March and Ames are having dinner at a restaurant and after March tells Ames that he has just eaten rattlesnake meat, Ames makes a hasty retreat. A woman then rushes in and sits at March's table. He recognizes her as Fleur, a famous high fashion model. She tells March that a man is following her and asks him to pretend that he knows her and to speak to her of love. "Why would I do this," he asks. "Because you're kind and I'm frightened." She had reason to be frightened because later that evening she's found dead. Ames and March go to the fashion house where Fleur worked owned by Monsieur and Madame Jeanpierre. When Madame asks March where Fleur is, he responds "Where we will all be some day-dead." That's blunt enough. March is later attacked by an American. You know he's American because he uses slang - "Quit yapping and give me the designs." And it is the theft of designs that seems to be the motive for Fleur's murder. At the end, in a nifty bit of detective work, March observes that the whole case hinges on the magical property of the human eye. While it was interesting to see Christopher Lee in the role of Monsieur Jeanpierre, he really doesn't make much of an impression except for his height. It's Karloff that makes this episode so good.
Colonel March of Scotland Yard (TV Series)
At Night All Cats Are Gray (1954)
User Reviews
Review this title5 Reviews
Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee
kevinolzak6 September 2011
Episode 5, "At Night All Cats Are Gray," is perhaps the most famous, due to the welcome and unexpected presence of Sir Christopher Lee, a future Monster in 1957's "The Curse of Frankenstein," playing opposite the screen's original 1931 Monster, Boris Karloff. Colonel March is dining in Piccadilly Circus with Inspector Ames (Ewan Roberts) when a mysterious woman (Isabel George) interrupts, hoping the Colonel will pretend to be her lover because she is being followed by a strange man and fears for her life. He instantly recognizes the girl as a French model named Fleur, working in London for the Jean-Pierre Couturier. Later that night, March is attacked by the stranger (Peter Dyneley), who demands certain clothing designs that Fleur supposedly slipped the Colonel. In the morning, Fleur is found lying dead on the floor of her apartment, wearing a different pair of shoes than she had earlier, as the investigation continues with Monsieur Jean-Pierre (Lee) and his wife (Frances Rowe) prime suspects. The Colonel solves this case by revealing a color-blind murderer, and how all cats are gray at night. Completed by December 1953, the 31 year old Christopher Lee towers over the other actors, affecting a French accent, and receiving top billing among the guest cast of five players. He would go on to co-star with Karloff, his actual London neighbor from 1964 to 1968, in 1958's "Corridors of Blood" and 1968's "The Crimson Cult."
A model murder.
Sleepin_Dragon29 November 2020
Colonel March receives a plea from a model for help, the following day she's found dead.
This is such an imaginative story, it's well thought out, fast paced, and generally satisfying to watch. What's nice about this episode, is how much Colonel March is present, he's been a bit player in the few I've watched, he's very central here.
The main reason for watching this, is for the cast, Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee, and it's not a horror, the pair are fantastic, the charisma is there in abundance.
You also get Fanny Rowe, known for Fresh Fields and After Henry, and the velvet voiced Peter Dyneley, famous I would argue as one of the voices behind Thunderbirds.
It's a very enjoyable short mystery. 8/10.
This is such an imaginative story, it's well thought out, fast paced, and generally satisfying to watch. What's nice about this episode, is how much Colonel March is present, he's been a bit player in the few I've watched, he's very central here.
The main reason for watching this, is for the cast, Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee, and it's not a horror, the pair are fantastic, the charisma is there in abundance.
You also get Fanny Rowe, known for Fresh Fields and After Henry, and the velvet voiced Peter Dyneley, famous I would argue as one of the voices behind Thunderbirds.
It's a very enjoyable short mystery. 8/10.
Watch it for Lee
Leofwine_draca17 September 2016
The fourth episode of the COLONEL MARCH TV series, AT NIGHT ALL CATS ARE GRAY is the best instalment yet. It features a brutal murder in which the victim is a French model working for a stylish fashion house. It doesn't take long for the eye-patch sporting Colonel March to investigate, and Karloff is at his best playing the warmth and witty titular character.
There's no supernatural stuff here, but there is a novel scientific method that March uses to catch the villain which is quite fun. The episode is also notable for featuring Christopher Lee in a good supporting role; he's playing a Frenchman here and has some of the suave charisma that made him such a star. Lee would, of course, re-team with Karloff in CORRIDORS OF BLOOD and CURSE OF THE CRIMSON ALTAR.
There's no supernatural stuff here, but there is a novel scientific method that March uses to catch the villain which is quite fun. The episode is also notable for featuring Christopher Lee in a good supporting role; he's playing a Frenchman here and has some of the suave charisma that made him such a star. Lee would, of course, re-team with Karloff in CORRIDORS OF BLOOD and CURSE OF THE CRIMSON ALTAR.
At Night All Cats Are Gray
Prismark1024 June 2021
Warning: Spoilers
A meeting of two horror legends. Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee.
Colonel March meets a French model who might be in some distress while dining with Inspector Ames.
She is later found dead. March is attacked by a stranger who wants some fashion designs that the model might have given him.
All roads lead to a fashion house run by designer Jean-Pierre Couturier.
A clue seems to be that the dead model's shoes were different from the type worn when she met Colonel March. It leads him to assume that the murderer was colour blind.
The episode tried a little too hard to be quirky and eccentric. What was all that about feeding Inspector Ames a rattlesnake.
It also went around the houses as March talks about eyes and vision. Maybe it was just padding.
Colonel March meets a French model who might be in some distress while dining with Inspector Ames.
She is later found dead. March is attacked by a stranger who wants some fashion designs that the model might have given him.
All roads lead to a fashion house run by designer Jean-Pierre Couturier.
A clue seems to be that the dead model's shoes were different from the type worn when she met Colonel March. It leads him to assume that the murderer was colour blind.
The episode tried a little too hard to be quirky and eccentric. What was all that about feeding Inspector Ames a rattlesnake.
It also went around the houses as March talks about eyes and vision. Maybe it was just padding.
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