The Baron

Infobox television
show_name = The Baron
alternative_name = None


caption = British DVD release
format = Crime Drama
runtime = 60 min.
creator = John Creasey (source)
Monty Berman
Robert S. Baker [ [http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/baron.htm Television Haven's overview of "The Baron"] ]
starring = Steve Forrest
Sue Lloyd
Colin Gordon
Paul Ferris
story_editor = Terry Nation
producer = Monty Berman
supervising_producer=Johnny Goodman
executive_producer = Robert S. Baker
opentheme = Edwin Astley
country = UK
network = ATV UK
ABC US
first_aired = September 28 1966 UK
last_aired = April 19 1967 UK
num_episodes = 30
prod_co_

prod_co = ITC Entertainment
imdb_id = 0059966
tv_com_id = 4011

"The Baron" was a British television series, made in 1965/66 based on the books by John Creasey, written under the pseudonym Anthony Morton, and produced by ITC Entertainment. It was the first ITC show without marionettes to be produced entirely in colour. (Previous ITC series "Stingray" and "Thunderbirds" had been made earlier in colour, while "The Adventures of Sir Lancelot" in 1956 had a number of its episodes shot in Technicolor.)

The show starred American Steve Forrest as John Mannering, an antiques dealer and undercover agent working in an informal capacity for the head of the fictional British Diplomatic Intelligence.

Production

Like other ITC shows, "The Baron" shared a lot of its production crew with the other productions of the time ("Danger Man", "The Saint" etc.), including guest cast members Peter Wyngarde and Bernard Lee, and directors Roy Ward Baker and Robert Asher. The lion's share of the scripts were by Dennis Spooner and Dalek creator Terry Nation. A few episodes were written by 'Tony O'Grady', none other than "The Avengers" writer-producer Brian Clemens under a pseudonym.

The character of Mannering was like Simon Templar, a member of the jet set, whose glamorous lifestyle was typified by the (at the time) still-exclusive air travel to exotic locations. However filming never left the UK; indeed was filmed chiefly in and around Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. Locations used included Haberdashers' Aske's School, St. Albans and Ivinghoe Beacon. These featured prominently in several other ITC series of the same era. The backlot at Elstree in particular was extensively used, being transformed alternately into Mannering's antiques shop, a Mexican town, a Parisian nightclub, an East European police station and many others besides.

As with other ITC series, the American market was vital, and several episodes were overdubbed (e.g. 'petrol' becoming 'gas', 'whisky' becoming 'scotch') to ensure it was fit for US audiences. Unfortunately despite a promising start it did not do well enough on the US network and was syndicated midway through its run. This effectively ensured no second series would be made even though it was well received in the UK.

The series was released by Network Video on Region 2 and by Umbrella Video (Australia) on Region 0 DVD. Commentaries were recorded by Sue Lloyd, Johnny Goodman and Cyril Frankel amongst others.

Cast

*Steve Forrest....John Mannering AKA "The Baron"
*Sue Lloyd....Cordelia Winfield
*Colin Gordon....John Alexander Templeton-Green
*Paul Ferris....David Marlowe

Production Credits

*Producer - Monty Berman
*Script Supervision - Terry Nation
*Production Supervisor - Johnny Goodman
*Music - Edwin Astley

Episodes

In UK broadcast order. Column A = production order; Column B = US broadcast order. '--' indicates that the episode was not networked in the US.

Trivia

*In Creasey's original books, Mannering was British and was married. In transforming him into an unmarried Texan the producers decided that 'The Baron' would be named after the cattle ranch once run by his grandfather. In the books he had formerly been a jewel-thief.
*Paul Ferris was originally cast as Mannering's assistant David Marlowe. However after pressure from the US network Marlowe was dropped in favour of the more glamorous Cordelia who had appeared in the first episode.
*The Baron's car was a silver Jensen CV-8 Mk II with the registration 'BAR 1'. Unlike the Volvo driven by The Saint, the exclusivity of the car meant the series did not generate the same sales boost as "The Saint" had done for Volvo. Cordelia drove a considerably less upmarket Daf 33.
*The episode "Something For A Rainy Day" featured a clip of the now-famous white Jaguar plummeting over a cliff. It was apparently filmed for this episode but was deemed so expensive the clip went on to be used in many episodes and series later, effectively becoming an in-joke. Whenever someone got in a white Jaguar it inevitably ended in doom!
*The episode "Portrait of Louisa" was a reworking by Terry Nation of his earlier script for an episode of "The Saint" entitled "Lida".

References

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