Saturday 11 February 2012

The Persuaders - Episode Four - Angie, Angie (1971)


The French Riviera is the setting for the fourth episode of the classic ITC series, The Persuaders. Danny Wilde meets up with a friend from way back and learns, too late, that the gaiety of a film festival is a mask for murder. Kyle Sandor (John Alderson) has come to the Cannes Film Festival to enjoy himself, somebody else has come to kill him, but who?.....This is what Judge Fulton (Laurence Naismith) wants Brett Sinclair 
(Roger Moore) and Danny Wilde (Tony Curtis) to find out!
Sandor, ex-boss of a big union in the United States intends to testify at a Congressional Investigation into criminals taking over the Unions. The Hoods intend to see that he never makes the stand. Only Brett's speed saves Sandor from a bullet fired through the French windows at the casino where Sndor is playing the tables with his right hand man Ben (Lionel Murton) and two guards. Brett chases the gun-man into the grounds, but he gets away!
Brett has a lead - the girl, Marissa (Kirsten Lindholm) who had caught his eye as she opened the window for the mystery gunman and set up the shot for him. When he sees her again, she is with Angie (Larry Storch). Angie is Danny's boyhood pal from the slums of New York. He has turned up in Cannes, but is evasive about what he is doing there. Danny refuses to believe a suggestion that Angie could be the hit man for the crooks and sets out to prove to Brett that he is making a mistake. Angie is in trouble. He is warned that he must miss the Union boss next time, and it is Ben, Sandor's trusted Lieutenant who is giving him his orders.
That night, Sandor is to attend a special film screening and he ensures that his old friend Danny will not be there by giving him a drugged drink, and efforts to remove Brett from the scene are made by his being sent off on a wild goose chase and attacked. Brett escapes, however, and races to the cinema in time to save Kyle Sandor for a second time. In the fight that follows, Angie escapes but returns to his hotel to bid farewell to his old pal, the half conscious Danny. Danny, now knowing the truth, strains to clear his drugged senses and gives chase, following Angie to a remote mountain spot where, just like the games they played as kids, they stalk each other. This time their guns are real.
But it's more than Danny can bring himself to do, when the chance presents itself for him to kill Angie. The from the shadows a new voice breaks the night and Danny pivots to see Ben, machine pistol at his hip and aimed in their direction. He is about to fire when a rock, thrown from behind, hits his hand. It's Brett, who has forced Marissa to tell him where Angie has gone.
The advantage, though, still lies with Ben, until Danny takes a gamble on Brett's lucky number at roulette.

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