The Persuaders would likely have been an international hit in America and abroad had it premiered a few years earlier--although the fact that Roger Moore and much of the production staff of The Persuaders was then making The Saint would have precluded the possibility. By 1971, however, the glamor of the jetsetting elite was just about to give way to mass tourism made possible by the Boeing 747. And the exotic world of Euro-spies and Cold War intrigue was about to be replaced by a mature Euro-terror movement, as exemplified by Baader-Meinhof and the Red Army Faction. The urbane world of Patrick McGoohan's Danger Man, Patrick Macnee's The Avengers, and Roger Moore's The Saint was about to disappear behind the nihilism and grimy proletarianism of Palestinian terrorism and Black September's Munich Massacre. The Persuaders suddenly looked out of place.
Not to mention that, while Roger Moore was on his way up (to James Bond), Tony Curtis was on his way down as a movie star (1965's The Great Race was Curits' last good role in movies). In fact, I always thought that since Beau Maverick (Roger Moore) had grown from TV's Maverick into Brett Sinclair, it would only have been appropriate that James Garner's Bret Maverick been hired as "Beau" Wilde. Not likely, of course, since Garner was still a major film star. But it would have been interesting, although I must admit watching The Persuaders on STARZ' Action channel and on the recently released DVD, I've been won over by Curtis' ad libbing and level of physical energy.
Final verdict: a great series that was just a few years too late in getting on to the tube. But note that the episodes filmed in Britain are far better than those that take place in the south of France.
Not to mention that, while Roger Moore was on his way up (to James Bond), Tony Curtis was on his way down as a movie star (1965's The Great Race was Curits' last good role in movies). In fact, I always thought that since Beau Maverick (Roger Moore) had grown from TV's Maverick into Brett Sinclair, it would only have been appropriate that James Garner's Bret Maverick been hired as "Beau" Wilde. Not likely, of course, since Garner was still a major film star. But it would have been interesting, although I must admit watching The Persuaders on STARZ' Action channel and on the recently released DVD, I've been won over by Curtis' ad libbing and level of physical energy.
Final verdict: a great series that was just a few years too late in getting on to the tube. But note that the episodes filmed in Britain are far better than those that take place in the south of France.