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My contribution to the Kingsman collaboration that SaltyBros did for BrickFair LEGO Fan Expo 2022! I had so much fun building this contribution, based on Kingsman: The Golden Circle (the second film in the series). I spent a lot of time trying to get it detailed and textured, and accurate to the actual set's appearance. Check out all the photos!
Stay tuned for our video interview with Beyond the Brick!
More photos on my website! And check out the collab!
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--NS
Through the creations that I build, I hope to inspire other young (or perhaps older) LEGO builders to unleash their inner creativity. We all need a positive way to express ourselves, so let's allow LEGO to be an extension of us. Your creativity belongs to you, and nobody can take that away. Build what you want to build, and how you want to build it. Creativity Never Ends!
My contribution to the Kingsman collaboration that SaltyBros did for BrickFair LEGO Fan Expo 2022! I had so much fun building this contribution, based on Kingsman: The Golden Circle (the second film in the series). I spent a lot of time trying to get it detailed and textured, and accurate to the actual set's appearance. Check out all the photos!
Stay tuned for our video interview with Beyond the Brick!
More photos on my website! And check out the collab!
| Facebook |
| Instagram |
| Website |
--NS
Through the creations that I build, I hope to inspire other young (or perhaps older) LEGO builders to unleash their inner creativity. We all need a positive way to express ourselves, so let's allow LEGO to be an extension of us. Your creativity belongs to you, and nobody can take that away. Build what you want to build, and how you want to build it. Creativity Never Ends!
LEGO Secret Service Agents surround President Abraham Lincoln and rush him into The Presidential State Car aka Limo One and aka "The Beast" after a security alert.
They aren't taking any chances this time!
About the Limo
The current presidential limousine entered service on January 20, 2009. According to the manufacturer, General Motors, the 2009 presidential limousine, based on the Cadillac DTS, is the first not to carry a specific model name. The vehicle's outward appearance carries many current Cadillac styling themes, but does not resemble any particular production vehicle. The body itself seems to be a modification of the immediately previous DTS-badged Presidential limousines, but the vehicle's chassis and driveline are sourced from the Chevrolet Kodiak commercial truck. Many body components are sourced from a variety of Cadillac vehicles; for example, the car uses Cadillac Escalade headlights, side mirrors and door handles. The tail of the car seems to use the taillights and back up lights from the Cadillac STS sedan. Athough a price tag has not been announced, each limousine is assumed to cost US$300,000.
General specifications
The Secret Service refers to the heavily armored vehicle as The Beast. Most details of the car are classified for security reasons including it's protective armoring. A special night vision system is in a secret location. Special loops replace the stock door handles; agents hold on to them when running alongside the car. Goodyear run-flat tires fit into extra-large wheel wells. The car is sealed against biochemical attacks. Kept in the trunk is a blood bank of the President's blood type.
The car can seat seven people, including the President. The front seats two, and includes a console-mounted communications center. A glass partition divides the front from back. Three rear-facing seats are in the back, with cushions that are able to fold over the partition. The two rear seats are reserved for the president and another passenger; these seats have the ability to recline individually. A folding desk is between the two rear seats.
Storage compartments in the interior panels of the car contain communications equipment which is called the Limousine Control Package and is operated by the White House Communications Agency. This is the voice and data device that links the vehicle to the WHCA Roadrunner at the rear of the motorcade allowing command and control (or "C2") functions to be performed from the limo. The trunk lid has five antennas.The car is driven by a specially trained Secret Service agent who is capable of performing a J-turn. The President's lead protective agent usually sits in the front passenger seat.
The vehicle fuel efficiency is about 8 miles per US gallon (29 L/100 km; 9.6 mpg-imp).
Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, UK
Olympus OM2 Spot Program
Zuiko 35-70mm Lens
Kodak Portra 160
- This is my touristy picture outside the White House. There are many Secret Service police people. Does K-9 mean dog unit? Where is his police dog?
Always enjoy seeing these agents in action. You pretty much only hear about them when something goes wrong.
