The Avengers (TV Series) Have Guns - Will Haggle (1968) User Reviews

A decent if somewhat routine episode

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 20 March 2015]

When three thousand brand new FF-70 rifles are stolen from an MOD facility Steed and Tara are soon on the case. Around the same time Col. Martin Nsonga is sighted in the country; Steed has had a run in with him before and suspects he might be looking to acquire the rifles so he can stage a coup. Steed learns that he has the means to do this after breaking into his hotel room and finding the funds in his safe. When a body is found which is thought to have been killed with an FF-70 Tara goes to see a ballistics expert; unfortunately for her she runs into the thieves' inside man and the group decide to kidnap her. It turns out the thieves plan to auction the weapons; Steed poses as a buyer and is shocked to learn that the demonstration is include a duel between the gang's leader and Tara King!

Unlike many Avenger's stories this one features no over the top villains with equally over the top motives; the crooks have merely stolen the weapons to make money and Col. Martin Nsonga wants them to take over his small African country not something on a grander scale. Indeed the weapons are just very good rifles, in fact modified L1A1 SLRs, rather than something sci-fi. Some viewers will like the realism and others will think it isn't proper 'Avengers' without a degree of wackiness.

I found the story good enough but do think it is a pity that just about every recent episode ends with Steed rescuing Tara… although during these scenes Linda Thorson looked great in a rather short tartan dress… however the less said about the pink number she wore earlier the better! There were some good scenes; including the initial robbery and the explosive finale. The guest cast was okay; Johnny Sekka was good as Col. Nsonga, Nicola Pagett put in a decent performance as Lady Adriana Beardsley, the woman running the auction and Jonathan Burn was nicely menacing as her brother Conrad; even if he did seem to only talk through clenched teeth. Overall a decent enough episode however it did miss that special something most episodes contain.

Bang! Bang! You're Dead!

[ShadeGrenade · 7/10 · 9 August 2011]

I got a P.M. a while ago from a pop-eyed loon with an unreasonable hatred of every 'Avengers' series made after 1964. He/she might have enjoyed this episode, seeing as it was by one of the producers of the 'Cathy Gale' series - John Bryce. On completion of the Rigg shows, A,B.C. T.V. ungratefully fired producers Brian Clemens and John Bryce, believing the show had gotten too 'camp', and wishing to bring it back to Earth. After only a handful of shows, Bryce himself was fired, and Clemens and Fennell reinstated. 'Invitation To a Killing' was given the more unwieldy title of 'Have Guns - Will Haggle' ( in case anyone does not know, it is a spoof of the old cowboy show 'Have Gun, Will Travel' ).

An M.O.D. establishment is broken into ( the thieves use trampolines to vault over the electrified fence ), and 3,000 rifles stolen. Not just ordinary rifles either, but F.F.-70's. The master mind behind the theft is the lovely 'Lady Adriana Beardsley' ( Nicola Pagett ), who plans to sell them to 'Colonel Martin Nsonga' ( Johnny Sekka ), a ruthless politician keen to start a revolution in his own African state. Steed tries to disrupt the auction by launching a counter-bid. There is an additional problem - Tara has been captured and is about to be used as target practice in a demonstration...

Written by Donald James - a regular I.T.C. contributor - this is entertaining enough in its own way, but hardly inspired ( 'The Champions' did a similar idea called 'The Gun Runners' ). The casting of Pagett is a breath of fresh air from the usual run of 'Avengers' baddies ( she was three years away from her famous role as 'Elisabeth Bellamy' in 'Upstairs, Downstairs' ). Timothy Bateson is ballistics expert 'Professor Spencer' and Robert 'Keep It In The Family' Gillespie is a lift attendant whom Steed bribes.

You can see where the old footage is - Tara has blonde hair! She does look fetching in that Tartan suit ( and freezing from the look of it! ).

Efficiently directed by Ray Austin.

One of the weaker storylines.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 6/10 · 7 September 2022]

Thousands of rifles are stolen, top of the suspects list is Colonel Nsonga, who's looking to arm, ahead of a revolution in his country.

Not my favourite episode this one, but it's far from a bad one. The story is perhaps not that most interesting one, and when you compare it with most of what's gone just before this, it feels a little dull.

The most exciting thing is perhaps seeing Tara King in a blonde wig, pink coat, and driving around in her awesome Lotus, she looks fabulous. It's another episode where Steed's presence is quite light.

Some nice visuals, those lady models in the wigs are stylish, and of course the opening scenes are zany, but look really good.

I will always be a big fan of Johnny Sekka, he appeared in several shows I'm a fan of, talented actor, but I'm not sure he was too well served by his character here, maybe a little too stereotypical of African representations at the time.

