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Patrick McGoohan is John Drake...

Patrick McGoohan - John Drake

Richard Wattis - Hardy

Lionel Murton - Colonel Keller

 

John Drake was a special operative for NATO, specializing in security assignments against any subversive element that threatened world peace. The series featured exotic locales from all over the world, but it was relatively down-to-earth and realistic--especially when compared to its successor, Secret Agent.

The first episode was filmed in the northern Wales village of Portmeirion. Patrick McGoohan would return here to film The Prisoner.

Based on his success as John Drake, Patrick McGoohan became one of the first actors considered for the role of James Bond in Dr. No (1962). Between this series and the later Secret Agent, all the regular actors in the Bond movies - Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell and Desmond Llewelyn- would guest star with McGoohan, as would many future Bond co-stars such as Honor Blackman and Zena Marshall to name just two.

The show resumed production with 60-minute episodes in 1964. It was renamed "Secret Agent" for American distribution.

Virtually identical in format and style to the later Secret Agent with two major differences: John Drake is an American in this series, and episodes include narration.

John Drake says the phrase "I'm obliged" in virtually every episode; the catch phrase did not return in the later 1964 series.

In this early series, the character of John Drake is clearly defined as being an American. When the character returned for Secret Agent, the character had become either British or Irish (exactly which was never settled upon definitively).

Although hugely successful in Europe, this show failed to find an audience in American syndication and was cancelled after one season. By the time production resumed in 1964, the James Bond fad had hit and Americans were more receptive to the idea of a spy TV series.

In the episode "The Leak," Drake uses a bag marked "Jason Airways". This is a fictional airline that featured in an earlier episode, "Sabotage". While such continuity is commonplace today, it is unusual enough in a 1960-61 TV series to be worth noting.

Contrary to publicity surrounding this show's DVD release in 2003 that suggests this series was never shown in America, this early "Danger Man" series was indeed broadcast in the US in 1961, and under its original title.

A foreign syndicated version of this series incorporated the Secret Agent Man opening credits used for Danger Man, thereby tying the two series together.

 

SEASON ONE

 

1. View from the Villa

11/09/1960

Barbara Shelley as Gina Scarlotti

Delphi Lawrence as Stella Delroy

John Lee as Mayne

Colin Douglas as Mego

Philip Latham as Delroy

Court Benson as Finch

Andreas Maladrinos as Waiter

Charles Houston as Cafe Artist

Marie Burke as Housekeeper

David Ritch as Taxi Driver

June Rodney as Maid

John Drake is assigned to investigate the murder of a banker, Frank Delroy. The trail leads Drake to the home of Delroy's lady friend, a small seaside resort as Portmeirion wher he recovers five million dollars and solves the murder of Delroy.  Patrick McGoohan would later film his best known series, The Prisoner, in Portmeirion as the location of the villa.

 

2. Time to Kill

18/09/1960

Sarah Lawson as Lisa Orin

Lionel Murton as Colonel Keller

Derren Nesbitt as Vogeler

Carl Jaffe as Professor Barkoff

Louise Collins as Sally Raymond

Anthony Jacobs as Waiter

Edward Hardwicke as Frontier Guard

Harvey Hall as Frontier Guard

Endre Muller as Patrolman

John Drake flies to Paris, where his assignment is to find an international killer. He refuses to assassinate the man, but undertakes to retrieve him. The task becomes more difficult when Drake finds himself handcuffed to a young woman, Lisa Orin.

 

3. Josetta

25/09/1960

Kenneth Haig as Joan Cortez

Julia Arnall as Josetta

Campbell Singer as Colonel Segur

Randall Kinkead as Olot

Claire Gordon as Sandra

Glenn Beck as Motril

Robert Bernal as Miguel

Anthony Viccars as Policeman

A blind young woman, Josetta, is the only one who can identify her brother's killer. John Drake has the task of helping her to find and identify the killer.