La Seine ~ Passerelle Debilly ~ Paris ~ MjYj
In 1989, a German diplomat working for the Secret Service of the Democratic Republic of Germany was found dead on this footbridge, several days after the Fall of the Berlin Wall. As it turned out, the footbridge was used as a secret gathering place for the secret service agents of East Germany during the Cold War. It is certainly one of the reasons that pushed Brian De Palma to shoot a scene of his thriller Femme Fatale on that footbridge in 2002.
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This is a revisit to a subject I've shot a few times before, but only once from this side.
I wanted to get a shot in good light, as my previous effort was taken on a very grey day. I think the building looks a lot more attractive in this gentle morning sunlight.
This is the home of the British Secret Intelligence Service, it was designed by Terry Farrell and completed in 1994. The other side of the building gets the lions' share of attention, and I'm always surprised that there are hardly any shots of it from this angle on Flickr.
It was taken in a single frame handheld with my Canon 6D and the Canon EF17mm f/4L TS-E tilt shift lens. As with previous shots of the SIS Building, I always feel a bit nervous standing opposite with my big camera, wondering if anyone is looking back at me and/or filming me!
A new angle on the MI6 headquarters, this time a portrait format shot featuring the evening sunlight glistening across the Thames, reflected off that building's windows ...
USA President Barak Obama motorcade arriving to Shimon Peres Funeral at Mount Hertzl, Jerusalem, Israel.
A US Secret Service Tactical Support Ford F550, part of Trumps Motorcade passes one of the Mets Special Escort Range Rovers
St James's Palace. The Mall. London. UK
I bought a secret service earpiece, and pretended to be the body guard for the Honors College and stood guard outside the Honors Lounge.
I fooled alot of people, even the campus police.
Now people think that the Honors College has protection.
What a day lol.
-God Bless
USA President Barak Obama motorcade arriving to Shimon Peres Funeral at Mount Hertzl, Jerusalem, Israel.
From the back cover:
Kill or cure – for JAMES BOND
James Bond is on a routine little assignment in Jamaica, a holiday and convalescence. The sun shines, the palm trees wave, the calypsos throb.
But on the horizon lies Crab Key, an island fortress. It is the residence of DR. NO whose prescription for Bond is one long, calculated dose of torture . . . and death.
This, the sixth of IAN FLEMING’s Secret Service thrillers, will – as did the others – grip the reader with a taut, suave, sensual stranglehold.
“Wildly thrilling, packed with convincing detail, streaked with sadism.” – BBC
Joseph Wiseman as Dr. No and Sean Connery as Bond in the Eon production. The film, for United Artists release, also stars Ursula Andress as Honey, Bernard Lee as “M” and Jack Lord.
[Note: The actor Jack Lord may be seen on the cover holding a gun on James Bond. Jack Lord would later star as a good guy for twelve seasons, as Detective Steve McGarrett on the TV series "Hawaii Five-0."]
I've shot this before, but never from a dead-on perspective. There's always a worry in the very back of my mind when photographing this building that someone's gonna tap me on the shoulder and ask me to stop ...
Infos : limousine présidentielle, République de Turquie.
Infos : presidential limousine, Republic of Turkey.
One more from my little photo-stop at Vauxhall the other day, this time including the glowing moon and the MI6 building on the bank of the Thames ...
A. J. Raffles
E. W. Hornung wrote a series of twenty-six short stories and one novel about the adventures of Arthur J. Raffles, cricketer and gentleman thief, and his chronicler, Harry "Bunny" Manders, in London, between 1898 and 1909. The first story, "The Ides of March", appeared in the June 1898 edition of Cassell's Magazine.[1] The early adventures were published in The Amateur Cracksman[2] and continued with The Black Mask.[3] The last collection, A Thief in the Night[4] and the novel Mr. Justice Raffles[5] tell of adventures previously withheld.
Hornung dedicated the first collection of stories, The Amateur Cracksman, to his brother-in-law, Arthur Conan Doyle, intending Raffles as a "form of flattery."[1] In contrast to Conan Doyle's Holmes and Watson, Raffles and Bunny are "something dark, morally uncertain, yet convincingly, reassuringly English."[6]
I think I may claim that his famous character Raffles was a kind of inversion of Sherlock Holmes, Bunny playing Watson. He admits as much in his kindly dedication. I think there are few finer examples of short-story writing in our language than these, though I confess I think they are rather dangerous in their suggestion. I told him so before he put pen to paper, and the result has, I fear, borne me out. You must not make the criminal a hero.
