I knew very little of this play before I bought the "Ripping Yarns" DVD boxed set, on which it is included as an extra. I'm so glad to find that it was - even though it's sourced from an off-air recording, the picture quality is perfectly watchable and matters not a jot anyway when you consider the qualities of the script and the performances. Sharply written, excellently played with some superb turns from luminaries such as Warren Mitchell, David Collings and Brian Wilde, this is a brilliant example of the sort of one-off television play the BBC and indeed British television in general was once so famed for. That it was not preserved in the archives is a tragedy, but the fact that it exists in a home video format from as far back as 1973 is something to be thankful for. It does, however, sadly make one wonder just how many similar gems went out, were wiped and were not lucky enough to be preserved. This is almost worth the price of the "Ripping Yarns" set on its own, never mind the fact that that wonderful series in itself is on the discs!