Alias le Baron

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.

I watched this series first time round and remembered it fondly, never got to see it again when it was last repeated in the '70's but am now trawling through the entire series on DVD. And it holds up well enough too filmed on the usual ITC shoestring budget, old fashioned though it must look to most now used to flashy nervous roving cgi camera techniques. I've only read one Creasey novel - can't even remember the title now, but I believe the series was based more upon the TV Saint, there certainly was a similarity. They both had great theme tunes as well!

"Diplomatic Immunity" broadcast 28.09.66: The first episode shown on UK ITV introduced us to Steve Forrest playing Captain John Mannering (not Mainwaring), and his London-centric world of antiques and cutting-edge British security issues. Over the eps plenty of gadgets cropped up for his use a la Bond, but post-digital they all look ancient enough to be made from Bakelite! Mannering is miffed when an expensive antique is stolen by an Iron Curtain (Pamaranea) state official and he decides (with UK Govt help) to get it back with no-holds barred. Sue Lloyd playing Cordelia is invaluable to him in this aim, but mainly to us as eye-candy. Nicely judged script, but along with most of the rest of the series unfortunately almost impossible to film in such a non-pc way nowadays - a lot of pre-'70's TV is in the same boat of course.

Forrest was very similar in his style to his brother Dana Andrews - chunky, chiselled and dependable, I thought the Baron suited him down to the ground and something he never bettered. Great memories of ye olde TV programme entertainment standards.

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.

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.

This show was made several years before my time, but I enjoy it immensely. I have always been a Steve Forrest fan. He was a such a hunky dreamboat, with tall, rugged handsome looks. I thought he suited the role of the charismatic playboy John Mannering to a tee. I like Sue Lloyd as an actress, but I have to say her talents were wasted as Cordelia. Her character was totally incompetent, and after a while it became tiresome to know Mannering would have to rescue her in just about every episode. I preferred his other assistant, David, who had at times also needed rescuing, but had the ability to problem solve and help Mannering out. I understand the audience wanted to see eye candy, therefore making the David character expendable and elevating Cordelia to be featured in the bulk of the 29 episodes.

I wish we could have seen more of Templeton Green, I liked the uneasy relationship he and Mannering had. Mannering would always show a reluctance in taking on Templeton's assignments. You also get to see some top notch actors guest starring in the series, such as the wonderful Peter Wyngarde, who does an excellent job playing dual roles in the episode The Legions of Ammack. I was also pleasantly surprised to see Edward Woodward guest star as a villain in Countdown. Most people remember Woodward as the vigilante in The Equalizer; a popular American series in the 1980s that took place in New York City.

I am sad The Baron had such a short expiration date, this wonderful series ended before its time.