THE INVISIBLE MILLIONAIRE is a nice little episode from the tail-end of series two of THE SAINT. It's a housebound mystery in which a successful businessman is involved in a horrific car accident that leaves him burned and bandaged and in the care of his doctor, but his family soon suspects something else is wrong. This tale hinges on a very obvious twist but nonetheless works well thanks to a great little cast, many of whom outshine Moore himself. Nigel Stock plays a nosy investigator; Jane Asher the inquisitive daughter; Michael Goodliffe the sinister doctor; and, best of all for me, the gorgeous Eunice Gayson (who I always remember from THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN but who is best known as a Bond girl) the Saint's friend.
5 Reviews
Not front rank Saint but still a lot of fun.
jamesraeburn200323 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
A millionaire called Marvin Chase (Basil Dignam) and his personal assistant Bertrand Tamblin (Mark Eden) are involved in a car crash. Tamblin is killed but Chase has survived, although he has suffered horrific burns and his face is completely covered with bandages. Simon Templar (Roger Moore) becomes involved when Chase's secretary, Nora (Eunice Gayson), calls him because she is disturbed by her boss's behaviour regarding the handling of his finances. She has tried to approach him about it but his physician, Dr Quintus (Michael Goodliffe), will not allow her or anybody else near his bedside. She fears that some kind of swindle is taking place, but when Simon arrives to meet her in a boathouse she has been murdered. Meanwhile, Chase's brother, Jim (Nigel Stock), has been hanging around the family estate. It transpires that Chase had bought out the firm that Jim works for and had vowed to have him fired the minute the takeover was completed. But, Simon and the police do not believe that he is a murderer since his brother's change in his financial dealings meant that the takeover would no longer occur. On visiting a stockbroker in the City, Simon is told that Chase is practically liquidating his entire empire by selling off all of his stocks and shares for hard cash, which is unusual because sometimes he is doing it even if it means selling them at a loss. When Simon questions Chase's devoted daughter Ellen (Jane Asher), she tells him that she believes her mother, Rosemary (Katherine Blake), and Dr Quintus are involved in some kind of plot against her father. She also points out that the car crash happened rather conveniently only a few yards from the doctor's house and she can remember that the car clock stopped at 11:09. This contradicts evidence given by the local postman who swears that Chase's Rolls Royce sped past him at exactly 11:00, only yards from where the fatal accident happened. So what happened in those nine minutes? Simon unravels an ingenious murder plot in which his friend Nora had to die because she had been asking too many questions...
Not really front rank Saint because the identity of the killers is pretty obvious from the outset and it will not tax your little grey cells all that much. But, never mind, it is still a lot of fun with an appealing plot and a great cast of familiar British faces offering Roger Moore first rate support. Jane Asher is of particular note as the tycoon's daughter who evokes a real depth of feeling in her character's devotion to her father and her dislike or distrust of her mother whom she strongly believes is plotting against him in cohorts with Michael Goodliffe's shady doctor. Nigel Stock is quite good as Chase's wayward brother while Eunice Gayson, famous for being the first Bond girl, is noteworthy as the ill-fated Nora, the secretary and close friend of Simon whom is silenced because she knew too much. Look out for Mark Eden, best known for playing the soap villain Alan Bradley in Coronation Street, too. The episode is soundly directed by Jeremy Summers who made several contributions to some of Britain's best loved cult TV series such as Randall and Hopkirk Deceased, The Baron and Gideon's Way. The settings and the b/w lighting of Lionel Banes both combine to give the plot an air of the sinister and the mysteriousness.
Not really front rank Saint because the identity of the killers is pretty obvious from the outset and it will not tax your little grey cells all that much. But, never mind, it is still a lot of fun with an appealing plot and a great cast of familiar British faces offering Roger Moore first rate support. Jane Asher is of particular note as the tycoon's daughter who evokes a real depth of feeling in her character's devotion to her father and her dislike or distrust of her mother whom she strongly believes is plotting against him in cohorts with Michael Goodliffe's shady doctor. Nigel Stock is quite good as Chase's wayward brother while Eunice Gayson, famous for being the first Bond girl, is noteworthy as the ill-fated Nora, the secretary and close friend of Simon whom is silenced because she knew too much. Look out for Mark Eden, best known for playing the soap villain Alan Bradley in Coronation Street, too. The episode is soundly directed by Jeremy Summers who made several contributions to some of Britain's best loved cult TV series such as Randall and Hopkirk Deceased, The Baron and Gideon's Way. The settings and the b/w lighting of Lionel Banes both combine to give the plot an air of the sinister and the mysteriousness.
