite a few episodes.
The 2009 Region 2 DVD had EXCELLENT picture quality (except for one bit where it jumped) and only slightly-fuzzy sound.
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