 

4. The Blue Veil

02/10/1960

Laurence Naismith as Spooner

Lisa Gastoni as Clare

Ferdy Mayne as The Mayne

Joseph Cuby as Hassan

Peter Thornton as Pilot

John Drake flies to the Arabian desert to investigate stories of slavery and finds himself befriending a Muslim lad and helping a stranded showgirl who believes Drake to be a slave broker.

 

5. The Lovers

09/10/1960

Maxine Audley as Maria

Martin Miller as Stavros

Michael Ripper as Miguel Torres

Ewen Solon as President Gomez

Carl Bernard as Leonido

Hermione Gregory as Rosa

At the request of an old enemy, Drake takes charge of security as the President of Boravia and his wife visit London.

 

6. The Girl in Pink Pyjamas

16/10/1960

Angela Browne as The Girl

John Crawford as Dr Keller

Alan Tilvern as Major Minos

Robert Raglan as Dr Stanifors

Richard Warner as Hospital Director

Robert Cawdron as President

Colette Wilde as Farmer's Wife

Frederick Schiller as Country Doctor

Harvey Hall as Captain Franz

Richard Marner as Anaesthetist

Janine Gray as Nurse

Marian Diamond as Telephone Operator

When a dazed girl is found wandering along a country lane, dressed only in her pyjamas, Drake discovers a plot to assassinate a Balkan President.

 

7. Position of Trust

23/10/1960

Lois Maxwell as Sandi Lewis

John Philips as Paul

Gilbert Winfield as Alison

Irene Prador as Mrs Aldrich

Martin Benson as Fawzi

Madeleine Kasket as Mrs. Fawzi

Derek Godfrey as Casino Manager

Derrick Sherwin as Aly

Donald Pleasence as Aldrich

When Drake is shown a photograph of a young girl who is the victim of drugs, he sets out for the Middle East to break up the ring supplying opium. He is aided by an American agent, Sandi Lewis.  Together they trace the source of the drugs, with the help of a courageous little man.

 

8. The Lonely Chair

30/10/1960

Hazel Court as Noelle Laurence

Sam Wanamaker as Patrick Laurence

Patrick Troughton as Brenner

Howard Pays as Holst

Jack Melford as Caldwell

Alexander Melford as Fordyce

Robert Harbin as Rolf

Dorothy Hersee as Mrs. Hardy

Clifford Earl as Porter

Liz Lanchbury as Sally

Richard Wattis as Hardy

When the daughter of a wealthy industrialist is kidnapped, Drake impersonates her crippled father in an attempt to save her without having to hand over crucial designs.

 

9. The Sanctuary

06/11/1960

Kieron Moore as Crawford

Wendy Williams as Kathy

Barry Keegan as Liamond

Shay Gorman as Brannigan

John Rae as Neil Ewen

MacDuff as Hamish

Peter Murray as Mullins

John Drake has to impersonate a prisoner who has just been released after serving a sentence for bombings. His assignment is to infiltrate a group of IRA commandos.

 

10. An Affair of State

13/11/1960

Patrick Wymark as Ortiz

John Le Mesurier as Alvarado

Dorothy White as Raquel

Warren Mitchell as Santiago

Alan Gifford as Mr Hartley

Victor Baring as Airport Official

Michael Hitchman as Barman

Andre Charise as Croupier

Anthony Viccars as Police Sergeant

Fenella Fielding as Hostess

Drake flies to a small Caribbean State to investigate the apparent suicide of an American economics expert, he uncovers a plot to obtain large sums of money, and in return he nearly loses his life.

 

11. The Key

20/11/1960

Robert Fleming as Logan

Monique Ahrens as Maria

Charles Carson as Ambassador

Charles Gray as Alex

Peter Swanwick as Joe Charles

Lloyd Pack as Police Superintendent

Martin Sterndale as Detective

When someone is leaking information from the American Embassy in Vienna, Drake is called in to investigate when the finger of guilt points to the Ambassador.