A bit of a disappointment.
Wirefan12216 May 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Story starts off with millionaire Marvin Chase and his administrative assistant Bertrand Tamblin getting in a road accident (after the Chase implying that he knows that Tamblin is having an affair with his wife). The newspapers' headlines then say that in the accident Chase got badly burned while trying to save Tamblin but Tamblin died anyway.
Then we see that Chase cannot see anybody (or not for very long) due to being wrapped up like a mummy and having trouble talking. Simon suspects something is up and then Nora (Chase's other assistant) calls him after noticing that Chase started selling a lot of his assets that will actually lose him money (stocks, etc.). It is here at about 10 minutes into the episode that I suspected a 'switcharoo.'
A very unlikely confluence of events would have to happen for this fraud to occur, mainly, the police/first responders would have to let a badly burned man be treated at home by the family doctor without going to the hospital! There's more but it's just a bit much to stomach.
Other than that episode is the usual enjoyable watch...just a bit hard when it's all figured out already (unusual for me!).
Then we see that Chase cannot see anybody (or not for very long) due to being wrapped up like a mummy and having trouble talking. Simon suspects something is up and then Nora (Chase's other assistant) calls him after noticing that Chase started selling a lot of his assets that will actually lose him money (stocks, etc.). It is here at about 10 minutes into the episode that I suspected a 'switcharoo.'
A very unlikely confluence of events would have to happen for this fraud to occur, mainly, the police/first responders would have to let a badly burned man be treated at home by the family doctor without going to the hospital! There's more but it's just a bit much to stomach.
Other than that episode is the usual enjoyable watch...just a bit hard when it's all figured out already (unusual for me!).
Eunice Gayson
larryanderson10 March 2018
The Invisible Millionaire
Prismark1022 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The Invisible Millionaire is an episode that needs to be mummified.
Wealthy investor Marvin Chase (Basil Dignam) has it all. However his wife Rosemary (Katherine Blake) is having an affair with her husband's personal assistant Bertrand Tamblin (Mark Eden.)
Maybe Chase suspects something as he goes careering down the country roads. A horrific car crash leaves Tamblin dead and Chase suffering horrific burns with his entire body bandaged up.
Chase's secretary, Nora (Eunice Gayson) believes something is amiss. For a start despite the extensive burns, he is being treated at home through his personal physician and not a hospital.
Chase is also making strange business transactions like he is liquefying all his assets. Nora calls in Simon Templar to investigate.
You do not need to be the Saint to figure out that the man in the bandages is Tamblin and it is Chase who dies. There is a dastardly plot for him and Rosemary to run off with all the money.
A daft story, it was unclear if the crash was deliberate or just a fortunate set of circumstances for Tamblin. Whatever the case this episode of the Saint was a sinner.
Wealthy investor Marvin Chase (Basil Dignam) has it all. However his wife Rosemary (Katherine Blake) is having an affair with her husband's personal assistant Bertrand Tamblin (Mark Eden.)
Maybe Chase suspects something as he goes careering down the country roads. A horrific car crash leaves Tamblin dead and Chase suffering horrific burns with his entire body bandaged up.
Chase's secretary, Nora (Eunice Gayson) believes something is amiss. For a start despite the extensive burns, he is being treated at home through his personal physician and not a hospital.
Chase is also making strange business transactions like he is liquefying all his assets. Nora calls in Simon Templar to investigate.
You do not need to be the Saint to figure out that the man in the bandages is Tamblin and it is Chase who dies. There is a dastardly plot for him and Rosemary to run off with all the money.
A daft story, it was unclear if the crash was deliberate or just a fortunate set of circumstances for Tamblin. Whatever the case this episode of the Saint was a sinner.
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