The Baron (TV series)

The Baron

Industry	Television production
Founded	1965
Founder	ITC Entertainment
Defunct	1967
Headquarters	United Kingdom
Products	Television series

The Baron is a British television series created by ITC Entertainment during 1965–1966, adapted from the novels written by John Creasey under the pen name Anthony Morton. The production comprised thirty episodes in colour, which were also distributed to the American ABC network.

Overview

American actor Steve Forrest portrayed John Mannering, an antiques dealer who drives a Jensen C-V8 bearing the personalised license plate 'BAR 1'. Mannering occasionally undertakes covert assignments on behalf of Templeton-Green (Colin Gordon), the head of British Diplomatic Intelligence, with support from Cordelia Winfield (Sue Lloyd) and David Marlowe (Paul Ferris).

Unlike Creasey's original novels, where Mannering is depicted as a British man with a wife, the television adaptation recasts him as a single Texan bachelor, nicknamed after his grandfather’s expansive 200,000-acre cattle ranch near Dallas. The literary character is a reformed jewel thief whose criminal experience aids his investigations into crimes involving jewels, art, or antiques. Conversely, the TV version presents him as a straightforward individual recruited by British intelligence. One episode reveals Mannering's background as a US Army Captain during World War II, participating in the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program to recover art stolen by the Nazis. Following the war, he owned three antique shops and was considered a founding member of the jet set.

The last colour broadcast of the original series was on London Live in 2023.

Cast and characters

• Steve Forrest as John Mannering (alias "The Baron")
• Sue Lloyd as Cordelia Winfield
• Colin Gordon as John Alexander Templeton-Green
• Paul Ferris as David Marlowe

While not part of the main cast, Reginald Marsh and Derek Newark appeared in three episodes each, sometimes reprising or playing different roles. Actors such as Paul Maxwell, Peter Bowles, George Murcell, and Edwin Richfield also featured multiple times in varying roles throughout the series.

Production

The Baron shared several key production team members with other ITC productions like Danger Man and The Saint, including guest appearances by Peter Wyngarde and Bernard Lee, and direction from Roy Ward Baker and Robert Asher. The majority of scripts were penned by Dennis Spooner and Terry Nation, known for creating the Daleks, with additional scripts authored by Tony O'Grady—a pseudonym for The Avengers writer-producer Brian Clemens.

Mannering’s character mirrored Simon Templar from The Saint, embodying a glamorous jet-set lifestyle. Although set across various international locations, filming took place primarily in the UK at Elstree Studios, then owned by Associated British Pictures. Other filming sites included Haberdashers' Aske's School in Elstree, St Albans, and Ivinghoe Beacon, all frequently utilized in ITC productions. Elstree’s backlot was adaptable, serving as Mannering’s antiques shop, a Mexican town, a Paris nightclub, or an Eastern European police station.

Initially, Paul Ferris played David Marlowe, Mannering’s assistant. However, pressure from US network ABC for a more appealing female lead resulted in Cordelia Winfield’s role being expanded after her first appearance in episode one. Cordelia reappeared in "Something for a Rainy Day" (the ninth episode produced but aired third). The series alternated episodes focusing on Marlowe and Cordelia until Ferris departed after eight episodes.

The American audience was vital; episodes were dubbed to align with US vernacular (for example, changing "petrol" to "gas" and "whisky" to "Scotch"). Roy Ward Baker noted that due to cigarette sponsorship restrictions in the US, characters only smoked during leisure scenes. The show struggled on ABC ratings and was syndicated midway through its run, effectively ending any chance for renewal.

Mannering’s car was a silver Jensen CV-8 Mk II with registration BAR 1. Unlike Simon Templar’s Volvo, this vehicle’s exclusivity limited opportunities for merchandise tie-ins. Cordelia drove a modestly sized DAF Daffodil 33. Notably, the episode "Something for a Rainy Day" included extensive footage of a white Jaguar driving off a cliff; this expensive scene was reused across multiple episodes and series to maximize production value.

The episode "Portrait of Louisa" was adapted from Terry Nation’s earlier script "Lida," originally written for The Saint.

The Baron marked ITC’s first fully colour live-action production without marionette puppetry. Previous ITC marionette shows such as Stingray and Thunderbirds had been filmed in colour; some earlier live-action productions included partial colour episodes.

Feature films

For international theatrical release, two feature-length movies were created by merging two-part episodes, distributed by ITC. The film Mystery Island is a combination of the episodes "Storm Warning" and "The Island," while The Man in a Looking Glass merges "Masquerade" with "The Killing." This method of repackaging episodes into films was also applied during the 1960s to other ITC productions, resulting in European releases of titles derived from series such as The Saint, Danger Man, The Champions, and Man in a Suitcase.

Episodes

Production of the episodes took place from July 1965 through October 1966 at Elstree Studios as well as various external locations. Although all episodes were shot in colour, their initial UK broadcasts were transmitted in black and white; ITV began airing colour versions starting November 1969.

The listed airdate corresponds to ATV Midlands, with broadcast dates and sequence differing across other ITV regions.

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DVD releases

Network Video (Region 2) and Umbrella Video (Region 0, Australia) have issued DVD editions of the series. Supplementary commentary tracks include insights from contributors such as Sue Lloyd, Johnny Goodman, and Cyril Frankel. On 10 March 2009, Entertainment One released the entire series on Region 1 DVD.