Harry Rule, the Contessa di Contini and Paul Buchet lead an elite international detective organisation dedicated to the protection of the innocent.
Group Three/ITC
Produced: 1971-72
First UK broadcast: Friday 7th July 1972 – 8.00pm
Granada Television
26 episodes x 25 minutes
Producers: Gerry Anderson and Reg Hill
Director of Photography: Brendan J. Stafford BSC and Frank Watts BSC
Art Director: Bob Bell
Script Editor: Tony Barwick
Music Composed and Directed by John Cameron
Theme Music and Lyrics by Mitch Murray and Peter Callender
| Episodes List | |
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| 1 |
2000 ft To Die Freddie Reiwald is the last of a five man research team working on the molecular structure of metals to create synthetic gold. The other four members of the team have died in mysterious circumstances and Reiwald could be next. Harry joins Reiwald and his friend Ransome on a dangerous film stunt – a daredevil parachute fall – while on the ground, Paul and the Contessa race to save Ransome’s kidnapped fiancÈe, whose captors have threatened to kill her unless Ransome allows Reiwald to die! Written by Terence Feeley Directed by John Hough First UK Airdates:
Repeat Broadcasts (ITV): Anglia
ATV Midlands / Central
Channel
Grampian
Granada
HTV
London Weekend
Southern / TVS
Westward / TSW
Yorkshire
Edited by David Lane On Location:
Additional Cast:
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| 2 |
Brother Hood Harry is offered an assignment by the reclusive industrial magnate Bela Karoleon: to engineer his brother Sandor’s escape from a prison on a Mediterranean island where he has been jailed on a trumped-up charge. The jail-break goes according to plan, but now Sandor’s life is in danger: his brother wants him dead because he is one of the few men to know that behind the respectable facade of the Karoleon Corporation, Bela is running the world’s biggest illegal drugs operation. Written by John Goldsmith Directed by Don Chaffey First UK Airdates:
Repeat Broadcasts (ITV): Anglia
ATV Midlands / Central
Border
Channel
Grampian
Granada
HTV
London Weekend
Westward / TSW
Yorkshire
Edited by Mike Campbell On Location:
Additional Cast:
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| 3 |
Disappearing Trick Brad Huron, son of multi-millionaire Carl Huron, bets his companion Malloy that he can disappear without trace and approaches the Protectors to help him to do so. Harry rejects the assignment, but Caroline – stung by a recent argument over the professionalism of women – decides to accept the apparently harmless commission and goes on the run with Brad. Then Harry is contacted by Carl Huron, who reveals that his son is a murderous manic-depressive paranoiac, and Caroline is in deadly danger… Written by Brian Clemens Directed by Jeremy Summers Original UK Airdate: Friday 28th July 1972 – 8.00pm (Granada) Edited by Mike Campbell On Location:
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| 4 |
Your Witness The Protectors are hired by George Dixon to guard his ward, Christie, the key witness to a murder at Dixon’s Paris nightclub. After an attempt on her life by a gunman at Le Bourget Airport, Christie is hidden at Paul’s flat while Harry and Caroline investigate the identity of the gunman and his employer. Then Christie disappears and Caroline learns that she is linked to a bullion robbery organised by the principle members of three Paris gangs, one of whom is now dead, while a second is charged with his murder. But who is the third man? Written by Donald James Directed by Jeremy Summers Original UK Airdate: Friday 8th December 1972 – 7.50pm (Granada) Edited by John S. Smith On Location:
Additional Cast:
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| 5 |
The Quick Brown Fox The Protectors are hired by the West German government to discover who is operating a Nazi pension fund for five ex-Nazis wanted for war crimes. Suspecting millionaire Hans Keller, Caroline intercepts a letter sent by him to a poste restante address in Geneva, but it only features the wrong date – August 14th – and a typewritten line: “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” Realising that this is a coded message that holds the key to the funds held in a Swiss account, Harry and Paul fly to Geneva, but Caroline is captured by Keller… Written by Donald James Directed by Don Chaffey Original UK Airdate: Friday 18th August 1972 – 8.00pm (Granada) Edited by Mike Campbell On Location:
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| 6 |
The Numbers Game Hired to ensure the return home of a wayward daughter, Harry and Caroline discover that the girl has been employed to pass a series of numbers, coded messages detailing car licence numbers. Trailing a car belonging to eminent heart surgeon Lawrence Savage, they learn that the vehicle is being used in an elaborate heroin smuggling operation. Tracking down the brains behind the racket takes Harry back to Spain and a grim confrontation with Mario Giocovetti, the head of the organisation… Written by Ralph Smart Directed by Don Chaffey Original UK Airdate: Friday 29th September 1972 – 8.00pm (Granada) Edited by Mike Campbell On Location:
