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"The Persuaders!" (1971) More at IMDb Pro »

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32 comments in total

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18 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
The opening credits made this show, 25 May 2001
Author: Silasss from London, England

This is one TV show in which the opening credit sequence was even better than the actual programme. To begin with, John Barry's theme music is still one of the best ever written for a TV show - a few years ago I heard it for the first time in nearly 20 years, and I absolutely stopped in my tracks! SO evocative. Then the montage, which begins by using images to tell the respective stories of the two main characters - Lord Brett Sinclair with his inherited wealth, his City career, his career as an English sporting gentleman, including being a Formula One driver (a superb quick archive shot of racing cars filmed in long zoom straight from the Golden Age of Grands Prix); Danny Wilde starting in poverty on the Lower East side in New York, but soon becoming an oil magnate (newspaper shot of a $9.6m dollar deal!). Then the next part of the sequence shows the two of them having a great time in various exotic European locations ... champagne bubbles, jewellry put round exquisite necks, the cars they drive, water-skiing, power boat racing, beautiful women in bikinis, and a shot of a roulette wheel. Everything you need to know about the programme, including the strong friendship between the leads, is to be found in this magnificent one-minute sequence.

I don't know what the German translations for the dialogue for Die Zwei were, but I'm sorry if the impression was given that the original didn't contrast witty dialogue with tense situations - because that's exactly what the original show *was* like. Anyway, this was never a show for worrying about what the plot was this week - it was a show for basking in the wonderful locations, the beautiful cars, the witty lines and the sexual banter. (Needless to say, both the main characters were depicted as irresistible to women).

For those in the UK who think it has gone away for ever, Granada Plus have recently reshown the whole series twice a day, and I've no doubt they will do so again. Also, I believe the shows are now available on video.

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16 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
Inspired!, 23 October 2003
Author: crawfrordboon from United Kingdom

Never before have I seen on-screen chemistry like that between Roger Moore and Tony Curtis in The Persuaders. Both actors fill their roles perfectly and more besides, whoever teamed up these guys needs credit also.

Whether they're winning improbable fight scenes, surviving hair-raising car chases, or making sense of unusual situations (e.g Sinclair finding out how he has suddenly acquired a wife, Wilde being accidentally immersed into a Soviet spy ring, or Sinclair again finding that he has been cloned!) Moore and Curtis always appear to be having a riot of a time, perhaps in some measure a result of the large quantities of champagne the cast got through on the set.

Roger Moore deploys his usual charm and dry wit, whilst the manic Curtis excels with his deadpan humour and perfect timing. The contrast between the two main characters matches that between the two actors, but its more a case of salt and vinegar than cheese and chalk, Moore and Curtis are perfect together, and together they are perfect for the show. Slightly camp 1970s comedy/action - perfect for Roger to make his indelible mark on the James Bond series, and a welcome change for Tony from his less light-hearted roles.

Brilliant series, shame it only lasted a couple of years!

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16 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
Classic T.V. series, 10 April 2002
Author: lonniebealeusa from Las Vegas U.S.A.

Whoever came up with the idea of teaming Roger Moore and Tony Curtis to star in this series should be congratulated,add the exotic locations and wonderful story lines and you have a show that is truely brilliant. The Persuaders was a hit show in Europe and Australia but for some unknown reason never successful in the U.S.A,which limited its run.Roger Moore is perfectly cast as Lord Brett Sinclair ,as is Tony Curtis as the Brooklyn born Danny Wilde ,seeking adventure and fun in the hotspots of the Italian and French Rivieras.What a shame the Americans had such bad taste in the '70's and never gave this show a chance.When you consider some t.v. series that had a long run in the U.S.A. that were not up to the quality of the Persuaders it makes one wonder about the taste of television viewers.

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16 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
The Ultimate Seventies Schlock!, 15 October 2000
Author: tony.marshall2 from Nottingham, England

Lord Brett Sinclair(Roger Moore) and Daniel Wilde(Tony Curtis) fighting crime all over the U.K. and Europe in the name of justice, with two flashy cars and a pair of eyes for the ladies. In a way, it was a good notion that the Producers decided to pull the plug on this series after just 24 episodes, because it adds to the uniqueness and rarity of it all. In another sense they had no choice but to quit whilst they were ahead, well in the U.K. and Europe anyway, because it was the American market that finally decided it's fate-shame really, but how do you come up against an already established cult like 'Mission Impossible' at it's peak.