 

12. The Sisters

27/11/1960

Mai Zetterling as Nadia

Barbara Murray as Gerda

Sydney Tafler as Radek

Anthony Dawson as Security Officer

Martin Wyldeck as Nagor

Hedger Wallance as Embassy Man

Michael Hunt as Parsinski

Michael Jacques as Glazanov

Antonia Gilpin as Mana

Richard Wattis as Hardy

When a young, beautiful refugee pleads for political asylum, Drake is called in to investigate by his superior, Hardy. When the girl's sister arrives, Drake has a double problem to solve.

 

13. The Prisoner

04/12/1960

William Sylvester as James Carpenter/Oscar Schumak

June Thorburn as Sue Carpenter

William Lucas as Colonel Vasco

Michael Peake as President

Keith Goodman as Passport Officer

John Slavid as Policeman

Drake's assignment is to find a double for James Carpenter, an American who is confined to the US Embassy in a Caribbean city. Finding the double is only half of the problem. Substituting him under the eyes of the police is the other.

 

14. The Traitor

11/12/1960

Ronald Howard as Noel Goddard

Barbara Shelley as Louise Goddard

Jack Watling as Rollo Waters

Warren Mitchell as Banarji

Derek Sydney as Panah

George A. Cooper as Blatta

Guy Deghy as Guard On Train

Drake travels to Kashmir in Northern India to seek out Noel Goddard, a former executive in the Indian Government, now a traitor. On identifying Drake, Goddard is given the message: 'John Drake. NATO agent. Eliminate.'

 

15. Colonel Rodriguez

18/12/1960

Noel Willman as Colonel Godriguez

Maxine Audley as Martine

Honor Blackman as Joan Bernard

Ronald Allen as Walter Bernard

Campbell Singer as General Abeijon

Cyril Shaps as Pietro

Pearl Prescod as Chloe

Neville Becker as Danny

Lloyd Reckord as Barman

Brian Jackson as Policeman

John Drake flies to the Caribbean to aid an American journalist who had been arrested on a spy charge, but before he can effect a rescue is accused of the murder of a young nightclub singer.

 

16. The Island

01/01/1961

Allan Cuthbertson as Mr Wilson

Peter Stephens as Mr Jones

Ann Firbank as Bobby

Michael Ripper as Kane

Ronan O'Casey as Pilot

Richard Thorp as Bobb

Charles Irwin as Airport Official

Nyree Dawn Porter as Stewardess

John Drake is flying back to the mainland with two prisoners, when his plane crashes in the sea, near a tiny island. On reaching the island Drake finds himself a wanted man as the island's hermit owner believes Drake is an escaped prisoner.

 

17. Find and Return

08/01/1961

Moira Lister as Vanessa

Donald Pleasence as Nikolides

Paul Stassino as Ramfi

Zena Marshall as Mrs Ramfi

Warren Mitchell as Shashig

Keith Rawlings as Detective

Frank Thornton as Airport Official

Nancy Seabrook as Mrs. Nokolides

Richard Wattis as Hardy

Hardy assigns Drake to fly to the Middle East to find Vanessa Stewart, a beautiful girl wanted for espionage. Posing as a Baltic agent, Drake persuades her to accompany him before the British find her. A subplot comments drily on the ethics of espionage.

 

18. The Girl Who Liked GI's

15/01/1961

Anna Gaylor as Vicki

Anthony Bushell as Lotsbeyer

Nigel Green as Wetzel

Paul Maxwell as Doyle

Graydon Gould as Sergeant Ross

Bill Edwards as Sergeant Poole

Rudolph Offenbach as Manservant

Betty Le Beau as Receptionist

Drake is assigned to investigate the murder of a young G.I. in Munich. He was last seen in the company of a young German girl, Vicki. Was she involved in the plot? Drake, posing as an American soldier, must find the answer.