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| 7 |
Triple Cross Paul is kidnapped by jewel thief Charlie and held captive at a disused farmyard. Charlie threatens to kill Paul by detonating a time bomb by radio transmitter unless Harry and Caroline help in the theft of priceless jewels, which have been entrusted to Harry by the owner during a transfer at London Airport. With no alternative, Harry switches the packet containing the gems but later he and Caroline find Charlie dead with the jewels missing – and the clock is still ticking on the bomb that threatens Paul’s life! Written by Lew Davidson Directed by John Hough Original UK Airdate: Friday 22nd September 1972 – 7.30pm (Granada) Edited by David Lane On Location:
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| 8 |
A Kind Of Wild Justice Two attempts on Harry’s life are made by Kate Lindeman, the daughter of a racketeer whom Harry was responsible for imprisoning. Kate believes that Harry framed her father who has since died behind bars, but Harry persuades her to give him twelve hours to convince her that Lindeman was indeed a gangster, introducing her to the men at the heart of Lindeman’s gang. But when Caroline and Paul learn that Kate’s attempts to kill Harry were bogus, Harry realises that he has been duped… Written by Donald James Directed by Jeremy Summers Original UK Airdate: Friday 8th September 1972 – 7.30pm (Granada) Edited by Mike Campbell On Location:
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| 9 |
One And One Makes One The Protectors are hired to track down Bennett, a missing Canadian agent who holds valuable information about a new American-Canadian sky project. Harry, Caroline and Paul trace the injured Bennett to a private clinic near Paris where he is being held by Shkoder, a Soviet agent. The trio engineer a fake road accident to gain access to the clinic, but is the man they rescue really Bennett or is he Kosneff, a foreign agent surgically altered to resemble Bennett and take his place? Written by Jesse and Pat Lasky Directed by Don Chaffey Original UK Airdate: Friday 3rd November 1972 – 7.30pm (Granada) Edited by John S. Smith On Location:
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| 10 |
See No Evil Harry and Caroline are assigned to keep tabs on a Senator who is investigating the activities of Il Gufo – ‘The Owl’ – for a Senate report on organised crime in Rome. The Senator is abducted, but turns up again in a cafÈ on the Via Veneto – he has been drugged and in his pocket are a packet of incriminating photographs which could ruin him. The only witness to the Senator’s abduction is a blind man and the search for him takes Caroline to the tawdry Piazza Costaguti and a terrifying encounter with Il Gufo… Written by Donald Jonson Directed by Jeremy Summers Original UK Airdate: Friday 21st July 1972 – 8.00pm (Granada) Edited by David Lane On Location:
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| 11 |
Balance Of Terror The Protectors are approached by K.G.B. agent Krassinkov to help them find defecting Russian scientist Professor Schelpin, a top bio-chemist who has disappeared with a phial of germ warfare toxin which could wipe out the population of London. To their surprise, Schelpin turns up at a conference where he confirms his intentions to alert the world to the horrors of germ warfare, but he disappears again before he can be stopped. Realising that Schelpin plans to unleash the toxin on the anniversary of the destruction of Hiroshima, Harry, Caroline and Paul have only nine hours to avert disaster… Written by John Goldsmith Directed by Don Chaffey Original UK Airdate: Friday 15th September 1972 – 7.30pm (Granada) Edited by David Lane On Location:
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| 12 |
King Con Caroline’s friend Irena Gleskova has been swindled out of a 12th century ivory icon by suave confidence trickster Alan Sutherland, so Caroline sets out to avenge her, buying the icon back at an auction to present herself to Sutherland as his next target. With Harry in the guise of a rich American with money to burn, the Protectors coax Sutherland to put up a loan of £85,000 with a diamond ring, valued at £200,000 as security, as part of an elaborate confidence trick of their own. Written by Tony Barwick Directed by Jeremy Summers Original UK Airdate: Friday 25th August 1972 – 8.00pm (Granada) Edited by John S. Smith On Location:
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| 13 |
The Big Hit An attempt on Paul’s life follows the deaths of Protectors in New York and Tokyo, and Caroline realises that someone is out to destroy the Protectors Organisation. She and Paul attempt to warn Harry, but they are too late – he has already been kidnapped. The assassin’s trail leads Caroline and Paul to a swimwear factory owned by Jason Howard who has been given the contract to wipe out the Protectors. There, they learn that Harry has been incarcerated in a crate suspended from a crane – unless Harry agrees to name all the other members of the organisation, he will be crushed to death… Written by Donald James Directed by Roy Ward Baker Original UK Airdate: Friday 27th October 1972 – 7.30pm (Granada) Edited by David Lane On Location:
