Series 4 — Episode 15
Room Without a View

Production

Production dates: 15–29/04/1965

As always, Programme Controller Brian Tesler happily accepted Roger Marshall’s script without any rewrites, calling it good, and the episode started filming as soon as The Gravediggers finished, with Roy Baker once again directing.

In contrast to other episodes from this period, there was limited location filming done and most of it was realised in the studio. Two short sequences at the beginning, filmed near Ridge and the tag scene filmed on Silver Hill (which once again had sped up footage, raising the ire of Brian Tesler). When Rediffusion suddenly asked in August 1965 for episodes to be reduced to a 45 minute run time in return for an 8pm time slot, much to Julian Wintle’s displeasure, Tesler backed down on the sped up footage beef in an attempt to make peace with Telemen.

Regional broadcasts

TV Times listing

International broadcasts

In the Netherlands, this episode was not in the television listings as it was the stand-by programme in case the footage for the MIX concert special did not arrive at the studio in time for broadcast. As the footage was delivered too late, this episode of “De wrekers” was broadcast in the timeslot.

Episode Rating

Not funny. But it’s not meant to be — Chessman and his pawns play the Ministry for fools until the final denouément.

The Fashions

The Cars

Who’s Killing Whom?

Click a name to see the face

Continuity and trivia

1. Jeanne Roland is unbilled as Anna which is surprising, considering how in demand she was at the time for both film and television.
2. 1:34 — the initial zoom in on the hand clutching at the curtain is initially too high, and is out of focus.
3. 3:30 onwards — in all the back-projection shots, there’s a diamond shaped artifact on the right side near the top, casting a shadow, only the loop of it is visible in the shots of Mrs. Peel.
4. 6:27 — Steed reveals a personal knowledge of Nee San prison camp in Manchuria, suggesting he was once captured by the Chinese.
5. 12:56 — Romo ran from the house but it looks like Michael Chow (for who Romo is doing stunts) getting into the back of the van.
6. 18:24 — There’s an odd freeze-frame when the fake Dr. Cullen turns around — the extra must have been too quick in his movement.
7. 18:37–45 — There’s a hair caught in the camera lens at bottom left.
8. 25:33 — The lift attendant presses the button for the sixth floor, so how does Pasold end up at the fake floor six on floor seven? Is there a foot button that changes the destination?
9. 33:39 — there’s a tiny thread caught on the very edge of the bottom of the transfer plate (it can’t be on a camera lens as it remains as the shots change). It remains until 34:54 .
10. 33:55 — Chessman’s empire of hotels is far flung — He mentions overlooking the Acropolis and Repulse Bay, (Athens and Hong Kong) but he also has other hotels. The map on his wall shows London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Lisbon, Athens, Cairo, Cape Town, Karachi, Colombo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Buenos Aires, St. John’s (Newfoundland), Boston, New York, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, and Honolulu.
11. 34:20 — A member of the crew is in shot for a second, bending over to keep low and he dives under the table, trying to keep out of shot.
12. 37:05 — Steed describes the cigar offered to him as Cuban, sun dried, hand rolled — rolled against the thigh of a jeune fille — echoes of a similar description at the cigar tasting in 19: The £50,000 Breakfast.
13. 37:50 — The drama of the climax at end of Act 2, where Pasold’s body is found in the laundry hamper is diminished a bit by Peter Arne blinking.
14. 43:00 — Mrs. Wadkin’s friend George is a waiter at the hotel, was he spying on her or an innocent employee?
15. 47:15 — Steed disposes of the guard by compressing the air hose of his gas mask to deprive him of air and knock him out, much as he himself was knocked out in 5: Castle De’Ath. In both cases, surely pulling the mask aside would have stopped that working.
16. 49:04 — Terry Plummer is stunt double for an extra in this episode, the sadistic guard played by Anthony Chinn. Romo Gorrara is the stunt double for Michael Chow. Billy Westley Jr does the leaps over the table in Diana Rigg’s fight scene and Mike Stevens is doubling for Patrick Macnee in the fight with the guards.
17. 49:21 — Phillips product placement.
18. 51:02 — Sped up footage of Steed towing the rickshaw, which enraged ABC Prgramme Controller, Brian Tesler.
19. 51:02 — that’s not Macnee and Rigg in the long shot
20. Running time 52′02″