Serving as sort of origin story for the series "Mr. Lucky" (after a prequel-styled pilot episode first aired), "They Shall Not Pass" is one of the liveliest, most amoral vintage tv shows I can remember. John Vivyan in the title role couldn't look more like Cary Grant (perhaps a resemblance that halted his career advancement), and his carefree attitude is infectious, with Ross Martin getting very similar experience in tongue-in-cheek adventures for his memorable "Wild, Wild West" sidekick assignment.
I loved the way this episode kept one guessing: it sets up Martin and Vivyan as playful, mysterious figures,. Then has Vivyan unmasking a conman while romancing his daughter (Pippa Scott) and then turns out to befriend the conman while very cleverly outsmarting the real villain, who runs a gambling operation. Upshot is Vivyan establishing the series milieu, an off-shore gambling boat, to replace the one demoished in the pilot episode.
The trademark Hank Mancini theme song kicks in at the perfect moment, when the neon lights go on to announce the gambling boat's inauguration, and one can't help but celebrate a series that is captivating. Overall, the approach of the show's bosses, Jack Arnold (riding high at the time with the biggest hit film of his career -Peter Sellers' "The Mouse That Roared") and Blake Edwards, reminds me of the recent flashy adventure style of the "Kingsman" movies, made by Matthew Vaughn.
I loved the way this episode kept one guessing: it sets up Martin and Vivyan as playful, mysterious figures,. Then has Vivyan unmasking a conman while romancing his daughter (Pippa Scott) and then turns out to befriend the conman while very cleverly outsmarting the real villain, who runs a gambling operation. Upshot is Vivyan establishing the series milieu, an off-shore gambling boat, to replace the one demoished in the pilot episode.
The trademark Hank Mancini theme song kicks in at the perfect moment, when the neon lights go on to announce the gambling boat's inauguration, and one can't help but celebrate a series that is captivating. Overall, the approach of the show's bosses, Jack Arnold (riding high at the time with the biggest hit film of his career -Peter Sellers' "The Mouse That Roared") and Blake Edwards, reminds me of the recent flashy adventure style of the "Kingsman" movies, made by Matthew Vaughn.