Additional Cast:
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| 14 |
Thinkback Harry recovers consciousness in hospital and is told that he has been involved in a head-on collision with another car. The police arrive and Harry is interviewed by Inspector Wilson, revealing that the Protectors have been engaged to guard Frank Gilling, a vital witness due to testify before an international commission. Wilson urges him to reveal Gilling’s location so that he can ensure his protection, but Harry comes to realise that he and Caroline are the victims of an elaborate plot to erase Gilling… Written by Brian Clemens Directed by Cyril Frankel Original UK Airdate: Friday 1st September 1972 – 7.30pm (Granada) Edited by Mike Campbell On Location:
Additional Cast:
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| 15 |
The First Circle Tormented by his experiences while in command of a U.S. air base in Vietnam, Colonel John Hunter has suffered a mental breakdown, shooting a security guard at a disused airfield in the belief that he is back in Vietnam. Pursued by the police, Hunter goes to ground in the airfield control tower and his wife calls in Harry Rule to help him. Harry finds himself at odds with the trigger-happy Inspector Slade, and attempts to talk Hunter back to sanity by presenting himself as one of Hunter’s Vietnam colleagues. But the encounter tips Hunter over the edge… Written by Tony Barwick Directed by Don Chaffey Original UK Airdate: Wednesday 3rd January 1973 – 11.30pm (Grampian) Edited by Mike Campbell Additional Cast:
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| 16 |
Chase Harry and Caroline celebrate Harry’s birthday with a holiday at Caroline’s family lodge in Northern Europe. While Caroline is shopping at a village store, Harry is surprised by the arrival of an injured man whom he recognises as the noted South American diplomat Douglas Perston. Perston has been kidnapped and held hostage by his political opponents, but has managed to escape his captors who are hot on his trail. When Harry tries to run for help, he is pursued by the ruthless Gardner and his henchmen… Written by Brian Clemens Directed by Harry Booth Original UK Airdate: Friday 1st December 1972 – 7.50pm (Granada) Edited by David Lane On Location:
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| 17 |
...With A Little Help From My Friends The Protectors have been assigned to guard a visiting Eastern President during his stay in London when Harry’s estranged wife Laura arrives at his mews apartment in a distressed state. Their son Johnny has been kidnapped by the President’s rival, Kahan, who wants Harry to help him in his political ambitions by killing the President. Harry has no choice but to go through with Kahan’s plans and shoots the President in cold blood – only to be gunned down by Caroline! Written by Sylvia Anderson Directed by Jeremy Summers Original UK Airdate: Friday 24th November 1972 – 7.50pm (Granada) Edited by John S. Smith On Location:
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| 18 |
For The Rest Of Your Natural... Caroline is kidnapped by Colin Grant, an escaped murderer who was convicted partly on Caroline’s evidence. He stages a mock trial for Caroline with himself as prosecuting counsel and a grotesque jury of cut-out cardboard figures. While Paul and Suki desperately search for her, Caroline is terrorised by the psychopathic Grant as he outlines his case against her and she suddenly realises that he is reliving the tragic death of his mother that unhinged his mind.. Written by Tony Barwick Directed by John Hough Original UK Airdate: Friday 6th October 1972 – 8.00pm (Granada) Edited by David Lane On Location:
Additional Cast:
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| 19 |
The Bodyguards Harry and Caroline are hired by Inspector Newman to guard the body of Ralph Corder, in the hope of drawing his associates in a series of bank robberies out into the open. One of the men, Robard, offers Harry £5,000 if he can confirm that Corder is dead, while a second, Mason, breaks into Corder’s house to find out for himself. Mason is photographed by a hidden camera, enabling Caroline to identify him and trail him to a disused crypt while Harry and Paul track down Robard. Both men want their share of the hidden proceeds from the robberies and will stop at nothing to claim it… Written by Dennis Spooner Directed by Don Chaffey Original UK Airdate: Friday 13th October 1973 – 8.00pm (Granada) Edited by Mike Campbell On Location:
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| 20 |
Talkdown Harry is kidnapped by Colin Foster, a mentally unbalanced criminal who seeks to exact his own macabre form of vengeance on Harry for the death of his brother. Taken up in a light aircraft, Harry is left at the controls when Foster jumps out with the only parachute, intending to disappear and frame Harry for his own murder. But Foster’s plan has backfired in one vital respect: Harry doesn’t know how to pilot the ‘plane and unless Paul can talk him down, he won’t live to be charged with Foster’s murder… Written by Jesse and Pat Lasky Directed by Jeremy Summers Original UK Airdate: Friday 10th November 1972 – 7.30pm (Granada) Edited by John S. Smith On Location:
