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  • title card: white all caps text reading 'CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE' superimposed on a slightly crumpled photo of Steed and a revolver lying on a desk
  • Mr. James enjoys another laugh
  • Elizabeth spins around on the wheel during the knife-throwing act, dressed in her tiny shorts
  • Arturo and Carlo - disguised as Leggo - in their clown makeup, wave at Cathy
  • Rickie, worried about the turn of events, hugs Carlo
  • Cathy is annoyed when Steed makes light of her concern for his safety

Series 2 - Episode 23
Conspiracy Of Silence

Teleplay by Roger Marshall
Directed by Peter Hammond

Production Schedule

Episode 49
Production Number : 3255 (sic) - should be 3522
VTR/ABC/2451
Teddington Studio 1

Thursday 28th February 1963

Camera rehearsal 09.00-12.30
Lunch break 12.30-13.30
Camera rehearsal 13.30-18.00
Supper break 18.00-19.00
Camera rehearsal 19.00-21.00

Friday 1st March 1963

Camera rehearsal 10.00-12.30
Lunch break 12.30-13.30
Camera rehearsal 13.30-15.30
Tea break, Line up,
Normal scan, Makeup		 15.30-16.15
Dress rehearsal 16.15-17.30
Notes 17.30-18.00
Line up 18.00-18.30
VTR 18.30-19.30

Running time

Expected: 51'25" + 2 commercial breaks
Actual running time with bumpers: 51'58"

The bumpers between the acts are generally 10 seconds from fade in to the "End of Act" bumper to the end of audio before the commercial, a 10 second still without audio, then cut to the next act bumper. This would play with the theme for around 10 seconds. Accordingly, with the episodes being in 3 acts, the running time of the action is approximately a minute less than listed above, minus the opening and closing credits (normally 0'16", with a 2" fade, and anywhere from 0'41" to 1'20", hard cut or 1" fade or mix, respectively).

Transmission

London 2nd March 1963
Sydney 9th March 1964
Melbourne 8th October 1964

Equipment

Cameras: 5 Pedestals - one to be on rostrume (sic).
Telecine: ABC symbol, 35mm dubbed sound sequence, caption scanner and slides.

Dubbed sound sequence is after the opening titles "Conspiracy of Silence", Steed walking at the park and being shot at by Carlo. (2:50-5:15)

Murders

Victim Killer Method
Terry Carlo revolver
Click a name to see the face

Transport

Marque/type Plate
none

Minutiæ

  1. 15:16, 16:16 - Honor Blackman, and pretty much everyone else on the set, can't keep their eyes off Elizabeth's tight little black shorts - and the even tighter little buttocks that are barely contained by them - whenever she walks past. By 23:14, she's started taking photographs of it.
  2. 19:00 - The professor reveals that a lion tamer uses a chair not simply to keep the lion at a distance but also that the lion doesn't realise the man and chair are distinct so when he swipes at the chair, expecting to wound the man, and nothing happens, he gives up.
  3. 20:00 - the cameraman can't work out how to pan past Cathy to show the departing midget, and we have a shot with half her head out of shot.
  4. 32:15 - Cathy starts coughing at the Professor's cigar. (scripted?)
  5. 38:07 - the director switches to a mid shot of Cathy looking at Rant, but it's out of focus for the first second.
  6. 39:34 (38:24) - Macnee bursts out laughing when Honor says, completely deadpan, she took tattoos instead of needlework at school.
  7. 51:03 (49:57) - you can hear the wrangler whispering the tiger's name, "Cheshire", as he tries to coax a growl for the closing scene.
Times are from the re-mastered 2009 Optimum Releasing DVD set, any times in brackets are from the previously released DVD sets which had frames with interference or banding deleted, resulting in shorter running times.

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