The Baron (1966–1967) User Reviews (16)

Duke of hazard

[Lejink · 7/10 · 7 March 2013]

I know that my mark is nostalgia-influenced, but I really can't mark down any of the 60's ITC escapist adventure series as they were such a fun part of my childhood, watching classic shows like The Avengers, The Saint, Randall & Hopkirk Deceased, The Champions, Man In A Suitcase, Department S, The Persuaders and this.

Yes, The Baron is a minor-league Simon Templar, a globe-trotting adventurer with an unlikely cover as an antiques dealer who invariably ends up in some foreign intrigue, yes, the production values are fairly low, with studio-bound sets and stock footage of international airports dropped in to futilely attempt to convince the audience the locations are authentic but it's all shot briskly and efficiently, routinely delivering 50 minutes of easily digestible thrills and spills before the stirring theme music comes around again to signal the end (almost every ITC show and certainly the ones I mentioned above all had memorable theme tunes).

Steve Forrest, brother of Dana Andrews, lacks his sibling's personality and charisma but otherwise makes for an acceptable, well-dressed, chisel-jawed leading man while Sue Lloyd provided the glamour, parading the fashions of the day with no little humour, although she invariably is reduced to playing the damsel in distress, no Emma Peel her.

The Baron is a somewhat derivative and fairly light entertainment and probably wouldn't appeal much to anyone who doesn't, like me, remember first watching it on a black and white TV as a child in the mid-60's. But that child was me and decades later, I still can't bring myself to criticise it too much for all its derivation and lack of originality.

Wonderful series that should have had a longer lifespan

[jazinegrrrl · 6/10 · 8 April 2007]

This show was made several years before my time, but I enjoy it immensely. I have always been a Steve Forrest fan. He was a such a hunky dreamboat, with tall, rugged handsome looks. I thought he suited the role of the charismatic playboy John Mannering to a tee. I like Sue Lloyd as an actress, but I have to say her talents were wasted as Cordelia. Her character was totally incompetent, and after a while it became tiresome to know Mannering would have to rescue her in just about every episode. I preferred his other assistant, David, who had at times also needed rescuing, but had the ability to problem solve and help Mannering out. I understand the audience wanted to see eye candy, therefore making the David character expendable and elevating Cordelia to be featured in the bulk of the 29 episodes.

I wish we could have seen more of Templeton Green, I liked the uneasy relationship he and Mannering had. Mannering would always show a reluctance in taking on Templeton's assignments. You also get to see some top notch actors guest starring in the series, such as the wonderful Peter Wyngarde, who does an excellent job playing dual roles in the episode The Legions of Ammack. I was also pleasantly surprised to see Edward Woodward guest star as a villain in Countdown. Most people remember Woodward as the vigilante in The Equalizer; a popular American series in the 1980s that took place in New York City.

I am sad The Baron had such a short expiration date, this wonderful series ended before its time.

Largely forgotten ITCer

[jimpayne1967 · 7/10 · 26 November 2016]

I like the old ITC action series of the 60s and very early 70s.

I am old enough to remember the later shows such as the Persuaders and Jason King from when they were first broadcast and can remember when I was 6 or 7 being allowed to stay up to watch Danger Man, The Prisoner and The Champions. By the mid to late 70s when colour TV became commonplace these old shows were re-broadcast and I became familiar with all of them. They were quick moving, had great punch ups and were suffused with then contemporary anxieties about the Cold War, hard drugs and the length of women's skirts. Most of the shows re-ran again - I think on the BBC- in the mid 90s and then in the middle of the noughties some turned up on ITV 4. There was one which did not ever seem to turn up again and that show was the Baron.

I only caught up with the show in recent times when I caught a few episodes on You Tube. Most of the episodes I saw were enjoyable enough - even the Rome set one with Peter Arne as a Mafia Capo which gets a low rating here was a perfectly decent way to spend 50 minutes.

The problem with The Baron is though that it is just a bit, well, unremarkable. The stories are fine but are less crisp than Danger Man or Man in a Suitcase or even Department S. It is nowhere near as ludicrous as Randall & Hopkirk or the Champions or as downright awful as Jason King but the lack of gimmicks or bad moustaches works against it's reputation. The theme music written by Edwin Astley is clever but not as memorable as the same composer's themes for the Saint or Department S. The title character is played by Dana Andrews' brother Steve Forrest and he's fine but he lacks the panache of Roger Moore's Templar even if he is a better actor.