—Arthur Conan Doyle[1]
Raffles is an antihero. Although a thief, he "never steals from his hosts, he helps old friends in trouble, and in a subsequent volume he may or may not die on the veldt during the Boer War."[7] Additionally, the "recognition of the problems of the distribution of wealth is [a] recurrent subtext" throughout the stories.[1]
According to the Strand Magazine, these stories made Raffles "the second most popular fictional character of the time," behind Sherlock Holmes.[1] They have been adapted to film, television, stage, and radio, with the first appearing in 1903.
Characters[edit]
Arthur J. Raffles[edit]
Main article: A. J. Raffles (character)
Raffles is, in many ways, a deliberate inversion of Holmes – he is a "gentleman thief", living at the Albany, a prestigious address in London, playing cricket for the Gentlemen of England and supporting himself by carrying out ingenious burglaries. He is called the "Amateur Cracksman", and often, at first, differentiates between himself and the "professors" – professional criminals from the lower classes.[1][2]
Harry "Bunny" Manders[edit]
Main article: Bunny Manders
Bunny Manders, a struggling journalist, is Watson to Raffles' Holmes, his partner and chronicler. They met initially at school and then again on the night Bunny intended to commit suicide after writing bad checks to cover gambling debts. Raffles, also penniless, but thriving, convinced Bunny to join him instead.[1][2]
Plot details[edit]
The "Raffles" stories have two distinct phases. In the first phase, Raffles and Bunny are men-about-town who also commit burglaries. Raffles is a famous gentleman cricketer, a marvellous spin bowler who is often invited to social events that would be out of his reach otherwise. "I was asked about for my cricket", he comments after this period is over. It ends when they are caught and exposed on an ocean voyage while attempting another theft; Raffles dives overboard and is presumed drowned. These stories were collected in The Amateur Cracksman.[2] Other stories set in this period, written after Raffles had been "killed off". were collected in A Thief in the Night.[4]
The second phase begins some time later when Bunny – having served a prison sentence – is summoned to the house of a rich invalid. This turns out to be Raffles himself, back in England in disguise. Then begins their "professional" period, exiled from Society, in which they are straightforward thieves trying to earn a living while keeping Raffles's identity a secret. They finally volunteer for the Boer War, where Bunny is wounded and Raffles dies in battle after exposing an enemy spy. These stories were originally collected in The Black Mask, although they were subsequently published in one volume with the phase one stories.[3] The last few stories in A Thief in the Night were set during this period as well.[4]
Like Sherlock Holmes after his disappearance into the Reichenbach Falls, Raffles was never quite the same after his reappearance. The "classic" Raffles elements are all found in the first stories: cricket, high society, West End clubs, Bond Street jewellers – and two men in immaculate evening dress pulling off impossible robberies.
