The Gold Robbers
| The Gold Robbers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Crime drama |
| Directed by | Bill Bain Cyril Coke Don Leaver Lionel Harris Alan Clarke Peter Sasdy |
| Starring | Peter Vaughan Artro Morris Richard Leech Frederick Bartman Peter Copley Donald Morley Louise Pajo Wendy Gifford Nicholas Ball Johnny Shannon Maria Aitken John Bindon |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Producer | John Hawkesworth |
| Running time | 60 minutes (including commercials) |
| Production company | LWT |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 6 June – 29 August 1969 |
The Gold Robbers is a thirteen-part British crime drama series starring Peter Vaughan, Artro Morris, Richard Leech and Peter Copley; the series was produced by London Weekend Television and shown on Friday evenings between 6 June and 29 August 1969. The series was created and devised by John Hawkesworth, it was inspired by the Great Train Robbery which took place on the early hours of 8 August 1963 when £2.61 million was stolen from a Royal Mail train at a railway bridge in Ledburn, Buckinghamshire.[1][2] Former CID chief DC Supt. Alfred Butler, who worked on the investigation into the robbery, served as the series' technical advisor.[3] The series was highly succesful for LWT, repeatedly gathering audiences of around 15 million viewers, frequently overtaking the BBC in the ratings.[4] It was later sold to ten countries and nominated for a drama series award at 1969 Television Awards organised by The Society of Film and Television Arts in 1970.[5][6]
Overview
[edit]The series follows the lengthy police investigation led by Det. Chief Supt. Cradock (Vaughan), into one of the biggest and most daring robberies in history where £5½ million worth in gold bullion is stolen when an aircraft lands at West Marsh airfield in Kent. During the investigation, Cradock repeatedly encounters setbacks and succeseses as he tracks down the suspects, while he is dogged by his interfering superiors, government officials and the ruthless gang whom use money, threats and murder to safeguard themselves.
Each episode focusses on a different aspect of the robbery, and the various suspects involved. In an interview with the Grimsby Daily Telegraph in 1969, Vaughan described the character of Cradock as an ordinary man faced with the gigantic task of catching the robbers, he stated "I see him as a man obsessed with this job rather than a policeman, I’m trying to let the human factor come through all the petty irritations and so on."[7] Vaughan saw Cradock as a kind of extension of himself, a real human-being with flaws and weaknesses, whilst trying to do good.[8]
The series was generally well received by critics, William Marshall from the Daily Mirror described the first episode as "I thought the episode that introduced The Gold Robbers "(ITV) last week was a taut, gut-grabbing, immaculate piece of work that rubbed on the exposed nerve-ends of anticipation."[9] Whilst, Majorie Bilbow from The Stage stated it to be one of the best crime drama series to hit the television screens in a while, stating "it promises to be peopled with three-dimensional characters. all with lives of their own, acted by a cast demonstrably alive to the demands of a well- written script."[10]
It notably featured an extensive supporting cast of well known British actors, including the likes of Nicholas Ball, Roy Dotrice, Sally Thomsett, Joss Ackland, George Cole, Ian Hendry, Ann Lynn, Bernard Hepton, Alfred Lynch, Wanda Ventham, Jeremy Child, Christopher Benjamin, Peter Bowles and Geoffrey Whitehead.[11] A number of writers wrote for the series including former Z-Cars contributor Allan Prior, actor and writer Glyn Jones, Doctor Who story editor David Whitaker and novellist Berkley Mather.[8]
A sequel series was planned in 1970 with Vaughan reprising his role as Cradock, but it was subsequently scrapped as LWT stated to the press at the time that it would be virtually impossible to come up with a series containing Cradock that would be of the same high calibre as the original.[12]
Cast
[edit]- Peter Vaughan as Det. Chief Supt. Cradock
- Artro Morris as Det. Sgt Tommy Thomas
- Richard Leech as Richard Bolt
- Peter Copley as Asst. Commissioner Farr
- Frederick Bartman as Victor Anderson
- Donald Morley as Grierson
- Louise Pajo as Jenny Bolt
- Nicholas Ball as Terry Cradock
- Johnny Shannon as George Nechros
- Maria Aitken as Val
- John Bindon as Terry Lardner
- Sally Thomsett as Sally Hartford
- Joss Ackland as Derek Hartford
- Alethea Charlton as Fay Hartford
- George Cole as Barry Porter
- Peter Madden as Forbes Lingwood
- Jeremy Child as Jeremy Foreman
- George Innes as Dillo
- Frank Sieman as Chief Inspector
- Ronald Clarke as Nobby Clarke
- Roy Dotrice as Freddie Lumb
- Ian Hendry as Tom Goodwin
- Wanda Ventham as Dee Latter
- Bernard Hepton as Harold Oscroft
- Alfred Lynch as Joe Tysack
- Geoffrey Whitehead as Peter Conroy
- Jennifer Hilary as Stephanie Conroy
- Wendy Gifford as Jo
- Donald Hewlett as Edward Lancing
- Ann Lynn as Rosemary Lamb
- Patrick Allen as Hon. Timothy Fry
- Christopher Benjamin as Edward Meakin
- Peter Bowles as Stockbroker