 

19. Name, Date and Place

22/01/1961

Cyril Raymond as Nash

Kathleen Byron as Deirdre

Patricia Marmont as Rosemary

Jean Marsh as Kim Russell

Susan Travers as Nita

Delenna Kidd as Franky

Olive McFarland as Chambermaid

Guy Deghy as Vogel

Frederick Piper as Small Man

Beaufoy Milton as Butler

Frank Sieman as Detective Inspector Marks

Peter Hutton as Detective Sergeant Davis

Richard Wattis as Hardy

When several prominent people are killed, there appears to be no connection. But John Drake's investigations uncover a murder ring, which he hires to kill himself.

 

20. Vacation

29/01/1961

Hugh McDermott as Amory

Esmond Knight as Baron

Jacqueline Ellis as Veronica

Barrie Ingham as Georges

Lawrence Davidson as Gautier

John Wynyard as Butler

Richard Clarke as Ricki

Charles Lloyd Pack as Gunsmith

While vacationing on the Riviera, John Drake recognises a professional assassin. He succeeds in replacing the killer and undertakes an assignment working in the dark, as he has no idea who his victim is.

 

21. The Conspirators

05/02/1961

Patricia Driscoll as Lady Lindsay

Terence Longdon as Saunders

Hugh Moxey as Sir Arthur Lindsay

Alfred Burke as Craven

Percy Herbert as Innkeeper

Rory McDermot as Burke

Neil McCarthy as Skipper

Michael Sands as George

Ian Ellis as Kip

Timothy Benke as Tim

John Drake's assignment takes him to a small island off the coast of Brittany. He must protect Lady Lindsay, widow of a British diplomat, and her two young sons, from two killers.

 

22. The Honeymooners

02/04/1961

Lee Montague as Mr Chung Sun

Ronald Allen as Ted Baker

Sally Bazely as Joan Baker

Michael Peake as President

Kerrigan Prescott as Reporter

Sheldon Lawrence as Williams

Anthony Chinn as Mitchu

Eric Young as Police Lieutenant

Myo Toon as Gate Keeper

Barbara Lee as Maid

Jimmy Fung as Receptionist

When a Chinese businessman is murdered, a young couple on honeymoon become the prime suspects. John Drake flies out to the Far East to assist them, and finds himself in a dangerous situation.

 

23. The Gallows Tree

09/04/1961

Paul Rogers as Laing

Wendy Craig as Jean

Raymond Huntley as Clements

Ewan Roberts as Craig

Andrew Crawford as Mackenzie

John Glyn-Jones as Hamish

John Rae as Shepher

Reginald Hearne as Hawkes

Gareth Tandy as Duncan

Michael Bird as Conductor

Finlay Currie as Jock

John Drake travels to the Scottish Highlands when the fingerprints of a stolen car belong to a master spy believed to have been killed ten years earlier.

 

24. The Relaxed Informer

16/04/1961

Duncan Lamont as Joseph Brenner

Moira Redmond as Ruth

Paul Maxwell as Colonel Royle

Brian Rawlinson as Frederick

Stanley Van Beers as Benedict

Tom Gill as Captain Brandt

Pauline Letts as Greta

Henry Vidon as French Delegate

Charles Vance as Sergeant

Drake's latest case is to unravel a security leak. The suspect is Ruth Mitchell, an interpreter; but as Drake later discovers, the girl has been used without her knowledge.

 

25. The Brothers

23/04/1961

Lisa Gastoni as Lita Rossi

George Colouris as Police Commissioner

Ronald Fraser as Guiseppe

Derren Nesbitt as Hugo

John Woodvine as Luigi

Nancy Beck as Housepeeter

Gino Melvazzi as Policeman

Rodney Burice as 1st Airman

Wesley Murphy as 2nd Airman

A plane crashes off the coast of Sicily and a diplomatic satchel is taken by mountain bandits. John Drake's task is to recover the stolen property, for which he enlists the aid of one bandit's girlfriend.

