Don Leaver Movies

This refreshingly realistic British cop show starred David Jason as Detective Inspector William George "Jack" Frost of Denton, whose seeming indifference to orthodox police procedure, his carelessness in handling the paperwork necessary to his profession, and his ofttimes overbearing arrogance was but a smokescreen for his keen sense of observation and his dedication to his job. Bruce Alexander co-starred as Frost's uptight boss, Superintendent Norman Mullett, who, though constantly vexed by Frost's flippant attitude -- not to mention his profanely colorful vocabulary -- could not deny that Frost always got results, even while rubbing the higher-ups the wrong way. Others in Frost's orbit knew that the detective was at heart an old softie, with humanity and compassion oozing from every orifice. Among Frost's colleagues were WPC (and later DC) Hazel Wallace (Caroline Harker), DS George Toolan (John Lyons), and Sgt. Brady (James McKenna). Based on a series of novels by Ronald D. Wingfield, A Touch of Frost debuted over ITV1 on December 6, 1992. Turning out anywhere from three to six 120-minute episodes per season, the series remained in production throughout the first decade of the 21st century. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After several years of making films to please only himself, French director Jean-Luc Godard once more invites the audience to the party with The Detective. Not that there's anything so blase as a linear plot or appealing characters, but at least some of Godard's isolated vignettes are accessible this time around. Set in the Hotel Concorde at St. Lazare, the film is set in motion when miserably married Nathalie Baye and Claude Brasseur attempt to collect a debt from mob-plagued boxing manager Johnny Hallyday. Meanwhile, hotel detective Jean-Pierre Leaud tries to solve an old murder case. These two gossamer plot strands are used to tie together Godard's scattershot views on modern life, with emphasis on the voyeuristic potential of the recent video-camera boom. The director dashed off The Detective to raise money for a film he truly cared about, the controversial Hail Mary. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Appointment with a Killer began life as a British TV movie, then took up residence in the US as part of ABC's Wide World Mystery anthology. As with most videotaped thrillers of this ilk, the cast is headed by a well-known American actor, in this case Joanna Pettet. The plot concerns a murder that remains unsolved for five years. Ms. Pettet may well be the next victim unless she can determine the killer's identity post-haste. Tony Anholt and Freddie Jones costar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As indicated by its title, this obscure British miniseries focused on the romantic travails of Napoleon Bonaparte (Ian Holm). Among the women in "the Little Corporal's" life were his wife Josephine (Billie Whitelaw) and his mistresses Desiree Clary (Karen Dotrice) and Marie Walewska (Catherine Schell). The nine hour-long episodes of Napoleon and Love were originally telecast by Thames Television in 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally telecast in England on March 5, 1966, this was one of the first Avengers episodes to show up on home video (albeit usually in bad, washed-out prints). Inheriting a country house from an uncle she never knew she had, Emma shows up at her new lodgings, only to find out that she has been lured into a trap. The instigator of this outrage is an old enemy of our heroine, an electronics genius with a gift for deadly inventions. As Emma eludes one elaborate death trap after another, Steed races to the rescue, though he may not arrive in time to prevent the poor girl from going off her trolley. A typically gimmick-laden Brian Clemens concoction, "The House That Jack Built" made its American network TV bow on May 16, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Another classic "Emma Peel" installment, this episode was first telecast in England on December 4, 1965. A series of mysterious deaths in the upper circles of International Finance have caused a great deal of panic among investors. Hoping to locate the source of all the trouble, Steed and Emma go undercover, with Steed posing as a prominent financier. Meanwhile, Emma faces death at the hands of a strange little man with an obsession for clocks. Written by Roger Marshall, "Dial a Deadly Number" was seen in the U.S. on July 24, 1966. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Assigned to investigate the disappearance of five fellow agents, Steed ends up being accused of their murders. Alas, the only person able to prove his innocence has completely lost his memory. Acting on her own volition, Cathy tries to get to the truth herself and learns a few unpleasant facts about her "trusted" colleagues. Written by Martin Woodhouse, "The Wringer" was originally telecast in England on January 18, 1964; it made its American TV bow on March 26, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"The Decapod" is the professional name of a wrestling champion who the Avengers suspect of being an assassin. When the secretary of a Balkan ambassador is murdered, Steed's assistant Venus Smith (Julie Stevens) takes the dead woman's place. Trailing the killers, Venus ends up at a professional wrestling match, while Steed does some grappling of his own to fend off the real assassin. Written by Eric Paice, this episode was originally telecast October 13, 1962; its American debut was delayed until January 29, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Giving up her career after her stand-in is murdered, alcoholic film star Carla Berotti (Patricia English) takes the first ship to Canada. Here she is blackmailed into acting as a courier for her husband, a double agent. It so happens that Carla's personal physician is Dr. Martin King (Jon Rollason) -- who, of course, is a close associate of John Steed. Apprised of the situation, Steed books passage on the ship in hopes of rounding up the villains once and for all. Written by Lester Powell, "Mission to Montreal" first aired in England on October 27, 1962, and was first shown in America on January 31, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While investigating a series of mysterious fires, Steed's assistant Carol takes time off for a hairdressing appointment. When she is nearly killed by an exploding hair drier, Carol deduces that the owners of the beauty salon are the brains behind an arson ring. Steed and Keel close in on the villains, only to risk immolation themselves. Written by Peter Ling and Shelaigh Ward, "Ashes of Roses" was originally telecast live on March 4, 1961; the following week, the series switched to videotape. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ian Hendry made his final appearance as Dr. David Keel in this episode, which originally aired on in the December 30, 1961. Steed and Keel go after unscrupulous businessman Lemuel Potts (John Bailey), who has a habit of crushing those less powerful than he. The latest victim is an elderly packager who was cheated out of a shipment of bananas. In true Avengers fashion, the good guys beat the villain at his own game -- several times over. First telecast December 23, 1961 (though it was videotaped several months earlier), "A Change of Bait" was written by Lewis Davidson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The quintessential "escapist" British action series, the weekly, hour-long The Avengers debuted January 7, 1961, as an outgrowth of Police Surgeon, another series produced by the U.K.'s Associated British Corporation (later known as ITV). Although Police Surgeon was not a hit, its star, Ian Hendry, scored a personal success in the leading role of Dr. David Keel. The decision was made to rework Police Surgeon, changing it from a traditional action-adventure program to an espionage drama. This was accomplished via a rather gruesome plot twist: David Keel's wife was murdered by a vicious drug ring, compelling the protagonist to join forces with professional secret agent John Steed (Patrick Macnee) to bring the criminals to justice and avenge his wife's death -- hence the new title, The Avengers. As the "new" series' first season (originally telecast live, then videotaped) rolled onward, it was clear that the viewing public was responding more positively to the character of John Steed than to David Keel. Although well versed in deadly weaponry and the manly art of self-defense, Steed was the "perfect" Englishman: polite, soft-spoken, wryly humorous, and seldom seen without his bowler hat and umbrella. Gradually, David Keel was written out of the series and other actors were tried out in the role of Steed's partner, including Ingrid Hafner as Carol Wilson.

