For the next installment in our The Gold Robbers series, I will be reviewing episode 5, which originally aired on 4th July 1969. The crime drama produced by London Weekend Television is currently airing every Monday on Talking Pictures TV.
In the opening, we follow the violence up close in the same opening sequence we see in every installment.
When we join Cradock, we find out that the Policeman whose sight was impaired during the attack is improving: he will now be able to identify a member of the gang by sight.
The member we focus on in episode five is Josef Tyzack, played by Alfred Lynch, a popular face in British cinema and television during the 1960s. During the course of his side of the story being told, Joe is portrayed very sensitively. He clearly has a past, but Lynch finds the right balance; a middle ground between a mostly internal character, and just enough warmth and his characteristic emotion in the eyes to make him compelling and sympathetic.
We also see the main body of the gang for the first time. They plot to break Joe out of prison before Cradock gets a chance to get any information out of him.
In the tense build-up to the prison break, we are once again kept fully in the moment by Max Harris’ moody and masterful scoring.
In this episode, we even meet Cradock’s son Terry. We see a different side to the Detective Chief Superintendent. Peter Vaughan is masterful in a scene which shows his character to be very flawed as a father and as a man. It could be seen as a foundation for roles which Vaughan would later play, such as Felix in Our Friends in the North.
Towards the middle of the episode, we also find out that there is a “Mr Big” type really at the top of the robbery tree.
Cast
Det. Chief. Sup. Cradock: Peter Vaughan
Josef Tyzack: Alfred Lynch
Mary Tyzack: Colette O’Neil
Det. Sgt. Tommy Thomas: Artro Morris
Slade: Peter Cellier
Nelson: Terence Rugby
Janet: Sheila Brennan
Victor Anderson: Frederick Batman
Prison Officer Collins: Peter Hager
Bruno: Stanley Lebor
Reverend Lawrence: Keith Grenville
Terry Cradock: Nicolas Ball
W.P.C. Sutton: Auriol Smith
Prison Off.r Parker: Chris Cunningham
Prisoner: Colin Bean
In conclusion, episode five of The Gold Robbers leads us further into the case, further into the story of the characters on both sides of the law.
I personally am hoping that we see more of Terry Cradock, as I think that would be an interesting dynamic to explore further.
If you haven’t managed to see any of The Gold Robbers yet, I thoroughly recommend finding episode five on Talking Pictures TV Encore before picking it up on broadcast from episode 6.