 

26. The Journey Ends Halfway

30/04/1961

Martin Boddey as Masseur

Paul Daneman as Dr. Bakalter

Willoughby Goddard as McFadden

Anna May Wong as Miss Lee

Paul Hardtmuth as Senor Paterno

Burt Kwouk as Tai

R. Bobby Naidoo as Police Sergeant

Eric Young as Ming

Gerry Lee as Police Officer

Anthony Chin as Chang

Lian-Shin Yang as Miss Shoo

Drake travels to China to investigate the disappearance of an eminent doctor who had been trying to escape the Communist regime.

 

27. Bury the Dead

07/05/1961

Beverly Garland as Jo Harris

Dermot Walsh as Hugo Delano

Paul Stassino as Police Captain

Patrick Troughton as Bart

George Murcell as Bruno

George Eugeniou as Barman

Robert Shaw as Tony Costello

NATO agent Tony Costello is killed in a car crash while investigating a case of gun running. John Drake flies to Sicily to investigate and finds Costello's girl friend who is convinced it was murder. Before the case is solved, Drake discovers that you can bury the dead more than once.

 

28. Sabotage

14/05/1961

Maggie Fitzgibbon as Peta Jason

Yvonne Romain as Giselle

Oliver Burt as Meisener

Alex Scott as Benson

R. Booby Naidoo as Chin Lee

Lyn Ashley as Ann

Jimmy Fung as Taxi Driver

John Sterland as Pilot

Peter Dolphin as Co-Pilot

When Paul Jason of Jason's Airlines is killed and several of his planes crash, John Drake assumes the identity of a hard drinking pilot to investigate the crash. Drake discovers a case of smuggling and finds himself in a tricky situation.

 

29. The Contessa

21/05/1961

Barry Shawzin as Salah

Patsy Smart as Mrs. Parkes

Joseph Cuby as Sadi

Eric Pohlmann as Mohan

John Wyse as Julio

When several workers at an atomic energy plant in North Africa fall ill, a leakage is suspected. Drake flies out to investigate and is aided by a beautiful European doctor, but when the next victim has no connection with the plant, Drake discovers a fiendish plot.

 

30. The Leak

28/05/1961

Zena Marshall as Doctor Leclair

Bernard Archard as Doctor Bryant

Marne Maitland as Sheik Ahmed

Anthony Dawson as Martin

Lawrence Davidson as Finch

Walter Gotell as Colonel Perar

William Peacock as Ceretary

Barry Shawzin as Salah

Patsy Smart as Mrs. Parkes

Joseph Cuby as Sadi

Eric Pohlmann as Moham

Drake joins forces with a European doctor when workers at an African nuclear power plant fall ill.

 

31. The Trap

04/06/1961

Beth as Jeanne Moody

Noel Trevarthen as Gino

Marie Burke as Carla

Alan Gifford as Whitmore

Louise Collins as Liz

Georgina Cookson as Miss Bishop

Victor Rietti as Papa

Miki Iveria as Momma

John Bonney as Stashig

Patrick Maynard as Officer

Graham Stewart as Pilot

Drake travels to Venice to investigate the case of Beth Warren, a cipher expert at the American Embassy in London. She disappeared form her job, and rushed to Venice to be with her boyfriend when his brother way dying. But Drake discovers she is being used for the knowledge she has.

 

32. The Actor

11/06/1961

Rupert Davies as Colonel Graves

Gary Cockrell as Al Jason

Julie Allan as Suzan

Patsy Rowlands as Mrs Harkness

Burt Kwouk as Chen Tung

Andy Ho as General Chu Yee

Eric Young as Mr Toy

Sam Chowdhary as Karibz

Chin-Yu as Receptionist

So0Bee Lee as Secretary

Drake travels to Hong Kong to investigate the murder of a sound technician working for a radio station. He uncovers a plot where the secret information is being sent out in code over the air, transmitted as part of the station's English lessons.

