Alias le Baron

Many of the episodes look like they were filmed in a November, such is the dark moody atmosphere. In the worst episodes, the pace of some of the acting and stories might be considered plodding by today's standards? In fact the worst episodes can be narrowed down to the work of a couple of nonchalant shoddy directors doing the rounds of British TV at the time. However the editing, music and good use of early colour still give even these shows an appealing style. The best episodes were first rate at its premier (usually have good character actors) and still stand up well today. The title sequence with its beautifully cut 'in your face' visuals and punchy memorable theme tune, was a revelation in 1966. The Baron was premiered in the USA ahead of the UK, but did not make any waves and only 13 episodes were bought there.However it proved a very popular series in the UK and elsewhere.

'The Baron' series of novels was written/published between 1937 ('Meet the Baron') and 1979 ('Love for the Baron'), with a total of 47 books in the series. John Creasey also wrote the novels upon which 'Gideon's Way' was based, as well as several hundred other mainly detective novels, under a number of pseudonyms. They are all reprinted now under the authorship of John Creasey (when they ARE reprinted...)

It's curious that he's not credited here for The Baron series, as many of the character names and the basic plot are directly from the novels.

I know that my mark is nostalgia-influenced, but I really can't mark down any of the 60's ITC escapist adventure series as they were such a fun part of my childhood, watching classic shows like The Avengers, The Saint, Randall & Hopkirk Deceased, The Champions, Man In A Suitcase, Department S, The Persuaders and this.

Yes, The Baron is a minor-league Simon Templar, a globe-trotting adventurer with an unlikely cover as an antiques dealer who invariably ends up in some foreign intrigue, yes, the production values are fairly low, with studio-bound sets and stock footage of international airports dropped in to futilely attempt to convince the audience the locations are authentic but it's all shot briskly and efficiently, routinely delivering 50 minutes of easily digestible thrills and spills before the stirring theme music comes around again to signal the end (almost every ITC show and certainly the ones I mentioned above all had memorable theme tunes).

Steve Forrest, brother of Dana Andrews, lacks his sibling's personality and charisma but otherwise makes for an acceptable, well-dressed, chisel-jawed leading man while Sue Lloyd provided the glamour, parading the fashions of the day with no little humour, although she invariably is reduced to playing the damsel in distress, no Emma Peel her.

The Baron is a somewhat derivative and fairly light entertainment and probably wouldn't appeal much to anyone who doesn't, like me, remember first watching it on a black and white TV as a child in the mid-60's. But that child was me and decades later, I still can't bring myself to criticise it too much for all its derivation and lack of originality.

One of the better British formulaic series with the near mandatory American lead actor. Steve Forrest portrayed a charming very Texan antique dealer/undercover agent living in England. Forrest provided a solid presence that allowed the show to appeal to the US audience but somehow The Baron did not gather the anticipated audience. Somehow in SWAT Forrest never seemed as complete a character as he did playing Mannering. I recall envying Mannering his wealth, sophistication but most of all I envied him the real star of this show: the unique, incomparable lead *car*. Mannering drove a Jensen Interceptor. It was years later that I saw in real life this wonderful Chrysler V8 powered Aston-Martin competitor and saw that The Baron and his car were perfectly matched, much more so than The Saint (Roger Moore) and his Volvo or The Saint (Ian Ogilvey) and his Jaguar XJS. Besides, these were commonplace compared to a powerful and elegant Jensen Interceptor.

Recently, I have been watching 'The Baron' episodes on DVD. 'The Baron' is actually better than I had expected. Many of the episodes were written by the same writers who wrote for 'The Saint', starring Roger Moore. Think of 'The Baron' as 'The Saint' with Steve Forrest playing 'The Saint' who has somehow acquired an American background and accent. So it is not surprising that this series appeals to Saint fans such as myself. Steve Forrest, the brother of famous American actor Dana Andrews, is quite good in this old British television series. He has a good screen presence and looks rugged and strong, despite being middle-aged when this series was made. The only criticism that I can make is that this show has no attractive female characters. In contrast, other British TV series such as 'The Saint', 'The Avengers' and 'Dangerman' regularly featured attractive actresses from that era.