Danger Man (TV Series) Find and Return (1961) User Reviews

What an unusual ending....

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 14 November 2013]

The British government thinks that a woman named Vanessa has been involved in espionage so they want John Drake (Patrick McGoohan) to bring her back to the UK. However, she's in another country and under the protection of some folks who live in a villa. So, it's up to Drake to insinuate themselves in the home. However, when enemy agents show up and want Vanessa, things get a difficult. It also gets difficult because his assistant (Donald Pleasence) is a bit bloodthirsty! This is a unique episode in many ways but the biggest one is the ending. I could say more but I suggest you see this one yourself to see what I mean. Worth seeing and interesting.

By the way, you could sometimes tell that episodes were rushed, as the 30 minute time slot seemed very short for such a show. Watch when Drake enters the villa--I have never heard people talk so fast in all my life when they first meet! Obviously they were pressed for time and the director must have pushed them to speed it up.

Some humor in this one

[NellsFlickers · 7/10 · 24 March 2020]

In this episode we have Donald Pleasance again, the sympathetic would-be assassin Stashig, and of course Mr. Hardy, all of which add viewing pleasure and a little humor. Then there's McGoohan in his white tux. Not a bad little entry.

Donald Pleasance Is a Treat

[jayraskin1 · 9/10 · 6 September 2012]

This episode has some nice twists and turns. Two nice character actors, Donald Pleasance and Warren Mitchell. Pleasance is known for the early Halloween horror film series, but also for great performances in movies like "The Great Escape," Polanski's "Cul De sac" and the early James Bond film, "You Only Live Twice." Here he plays a meek and annoying man, a bureaucratic spy who seems to be doing it just for the money it brings him. He is a nice anti-Drake. Warren Mitchell played Alf Garnett in the British television series, "Till Death Do Us Part," which was the role that became Archie Bunker, when the series was Americanized as "All in the Family." Here he just has a very brief but effective scene as Stashig, an old friend of Drake who is now on the other side. He knows that he should eliminate Drake, but he decides that he has too few friends left to lose another one. This is an episode where McGoohan really shows what a great James Bond he would have made. He even makes a joke after being shot at in the James Bond style. What distinguishes "Danger Man" from most Bond movies is that you really feel something for the characters. This episode is a good example.

Trivial and unconvincing

[lor_ · 17 May 2024]

It takes more than Pat's sophistication and swagger to carry this show, as for the life of me I couldn't find the hook establishing this story. It makes sense on paper, but plays out as sheer nonsense.

McGoohan protests right at the outset to his superior, not wanting the mission at all, but goes along with it on the prospect of receiving 10,000 pounds commission. He's sent to some mythical Middle Eastern country (I thought it was Cyprus or Greece but "piastres" is name-dropped as currency, sounding like Egypt), on a stupid mission to grab Moira Lister plus her British passport to be brought back accused of treason as a spy.

Donald Pleasence plays the local functionary working in a typewriter repair store but an agent for England, in a goofy role - befuddled and milquetoast one minute, and a callous killer (for the good guys) the next.

The spy versus spy skullduggery makes little sense and is of zero importance, with nothing hanging in the balance -no balance of power, high stakes in the realm of international relations. Just a stupid story of a mysterious woman who we are never privy to any information about her history or character. As usual, Pat can do no wrong, always able to outwit any straw villain or bystander in his way.

For the entire half hour, my reaction remained constant: Who cares?

Takes too long to get going

[bensonmum2 · 5/10 · 17 June 2015]

John Drakes' Mission: Drake sets out to retrieve a woman wanted by the British government for espionage.

I've got to disagree with the other reviews on IMDb for this episode. To me, it's one of the weakest I've seen so far. These episodes are only 22 or so minutes long. As a result, they're usually jam-packed with action with no time to waste. In Find and Return, it felt like the first 2/3 was filler. Drake spent an inordinate amount of time just talking. His scene with Hardy is so leisurely paced you'd think he (and the show) had all the time in the world. To make it worse, by the time the final third rolls around and things start to get interesting, there's not enough time. The final felt rushed.

Other than the last 5 - 7 minutes, other things I liked about this episode: Donald Pleasence' overly ambitious character, Nikolides, and Warren Mitchell's insecure foreign agent, Stashig. Most of these episodes are really helped by strong supporting casts.