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mariocki · 5 years

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Special Branch: Miss International (2.4, Thames, 1970)

"Moxon, just a minute! I wanna get this absolutely clear. There has been an attempt, in our opinion, to murder Miss Gemal; there has been an attempt on the life of Chief Inspector Jordan; a so far unidentified imposter has moved into the same room as the girl we are charged with protecting-"

"And?"

"And involved in all of this is this man Devereux, whose file shows he's capable of anything!"

"That is certainly accurate."

"And you are telling us that we are to take no positive action?"

"Precisely."

"Right! I just wanted to get that absolutely straight!"

#special branch #Special branch rewatch #Miss International #classic tv #1970 #derren nesbitt #Fulton mackay #Morris Perry #Jasmina hilton #yutte stensgaard #Murray hayne #Barbara keogh #Alfred Bell #Rona bower #Marc Boyle #Richard mcneff #Karen Young #Roy bottomley #Tom brennand #Jim Goddard #I have only vague memories of this series from watching the first time round. Certain episodes did get lodged in my mind tho #The earlier Exit a Diplomat from series 1 was one of them: I remembered it being very good and it was. I also remembered this one but not #I'm sad to say as a good episode. Rewatching it... Well it's not quite as bad as I remember. But it isn't great. Beauty contests seem to #Have been another regular plot idea in old telly (Randall and Hopkirk did it as did The Saint and iirc the sweeney may have done one?) but #It does almost certainly mean an episode of leering from the male heroes and needless chauvinism all round. Well this is no different. I #Can see the appeal of the international beauty contest plot bringing people from all over the world inc potentially from behind the iron #Curtain; but the treatment here is just a bit seedy and unpleasant. Keith Washington seems to have disappeared (perhaps upset at the #Gratuitous sexism in the force?) and I suspect his lines were simply handed over wholesale to one shot assistant Bell.#Some decent setpiece scenes but undoubtedly filler episode and with too many cringing moments of 'phwoar look at her' to be truly enjoyable #Oh but Inman gets so annoyed at Moxon that he kicks the door closed after him (quite badly too). So worth watching if only for that moment

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