I finally shelled out the money for the
long-awaited video of "Intercrime"—camera, cameraman and all.
This is one of the best Cathy Gale
episodes. Even the black-and-white is compelling, and it is right out of
the "noir" films. Perhaps color would have taken something from
it.
The entire idea of a white Anglo-Saxon
mafia is intriguing, albeit done before. Intercrime itself should have
come back in future episodes, and not merely in that cut-and-paste job of
the Tara King years (ugh!). Some formidable villains could have emerged
from Intercrime, the way THRUSH thugs repeatedly did in The Man From
U.N.C.L.E.
"F" and Company all turn in
strong performances. Strongest of all, however, is Hilda Stern—tee totaling
(like another German), ruthless (the way she strangles the prison matron
and then grabs eagerly for the gun in the test to determine the real
Hilda), and a powerful personality. One could easily picture her in a
future story going mano a mano with Mrs. Peel.
I will agree that the plot and concept of
substituting an agent to pose as Hilda is a familiar one, and the viewer
knew early on Cathy would be exposed. It would have been more exciting to
see her, once revealed as a spy, to try to take on the criminals rather
than submit to being bound and gagged without a fight. But the fights were
surprisingly well-choreographed: Steed's battles are among the more
thrilling of this or the Peel era, and the last showdown between Hilda and
Cathy is worthy of many of the Peel fights.
I would give this one an "A" and
only wish a sequel could have been made. Perhaps a film reuniting Steed
and Mrs. Gale might deal with an Intercrime revival.
Intercrime
by Frankymole, Bristol
The Avenged?: Robbers who kill each other. Taking self-regulation a little too far?
Diabolical Masterminds?: A crime syndicate with a labour relations problem — running out of men as they keep
shooting their employees for acting on their own behalf. No wonder they have to draft in more from the overseas
branches! They also don't know what any of the other branches' staff look like (recognizing them only by the rings
they wear). Anyone see an exploitable flaw there?
The Avengers?: Cathy is asked to shoot a man in cold blood to
prove she's the assassin Hilda Stern. (She might as well have tried firing a shot straight past the man to see if
the gun was loaded, even if she intended to turn it on her accusers.)
Umbrella, Charm and a Bowler Hat?: "Now,
that's what I call a very attractive young lady." Steed describes himself to Pamela Johnson as her "guardian angel."
Angela Browne in her first (but luckily not her last) Avengers role, probably one of the most beautiful women
in the world. Her back-combed hair is tragic, though.
Bizarre?: A glorious lingering mid-shot of an ABC video
camera and its operator swinging past the open door to Felder's office. Cathy's escape from prison is effected by a
uniform smuggled in the pillowcase, and keys in the cocoa. Later, Hilda Stern also escapes, merely by strangling a
wardress in her cell. What, did she just stroll out?
The Avengers Dossier (Cornell, Day and Topping)
inexplicably states that this episode ends with Steed in jail for being a suspected member of Intercrime. In fact,
it ends in Steed's flat with him and Mrs Gale wondering what to do with the large batch of rifles he's purchased "in
an expansive moment" from Intercrime's front company. Cornell & Co also proclaim "uniformed policeman alert!
uniformed policeman alert!" when there are none, only prison wardresses and Lobb in a fake motorcycle guard uniform.
Nice idea to have an "anti-Interpol", and Cathy being confronted by the assassin she impersonates. It's a rather
straightforward idea, but really only worthy of a 30-minute police series episode. The most elaborate set is the
prison corridor, seen for about five seconds! Two bowlers.
Intercrime
by Matthew Moore, a.k.a. Sixofone
Plot: Poor. We never received a full explanation of what Intercrime
was. I know it was something about international thieves, but I'm still lost.
Humour: OK. A few good moments, but nothing memorable.
Direction: Good. I liked the sweeping shot around Ms. Johnson.
Acting: Good. Julia Arnall did well, and it was nice to see Kenneth J. Warren again. Honor gave an
excellent performance as Cathy as Hilda, with her German accent.
Tag: Poor. We could have used this waste of time to explain what Intercrime was.
Miscellaneous: I heard two mysterious pops in this episode; I first though it was champagne being opened,
but apparently it was just another side affect of the low production values. I loved the part where Arnall forgot to
close the door and we got a great peek into the secret world that lies behind The Avengers. There was a lot
of dreary and unnecessary dialogue in this episode, namely in the Intercrime offices.
Overall Rating: 4/10
Intercrime
by Simon D
By sheer chance, "Intercrime" was the first Cathy Gale episode I saw. I was
well aware that compared to the Emma Peel and Tara King episodes I'd seen previously, Cathy Gale
episodes were much less technically proficient. Even so, it came as an unpleasant shock to me.
There was none of The Avengers feel that I was familiar with. The first half of the
episode proceeded, as Emma Peel might have put it, "at the pace of an infirm, gravely
debilitated, very old snail." The second half was better, but not enough for me to actually
enjoy it. The episode takes an inordinately long time to set up the situation, almost completely
lacks humour and has deficiencies in acting and production caused by the ridiculously tight
schedule and budget they were working with. Actually, my favourite bit was the incredible
blooper where the camera is clearly visible behind the open door.
If this was supposed to be one of the better Cathy Gale episodes, it made me wonder if I
would like them at all. Fortunately, the next episode I saw was the one I should have started
with, "Mr Teddy Bear."