It's not bad, it's just very forgettable. 6/10.

AN EPISODE LOADED WITH SUSPENSE

[asalerno10 · 9/10 · 7 June 2022]

Following in the footsteps of an organization that has seized an arsenal of modern weapons to then auction them to different countries, Steed camouflages himself and tries to enter the large mansion where the auction will take place, meanwhile Tara is captured and will be used as a guinea pig. Indians for the demonstration of the lethal rifles. Personally this is one of the best episodes of this season, the plot is solid and above all it has a great dose of suspense throughout the second half of the chapter, when Tara and Steed, both separately try to escape from the mansion and then Tara is caught. Inside the ammunition room with a lit fuse that does not stop and will blow it up.

"Entertaining in an undemanding sort of way."

[jamesraeburn2003 · 20 March 2006]

Three thousand FF70 rifles have been stolen, which causes The Avengers great concern because their design is top secret and they haven't even been issued yet. They have incredible power and can stop a man at 700 yards. Steed's old enemy Colonel Nsonga (Johnny Sekka) happens to be in the country and he becomes prime suspect because Steed knows that he wants to overthrow the president in his primitive native country. He has the men to accomplish this but not the arms and three thousand FF70's would be very useful to him. As it turns out, the guns have been stolen by Adriana (Nicola Pagett) and her brother Conrad (Jonathan Burn) and they plan to auction them off to the highest bidder. Steed finds himself bidding against Nsonga and the winner not only gets the weapons but also a target to test their efficiency - Tara. Colonel Nsonga wins so The Avengers escape into the grounds of Adriana's estate. Steed discovers where the guns are hidden and because there is no way he can retrieve them, he has no option but to destroy them. In the armory he finds sticks of dynamite and a charge. So he unwinds the charge out into the undergrowth and sets it alight. But, Conrad has captured Tara and chained her to the ammunition boxes in the armory. In a suspenseful climax, Steed overpowers Conrad and has to unlock Tara's handcuffs before the dynamite goes off...

All in all, Have Guns Will Haggle, emerges as an episode that's entertaining in an undemanding sort of way. The plot is nothing new and the proceedings sadly lack the humor and charm, which made The Avengers so popular. The casting is good with Johnny Sekka, Nicola Pagett and Jonathan Burn making the most of their roles as disappointingly written villains. Macnee and Thorson are their usual impressive selves as Steed and Tara but there isn't a great deal of chemistry between them here like in subsequent episodes. The tag scene at the end is fairly amusing though as they debate over what the gift from the president of Nsonga's country could be. As it turns out it goes out with a roar rather than a cheer! Ray Austin's direction is tight and his staging of the climax succeeds in generating the suspense.

Indifferent reworking of "Invitation to a Killing"

[kevinolzak · 4/10 · 9 April 2011]

"Have Guns-Will Haggle" was one of three rejected Tara King episodes shot prior to "The Forget-Me-Knot," all of which were reworked before eventual broadcast. This one began life under the title "Invitation to a Killing," but the plot doesn't justify the original 90 minute running time, there's very little story for an ordinary one hour show (very much a throwback to the earliest days of the series). Top secret assault rifles are stolen, to later be sold at auction, but Colonel Martin Nsonga (Johnny Sekka) has already made a down payment on the consignment, to be used to stage a military coup in his native African state. Steed poses as another buyer to foil his plans, and must also rescue a captive Tara from a fatal demonstration of rifle power. Timothy Bateson ("The Correct Way to Kill") has a brief but amusing turn as a ballistics expert, but everything else is fairly dull (like "Invasion of the Earthmen," you can tell the old footage from the new by Tara's quickly discarded blonde wig). If this was actually intended to introduce Linda Thorson's Tara King, then it was very poor indeed, for she has almost nothing to do. Real duds were fortunately rare, but it holds together much better than "Homicide and Old Lace," and the climax is genuinely suspenseful.

Guns to sell

[searchanddestroy-1 · 8/10 · 4 February 2022]

This episode is a kind of critism, disguised critism of the British politics concerning gun and warfare equipment sales to African countries by the end of the sixties. Nothing is realistic of course in this series, but there is always a link to the real life problems....

Mediocre

[coltras35 · 5/10 · 5 May 2022]

When Colonel Nsonga-hot to stage a coup-arrives in Britian on the eve of the theft of several thousand brand new top-secret rifles, Steed positions himself to bid against his "old friend" for the weapons. Little does he know that it's a bid to save Tara's life, as the sellers want to use her in a live demonstration of the product!

A mediocre episode with some dull parts, however there's some good action and the usual humour to keep it from being an utter blimp. Nice fight sequence between Steed and opponent.