Talking Pictures TV are showing the surviving black and white episodes, and we're now up to series 2 in 1969. Michael Goodliffe has replaced Ronald Radd as Hunter, but the rest of the main cast are as before.
Callan and Lonely break into a posh house and take obviously valuable items. However the burglary is simply a ruse to allow Callan to turn up as the insurance assessor in order to interview the lady of the house Mrs Rule. She is a Pole formerly married to scientist Brezhevski. She thinks he is dead, but he is in fact developing a rocket fuel to power a delivery vehicle for a new Russian 100 megaton warhead. The Brits want him and they are aware that he has been trying to contact his wife since she was released from Dachau. Callan's job is to try to encourage/coerce Mrs Rule to contact her husband. Displaying a surprising callousness, he reminds her she is committing bigamy and that a trial would probably give the already stressed woman a nervous breakdown. He forces her to copy a letter and, when her present husband remonstrates with him, Callan punches him in the stomach. Unfortunately the KGB get wind if the operation and later hold Dr and Mrs Rule hostage. They are rescued by Callan who has no hesitation in shooting dead one of the captors, leaving him sprawled across a table. The letter has done the the trick and Callan drags Mrs Rule to a remote airfield in order to identify Brezhevski. Things don't work out of course, and as he credits roll Callan suddenly shows a little compassion in trying to comfort the sobbing woman.
The print quality of this episode is noticeably better than in series one and, as ever, the black and white photography adds a required grittiness to the story. There was also a welcome appearance by 60s regular eastern european Vladek Sheybal as Dicer an embittered ex-pat Pole . His sharp features never fail to add an air of menace to his characters. These episodes seem a little quaint nowadays, with Russian agents obvious in leather coats and with thick accents but they are, nonetheless, a refreshing counterpoint to the
contemporary antics of Bond and The Man From Uncle.
2 Reviews
The Little Bits and Pieces of Love
Prismark1013 October 2020
This is starts of with a little burglary by Callan and Lonely.
To me it is another character piece on Callan. Hunter just knows which buttons to push. Hunter gives Callan just enough information for the reason for the burglary knowing that Callan will want to put the rest of the jigsaw together.
The house that was burgled belongs to Dr Rule, An academic and former rower. The target is Mrs Rule, a Polish emigre who once spent time in Dachau.
Her first husband is thought to be dead. In fact he is a well known scientist now working for the Russians in their nuclear program.
The British want him and Mrs Rule is going to be used to lure her first husband out into the open. Soon the KGB get wind of what is being planned.
There is no nonsense Callan at display here. He is rough with the Rules, yet angry at Hunter that there is a good chance that Mrs Rule could be left broken.
Another episode with a bittersweet ending. Spycraft is a messy job.
To me it is another character piece on Callan. Hunter just knows which buttons to push. Hunter gives Callan just enough information for the reason for the burglary knowing that Callan will want to put the rest of the jigsaw together.
The house that was burgled belongs to Dr Rule, An academic and former rower. The target is Mrs Rule, a Polish emigre who once spent time in Dachau.
Her first husband is thought to be dead. In fact he is a well known scientist now working for the Russians in their nuclear program.
The British want him and Mrs Rule is going to be used to lure her first husband out into the open. Soon the KGB get wind of what is being planned.
There is no nonsense Callan at display here. He is rough with the Rules, yet angry at Hunter that there is a good chance that Mrs Rule could be left broken.
Another episode with a bittersweet ending. Spycraft is a messy job.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