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| 21 |
A Case For The Right Harry is asked to deliver a dispatch case to Prince Carpiano’s villa in Rome. En route, two attempts are made to wrest the case from him, but when Harry and Caroline discover that the case contains a bomb they realise that Harry has been used as a decoy while another courier carries the real consignment. Investigating further, Caroline manages to acquire tickets to a fancy dress party being hosted by the Prince at an ancestral tomb outside Rome, where she and Harry discover that the courier is delivering funding for the Prince’s neo-Fascist revolutionary movement. Written by Jesse and Pat Lasky Directed by Michael Linday-Hogg Original UK Airdate: Wednesday 17th January 1973 – 11.30pm (Grampian) Edited by John S. Smith On Location:
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| 22 |
A Matter Of Life And Death Investigating the death in North Africa of an English hippy, Peter Hendricks, Harry stumbles on a smuggling racket when he is mistaken by Hendricks’ employer, Goran, to be his contact for a shipment to Malta. With little to go on after Goran’s death, Harry is joined by Caroline and Paul and tracks the operation back to James Leroy Mallory, an Australian plying an illegal trade in blood plasma. Masquerading as a buyer, Caroline offers to outbid the purchaser of Mallory’s latest consignment but Mallory is alerted to her deception… Written by Donald James Directed by Don Chaffey Original UK Airdate: Friday 20th October 1972 – 8.00pm (Granada) Edited by John S. Smith On Location:
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| 23 |
It Could Be Practically Anywhere On The Island In Malta on a routine assignment, Harry becomes entangled in the theft of Linda McCall’s Muffin. The poodle has been stolen by Felix Costa and his girlfriend Madeline, who intend to use the little dog in a plot to smuggle microfilm out of the country. Too late, they discover that the microfilm will not be arriving for several days and the pair must keep Muffin fed and quiet until then, which proves to be difficult. Unfortunately, when the microfilm finally arrives, it falls into Muffin’s dog food and he eats it… Written by Tony Barwick Directed by Robert Vaughn Original UK Airdate: Friday 15th December 1972 – 7.50pm (Granada) Edited by Mike Campbell On Location:
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| 24 |
Vocal Temporarily blinded by gun fire, Paul is the only eye-witness able to identify John Azon and Gregg as the men behind a drug-running racket after the Protectors’ operation to entrap the men in a car-park goes horribly wrong. To ensure that they are able to cover their tracks, Azon and Gregg hire Vickers, an extraordinary mimic, to impersonate Harry and learn the identity of the other person who was in the car-park with Paul, who might also be able to identify them. Completely fooled by Vickers, Paul unwittingly reveals that it was Caroline… Written by Brian Clemens Directed by Cyril Frankel Original UK Airdate: Friday 17th November 1972 – 7.50pm (Granada) Edited by Mike Campbell On Location:
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| 25 |
It Was All Over In Leipzig The Protectors agree to assist with investigations into a plot to overthrow the government of a Mediterranean island. Harry, Caroline and Paul are joined by Jim Palmer, another member of the Protectors organisation, to whom Caroline was once romantically attached. Caroline goes along with Palmer’s suspicions that businessman Adam Markos is the man behind the plot and evidence mounts against him when arms are discovered during raids on his nightclubs. Harry, however, pursues his own investigation and learns the identity of the true culprit… Written by Donald James Directed by Don Chaffey Original UK Airdate: Friday 11th August 1972 – 8.00pm (Granada) Edited by David Lane On Location:
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| 26 |
Ceremony For The Dead The Protectors are engaged by Madame Rue, the wife of a foreign President, to safeguard her husband when he arrives in the Mediterranean for medical treatment. With a double of the President and Caroline masquerading as Madame Rue, Harry arranges an elaborate deception at the airport to decoy the President’s enemies, enabling the real President to be smuggled safely from a chartered yacht. But the plan misfires when the President’s ambulance is ambushed and the abductors escape with him to sea… Written by Donald James Directed by Jeremy Summers First UK Airdates:
Repeat Broadcasts (ITV): Anglia
ATV Midlands / Central
Border
Channel
Granada
HTV
London Weekend
Westward / TSW
Yorkshire
Edited by Mike Campbell On Location:
Additional Cast:
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| Cast List | |
|---|---|
| Harry Rule | Robert Vaughn |
| Contessa Caroline di Contini | Nyree Dawn Porter |
| Paul Buchet | Tony Anholt |
| Chino | Anthony Chinn |
| Suki | Yasuko Nagazumi |