The Dick Powell Theatre (TV Series) A Swiss Affair (1961) User Reviews

A Swiss Affair

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 2 November 2023]

This could easily be a Thin Man type of spy caper. Dick Powell is all aboard as an American agent William Gannon looking to give a missing German scientist asylum in America.

Only Hillary Wade (Hazel Court) wants to do the same for the secret service but she could be working for another foreign power, maybe the Soviets.

There is a dodgy Frenchman called Maurice Duveaux and they all sit down together to eat dinner on the train. Duveaux later gets stabbed and there is a bit of chemistry between Wade and Gannon.

Maybe it is that old English duffer Colonel Wilkins who is up to no good or he is just a traveller still in love with the empire.

There are a lot of twists in this teleplay. Powell is effortless, Court is good as the femme fatale type.

Good espionage yarn that sounds familiar...

[searchanddestroy-1 · 18 January 2016]

Of course, if it is an espionage tale, it takes place during cold war. But you have here some comedy and romance accents, such as the way Dick Powell encounters the lady on the train; it looks like some Mitchell Leisen or George Cukor stuff. Or Alfred Hitchcock... Yes, this episode looks like not a Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode, God not, but a AH movie instead. I could have imagined Cary Grant in Powell's character. I won't spoil you this story, it's not an unforgettable one, but it remains a more than acceptable time waster with adequate performances. One good pill of suspense at the beginning, when one man tells the lead woman that the tablets she had in her purse are destined to a rapid death. Made by Bob Ellis Miller.

Mr. Powell & Mrs. Court

[lor_ · 15 December 2023]

Dick Powell gives a smooth performance in this hour-long episode that reeks of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" shtick, as he vies with British double agent Hazel Court in a Cold War spy story concerning which country will gain possession of a key scientist (involved in launching "Sputnik" no less) defecting from the Soviet Union.

There are elements of violence and life & death action here, but basically Robert Ellis Miller (who made "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter") emphasizes a light, romantic tone throughout. Lovely Hazel Court is a terrific femme fatale while Cecil Kellaway keeps one guessing in a flashy supporting role.

TV from 60 years ago is of course quite dated in many ways, yet it was interesting how an early conversation here between Powell & Court reflects unintentionally on issues still quite relevant. Powell's cover is that he works for a major computer outfit, and in repartee Hazel asks him if machines can tell what his wife prefers in clothing and he indicates no. In recent years just such an ability drives most of the advertising and marketing today, even before the increasing use of AI.