'The Persuaders!' is prime-time escapism thanks to the combination of two glittering actors both at the top of their respective fields at the time. But what a strange combination, but the whole thing worked. Every series has it's own stand-out and exceptional episodes and this series was no different. The highly recommended ones come in the form of: 'Overture'(the pilot), 'Angie...Angie', 'The Gold Napoleon', 'Someone Like Me', 'Greensleeves', 'Someone Waiting', 'The Morning After' and 'The Long Goodbye'. We also have other due notable episodes like 'Take Seven' in which we see Tony Curtis deliver one of the best comedic performances of the whole series, set in a barber's shop. Finally who could forget the bronx warrior doing his fancy fight scene stunts in 'The Old, The New and The Deadly'. So, there we have some gems amongst gems in a gem of a series, with a great mixture of action and comedy. Enjoy...

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11 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the best detective series ever., 2 August 2006

Author: geisterfaust from Sweden

Maybe it's out of nostalgia, maybe it's because I've grown up with the series, but whichever way I choose to look at it, I come to the conclusion that The Persuaders was and still is one of the best detective/adventure/action/what-have-you-series ever created. Because even now, as I recently bought the complete series on DVD, and has been able to watch all episodes again, including many which I missed when they were aired on TV, I can't help but being endlessly charmed and entertained by it. Even though a lot of shows that gain cult-status tend to be more out of sheer novelty value, in the case of The Persuaders, I feel it is more than well deserved. Everything, from the utterly brilliant theme music by John Barry, the kitschy but superbly entertaining fight-scenes to the great chemistry between Moore and Curtis and the general high quality of the story lines, is just top-notch. Sure, it's silly and kitschy and very 70's, but then on the other hand, that's what's so great about it.

This is pure, shameless entertainment when it's at its best.

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11 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
never mind the plots, this is how tv should be, 22 August 2002
Author: grunsel from United Kingdom

I dont think i have seen Tony Curtis so happy as he appears to be in this role. Whether its 'acting' happy or not, his and Moore's relationship lights up the screen, bringing cheerful escapist television into any living room.

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9 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Seventies magic, 4 December 1999
Author: Liedzeit from Germany

Known in Germany as "Die Zwei" - The Two this continues to be a favorite with frequent reruns. Everyone grown up during the seventies remembers and loves the show. It is said that the success was mainly due to a loose translation. Moore and Curtis would talk in a language that was unknown at the time with lots of puns and jokes. (It died out with the seventies.) But from a purely visual point of view with great scenery and also because of the music score this was a great one and the mostly silly and foreseeable plots are easily forgiven. It seemed that the beauty in every other episode was synchronized by the same actor who did Paula from Daktari the jungle show. That annoyed me a lot as a kid. But even that I find fascinating now.

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7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
They persuaded me!, 1 July 2000
Author: James-328

Lord Brett Sinclair and Danny Wilde are drawn together by Judge Fulton to use there wasted talents and use them for the fight against crime. Top notch action and comedy the Persuaders were the oddest of couples that got on very well. Lord Brett Sinclair and aristocratic, suave and stylish with clothes to match was the true English Gent. Danny Wilde a millionaire with wit and a very large wallet. Cars, Girls, Guns and one liners was the best combination of this powerful suspense series hat ran for only 2 years, it is a real shame. No one has ever come close to the partnership of Moore and Curtis. Sinclairs lucky number was 7 and he drove an Austin Martin, a pre-James Bond role which made him an international success. Everyone with a thing for action and suspense must watch this.

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8 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Poor Timing, 2 July 2004

Author: Paul Cornelius (paul.cornelius@lycos.com) from United States

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.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Roger Moore And Tony Curtis Excel, 14 September 2002
Author: Big Movie Fan from England

I have to admit that Roger Moore is one of my favourite actors. He was brilliant in The Saint and I cannot forget his contribution to the James Bond series. In this show, he excelled again along with Tony Curtis.

Anyone who lived during the era this was made knows what to expect. Fights, women, action, crime etc. Moore as Lord Brett Sinclair and Tony Curtis as Danny Wilde looked like they were having a great time as they had fun with beautiful women and battled the usual stereotypical villains.

Fans of The Saint, The Avengers and similar shows will enjoy this. It's just a shame that this only ran for about 23 episodes.

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