Adaptations[edit]
Film[edit]
There have been numerous films based on Raffles and his adventures, including:
Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman (1905)[1]
Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman (1917), starring John Barrymore and Frank Morgan[1][8]
Mr. Justice Raffles (1921) starring Gerald Ames[9]
Raffles (1925), with House Peters[10]
Raffles (1930), featuring Ronald Colman and Bramwell Fletcher[11]
The Return of Raffles (1932) starring George Barraud and Claud Allister[12]
Raffles (1939), starring David Niven and Douglas Walton[13]
Television[edit]
Raffles (1975), a made-for-TV film, with Anthony Valentine portraying Raffles and Christopher Strauli playing his partner Bunny Manders.[14]
Raffles (TV series) Valentine and Strauli reprised their roles in a television series produced by Yorkshire Television in 1977 and scripted by Philip Mackie. The series was intermittently repeated on ITV3 in 2006, and has been released on DVD.[7][15]
The Gentleman Thief (2001), starring Nigel Havers[16]
Audio[edit]
Raffles (1985–1993), four series on BBC Radio 4 and World Service starring Jeremy Clyde as Raffles and Michael Cochrane as Bunny Manders.[17]
Raffles, The Amateur Cracksman, read by David Rintoul.[18]
Raffles, the Gentleman Thief, continuing radio series by Imagination Theater, scripted by M. J. Elliott, Jim French and John Hall.[19]
Theatre[edit]
The story of A. J. Raffles was first performed on Broadway as Raffles, The Amateur Cracksman on 27 October 1903 at the Princess Theatre.[20] The play moved to the Savoy Theatre in February 1904 and closed out in March of that year racking up 168 performances. It starred Kyrle Bellew as Raffles, a young Clara Blandick as Gwendolyn and E. M. Holland as Captain Bedford.[21]
In Langdon McCormick's 1905 play, The Burglar and the Lady, Raffles went up against Arthur Conan Doyle's famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. Former boxer "Gentleman Jim" Corbett played Raffles, who was portrayed as an American to match his casting. McCormick did not secure permission from either Doyle or Hornung to use their characters. A 1914 movie adaptation of the play removed Holmes but kept Raffles, again played by Corbett.[22]
Pastiches[edit]
The Raffles character was continued by Barry Perowne. During the 1930s and early 1940s,[1] his series featured Raffles as a fairly typical contemporary pulp adventure hero and plays the role of detective alongside that of thief. When he picked up the series again in the 1950s, and once again during the 1970s, the stories were set closer to the late Victorian-setting of the original stories.
In 2011 and 2012 Richard Foreman published a series of six Raffles stories, collected in a single volume, Raffles: The Complete Innings.[23] These stories, contemporaneous with The Amateur Cracksman, begin with "The Gentleman Thief," in which Raffles and Bunny are hired by Sherlock Holmes to steal a stolen letter. Later stories in the sextet see Raffles and Bunny encounter H.G. Wells and Irene Adler. Foreman's Raffles is also more moralistic than the original: the gentleman thief often donates part of his ill-gotten gains to various charitable causes.
John Kendrick Bangs authored a 1906 novel, R. Holmes & Co.,[24] starring Raffles' grandson (and Sherlock Holmes's son, by Raffles' daughter Marjorie), Raffles Holmes. The novel's second chapter tells the story of Holmes's pursuit of Raffles and his growing affection for Raffles's daughter. Bangs also wrote Mrs Raffles,[25] in which Raffles's sidekick Bunny Manders teams-up in America with the cracksman's hitherto-unchronicled wife.
Graham Greene wrote a play called The Return of A. J. Raffles which differs from the Hornung canon on several points, including reinventing Raffles and Bunny as a homosexual couple.[26][27]
Peter Tremayne wrote the novel The Return of Raffles in which Raffles becomes involved in a plot between rival spies.[28]
Philip José Farmer put Raffles and Manders into a science-fictional situation in his story, "The Problem of the Sore Bridge – Among Others", in which he and Bunny solve three mysteries unsolved by Sherlock Holmes and save humanity from alien invasion.[29]
The 1977 novel Raffles, by David Fletcher, is a fresh re-write of many of Hornung's original stories, deriving from the television series of the same year.[30]
Adam Corres authored the 2008 novel Raffles and the Match-Fixing Syndicate,[31] a modern crime thriller in which A. J. Raffles, a master of gamesmanship, explores the corrupt world of international cricket match fixing.