The premise is not a bad one - a Texan exiled called John Mannering lives in London where he runs a high class antique business and his business takes him round the world (and even to Scotland!) and in the early episodes he does work for British Intelligence with whom he enjoys an ambivalent relationship. These early episodes are pretty good as they usually feature Colin Gordon as the Baron's Intelligence handler. But from episode 9 onward almost until the end the connection with espionage is ignored and many of the episodes are pretty much interchangeable with the then contemporaneous The Saint.

The early episodes feature an actor called Paul Ferris who plays Mannering's PA David Marlowe. The shows backers in the States apparently did not like Ferris/Marlowe and he is pretty much dropped from episode 8 onward to be replaced by Sue Lloyd's character Cordelia who is transformed from being a cog in the British intelligence machine (as presented in a couple of early episodes) to being Mannering's female PA. Lloyd was fairly hot property at that time after her performance in the classic The Ipcress File and she was a decent actress. She also looks great but that is pretty much all she does as there is not one episode where she could not have been replaced by any one of the numerous other talented, beautiful English actresses of the era. There seems no great chemistry between Mannering and his female PA - certainly less than there is between the Baron and David Marlowe- nor does she seem to be a romantic interest as Mannering seems to be still playing the field. In short in most of her appearances Lloyd is wasted.

Forrest is fine though. Although he is, unlike Templar, always on the side of the Angels the character is street smart and convincingly tough with an almost noirish edge to him - unlike all the ITC heroes except Drake and McGill I get the impression Mannering is a man who exists away from his adventures - it's a pity we do not see more of his hinterland. And he drives a great car- the glorious Jensen CV8 that was one of my own favourites as wee boy.

6 out of 10 is maybe a wee bit low - 6 2/3s seems about right. Not a classic show but better than its obscurity suggests it is

Bland and uninspiring ITC show.

[alexanderdavies-99382 · 6/10 · 19 May 2018]

ITC produced far superior shows in comparison with the above. "The Baron" doesn't impress me on the whole. The sets are almost non-descript, most of the stories are poorly written (apart from a few that are reasonable) and Steve Forrest makes for a thoroughly dull leading actor. He is bland and wooden, he displays precious little enthusiasm from one episode to the next. Another problem with this show, is the time when production was shut down for a while. This achieved utter confusion when production had been resumed because of the sudden change in the regular cast. Talented character actor Colin Gordon made a handful of appearances but he gets written out altogether. I consider that to be a sizeable loss to the series as Colin Gordon had a good character to play. Sue Lloyd is irritating as the female regular, I never liked her. Episodes with Peter Wyngarde, Mike Pratt and Patricia Haines have some good highlights in all fairness. It's a pity the others couldn't have been entertaining. The plots tend to drag along and there is a definite lack of creativity. I only recommend this in short bursts. Otherwise, you might be disappointed

Alias The Baron

[ShadeGrenade · 10/10 · 4 September 2006]

I.T.C. made 'The Baron' as a follow-up to 'The Saint' series starring Roger Moore. Terry Nation, Dennis Spooner and Brian Clemens ignored John Creasey's books and invented wholly original plots. Some such as 'Storm Warning/The Island' had a strong 'U.N.C.L.E./Avengers' flavour. The casting of Steve Forrest as 'John Mannering' worked because there were no previous screen incarnations to judge him by. As per the books, Mannering owned an antiques shop in London, but was now a part-time agent for British Intelligence, headed by John Templeton-Greene ( Colin Gordon ), hence the scope of the plots ran from crime to espionage to mystery. The presence of luscious Sue Lloyd ( as 'Cordelia' ) further distanced the show from the Moore series. While 'The Baron' failed to replicate the success of 'The Saint' in the U.S.A., it remains an enormously entertaining show and the only screen incarnation of the character to date. It also has one of Edwin Astley's best theme tunes!

