The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (TV Series) The Deadly Toys Affair (1965) User Reviews

What's it all about, Elfie?

[ShadeGrenade · 8/10 · 3 June 2010]

Warshowsky ( Gil Perkins ), a defecting THRUSH scientist, reveals to Mr.Waverly the existence of a top secret poison gas factory in the Mohave desert. Solo and Kuryakin break in at night, fight with guards, and blow the place up. The scientist then slips out of U.N.C.L.E.'s grasp to rescue his precocious son Bartlett ( Jay North ) from a THRUSH boarding school in Switzerland. The boy's intellect is so high it goes beyond genius levels. THRUSH think he may one day become its new leader.

Kuryakin gets a job as hairdresser to the boy's aunt, an overbearing actress by the curious name of 'Elfie Van Donck' ( Angela Lansbury ), while Solo masquerades as a salesman of novelty toys...

Its hard to think of another U.N.C.L.E. episode with an opening as exciting as this one. The raid on the factory is good enough to pass muster as a Bond pre-credits sequence. Sadly, nothing that happens after that is as good. The decline starts with the introductions not only of 'Elfie', but also Diane McBain as her friend 'Joanna Lydecker'. Usually in stories like this its the child who emerges as the most irritating character, but here the two women compete for the honour.

A joke is made out of Illya being more desirable to Joanna than Solo, a possible reference to David McCallum's popularity among female viewers.

Some nice action stuff, as well as the opening, there's Illya on a motorbike being shot at by THRUSH, a toy plane containing a bomb, a fight at an airport in which Illya manages to leap athletically over suitcases, and poison gas erupting as our heroes try to reach a helicopter. So not at all bad, but could have been better.

Angela Lansbury Guest Stars

[gordonl56 · 7/10 · 17 December 2014]

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. –The Deadly Toys Affair – 1965

This is the 38th episode of 1964 to 1968 spy series, THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. The series ran for a total of 105 episodes. The first season was filmed in black and with the remainder shot in colour. Robert Vaughn plays agent Napoleon Solo while David McCallum, plays Illya Kuryakin, Leo G Carroll plays Mister Waverly, the boss of the secret agency known as U.N.C.L.E. (United Network Command for Law & Enforcement) Their main enemy is THRUSH, an organization out to take over the planet.

UNCLE discovers from a defecting THRUSH scientist that THRUSH has a nerve gas plant out in the Mohave desert. Agents Robert Vaughn and David McCallum are sent out to do a spot of destruction to said plant. Afterwards they are sent to Switzerland to rescue the son of the defector. The lad, Jay North, is being held at a THRUSH school for brilliant children. They want to make sure he grows up as a THRUSH type.

Nothing of course ever goes to plan and North's father, the defector (Gil Perkins) escapes UNCLE custody. He does not trust UNCLE to save his son. THRUSH are not amused with Perkins, they blow him to pieces with a bomb carrying radio controlled model aircraft.

Anyways, Vaughn and McCallum go undercover, McCallum as a hairdresser to Diane McBain. Also in the mix is Angela Lansbury as a slightly wacko ex movie star. Needless to say there is plenty of action with the regular amount of captures, escapes and gun battles.

The various plot holes are nicely covered up by director John Brahm. Brahm was a former big screen helmsman. He is well known for his work in the film-noir genre. These would include, THE LODGER (1944) GUEST IN THE HOUSE, HANGOVER SQUARE, THE LOCKET, SINGAPORE and THE BRASHER DOUBLOON. He later would direct several of the best TWILLIGHT ZONE, episodes,"Time Enough at Last" and "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street".

Jay North was well known to TV viewers as Dennis the Menace on the 1959 to 1963 TV series.

Better than average 2nd season episode

[rlegro-80330 · 22 September 2016]

A uniformly superior guest cast greatly aids this installment. Solo and Kuryakin are trying to prevent THRUSH from glomming onto a boy genius whose father early in the action meets a bizarre and series-typical, roundabout end. The boy is played by Jay North, who a few years earlier was TV's "Dennis the Menace." North is just right for the part. Other luminaries contributing to the fun include Diane McBain, John Hoyt, Arnold Moss, and Angela Lansbury (who gobbles up everyone else in her scenes). Vaughn and Callum are at their whimsical best portraying UNCLE's best. In a departure from norm, their characters both get to make a run at this episode's femme fatale, played by the lovely McBain with a more than usual action bent. Hand-held exterior camera shots - - another trademark of the series -- contribute to what, in the mid-60s, was production quality superior to most TV network action series of the time. This episode makes several allusions to earlier installments, including having one of our heroes and the femme of the moment hanging in a dank room and toy planes as weapons (the series predicted weapons drones). A "goof" noted on this episode's IMDb main page is not actually erroneous. Solo is indeed Section 2, Number 1, i.e., UNCLE's top enforcement agent, as was established in Season 1 (Solo identifies himself as such). The numbers on UNCLE security badges are not meant to correspond to the agent's place in the organization's hierarchy.

***1/2

[edwagreen · 9/10 · 13 February 2016]

As always, Angela Lansbury steals the show, this case as Ellfie van Donck, a Russian actress whose brilliant 13 year old nephew is in the hands of THRUSH and to further mold him, they assassinate his father.

David McCallum is equally good here as Diane McBain's hairdresser, the latter being a close friend of Elfie.

Jay North of television's "Dennis the Menace," fame plays the brilliant boy who overhears what THRUSH has done to his father and is willing to go back with them so that he can plot his revenge against the evil organization.

Elfie flying the helicopter out of the compound with all the good guys and gals was quite appropriate. Elfie had plenty of training for the aunt role. After all, she was in Mame.