During The Avengers' second season, Steed was provided with two alternating female partners, both "talented amateurs" who worked as spies only on a part-time basis: Venus Smith (Julie Stevens), a nightclub singer, and Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), a widowed anthropologist with a talent for martial arts and a charming predilection for wearing form-fitting leather outfits. Also, Jon Rollason made a handful of appearances as Dr. Martin King, a character designed to replace the departed Ian Hendry. As it turned out, only Cathy Gale truly "clicked" with the viewers, and as a result she became Steed's permanent partner. The implicit kinkiness projected by the leather-clad Mrs. Gale, coupled with the relaxed, double-entendre badinage between the two protagonists, not only suggested that Steed and Cathy enjoyed something rather more than a professional relationship, but also moved the series away from its relatively serious and realistic beginnings and pushed it toward a more humorous, "campy" direction.

Once it became obvious that The Avengers was even more popular as a larger-than-life satire of the espionage genre than as a "straight" action series, the writers began adding elements of science fiction and the supernatural into the proceedings. Although The Avengers had gained an international reputation by the time the series ended its third season, the series had not yet been shown in the United States. However, the "spy craze" engendered by such series as The Man From U.N.C.L.E. prompted America's ABC network to begin telecasting The Avengers on March 28, 1966, by which time the series had entered its fourth season and Honor Blackman had left the show. Blackman's replacement was Diana Rigg in the Cathy Gale-like role of Mrs. Emma Peel, who like her predecessor was a spy only in her off-hours, specialized in martial arts, and evinced a fondness for leather clothing and tight pantsuits. A bit more aloof and standoffish than Cathy Gale, Mrs. Peel was nonetheless just as adroit with a clever quip or ironic comment -- and like Cathy, she was completely unfazed by danger, reacting to the many perilous situations in which she was placed with cool, calm, and utterly British reserve.

Having already switched from videotape to film in its fourth season, The Avengers switched from black-and-white to color during season five, at the behest of its American distributors. Although the added cost of color would ultimately result in a pronounced lowering of production values, the fifth and sixth seasons proved to be the most popular in The Avengers' history -- not to mention the most outrageous in terms of plotlines and over-the-top villainy. The beginning of season seven marked the departure of Diana Rigg (it was explained that Mrs. Peel's long-lost husband had been located, compelling her to retire from active duty), and also several shakeups within the series' production staff. The format was revamped, eliminating most of the series' campiness and returning to more standard action-adventure fare. At the same time, it was decided that Steed's new female partner, greenhorn spy-school graduate Tara King (Linda Thorson), would be less self-reliant and more vulnerable than her predecessors. Finally, Patrick Newell was added to the cast as "Mother," a corpulent, wheelchair-bound gent who, as Steed and Tara's immediate superior, popped up in the unlikeliest places and issued orders in the most imperious and annoying manner possible. Although most dyed-in-the-wool Avengers fans disliked the many changes made in the series, its final season yielded more episodes (32 in all) and generated more international revenue than in any previous year.

Canceled by Britain's ITV on September 14, 1969, and by the U.S.'s ABC one day later, The Avengers was revived in 1976 as The New Avengers (later retitled The Avengers Forever). Patrick Macnee was back as John Steed, with Joanna Lumley and Gareth Hunt as his new secret-agent associates Purdey and Gareth. During the next decade, several of the old Avengers episodes starring Honor Blackman (originally videotaped, but available only in kinescope form) were broadcast in America for the first time; and in 1998, Uma Thurman and Ralph Fiennes starred in a theatrical-movie "remake" of The Avengers, which also featured Patrick Macnee in a voice-over cameo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Treating a girl who has ostensibly attempted to jump into the Thames, Dr. Keel discovers that the girl is not the person who was reported to have jumped. Hoping to determine the girl's true identity, Keel and Carol Wilson follow the trail of clues to an East European circus. Figuring largely in the proceedings is one Zibbo the Clown (Kenneth J. Warren), whose jolly face belies his sinister intentions. One of the few Avengers episodes not to feature Patrick Macnee as John Steed, "Girl on the Trapeze" was written by Dennis Spooner and originally aired live on February 11, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide