The Avengers (1961–1969): Season 5, Episode 6 - The Winged Avenger - full transcript

- It's going to be difficult, Father.
- All business is difficult.

A decision like this takes strength.

And strength is power.
Remember that.

Yes, Father.

He expects us to confirm
his appointment to the board.

Instead, we're going to dismiss him.

After a blow like this,
he's going to be against us.

You can depend on it.

We must dispense
with his services forthwith.

Well, how are you going to tell him?

The truth, my son.



The plain, unvarnished facts.
That's what you're going to tell him.

- Me?
- Sit down.

Now, keep it short, sharp
and to the point.

Don't give him a chance to argue
or talk back to you.

These things are best done quickly,
so hit him, and hit him hard.

- Come in.
- Oh, thank you, Simon.

My son is speaking for us both
on this occasion.

Oh, I see.

Youth at the helm,
all that sort of thing, eh?

- Don't sit down.
- What?

You won't be staying here long.
I intend being ...

... short, sharp and to the point.

It has been decided that we will
not appoint you to the board.

Not?



Under the circumstances,
we feel that it would be unfair for us ...

unfair for you to remain
with the company hereafter.

Goodbye, and good luck.

Just like that, eh?
You mean you ...

I don't think there's any point
discussing it further.

I'm proud of you, Peter.

- Admirably handled.
- I still have a lotto learn, Father.

You will, my boy. You will.

Now, you run along
and enjoy yourself.

All right, Father.

(Breaking glass)

(Rustling)

(Emma) Yeah.

Yeah!

We're needed.

A sheer drop.

Absolutely.

And no way down from above.

None.

Well, whatever it was,
it must have flown in.

Could be.

The door was locked,
securely locked.

I opened it and found him.

His clothes were torn to pieces,
and the marks on him ...

He's been clawed to death,
as though by some bird.

Some huge, obscene bird.

(Steed) An albatross.
It's got a 12ft wing span.

It's big but not vicious.

Supposed to be a sailor's friend.

- It's got to be a bird of prey.
- Bird ... of ... prey.

Cormorants? No.
Darters.

Boobies and gannets.

Herons and their allies.

Old-world vultures.
Hawks, eagles, kites.

Carriers.
The golden eagle.

(Emma) It's been known to attack man
but only in isolated cases.

Yes, but this isn't an isolated case.

Simon Roberts wasn't the first?

There have been four deaths lately,
in high places.

It's very strange,

the way successful businessmen
always live at the top of buildings.

And they were all businessmen.

And all apparently killed by a bird.

A high-flying eagle?

Hm. Well, if it's on the wing now,
we can expect it any day.

Dear sirs,

with regard
to your outstanding account.

You asked for three weeks' grace
in order to find the money.

Under no circumstances
can we allow this.

Correction.

Under no circumstances
can I allow this.

We will proceed with legal action
against you immediately.

There seems to be
some controversy

about our owning all rights
to the book in question.

I can state quite categorically
that even if we have to go to court

we shall fight to retain our rights.

We will fight the author,
Sir Lexius Cray,

and ...

The door was securely locked.
The burglar alarm was working.

- Exactly the same pattern as before.
- Straight through the window.

Opening it this time.

If it was a bird,
it showed a lot of discretion.

Maybe it was well trained.

'We shall fight to retain our rights.'

'We will fight the author,
Sir Lexius Cray,'

'and ...'

(Rustling)

(Screaming)

(Tape stops)

If the killer didn't fly
through the window,

maybe he climbed up the wall.

(Replays screaming and rustling)

Sir Lexius Cray?

The mountaineer.

Take in the slack.

Now give me your hand.

- Comfy?
- Yes, thank you.

Is this the sort of thing you want?

The experience, yes.

There's nothing like authenticity.

That's the way my readers see it.

The third ledge of the Eiger,
always gave me trouble.

- Fancy a cup of tea, Mrs Peel?
- Lovely.

Oh, thank you.

Not at all.

Get us a cup of tea,
will you, Tay Ling?

Grand chap, that.
Better than all your dogs.

Only snag is, if the worst comes
to the worst, you can always eat a dog.

I wouldn't feel right
tucking into old Tay Ling.

- Tea on the terrace, then, dear lady?
- Fine.

See you downstairs, then.

Cheerio!

The main thing is confidence.

- Confidence in your partner.
- As in all things.

Quite so, young lady.
Quite so.

My magazine has had
rather a setback.

The owner and his son died suddenly
in quick succession.

I believe you know them.
Simon Roberts and son.

Roberts and son? Both?

Both. You did know them?

Oh, I knew 'em all right.
Couple of blackguards.

Shouldn't speak ill
of the dead and all that,

but if you want my reaction,
it's good riddance.

Neither of them had a heart.

There was that business
over my book.

What business?

They published my memoirs recently,

and then tried to do me down,
tried to do me out of the profits.

- Me!
- Must've been very galling.

There were times
when I could've taken them both by ...

But then that's over now.
They're dead and that's the end of it.

You've been most helpful, Sir Lexius.
And thank you for my delicious tea.

My pleasure, dear lady.

- Let me have a sight of the old scribble.
- I will.

- Goodbye.
- Goodbye.

A charming young lady, Tay Ling.

Most charming, sir.

A little inquisitive,
but nothing we can't handle, what?

As you say, sir.

(High-pitched whistle)

(Bird cries)

Ah, good evening.

My name is Tay Ling.

No, you do not know me,
but I know you.

I have been reading
about your notorious exploits.

Exploits.

Also,

I know how you have done
such strange things.

Mm.

Ah, I know because of a letter

sent to my employer

by a man named Poole.

Ha!

I see I have captured your attention.

Oh, yes.

I have the letter here
beneath my hand.

Shall we then commence
to talk business?

Naturally, we can meet.

Shall we say around midnight?

The scientific approach.

The Roberts' building.

Ground below, height,
wind velocity, temperature.

- I have all the facts at my fingertips.
- Good.

And what do you intend
doing with them?

Assessing them
and evaluating them.

Now, someone or something
got from here to there undetected.

There must be an explanation,
and I intend finding it.

With a shoebox?

They laughed at Edison.

Only when he was serious.

Well, while you pursue theory,
I'll try a more practical approach.

A midnight visit to Sir Lexius Cray.

(Bird shrieking)

(Screaming)

(Ripping)

(Bird crying)

Stay right where you are.

(Cray) Tay Ling.

- But what?
- That's what I came to find out.

It looks as though
he's been attacked by a bird.

A bird of prey.

Surely you don't think that ...

We climbed
to the top of the world together.

An experience like that creates
a bond that's hard to break,

even in death.

You came through that door
right on cue, Sir Lexius.

I heard a sound,
the sound of a bird.

So I got Freddy here
and we started searching the grounds.

Then I heard a scream.

Well, whatever was in here
made a mess of your desk.

- Is anything missing?
- Nothing as far as I can see.

What about this?
What was in here?

- Oh, letters, just letters.
- From a person named Poole.

- Yes, Professor Poole.
- Concerning?

He was an inventor who wanted me
to endorse one of his ideas.

- What kind of idea?
- Boots.

Boots?

Oh, no ordinary boots,
by all accounts.

According to him, when you put them on
you could walk up the side of a house.

- Boots?
- Boots.

- For climbing up walls.
- Boots?

Does it ruin your theory?

I have two possible alternatives.

The murderer inflates a small balloon.
He rises up the nearest building.

He fires a rocket line
across to the penthouse.

He drops a trampoline.

He bounces on it, in through the window.
Possibility number one.

- And possibility number two?
- He bribes the doorman.

Boots, boots ...

Special boots, just the thing
for climbing mountains.

You don't have to be roped together.

Ah, that takes all the romance out of it.

Well ...

think of the Matterhorn
during the tourist season.

The upper slopes of that mountain
packed with sightseers,

all out for a vertical stroll.

Vertical souvenir stalls.

- Vertical salesmen.
- Selling vertical souvenirs.

(Sighs)

The last bastions of peace
and solitude are threatened.

And that's not the only threat.

If these boots do what's claimed,

we know how he gets
to the window, but ...

But we've got to find out
who goes through the window.

Hm.

What's Professor Poole's address?

(Muttering)

Professor Poole?
My name is Steed.

- This is Mrs Peel.
- Professor.

Peel? Hm.

Peel, Poole.

Peel, Poole.
The Indonesian marsh rambler.

Peel, Poole. Do you know
the Indonesian marsh rambler?

Not over well.

- Delightful creature. What do you want?
- We're very interested in your work.

We wanted to ask you
a few questions.

Questions? Me?
No time, no time.

Erm, Professor?

- Good morning.
- Good morning.

It's a very nice morning,
splendid flying weather.

- I thought you were gone.
- If you remember,

you promised to show us
your latest invention.

Nonsense.

Consider the ostrich.

What have we done
with the ostrich?

True.
But could you possibly ...?

To watch a man walking
is to see a clumsy machine.

To watch a bird flying
is to witness a vision.

(Emma) But even a bird has
to come down to earth sometime.

A mere detail. My work is
to free man from his shackles.

And if not on the wing,
why not in boots?

Precisely.

Boots. I have work to do.

Mrs Peel spoke to Sir Lexius Cray.

He told me about the boots
you'd offered him.

Put 'em on and you can walk
up the side of a house.

- I know nothing at all about this.
- Oh, come, now, Professor ...

Why do you persist in bothering me?
Why can't you leave me alone?

- Wasn't the dodo warning enough?
- Dodo?

Wouldn't leave that alone.
Now it's extinct.

Gone.

And so have I.

Poole was lying.

To be strictly accurate,
he was hanging.

Upside down.

Well, he merits another visit.

Later, after dark.
Meanwhile, back at the apartment?

There's one aspect of these murders
we've overlooked.

The victims.

They were all businessmen.

All ruthless businessmen.

The kind that treat their staff badly,
grind their competitors under heel.

Sort of Dumayn types.

Eh?

Edward J Dumayn.

Cause c?l?bre of the business world,
in all the newspapers today.

"Dumayn automates his factories."

"Thousands will be made redundant."

That is just the sort.

Now, there's a potential victim
if ever I saw one.

(Sharp intake of breath)

Fothers?

Fothers!

Yes, sir, Mr Dumayn, sir?

A pigeon, Fothers.

- That was a darned pigeon.
- Yes, sir.

I pay you to stock this land with game.

- Pheasant, partridge, real game.
- Yes, sir.

Then produce some, man.
Get beating and produce some.

Yes, sir. Right away, sir.

Flush me out something
worth shooting at this time.

Flush me out something big.

The pattern as before.

And the bird has flown.

- What's that?
- Items found at the scene of the crime.

- Your items don't look very interesting.
- It's a load of rubbish.

I'm beginning to have doubts
about this bird theory.

- The killer's too ...
- Selective?

Yes. He seems to know
where and who to strike.

He's a judge, jury and executioner
all rolled into one.

- A sort of Winged Avenger.
- Eh?

(Emma) "The Winged Avenger
strikes again."

(Steed) "He fights
a lone fight against evil."

Have a look.

(Girl screaming)

Hold it.

- Julian?
- Yes, Arnie?

Julian, you're swooping in
on this beautiful girl,

carrying her off to your nest,
and what do you say?

Oh, I say, "Ah!"

You say, "Ah"?
Well, for heaven's sake feel it.

Ahh ...

Oh, I can't, somehow.

Stanton, he can't say your lines.

Try that.

Ee-urp?

(Clears throat)

Eee-urpp!

Oh, that's much better, Mr Stanton.
Much better.

You see? No trouble.

- Pity you didn't write it that way first.
- It didn't seem to fit your drawing.

- My drawing?
- It doesn't measure up to my writing.

Measure up? I'd say
it was the other way round.

You'd say?

My stories are the key
to this cartoon strip.

- Your stories are dull.
- Dull?

Dull. My visuals bring
some fire into them.

And where you be without a plot, eh?
Where would you be without me?

I breathe life into the Winged Avenger.
I make him a reality.

Er, Steed, John Steed.

- What do you want?
- Back numbers of the Winged Avenger.

I have a young nephew.
I said I'd drop in.

Oh, er, Gerda?

Would you look after Mr Steed
and show him the files?

- A pleasure.
- And mine too.

I must apologise
for my partner's bad manners.

He's been overworking,
losing his grip.

Losing my grip?
I'm sick of your insinuations.

And I'm sick of you.

Eee-urpp!

(Steed) There he stood,
large as life,

flapping his wings
and making noises.

- Noises?
- Eee-urpp! Eee-urpp!

It's probably the bird equivalent
of, "Nice to meet you."

Well, I'm off to make a return visit
to Professor Poole's.

- Ee-urp?
- Ee-urp.

My dear Professor!
What are you up to?

Apart from the ceiling.

You have no right coming in here.

- May we talk?
- Go away.

I wouldn't dream of it.

Now, shall I come up there
or will you come down here?

All right, all right.

You've been practising
with your boots.

Of course.

But the last time we were here
you denied having any.

I don't want everybody to know.

What about the blood
rushing to the head?

Practice on the parallel bars.

Ah.

So, the secret's in the little black box?

Magnetic fields, you know.

If you didn't want anyone to know,
why write to Sir Lexius Cray?

That was before I got a better offer.

Do I assume, then, that before long
everybody will be walking on ceilings?

It'll ruin the carpet trade.

No, no, no. I sold the exclusive rights
to the only other pair in existence.

So somebody else has a pair?

He agreed to keep the boots secret
until they had been perfected.

- As a matter of fact ...
- Yes?

He doesn't even know
I have a pair myself.

- Naughty.
- You won't say anything, will you?

Not a syllable.

That is, if you'll tell me
who has the other pair of boots.

I don't know the man.

The business was conducted
through a third party.

I did, however, make a note
of the company he represented.

Er ...

Winged Avenger Enterprises.

OK, fine, that's it.

Packer!

Packer! About the way
our latest story is going ...

As far as I'm concerned,
it's going fine.

As far as you're concerned!

The Winged Avenger should be
omnipotent, a law unto himself.

He seeks out evil.

He seeks out men without humanity,
wicked men who don't deserve to live.

He seeks them out
and he swoops down on them,

and then ... and then ...

(Stanton) You are taking my creation
an entirely different way.

A wrong way.

That's a matter of opinion.

Is it? Is it?

How do you do?

I'm Mrs Peel.

Mrs Emma Peel.

You received a letter
from our London office?

- Not a word.
- Ah. That was very remiss of them.

I understood they would write.

What did you understand
they would say?

Well ...

Goodbye. See you tomorrow.

- Er, Julian?
- Eh?

Oh, sorry.

I forgot.

Sometimes it seems
like a part of me.

What is it you wanted, Mrs Peel?

Er, I represent a company
dealing in novelty items.

We've come up with a gadget that might
tie in nicely with your cartoon strip.

- Gadget?
- Oh, it's not a gadget, really.

A pair of boots.

With these boots, you could
walk up the side of a house.

Up the side of a house?

And across the ceiling too, eh?

Struck a nerve
when you mentioned the boots, eh?

Packer laughed his head off
and Stanton looked a bit bleak.

It could be one or t'other or both.

I don't think so.

The Winged Avenger
definitely works alone.

Look, that's a cartoon, a fiction.

After the fact.
Don't forget Dumayn.

Hm.

Who else was at the studio?

A number of girls
in various stages of exposure.

Ah, yes.

- And Mr Ee-Urp.
- Julian.

I must say, the Winged Avenger outfit
fits him very well.

We mustn't overlook Julian.

What do you think?

I think you should take
another look round the studio.

Exactly. I've worked out
a way for you to get in.

Oh, no. It's your turn.

I'm going home
to relax and put my feet up.

Ee-urp!

Hm.

(Phone rings)

Hello?

Mrs Peel?

Poole here, Professor Poole.

Yes, Professor? What is it?

It is imperative I see you tonight.

Now, at once, right away.

You mean immediately?
All right, I'll come right now.

Thank you, thank you.

And please, tell no one.

What the devil
do you think you're doing?

Since you ask, disarming you.

- Julian!
- Yes, Julian.

And the Professor.

Professor? What Professor?

- Poole.
- I've never heard of him.

- Oh.
- And what's this?

Arnie must be working
on his own now.

And writing his own stuff too.

Look at this. Elma Peem?
I never wrote a character of that name.

It's an anagram for Emma Peel.

Let's have a look at these.

(Stanton) What does it all mean?

Professor Poole?

Come on.

It all ties in.

For the past six months,
Arnie's completely taken over.

Everything I do is wrong.
Everything has to be his way.

He's mad. He's power-mad.

How are we doing?

Not too good.

The odds are a little more equal now.

It won't do you any good, Mrs Peel.

I am the eradicator of all evils.

I deal out justice and vengeance
to those whom the law cannot touch

and to those who stand
between me and my purpose.

I am the Winged Avenger,
Mrs Peel.

Just a myth, a cardboard character.

Cardboard, Mrs Peel?

Cardboard?

Creator and creation
fused into one being.

Indivisible, omnipotent,
unstoppable.

Nothing ... nothing stands in my way.

Least of all you, Mrs Peel.
Least of all you.

(Clatter)

(Screaming)

Packer's really got his wings clipped.

Oh, thank you.

(Emma) Hey!

I'm coming down.

Ee-urp!

Oh ... Well, it's nice to be
the right way up, for a change.

At least you know where you stand.

Ah, champagne.

Now, with that we'll have
a dozen Whitstable oysters.

La tortue claire aux x?r?s.

- Turtle soup to you.
- I know.

Le saumon d'?cosse belle vue
with a 1959 Chablis.

- Ooh, premier cru!
- What did you say?

- It went with a wallop.
- Marvellous.

Le supr?me de volaille ? la Kiev
with a Ch?teau Mouton Rothschild.

Ah, deuxi?me cru

- '28?
- Huh?

A little younger? '29.

Cr?pe surprise, peeled walnuts
and a tawny or crusty port.

Well, it all sounds marvellous.
Where do we get it at this time of night?

- I've drawn it for you.
- Ah!

- Will you serve or shall I?
- I will.

Hey!

The benevolent Avenger
strikes again!