The Hot Seat

The ratings must have been good. Some of the cast got a few days in Paris.

George Dixon, Mary, DS Andy Crawford and Sgt Grace Millard are having a short break to Paris. They are flying there and staying in a hotel where Dixon knows the owner.

Mr and Mrs Ames, a couple also on the same plane eavesdrop on their conversation. They come to the conclusion that they may be wealthy. It means these visitors are ready to be fleeced by the hot seat scam.

With another accomplice Bruce Treadgold posing as a businessman who befriends Dixon and Crawford. Even lending his limousine. They hoping that Dixon and Crawford will bite when Mary and Grace find a wallet full of money at the hotel restaurant.

It belongs to Mr Ames, who then sits with them and tells them all of a big business deal he is negotiating. Later Treadgold wants to get in on the deal and invites Dixon and Crawford to put some cash in. It is guaranteed to double or triple our profit.

It just so happens that Dixon sniffs out the scam and decides to turn the tables on the con artists.

It could had been an interesting story. It gets too jokey as Crawford is left paying the restaurant bill and Dixon stuck with limousine bill. Then there are the filler scenes of Dixon et al travelling around Paris. I think Blue Peter could had fulfilled that function in those days.

George, Mary, Andy and Grace head off to Paris for a short break, but get caught in a scam, a couple who use the hot seat method to snare victims.

The mystery is there, but it's lost among the visuals, albeit the sublime visuals of Paris. It looks as though it was actually filmed in Paris, impressive considering the time.

Let's be honest, not much happens, but worth remembering that back in 1960, people wouldn't have had much exposure to foreign lands, Paris would have felt wonderfully exotic. So for the time, it's understandable, and probably enjoying. It shows some fine monuments and sites, and if course Notre Dame.

William Mervyn stands out here for me, it seems to be just prior to his Mr Rose series.

Even in Europe, there is no escape from the detective skills of Dixon.

Jack Warner's French is excellent, his pronunciation is excellent.

6/10.