'The Baron' is quite good

[sundar-2 · 7/10 · 30 June 2013]

Recently, I have been watching 'The Baron' episodes on DVD. 'The Baron' is actually better than I had expected. Many of the episodes were written by the same writers who wrote for 'The Saint', starring Roger Moore. Think of 'The Baron' as 'The Saint' with Steve Forrest playing 'The Saint' who has somehow acquired an American background and accent. So it is not surprising that this series appeals to Saint fans such as myself. Steve Forrest, the brother of famous American actor Dana Andrews, is quite good in this old British television series. He has a good screen presence and looks rugged and strong, despite being middle-aged when this series was made. The only criticism that I can make is that this show has no attractive female characters. In contrast, other British TV series such as 'The Saint', 'The Avengers' and 'Dangerman' regularly featured attractive actresses from that era.

Fun show with a classic square jawed hero and gorgeous assistant

[jameselliot-1 · 8/10 · 10 April 2021]

I have the Network DVD. The print quality is mediocre. The color skews to a dull yellow/green. Sound mix: The audio of the dialogue is low while the music is too loud so I'm constantly adjusting the volume. Technically, it's a disappointment but the series is enjoyable even if there is too much hitting people over the head with a cosh. This is such a tired plot point by lazy writers to this day. The American executives were right about giving Forrest a female assistant. Sue Lloyd was perfect casting. She talks about the show in a DVD extra but this was a major dissapointment. She never discusses Cordelia's relationship with The Baron or her character's place in TV heroine history. Her character was believable, not a superwoman. She would become fatigued escaping with The Baron from villains or make errors in judgement. However the Network DVD of The Champions is beautiful, with vibrant, rich colors. The worst episode is Countdown with Edward Woodward playing a posh villain. The plot was okay but action was stupid such as Mannering punching out the baddie but not taking his pistol away so naturally the criminal wakes up and starts shooting at him.

THE BARON IS ACE

[duncanbrown-76733 · 10/10 · 9 November 2021]

This is one of the best action/adventure television series of the 1960's. I have got the DVD box set. At the moment being January 2024, I watching this television series for a second time on DVD. I first watched this series in its complete form on DVD in January 2020. Back then I watched the whole box set within six days.

The plots used in the episodes are good. They well written and the writers have created some good characters. One of the them being The Baron's assistant Cordelia Winfield.

Each episode is well directed and well acted.

It is good to have a television series of the 1960's to be made in colour, instead of black and white. I think it was one of the most glamorous television programmes ever made.

The producer was Monty Berman, who also produced The Saint. He created The Champions, Department S, Jason King and The Adventurer.

The Baron was based on a series of books written by John Creasey. Thanks to the repeats on ITV in the mid 1980's, and with the encouragement of my grandmother Dora, I became a dedicated reader of Mr Creasey's crime novels.

I would recommend this television series, and read the novels by John Creasey.

Ripoff of The Saint.

[perwilvil · 4/10 · 29 July 2007]

Boy is this show appalling, and this is unusual for ITC classics. Take a minor league American star like Steve Forrest to appeal to American audiences (supposedly), and set him up as a wealthy adventurer a la Simon Templar. It might have worked if the stories were any good, but they really weren't, and the production values were extremely cheap. The Saint had cheap production values, but this could easily be overlooked with Roger Moore's charisma and interesting stories. Danger Man/Secret Agent had comparatively high production values with some nice location/second unit work, and was probably done for similar money. If you're going to watch an ITC show, try The Saint, Secret Agent, or The Protectors.

But see for yourself. Anyone want to buy a half used DVD set of The Baron?

Based on John Creasey novels

[cyclonev · 9 July 2003]

'The Baron' series of novels was written/published between 1937 ('Meet the Baron') and 1979 ('Love for the Baron'), with a total of 47 books in the series. John Creasey also wrote the novels upon which 'Gideon's Way' was based, as well as several hundred other mainly detective novels, under a number of pseudonyms. They are all reprinted now under the authorship of John Creasey (when they ARE reprinted...)

It's curious that he's not credited here for The Baron series, as many of the character names and the basic plot are directly from the novels.

I love the story, casting, production EXCEPT for the awful sound track.

[anngutwein · 2/10 · 1 December 2022]

The story is great. The sound track is lousy. No, it isn't just that this is an older production. It is broadcasted louder than the dialog. It is strident. It does NOT fit with the action.

The loudness and poor sound quality are wearing. It is impossible to binge The Baron the way I would like. The sound track is so poor that it impinges on the story.

The casting is okay. The actors do a good job. When watching, it is obvious that this is an old production but it very much worth watching. I wish I could turn off the "music" and just have the dialog broadcasting.