Other character appearances[edit]
The character was mentioned in the 2007 epistolary graphic novel The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier.[32] Following this he recently appeared as a central character in the first chapter of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume III: Century, set in 1910.[33]
The character of Raffles appeared in the TV film Incident at Victoria Falls under the name Stanley Bullard and played by Alan Coates. He encountered Sherlock Holmes, the creation of Hornung's brother-in-law.[34]
Raffles makes a cameo appearance in Kim Newman's Anno Dracula (1992). Although never mentioned by name, the character is described as an amateur cracksman (a reference to the title of the first short story collection), and mutters the epigram, "You play what's chucked at you, I always say."[35]
Raffles and Bunny feature in Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Ubervilles, also by Kim Newman, in a chapter depicting the gathering of the world's greatest criminals.[36]
Raffles and Bunny also make a minor appearance in Lost in a Good Book, a 2004 novel written by Jasper Fforde. They are pulled out of the literary world into the real world to help crack a safe containing the stolen manuscript of Shakespeare's Cardenio.[37]
Parody[edit]
In one of Robert L. Fish's Sherlock Homes stories, "The Adventure of the Odd Lotteries", Homes and Watney encounter a cracksman and hypochondriac known as "A.J. Lotteries."[38]
Raffles, Gentleman Thug is a strip in Viz that features a character who shares his name (plus the name of his assistant, Bunny) with the literary Raffles. He is depicted as an upper-class, late Victorian or early Edwardian version of a "chav".
Jon L. Breen's story "Ruffles versus Ruffles" is based on the conceit that Hornung's Raffles and Perowne's Raffles are separate people, playing off the differing characterisation used by the two authors.[39]
*********************
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series created in the 1960s. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel (Ian Hendry) and his assistant John Steed (Patrick Macnee). Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants. Steed's most famous assistants were intelligent, stylish and assertive women: Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), and later Tara King (Linda Thorson). Later episodes increasingly incorporated elements of science fiction and fantasy, parody and British eccentricity. The Avengers ran from 1961 until 1969, screening as one hour episodes its entire run.
The pilot episode, "Hot Snow", aired on 7 January 1961.
The final episode, "Bizarre", aired on 21 May 1969.
The Avengers was produced by ABC Television, a contractor within the ITV network. After a merger in July 1968 ABC Television became Thames Television, which continued production of the series although it was still broadcast under the ABC name. By 1969 The Avengers was shown in more than 90 countries. ITV produced a sequel series The New Avengers (1976–1977) with Patrick Macnee returning as John Steed, and two new partners.
In 2007 The Avengers was ranked #20 on TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever
1961: With Dr David Keel (Ian Hendry)
The Avengers began in the episode Hot Snow, with medical doctor, Dr David Keel (Ian Hendry), investigating the murder of his fiancée and office receptionist Peggy by a drug ring. A stranger named John Steed, who was investigating the ring, appeared and together they set out to avenge her death in the first two episodes. Afterwards, Steed asked Keel to partner him as needed to solve crimes.
The Avengers followed Hendry's Police Surgeon, in which he played police surgeon Geoffrey Brent.[3] While Police Surgeon did not last long, viewers praised Hendry. Hendry was considered the star of the new series, receiving top billing over Macnee, and Steed did not appear in two episodes.
As the series progressed, Steed's importance increased, and he carried the final episode solo. While Steed and Keel used wit while discussing crimes and dangers, the series also depicted the interplay—and often tension—between Keel's idealism and Steed's professionalism. As seen in one of the two surviving episodes from the first series, "The Frighteners", Steed also had helpers among the population who provided information, similar to the "Baker Street Irregulars" of Sherlock Holmes.
The other regular in the first series was Carol Wilson (Ingrid Hafner), the nurse and receptionist who replaced the slain Peggy. Carol assisted Keel and Steed in cases, without being part of Steed's inner circle. Hafner had played opposite Hendry as a nurse in Police Surgeon.[3]
The series was shot on 405-line videotape using a multicamera setup. There was little provision for editing and virtually no location footage (although the very first shot of the first episode consisted of location footage). As was standard practice at the time, videotapes of early episodes of The Avengers were reused. Of the first series, two complete episodes still exist, as 16 mm film telerecordings. One of the episodes remaining does not feature Steed. The first 15 minutes of the first episode also exists as a telerecording; the extant footage ends at the conclusion of the first act, prior to the introduction of John Steed.
The missing television episodes are currently being re-created for audio by Big Finish Productions under the title of The Avengers - The Lost Episodes[4] and star Julian Wadham as Steed, Anthony Howell as Dr. Keel and Lucy Briggs-Owen as Carol Wilson.
