Series 3 — Episode 20
Trojan Horse
by Malcolm Hulke
Designed by Richard Harrison
Directed by Laurence Bourne
Production No 3621, VTR/ABC/3352
Production completed: January 30 1964. First transmission: February 8 1964.
Production Schedule
Episode 74
Production Number : 3621
VTR/ABC/3352 + Insert
Teddington Studio 1
Wednesday, 29th January, 1964
Camera rehearsal | 10.00–12.30 |
Lunch break | 12.30–13.30 |
Camera rehearsal | 13.30–18.00 |
Supper break | 18.00–19.00 |
Rehearse | 19.00–20.00 |
Line-Up | 20.00–20.30 |
VTR Insert | 20.30–21.00 |
Thursday, 30th January, 1964
Camera rehearsal | 10.00–13.00 |
Lunch break | 13.00–14.00 |
Camera rehearsal | 14.00–15.30 |
Tea break, line up, normal scan & make-up |
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″ excluding commercial breaks
Actual running time with bumpers: 51′46″
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 credits (normally 0′16″ with a 2″ fade) and closing credits (anywhere from 0′41″ to 1′20″, hard cut or 1″ fade or mix).
Equipment
Cameras: | 6 Pedestals. Fork Lift Truck |
---|---|
Sound: | Three Booms. Grams, FX. Practioal FX Speakers. PA System. |
Telecine: | ABC Synbol/ Avengers Opening. 35m.m. Mute. |
VTR Insert: | VTR/ABC/3352A |
- 14:28–19:50 — Scenes 57–77 — there’s a telecine insert played onto the monitors, showing horse racing (actually, steeplechasing) at racetrack and in Heuston’s office.
- 48:00–49:02 — VTR insert 3352A — between scenes 205 & 206 — interior harness room — Johnson orders ffordsham to kill Steed but when Kirby enters Steed gains the upper hand and apprehends the villains. Pantling leads Cathy in and is revealed to be the ringleader and duly arrested.
Transmission
Broadcaster | Date | Time |
---|---|---|
ATV London | 8/02/1964 | 10.05pm |
ABC Midlands | 8/02/1964 | 9.10pm |
ABC North | 8/02/1964 | 9.10pm |
Anglia Television | 8/02/1964 | 9.10pm |
Border Television | 8/02/1964 | 9.10pm |
Channel Television | 8/02/1964 | 9.10pm |
Grampian Television | 8/02/1964 | 9.10pm |
Southern Television | 8/02/1964 | 10.05pm |
Scottish Television | 8/02/1964 | 9.10pm |
Tyne Tees Television | 8/02/1964 | 9.10pm |
Ulster Television | 8/02/1964 | 9.10pm |
Westward Television | 8/02/1964 | 9.10pm |
Television Wales & West | 8/02/1964 | 9.10pm |
Teledu Cymru (WWN) | 8/02/1964 | 9.10pm |
ABN2 Sydney | 16/02/1965 | 8.00pm |
ABV2 Melbourne | - | - |
This episode was already scheduled to be broadcast, a week later, while it was being produced.
This episode was not shown in Melbourne as, finding themselves a year behind Sydney, they dropped a lot of episodes to catch up to series 4.
TV Times listing
10.5 The Avengers
starring
Patrick Macnee
Honor Blackman
in
Trojan Horse
By Malcolm Hulke
Cast
Johnson | Derek Newark |
Rt. Hom. Lucien Ffordsham |
Geoffrey Whitehead |
Kirby | James Donnelly |
George Meadows |
Arthur Pentelow |
Major Ronald Pantling |
Basil Dignam |
John Steed | Patrick Macnee |
Ann Meadows | Lucinda Curtis |
Tony Heuston | T. P. McKenna |
Lynton Smith | John Lowe |
Cathy Gale | Honor Blackman |
Tote girl | Marjorie Keys |
Story Editor Richard Bates
Producer John Bryce
Directed by
Laurence Bourne
In which Steed goes horse-racing and Cathy becomes the favourite for murder
ABC Television Network Production
Murders
Victim | Killer | Method |
---|---|---|
Kirby | Johnson | Brass knuckles (faked) |
Patrice Dubois | Kirby | ? (not shown) |
Lynton Smith | Kirby | lethal injection |
Continuity and trivia
- 2:25 — Trying to name the new filly — Tax Collector out of Silver Virgin — Major Pantling suggests ‘Silver Boy’, then ‘Shining Money’, Meadows suggests ‘Revenue Girl’ (sadly already used); Steed later suggests ‘Impossible’ (although the script originally had Steed suggest the name ‘Pay As You Learn’).
- 6:52 — Anne asks, “Do you know anything about horses, Mr. Steed?” and he replies, “Yes, I know which end is which”.
- 15:00 — Steed backs Transfer Supervisor which is left at the post, while Cathy back Scavenger which finishes second to Hold The Line, Steed derides her for watching the television in the bar instead of going out to the track, and jokingly eggs the horse on whenever she does.
- 15:45–19:05 — Steed, Cathy and the tote girl all mention “Shop Window”, as does the announcer at the track, but the race caller on the television in Heuston’s office (19:14 onwards) calls the horse “Shop Steward”.
- 18:30 — Steed says there are twelve unsolved murders of rich men and Cathy mentions Luther Streussel, the German banker.
- 20:04 — two of the bookie assistants, Peter Thompson and Bob Raymond, are in the crowd at the track as Smith is carried through on the stretcher.
- 23:48 — steed opens his thermos in the stables and pulls out a Veuve Clicquot piccolo, which he enjoys with “Alpi” caviar and “Forte” crackers.
- 24:09 — Kirby’s Parisian target, banker Patrice Dubois (major shareholder in the House de Suchet), must be rich — living at 17 avenue de la Grande Armée and working at 29 boulevarde Saint Michel. His car has the registration number 8293 MY 75; it’s too hard to definitely confirm the marque and model but it looks like a Peugeot 403.
- 31:50 — An “Alice in Wonderland” air, with Cathy and Houston perched on a huge armchair-like sofa, gives way to a parody of Peter Hammond’s directing when Laurence Bourne shoots the actors through their brandy balloons.
- The poisons covered in the talk are arsenic, sulphuric acid, cyanide, and strychnine.
- 38:49 — it’s a bit indistinct, but it looks like the photo of Steed’s car is the same one they used for Dubois around 24:15.
- 50:04 — the stablehands in the background appear to be one of the originals, Brian MacNeil (based on his jumper), plus Peter Thompson and possibly Michael Harrison.