List of Episodes
[edit]| No. | Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Great Bullion Robbery" | 6 June 1969 | |
|
A shipment of gold bullion worth £5.5 million is stolen, when an aircraft carrying the consignment lands at West Marsh airfield in Kent. Subsequently, Det. Chief Supt. Cradock is assigned to the case, in what is dubbed "The Crime of the Century". | |||
| 2 | "Grounded" | 13 June 1969 | |
|
While operating from his temporary headquarters at West Marsh aifield. Cradock begins his uneviable task of uncovering how the robbery was organised. | |||
| 3 | "Crack Shot" | 20 June 1969 | |
|
Facing pressure from both his superiors and the Home Office, Cradock is tasked to track down and deliver the marksman who shot at the police car that was escorting the bullion van. | |||
| 4 | "The Big Spender" | 27 June 1969 | |
|
Cradock is convinced that the voice who mimicked a police operator's call belongs to conman Barry Porter. But how can he unearth the evidence that will implicate Porter with his potential involvement in the robbery. | |||
| 5 | "Dog Eat Dog" | 4 July 1969 | |
|
It seems someone has paid £30,000 in order to a release a convict to help pull of the job. Can Cradock help figure out the mystery? | |||
| 6 | "Rough Trade" | 11 July 1969 | |
|
Cradock discovers that the getaway driver Peter Conroy has escaped to Austria to evade arrest. But he has left his wife Jennifer behind, and Cradock uses her to find answers. | |||
| 7 | "An Oddly Honest Man" | 18 July 1969 | |
|
Tom Goodwin, the pilot who flew the plane that contained the stolen bullion is prepared to spill the beans, but can Cradock trust him? | |||
| 8 | "The Arrangement" | 25 July 1969 | |
|
A meeting is arranged with Cradock, whom risks wading deeper into the depths of the criminal underworld for the price of getting on the robbers trail. | |||
| 9 | "Account Rendered" | 1 August 1969 | |
|
Cradock reaches a major turning point in his investigation when Harry Oscroft, an accountant and paymaster to the gold robbers, appeals for help after his family are threatened at home. | |||
| 10 | "The Cover Plan" | 8 August 1969 | |
|
Cradock wants to know why an informer has implicated Hon. Timothy Fry DSO for smuggling a girl out of the country. | |||
| 11 | "The Midas Touch" | 15 August 1969 | |
|
'Mr Big' is arrested in Paris, and Cradock has found the brains behind the robbery. Yet he knows there's someone bigger still at large, so he sets out to find him. | |||
| 12 | "The Man with Two Faces" | 22 August 1969 | |
|
Cradock gets closer to heart of the robbery. Yet he finds himself under pressure from powerful men who are pulling the strings behind his superiors. | |||
| 13 | "The Kill" | 29 August 1969 | |
|
In spite of warnings, Cradock refuses to give up bid to capture and arrest the mastermind behind the bullion robbery. Yet as he closes in on his prey, he finds himself in dangerous territory. | |||
Availability
[edit]It was one of the last major ITV series produced in monochrome, before they commenced colour production later that same year,[13] which limited the series' repeat potential. Aside from a late evening run in 1970,[14] it was not repeated on television again for over 50 years until it was reshown on Talking Pictures TV, commencing on 4 September 2023.[15]
The complete series was released on DVD by Network on 1 July 2013.[16]
References
[edit]- ^ "The Gold Robbers". Cult TV Lounge.
- ^ Marshall, William (June 7, 1969). "The thriller with the golden touch". The Daily Mirror. p. 13.
- ^ "Gold Robbers, The". Nostalgia Central.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Bell, Jack (August 29, 1969). "Auntie gives way to Mr. Big". Daily Mirror. p. 16.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Two LWT series for Canada". The Stage. July 2, 1970. p. 11.
- ^ "Nominations for 1969 awards". The Stage. February 19, 1970. p. 12.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Cradock gets on the ball". Grimsby Daily Telegraph. June 20, 1969. p. 11.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Marcus, Laurence (December 19, 2018). "The Gold Robbers (1969)". Television Heaven.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Marshall, William (June 14, 1969). "All That Glitters". The Daily Mirror. p. 13.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Bilbow, Marjorie (June 12, 1969). "A tedious beginning but... could be winner for LWT". The Stage. p. 19.
- ^ Lewis, Steve (April 13, 2023). "A British TV Series Review by David Vineyard: THE GOLD ROBBERS (1969)". Mystery File.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "LWT scrap Robbers sequel and try something new". The Stage. July 30, 1970. p. 11.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Bowden-Smith, Kif (May 24, 2004). "Colour My Life". Transdiffusion.
- ^ "Saturday TV and Radio". Reading Evening Post. June 27, 1970. p. 9.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Grandle, Jane (August 7, 2023). "The Gold Robbers coming to Talking Pictures TV". Old Time Review.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "The Gold Robbers: The Complete Series". Browns Books.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)