1962–64: With Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), Venus Smith (Julie Stevens) and Dr Martin King (Jon Rollason)
Patrick Macnee as John Steed and Honor Blackman as Cathy Gale
Production of the first series was cut short by a strike. By the time production could begin on the second series, Hendry had quit to pursue a film career. Macnee was promoted to star and Steed became the focus of the series, initially working with a rotation of three different partners. Dr Martin King (Jon Rollason), a thinly disguised rewriting of Keel, saw action in only three episodes produced from scripts written for the first series. King was intended to be a transitional character between Keel and Steed's two new female partners, but while the Dr. King episodes were shot first, they were shown out of production order in the middle of the season. The character was thereafter quickly and quietly dropped.
Nightclub singer Venus Smith (Julie Stevens) appeared in six episodes. She was a complete "amateur", meaning that she did not have any professional crime-fighting skills as did the two doctors. She was excited to be participating in a "spy" adventure alongside secret agent Steed (although at least one episode—"The Removal Men"—indicates she is not always enthusiastic). Nonetheless, she appears to be attracted to him and their relationship appears similar to that later displayed between Steed and Tara King. Her episodes featured musical interludes showcasing her singing performances. The character of Venus underwent some revision during her run, adopting more youthful demeanour and dress.
The first episode broadcast in the second series had introduced the partner who would change the show into the format for which it is most remembered. Honor Blackman played Dr Cathy Gale, a self-assured, quick-witted anthropologist who was skilled in judo and had a passion for wearing leather clothes.[5] Widowed during the Mau Mau years in Kenya, she was the "talented amateur" who saw her aid to Steed's cases as a service to her nation. Gale was said to have been born 5 October 1930 at midnight, and was raised in Africa. Gale was early-to-mid 30s during her tenure, in contrast to female characters in similar series who tended to be younger.
Gale was unlike any female character seen before on British TV and became a household name. Reportedly, part of her charm came from the fact that her earliest appearances were episodes in which dialogue written for Keel was simply transferred to her. Said series script writer Dennis Spooner "there's the famous story of how Honor Blackman played Ian Hendry's part, which is why they stuck her in leather and such—it was so much cheaper than changing the lines!"[6]
Venus Smith did not return for the third series and Cathy Gale became Steed's only regular partner. The series established a level of sexual tension between Steed and Gale, but the writers were not allowed to go beyond flirting and innuendo. Despite this the relationship between Steed and Gale was progressive for 1962–63. In "The Golden Eggs" it is revealed that Gale lived in Steed's flat; her rent according to Steed was to keep the refrigerator well-stocked and to cook for him (she appears to do neither). However, this was said to be a temporary arrangement while Gale looked for a new home, and Steed was sleeping at a hotel.
During the first series there were hints Steed worked for a branch of British Intelligence, and this was expanded in the second series. Steed initially received orders from different superiors, including someone referred to as "Charles", and "One-Ten" (Douglas Muir). By the third series the delivery of Steed's orders was not depicted on screen or explained. In "The Nutshell" the secret organisation to which Steed belongs is shown, and it is Gale's first visit to their HQ.
Small references to Steed's background were occasionally made. In series three's "Death of a Batman" it was said that Steed was with I Corps in World War II, and in Munich in 1945. In series four episode "The Hour That Never Was" Steed goes to a reunion of his RAF regiment.
A film version of the series was in its initial planning stages by late 1963 after series three was completed. An early story proposal paired Steed and Gale with a male and female duo of American agents, to make the movie appeal to the American market. Before the project could gain momentum Blackman was cast opposite Sean Connery in Goldfinger, requiring her to leave the series.
Series transformation
During the Gale era, Steed was transformed from a rugged trenchcoat-wearing agent into the stereotypical English gentleman (he had first donned bowler and carried his distinctive umbrella part way through the first season as 'The Frighteners' depicts), complete with Savile Row suit, bowler hat and umbrella with clothes later designed by Pierre Cardin. (The bowler and umbrella were soon changed to be full of tricks, including a sword hidden within the umbrella handle and a steel plate concealed in the hat.) These items were referred to in the French, German and Polish titles of the series, Chapeau melon et bottes de cuir ("Bowler hat and leather boots"), Mit Schirm, Charme und Melone ("With Umbrella, Charm and Bowler Hat") and Rewolwer i melonik ("A Revolver and a Bowler Hat"), respectively. With his impeccable manners, old world sophistication, and vintage automobiles, Steed came to represent the traditional Englishman of an earlier era.
