The Avengers International Fan Forum

Discuss, review and rate The Hidden Tiger, production completed January 1967.

Teleplay by Philip Levene
Directed by Sidney Hayers

My review:

http://www.theavengers.tv/forever/peel2-8vr.htm#2

Watching in the UK viewing order, this one follows "The Living Dead" and after such a plot-based episode, this is really just a series of set-pieces and quirky characters. Cheshire, Manx and Angora (all named after breeds of cats!) who run P.U.R.R.R. are each interesting in their own ways; the coldly analytical Manx nevertheless looks after the pussies well — but his explanation of the reasons for paralyzing the country by using radio-transmitters to turn cats into savage beasts is unconvincing. He reckons that bank vaults and safes will then be available to him. But won't they still be locked? Another odd bit is that after Steed and Emma escape the confines of PURRR's headquarters, Manx, terrified by a cat being in his "getaway van," crashes — Steed and Emma are there in moments, despite following on foot, and the bemused cat is unharmed in the crash (I love its docile expression — it takes a writer of Levene's caliber to build up to a scene where the villain is scared to death by the most sedate-looking domestic pet ever!).

Gabrielle Drake is scheming and beautiful at the same time — and looking very feline. Ronnie Barker (a great ironic name for someone playing a cat-lover!) is as madly loveable as in all his TV appearances, and the interplay between Steed and Emma is, as usual, brilliant. My only gripe is that the "unknown killer" scenes show the cats as attacking at the height of the human eyeline. Perhaps they were running around the walls? (I know that this was mainly for the practical reason of not showing the studio lighting gantries, but it always bugged me.) PURRR HQ has lovely sets — from Bast statues to the clever tiger-themed (alternating black and yellow) corridor with the cats-eyes peepholes!

Four bowlers for ideas, eccentrics, sets and characterization — especially those cat-descriptions from Emma and Steed (I would give only two bowlers for plot and the misleading killer scenes, but that would be missing the point). 9/10.

10/10. One of the very best episodes of season 5. The X files episode Teso dos bichos seems a little influenced by this one. The Avengers takes the notion of the killer in your living room to extremes here and it works remarkably well. The Avengers often did this, taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary. Emma's line "Pussies galore" always makes me smile! Rich.

Yes, it was such a good line they used it again in The New Avengers "Cat Amongst The Pigeons". And, I think, in one other episode of The Avengers as well...!

Frankymole wrote:Yes, it was such a good line they used it again in The New Avengers "Cat Amongst The Pigeons". And, I think, in one other episode of The Avengers as well...!

I think it was just the two times, but then they got the line about Cathy "pussyfooting" along the beach in Lobster Quadrille as well. Between that and the Fort Knox in-joke in Too Many Christmas Trees, they made the most out of Honor leaving to do Bond.

When Patrick became the Man From Uncle's boss, he should've hooked up with Lazenby's "JB" character in it ("The Fifteen Years Later Affair") and asked what he'd done with his Pussy!

Frankymole wrote:When Patrick became the Man From Uncle's boss, he should've hooked up with Lazenby's "JB" character in it ("The Fifteen Years Later Affair") and asked what he'd done with his Pussy!

Roger Moore had a great little anecdote in his autobiography about being interviewed by Jimmy Tarbuck at the London Palladium when he was still doing The Saint. He was asked if he ever went out together with Patrick Macnee, Patrick McGoohan, and Sean Connery. "Sure," he replied. "Pussy Galore?" "Well, we don't go looking for it..." So they're all gotten a lot of mileage out of it over the years.

I love cats!!!
And I love the hidden tiger.
The backgrounds are superb.
I'd love to have the same...

Purrr

Oh that is so funny Topaze. Very very cute cats and so appropriate for hidden Tiger!!

I gave 6