User Reviews

The once famous, but now fallen actress Nedra, accepts a lift from three young fans, when her jewel case goes missing, she reaches out to Tim Collier for help, but there's more going on than simply missing jewels.

Finally we get to see Dan Dailey back as Tim Collier, he's definitely got a presence on screen, I think he definitely helped to elevate this episode somewhat.

A pretty good story, not my favourite so far, but engaging enough, an interesting crime, maybe one that had a somewhat obvious outcome.

I liked the trio of beatniks, Pantin, Amant and Mouche, they were interesting enough. The scenes inside those French cafes looked pretty good.

Delphi Lawrence was very good as the once famous actress, she played the part well, and almost had a beaten attitude.

7/10.

Just what I didn't need: mindless anti-Beat Generation propaganda delivered by this usually fine Brit series in 1959 and unwatchable 65 years later.

Only these are supposedly French "beatniques", hanging out at the Cannes Film Festival. The meretricious episode manages to offer zero connection the the movies or the festival (an event I attended as a reporter back in the day and treasure in my memory bank), and caricatures and belittles as ignorant jerks the youngsters known as beatniks. It's not funny but history and the gradually changing establishment (currently right wing-dominated but not forever) likes to demonize both the Beats and the Hippies, eras I lived through and found provocatively inspirational in their ambitions. Even the fine TV series "Mad Men" consistently made fun of same.

The episode is a disaster start to finish, with a dumb blackmail story, idiotic plot twists, and lousy guest cast. It even portrays jazz clubs disparagingly, when in fact the Euro love for jazz and Bud Powell, Dexter Gordon, Kenny Clarke, among others. Is most admirable and was forever told positively in Tavernier's movie "Round Midnight" in the '80s.