Persuaders, The. ITC 1971

This series famously sold to the American market, or so the story goes, by Lew Grade, before either of the series stars had even signed to make it, concerned the adventures of self made millionaire, and international playboy, Daniel Wilde (Tony Curtis), and Lord Bret Sinclair (Roger Moore). A man born in to the upper classes, and money of the British aristocracy.

These two rival playboys are tricked and then blackmailed into becoming a team, by retired lawyer, Judge Fulton (Laurence Naismith). The judge then uses them as his own private justice team, to seek out those lawbreakers, who for one reason or another, have managed to slip through the net of justice.

One of the other alleged, preproduction problems with the series, was that of billing, as apparently both Roger Moore and Tony Curtis each had it written into their contracts, that they were to receive top billing. A problem that allegedly was solved by two versions of the credits being produced, one with Moore’s name first and the other with Curtis’s first.

The accent in this series was clearly on fun, both actors were plainly making no attempt to play anything but themselves, tongues were very firmly set in cheek, and the series on the whole is highly enjoyable, be it way too few episodes being made. The series only surviving for 24 episodes, having failed in the American market where it was being shown opposite Mission Impossible.

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