Question: Why can't one of the white guys ever squeeze into a little, tiny space to engineer part of the scam without the bad guys knowing? But noooo, it's always the brilliant and ever patient Barney who has to put up with claustrophobic circumstances. I kept wondering what would happen if he fell asleep inside the darned thing. ("Pardon me while I take a nap in the counterfeiting machine.") Seriously (for the racially sensitive: the above was a joke), I admire trailblazer Greg Morris and the writers of MI for creating a believable and positive black character at a time when racial equality in Hollywood was still a rare occurrence.
3 Reviews
...but at least they let Barney kill someone!
planktonrules5 April 2014
The other review for this particular episode of "Mission: Impossible" rightly points out that Barney usually got the crappy jobs where he had to crawl into tiny spaces, get locked in trunks and the like--and this episode is no different! However, on the plus side, they do let Barney kill someone--a rare even on this show!
DuBruis (Brock Peters) is a government minister in the African nation of Ghalea--and he's totally corrupt. So the IM Force wants to take advantage of his greed to destroy him. Using a complicated scheme, DuBruis is convinced that some folks have a computer that can make perfect copies of the Ghalean currency. At the same time, they create a fake 'confidential news story' that a HUGE strike has been made at a copper mine. So, allowing his greed to run away with him, DuBruis plans to finance buying millions of dollars of Ambuli Copper using counterfeit funds!
Apart from seeing Barney take a life, some other things to look for in this episode is one of the very worst uses of a stunt double in TV history when Rollin is supposedly having a fight with Barney at the top of the stairs--and the guy is so obviously NOT Rollin! Another thing to not is the 'mobile computer'! While it was tiny by 1960s standards, it looks amazingly silly today--and HUGE!
If you can ignore the bad use of the stunt double, "The Money Machine" is a great episode--and I found myself laughing out loud when the show ended, as it was juicy and devilishly clever!
DuBruis (Brock Peters) is a government minister in the African nation of Ghalea--and he's totally corrupt. So the IM Force wants to take advantage of his greed to destroy him. Using a complicated scheme, DuBruis is convinced that some folks have a computer that can make perfect copies of the Ghalean currency. At the same time, they create a fake 'confidential news story' that a HUGE strike has been made at a copper mine. So, allowing his greed to run away with him, DuBruis plans to finance buying millions of dollars of Ambuli Copper using counterfeit funds!
Apart from seeing Barney take a life, some other things to look for in this episode is one of the very worst uses of a stunt double in TV history when Rollin is supposedly having a fight with Barney at the top of the stairs--and the guy is so obviously NOT Rollin! Another thing to not is the 'mobile computer'! While it was tiny by 1960s standards, it looks amazingly silly today--and HUGE!
If you can ignore the bad use of the stunt double, "The Money Machine" is a great episode--and I found myself laughing out loud when the show ended, as it was juicy and devilishly clever!
LET'S PRINT SOME FUNNY MONEY!
tcchelsey31 December 2023
There's a bit of tech history to this episode, which is fascinating. At the start, Phelps listens to the secret case recording on a "mini" tape recorder --which is soooo cool! It seems to be no larger than a pack of cigarettes. This may have been a neat prop or the real thing; Philips Electronics actually produced the very first mini tape recorder in 1967, when this episode was filmed. This model eventually lead to cassette tape recorders a few years later.
Whatever the case, it's a classic scene and a shame Phelps had to toss the recorder in a trash can!
This episode is another prime example of why M. I. was such a campy tv show. After all these years, I'll never forget this one. Popular actor Brock Peters is the whole show, the epitome of greed, playing DuBruis, the money man behind an African nation, naturally bent on lining his own pockets first.
The team has to put this guy out of business, so they very cleverly introduce a revolutionary computer that prints international currency? What an idea!
This was written by Richard Sakal, who also wrote another series episode. There's not much background info on him, except to say he truly wrote one of the most imaginative stories. The best part of this fake out is the behind the scenes trickery, inserting blank paper in a box with lots of dials and attached tape recorders -- and having sheets of money slide out in a drawer. Actually, Barney is below deck exchanging the blank sheets for the printed sheets. A must see.
Peters is absolutely fun to watch, his greedy eyes getting bigger and bigger as the money pours in. The catch here is for him to "invest" the phony money (currency from his own country) in copper stocks, which will make him look like an amateur conman, if not the fool of the century. This is one of the few episodes where the villain is truly left holding the bag! His next choice is probably suicide.
Cinnamon plays a masterful role as the "bait," and a stylish woman of means. Watch her at her very devious best.
Wait for the ending when DuBruis opens his briefcase! Classic M. I. gamesmanship.
Effectively directed by Paul Stanley, who mastered many top episodes for HAWAII FIVE O. Stanley directed seven episodes for the series.
Do not miss this gem. SEASON 2 EPISODE 8 remastered CBS/Paramount dvd box set 2007.
Whatever the case, it's a classic scene and a shame Phelps had to toss the recorder in a trash can!
This episode is another prime example of why M. I. was such a campy tv show. After all these years, I'll never forget this one. Popular actor Brock Peters is the whole show, the epitome of greed, playing DuBruis, the money man behind an African nation, naturally bent on lining his own pockets first.
The team has to put this guy out of business, so they very cleverly introduce a revolutionary computer that prints international currency? What an idea!
This was written by Richard Sakal, who also wrote another series episode. There's not much background info on him, except to say he truly wrote one of the most imaginative stories. The best part of this fake out is the behind the scenes trickery, inserting blank paper in a box with lots of dials and attached tape recorders -- and having sheets of money slide out in a drawer. Actually, Barney is below deck exchanging the blank sheets for the printed sheets. A must see.
Peters is absolutely fun to watch, his greedy eyes getting bigger and bigger as the money pours in. The catch here is for him to "invest" the phony money (currency from his own country) in copper stocks, which will make him look like an amateur conman, if not the fool of the century. This is one of the few episodes where the villain is truly left holding the bag! His next choice is probably suicide.
Cinnamon plays a masterful role as the "bait," and a stylish woman of means. Watch her at her very devious best.
Wait for the ending when DuBruis opens his briefcase! Classic M. I. gamesmanship.
Effectively directed by Paul Stanley, who mastered many top episodes for HAWAII FIVE O. Stanley directed seven episodes for the series.
Do not miss this gem. SEASON 2 EPISODE 8 remastered CBS/Paramount dvd box set 2007.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