 

33. Hired Assassin

18/06/1961

Alan Wheatley as Alexis

Cyril Shaps as Luis Nyall

Florenz as Edouardo

Judy Carne as Juanita

Wensley Pithey as Senor Lazar

Bill Nagy as Fernandez

Henry Lockhart as Pietro

J. Leslie Erith as Viccenti

Charles Hill as Kovac

Frank Thornton as Pepe

Drake poses as a professional assassin in an attempt to prevent the assassination of a South American President. He joins a revolutionary group who are planning to kill the President.

 

 

SEASON TWO

 

34. The Coyannis Story

16/12/1961

John Phillips as Coyannis

Charles Gray as Zameda

Heather Chasen as Lorain Zameda

Liam Gaffney as Captain Achard

Stuart Hutchison as Marco

Peter Welch as Salcito

Julie Hopkins as Medana

Robert Raglan as Storch

Leonard Sachs as Finance Minister

Bartlett Mullins as Acardi

John Drake travels to a Balkan country to investigate the misappropriation of funds by a Minister. Drake uncovers the plot:  involving love, politics and revenge.

 

35. Find and Destroy

23/12/1961

Peter Arne as Major Hassler

Nadja Regin as Melina

Peter Sallis as Gordon

Helen Morton as Helen

Ronald Leigh-Hunt as Commander Ford

Alec Mango as Enrico

Richard Clarke as Fedor

Brad Dancy as Corto Rebecca

Dignam as Pia

A miniature submarine is wrecked off the coast of a South American country. John Drake's assignment from British Intelligence is to blow her up. Disguised as a fisherman, Drake races against time to find the submarine before the agents of a foreign power can.

 

36. Under the Lake

30/12/1961

Christopher Rhodes as Von Klaus

Hermione Baddeley as Mrs. Grahame

Moira Redmond as Mitzi

Lionel Murton as Colonel Keller

Roger Delgado as Von Golling

Walter Gotell as Receptionist

Norman Florence as Attendant

Jack Cunningham as Driver

Andrew Downie as Porter

Reginald Jessup as Cable Car Attendant

When twenty five million dollars in forged currency floods the European capitals, John Drake is assigned by U.S. Intelligence to trace the source. The trail leads to an ex-Nazi General staying at a lake-side hotel in the mountains. Drake faces death before he can solve the case and uncover the secret of the lake.

 

37. The Nurse

06/01/1962

Eileen Moore as Mary McPherson

Jack MacGowran as Prior

Erick Pohlmann as Innkeeper

Robert Ayres as Hamilton

Heather Chasen as Helen Hamilton

Harold Kasket as Mooukta

Harry Lockart as Idris

David Oxley as Ahmed

Andrew Faulds as General Khan

Maxwell Shaw as Major Ghan

Harold Siddons as Pilot

Drake travels to the Arabian Desert to rescue the American Consul and his family from terrorists who have assassinated the King. On arrival Drake finds he has additional problems trying to protect a pretty Scots nurse and the baby in her care - the future king.

 

38. Dead Man Walks

13/01/1962

Maria Landi as Sita Shapadi

Julia Arnall as Natalie Smith

Richard Pearson as Keith Smith

Michael Ripper as Rangit Pal

Bryan Coleman as Professor Hanbury

Joanna Dunham as Nawi

William Peacock as Azad

Zia Moyheddin as Wasing

Richard Wattis as Hardy

Hardy assigns Drake to investigate when the entire research team working in tropical diseases is killed by mysterious accidents. Drake travels to India, and uncovers clues that one of the scientists may be alive.

 

39. Deadline

20/01/1962

William Marshall as Khano

Edric Connor as Thompson

Barbara Chilcott as Mai

Christopher Carlos as Ajali

Earl Cameron as Professor Moma

Lionel Ngakane as Sir Moses Amadu

Andre Dakar as Sir Aaron Nelson

John Harrison as Daniels

Lloyd Reckord as Bartender

Harcourt Curacao as Officer

Pearl Prescod as Native Woman

When a wave of terrorism in the African jungle is likely to lead to a mass uprising, The Danger Man takes on the disguise of a 'gun-runner' in an attempt to penetrate the extremist organisation behind it.

 

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