Air Date: Feb. 19, 1969. Written by: James Mitchell. Directed by: Piers Haggard. Produced by: Reginald Collin.
This review is based on the camera script, available in the .pdf archive on Disc Three of the Callan: This Man Alone DVD set.
THE PLOT:
Stolen microfilm concerning a new missile leads Callan to "The League of Light," a spiritualist group run by medium Miss Hogg (Betty Marsden), and attended by two low-level Ministry of Defense clerks: Jane Ellis (Avril Elgar) and Geoffrey Gleeson (Alan Cullen). Jane and Geoffrey, recently engaged, plan to use the sale of the microfilm to enjoy a more comfortable life than their perpetual dead-end jobs would allow.
Callan identifies Geoffrey's safe as a likely hiding place. With Lonely currently "visiting" (in lockup for a few weeks), it is left to Callan and Meres to crack the safe. Fortunately, it's an old model, so Callan is up to the job. But when Geoffrey comes home unexpectedly, Meres has no choice but to knock him out... which, with Geoffrey's medical problems, leads to a fatal heart attack.
Now Callan is in the sights of the all-too-competent Inspector Charwood (Wensley Pithey). Hunter is less than sympathetic, leaving only one way for Callan to save himself: To find the microfilm before Meres does, and leverage that for his freedom!
CHARACTERS:
Callan: Grows increasingly desperate as the episode progresses. As it becomes clear that the police are looking firmly at him as their suspect, it is made just as clear that he can expect no help from The Section. With Lonely in prison, he has no support or backup at all. It's very good character material, making it all the more frustrating that this is a missing episode; I would love to actually see Edward Woodward's performance.
Hunter: Continues to exhibit a more laid-back attitude than his predecessors... which doesn't make him any more helpful than they would have been. He flatly tells Callan that he cannot intervene unless the police actually charge him, then dismisses his complaints as "whining." He actually tells Callan to "go home and watch telly." Some of his blasé attitude may be a front; once the case is settled, he makes a personal appeal to an official to drop the investigation.
Meres: Sets off the entire chain of events by killing a man accidentally. In fairness, this isn't because of unnecessary brutality, but because the man has an unforeseen heart condition. Still, since Callan's the one who can be linked to the League of Light and Peace, the police never even know to look at Meres. He goes on to recover some of the microfilm, leaving him very much in Hunter's good graces while Callan is left twisting in the wind.
THOUGHTS:
...And, after a long run in which all but one episode existed, we're back to the missing ones - which, sadly, dominate the third Hunter's era.
There are multiple reasons why I'm particularly sad that Land of Light and Peace is missing. It's the first "case of the week" episode to feature the new Hunter, and thus provides a first impression of his character when actually in the big chair. It would have been nice to have seen the interplay between Edward Woodward and Derek Bond during these scenes - particularly whatever nonverbal reaction Bond might have given the couple of times Callan slipped and referred to his Hunter as "John."
This is also a rather good script. The story is well-structured and nicely-paced, with some solid guest roles, not least of which is the too-clever police inspector targeting Callan. The final scene between Callan and Inspector Charwood is top-notch, ending the episode on an effective note, with a good visual cue to match.
If this existed, it's likely it would still be overshadowed by the two preceding episodes. But it's a good, solid standalone (I'd trade it for The Little Bits and Pieces of Love in a heartbeat), and is a script that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.
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