7cb1d79195 Steed and Mrs. Peel stop a clever blackmailing scheme targeting millionaires.
"You Have Just Been Murdered" is another ingenious Philip Levene plot line, as millionaires are being blackmailed by extortionists who demonstrate how easily each can be killed (four times is the limit before the exchange takes place). George Murcell ("Square Root of Evil") plays the mastermind Nathaniel Needle, conveniently hiding out in a haystack, but it's Simon Oates ("Super Secret Cypher Snatch") who steals the show as the smiling assassin Skelton (Oates would go on to portray John Steed in a stage production of THE AVENGERS). Diana Rigg's Emma Peel is more stylish than usual, whether climbing a tree or throwing an opponent over her shoulder while immersed in water. Series veteran Frank Maher makes his fifth of six appearances (a terrific fight to the death with a leather-clad Mrs. Peel), along with Geoffrey Chater ("You'll Catch Your Death"), John Baker ("Requiem"), and Les Crawford ("The 50,000 Breakfast"). Leslie French ("Death of a Great Dane") plays the victimized Lord Rathbone, so named in honor of the late Basil Rathbone, who died July 21 1967, just as this episode began shooting. In an unusual twist, Rathbone was in New York City, en route to England, where he was to do "The Blood Beast Terror," co-starring with Peter Cushing, replaced at the last moment by Robert Flemyng, who here appears as the banker, Lord Maxted (best remembered for his starring role opposite British beauty Barbara Steele in the 1962 Italian Gothic "The Horrible Dr. Hichcock").
A series of millionaires have each taken one million pounds in cash out of their accounts and it is up to Steed and Mrs Peel to find out why. The viewer is clearly shown why; each of the men is repeatedly 'murdered' by an unspeaking assailant. After shooting the victim with an unloaded gun, stabbing them with a fake knife or almost running into them with his car he gives them a card bearing the words 'You have just been murdered'. It doesn't matter whether they are out in the open or in a locked room; they can be got to. After the fifth attack, by which time they are understandably petrified, they receive a telephone call from Nathaniel Needle, the man behind the scheme, demanding a million pounds in cash or the next murder will be for real. Steed learns the identity of the latest victim but he is unwilling to talk so he and Mrs Peel devise a plan to follow him to the drop point where she can retrieve the moneyÂ… not knowing that man had decided to fight back by putting a bomb in with the money!.<br/><br/>This was an enjoyable episode; the opening scene where a victim is 'shot' by the villainous Skelton had me gripped. This is largely down to Simon Oates portrayal of the man; the way he smiles but doesn't speak is genuinely creepy. In fact he is a better villain than the man behind the scenesÂ… and he is quite a good character as well. The 'bomb in the bag' proved a nice twist at the end and increased the tension as Mrs Peel blithely carries the case not realising it could explode at any moment. As expected we get to see Mrs Peel fighting a villain but this time in a lake; which made an interesting changeÂ… as does the villain's use of a sickle once the pair have exited the water. Those who prefer the more fantastical stories may be a bit disappointed but those who like a story that is vaguely believable are likely to really like this; the plot may be a little far-fetched but it is believable. Overall a good episode with a solid set of villains.