Episode #84 - 5-13

Flight Plan

CAST:
William Gaunt - Mike
Fiona Lewis - Diana
Imogen Hassell - Nadya
Ferdy Mayne - Landek
Jeremy Burnham - F/Lt. Wills
Tommy Duggan - Kovicek
Robert Crewdson - Col. Zaglia
Marne Maitland - Hassan
Salmaan Peer - Ahmed
Mary Jones - Nursing Sister
Donald Oliver - Policeman
Ray Lonnen - Cpl. Buller
David Spenser - Atar
Henry McGee - Reeves
John Cazabon - Dragisha

Directed by Roy Baker; Screenplay by Alfred Shaughnessy from a story by Alfred Shaughnessy & Anthony Squire

STORY:
At the London railway station the Saint watches a "nun" giving Diane Gregory an injection with a narcotic. Simon rescues her. He learns that she is visiting her brother Mike, an Air Force pilot. He soon discovers that there is an attempt to steal one of the new vertical takeoff aircraft Osprey.

OPINION: To me this always seemed like the "The Saint" take of the James Bond movie "Thunderball" (1965).

NOTES:
* William Gaunt later had a leading role in the ITC series "The Champions"
* Salmaan Peer & Imogen Hassell both appear also in Episode #111 "The People Importers"
* Imogen Hassell also appears in Episode #36 "Sophia". She also appears in the first "The Persuaders" episode "Overture"
* Salmaan Peer also appears in Episode #113/114 "Vendetta for the Saint"
* Ferdy Mayne also appears in Episode #20 "Iris", #28 "The Wonderful War" and #95 "A Double in Diamonds"
* Jeremy Burnham also appears in Episode #49 "The Imprudent Politician" and #85 "Escape Route"
* Robert Crewdson also appears in Episode #74 "The Russian Prisoner"
* Marne Maitland also appears in Episode #16 "Teresa", #41 "Lida" and #117 "Portrait of Brenda"
* Marne Maitland also appears in the James Bond movie "The Man With the Golden Gun" (1974)
* Mary Jones also appears in Episodes #53 "The Contract" and #68 "The Man Who Could Not Die"
* Ray Lonnen also appears in Episode #111 "The People Importers"
On the backlot, the back entrance is actually to the left (note the building in the background) of Mike Gregory's flat, not behind it.   They tried to disguise this with the telephone cell. (0:03)
What are they looking at? The painted screen at the back or the two false bushes in front of the window? ;-) (0:09)
A big blooper: You can clearly see the shadow of the camera as it zooms in on actress Imogen Hassell. (0:12)
The hole in the door is already there before you can see the bullet smoke (0:19)
  The same part of the backlot was used for the Ajax warehouse, London, and the inn in Merrovic. (0:22 and 0:37)
Bloody stupid: Why is the inn keeper sitting with his back to the unconscious pilot? Why isn't Zaglia bound? (0:41)

Leslie Charteris: <<Well, perhaps there is a third over-all criticism, which I always seem to be repeating: as with nearly all the scripts, except Kruse's, the dialogue is sadly mechanical and the Saint has no humour.>> (Barer, p.141)

AIRDATE:
UK: 23rd December 1966

GERMAN TITLE:
S.T. und der Senkrechtstarter

AVAILABLE ON:
* DVD (NTSC): AAE-70348 (2001)

THE SAINT
www.simontemplar.de

Last Updated: 01/20/2017