- Title: Danger Man – View from the Villa
- wiki: link
Our Throwback Tuesday post takes us back to the good old days of black-and-white Cold War spycraft. Secret agent John Drake (Patrick McGoohan) was introduced to television audiences for the first time in “View from the Villa,” in which our protagonist investigates the murder of a banker in Rome who, prior to his death, embezzled $5 million in gold bullion (which is still missing). As we’ll see throughout the series run, Drake differs from the most notable spy of the time in several key aspects. Unlike James Bond, Drake doesn’t carry a gun, doesn’t woo the ladies, has no use for special gadgets, and most of the time will make through a mission without the need to kill.
Over the course of the episode Drake will pull on the string of the murder victim’s secret mistress (Barbara Shelley) until it leads him to the gold and the identity of the man’s killers. Jumping us right into a case, the episode proves to be a good introduction to the character and series as we learn about Drake and his methods while on the job. The first episode is also memorable because it was shot in Portmeirion (standing in for Italy). The village, so to speak, left an obvious impression on the actor as it would become the setting of his next project.