THE SOUND IS AWFUL! Yes, I yelled that but not audibly. The sound quality is so bad that I find it impossible to watch The Baron as much as I would like.

A very enjoyable artifact from dimmest antiquity

[Spondonman · 7 January 2006]

I watched this series first time round and remembered it fondly, never got to see it again when it was last repeated in the '70's but am now trawling through the entire series on DVD. And it holds up well enough too filmed on the usual ITC shoestring budget, old fashioned though it must look to most now used to flashy nervous roving cgi camera techniques. I've only read one Creasey novel - can't even remember the title now, but I believe the series was based more upon the TV Saint, there certainly was a similarity. They both had great theme tunes as well!

"Diplomatic Immunity" broadcast 28.09.66: The first episode shown on UK ITV introduced us to Steve Forrest playing Captain John Mannering (not Mainwaring), and his London-centric world of antiques and cutting-edge British security issues. Over the eps plenty of gadgets cropped up for his use a la Bond, but post-digital they all look ancient enough to be made from Bakelite! Mannering is miffed when an expensive antique is stolen by an Iron Curtain (Pamaranea) state official and he decides (with UK Govt help) to get it back with no-holds barred. Sue Lloyd playing Cordelia is invaluable to him in this aim, but mainly to us as eye-candy. Nicely judged script, but along with most of the rest of the series unfortunately almost impossible to film in such a non-pc way nowadays - a lot of pre-'70's TV is in the same boat of course.

Forrest was very similar in his style to his brother Dana Andrews - chunky, chiselled and dependable, I thought the Baron suited him down to the ground and something he never bettered. Great memories of ye olde TV programme entertainment standards.

But the real star was.....

[skoyles · 8 April 2005]

One of the better British formulaic series with the near mandatory American lead actor. Steve Forrest portrayed a charming very Texan antique dealer/undercover agent living in England. Forrest provided a solid presence that allowed the show to appeal to the US audience but somehow The Baron did not gather the anticipated audience. Somehow in SWAT Forrest never seemed as complete a character as he did playing Mannering. I recall envying Mannering his wealth, sophistication but most of all I envied him the real star of this show: the unique, incomparable lead *car*. Mannering drove a Jensen Interceptor. It was years later that I saw in real life this wonderful Chrysler V8 powered Aston-Martin competitor and saw that The Baron and his car were perfectly matched, much more so than The Saint (Roger Moore) and his Volvo or The Saint (Ian Ogilvey) and his Jaguar XJS. Besides, these were commonplace compared to a powerful and elegant Jensen Interceptor.

'In your face' visuals and punchy memorable theme

[grunsel · 9 December 2001]

Many of the episodes look like they were filmed in a November, such is the dark moody atmosphere. In the worst episodes, the pace of some of the acting and stories might be considered plodding by today's standards? In fact the worst episodes can be narrowed down to the work of a couple of nonchalant shoddy directors doing the rounds of British TV at the time. However the editing, music and good use of early colour still give even these shows an appealing style. The best episodes were first rate at its premier (usually have good character actors) and still stand up well today. The title sequence with its beautifully cut 'in your face' visuals and punchy memorable theme tune, was a revelation in 1966. The Baron was premiered in the USA ahead of the UK, but did not make any waves and only 13 episodes were bought there.However it proved a very popular series in the UK and elsewhere.

Handsome leading men, great cars, a bit of fun

[Montydog · 31 July 2011]

I also remember this from the 70s - well at least I vaguely remembered his rather nice assistant, David Marlowe, being kidnapped and then stabbed by a particularly svelte and nasty villain: I even went to library to get out a few of the books because that episode made such an impression on me. On re-watching I have to say I felt much as a previous reviewer - shame the US forced out the David character and brought in Cordelia (Sue Lloyd may be eye candy for the boys, but Paul Ferris was definitely eye candy for the girls and his character could at least stand up for himself, while his relationship with the Baron is rather that of a father-son type, and could have been developed further) Am now giving the DVDs to my 13 year old as I have to say I prefer this type of show for someone of his age, than more modern, graphically violent ones. It's a bit of fun, the men look great (and they dressed squarely enough not to look outdated today); the car is wonderful and I can indulge for the 8 episodes Paul Ferris does appear in