The Avengers (TV Series) Death of a Batman (1963) User Reviews

Steed and Cathy investigate financial misconduct

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 24 May 2017]

After the funeral of Steed's old batman everybody is rather surprised when the will is read and it emerges that he has left a hundred and eighty thousand pounds to his wife… a huge amount for somebody earning twenty pounds a week. There is no obvious evidence that he stole it. Share certificates lead to Steed and Mrs Gale investigating Lord Teale and his partner Van Doren, a pair of stockbrokers. It turns out that the man had been using his knowledge of the printing of new share certificates to tip off Teale about upcoming share issues so he could make a quick profit. This money was then being invested in various British electronics firms. To help their investigation Cathy gets a job working as a secretary for Lord Teale and Van Doren and Steed gets close to one of their clients. Meanwhile the dead man's son works out what is going on and plots a little blackmail to get more money.

This is a rather odd episode; there are no grand plots, no traitors and no shadowy organisations. The antagonists aren't ultimately trying to be bad; in Lord Teale's mind he may be breaking the financial rules but he is doing it to invest in the country's future by backing small companies or individuals who couldn't fund their ideas otherwise. I don't think that was a problem though; in fact this feels far more realistic than most stories in the series so made a refreshing change. There is some action but less than most episodes; just a couple of fights. The cast does a solid job; André Morell and Philip Madoc impress as Lord Teale and Van Doren respectively and Katy Greenwood is a lot of fun as their client Lady Cynthia; the scenes where she and Patrick Macnee's Steed flirt were a delight. Overall I found this to be an interesting episode.

Steed & Cathy vs. Insider Trading

[profh-1 · 6/10 · 9 September 2011]

Attending the funeral of his old army "batman", Steed learns the man, who worked as a draftsman, somehow legally racked up an enormous fortune. This leads to he & Mrs. Gale investigating the financial dealings of a bank and various investment transactions.

Put simply, "Death Of A Batman" may be the single most TEDIOUS episode of THE AVENGERS ever made. I know some stories do lean on the "technical" side, but this is ridiculous. If it weren't for the various characters involved, the details of the story would be enough to baffle or bore anyone who wasn't into finance and accounting right into unconsciousness.

Further, I must admit this is the 2nd episode in a row where, until one of the parties involved decided to resort to MURDER to cover up his illegal dealings, I was, frankly, on the side of the crooks! They were helping various small English companies to succeed in the world market, and thereby strengthening the country in general. And while they did it by illegally using insider information AND selling and re-buying other people's stock holdings in order to make a profit, NOBODY was getting hurt.

The more I thought about this, it reminded me of a pair of James Bond stories... CASINO ROYALE, and the 1987 movie THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS. In both, someone entrusted with certain funds decided to mis-appropriate said funds, in order to make themselves a huge profit, after which they would take the original money and put it to the use it was supposed to go to in the first place. Of course, the Russian government did not take kindly to one of their agents (or generals) doing this, so I suppose the English government wouldn't either.

Highlights of this story, as I said, are the guest cast, which this time includes Philip Madoc (who I always remember for his various appearances on DOCTOR WHO). The main perpetrator is played by Andre Morell, while the son of the man who died and thereby started the whole investigation (and who gets greedy when he finds out what's going on) is played by a very young David Burke. I kept staring at him, wondering, "Where have I seen him before?" Only when I looked him up online did I realize that this story featured, effectively, 3 different "Dr. Watsons" in the cast! 1-Andre Morell (THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, 1959), 2-Patrick Macnee (SHERLOCK HOLMES IN NEW YORK, 1976) and David Burke (THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, 1984).

Addemdum / 3-20-2023 The 2010 Studio Canal Region 2 DVD has very clear picture, and only slightly-harsh sound. This episode also has an introduction by Patrick Macnee & Honor Blackman, in which they discuss fighting techniques used on the show.

The formidable Andre Morell

[kevinolzak · 7/10 · 26 January 2011]

"Death of a Batman" benefits from the formidable presence of Andre Morell, one of Britain's greatest character actors, in fine form as Lord Basil Teale, running a banking partnership with Eric Van Doren (Philip Madoc, previously seen in "Six Hands Across a Table"), illegally using insider information in takeovers of electronics firms. Steed becomes suspicious when his newly deceased batman left behind a personal fortune that was not compatible with his weekly salary, effortlessly flirting with socialite Lady Cynthia Bellamy (Katy Greenwood), whose valuable stock shares are being sold for a profit then bought back without her knowledge. Some unintended amusement results from two doors that simply refuse to stay shut. Returning for the last of his four episodes is Ray Browne, enjoying his largest role despite being the loser in a tussle with Catherine Gale. This also marks the only appearance of another large dog owned by Steed, this one named Katie ("The Gilded Cage" was the last to feature any dog).