By contrast his partners were youthful, forward-looking, and always dressed in the latest mod fashions. Gale's innovative leather outfits suited her many athletic fight scenes. Honor Blackman became a star in Britain with her black leather outfits and boots (nicknamed "kinky boots") and her judo-based fighting style. Macnee and Blackman even released a novelty song called "Kinky Boots". Some of the clothes seen in The Avengers were designed at the studio of John Sutcliffe who published the AtomAge fetish magazine.
Series script writer Dennis Spooner said that the series would frequently feature Steed visiting busy public places such as the main airport in London, without anyone else present in the scene. "'Can't you afford extras?' they'd ask. Well it wasn't like that; it's just that Steed had to be alone to be accepted. Put him in a crowd and he sticks out like a sore thumb! Let's face it, with normal people he's weird. The trick to making him acceptable is never to show him in a normal world, just fighting villains who are odder than he is!"[6]
1965–68: With Emma Peel (Diana Rigg)
In 1965 the show was sold to United States network, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The Avengers became one of the first British series to be aired on prime time U.S. television. The ABC network paid the then-unheard of sum of $2 million for the first 26 episodes. The average budget for each episode was reportedly £56,000, high for the British industry. The fourth series aired in the U.S. from March to December 1966.
Previously The Avengers had been shot on 405-line videotape using a multicamera setup, with very little provision for editing and virtually no location footage. The U.S. deal meant that the producers could afford to start shooting the series on 35mm film. The use of film rather than videotape was essential, as British 405-line video was technically incompatible with the U.S. NTSC videotape format. Filmed productions were standard on U.S. prime time television at that time. The Avengers continued to be produced in black and white.
The transfer to film meant that episodes would be shot using the single camera setup, giving the production greater flexibility. The use of film production and the single camera production style allowed more sophisticated visuals and camera angles and more outdoor location shots, all of which greatly improved the look of the series. As was standard on British television filmed production through the 1960s, all location work on series four was shot mute with the soundtrack created in post production. Dialogue scenes were filmed in the studio, leading to some jumps between location and studio footage.
Diana Rigg as Mrs Emma Peel
New female partner Mrs Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) debuted in this series, in October 1965. The name of the character derived from a comment by writers, during development, that they wanted a character with "man appeal". In an early attempt to incorporate this concept into the character's name, she was called "Samantha Peel", shortened to the awkward "Mantha Peel".[7] Eventually the writers began referring to the idea by the verbal shorthand, "M. Appeal",[8] which gave rise to the character's ultimate name. Emma Peel, whose husband went missing while flying over the Amazon, retained the self-assuredness of Gale, combined with superior fighting skills, intelligence, and a contemporary fashion sense.
After more than 60 actresses had been auditioned, the first choice to play the role was Elizabeth Shepherd. However, after filming one and a half episodes (the pilot; 'The Town of No Return' and part of 'The Murder Market'), Shepherd was released. Her on-screen personality was deemed less interesting than that of Blackman's Gale and it was decided she was not right for the role. Another 20 actresses were auditioned before the show's casting director suggested that producers Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell check out a televised drama featuring the relatively unknown Rigg (she had earlier guested in an episode of the TV show; 'The Sentimental Agent' that Clemens had written). Her screen test with Macnee showed that the two immediately worked well together, and a new era in Avengers history began.
A prologue was added to the beginning of all the fourth series episodes for the American transmissions. This was to clarify some initial confusion audiences had regarding the characters and their mission. In the opener, a waiter holding a champagne bottle falls dead onto a human-sized chessboard; a dagger protruding from a target on his back. Steed and Mrs. Peel (dressed in her trademark leather catsuit) walk up to the body as the voice over explains: "Extraordinary crimes against the people, and the state, have to be avenged by agents extraordinary. Two such people are John Steed, top professional, and his partner Emma Peel, talented amateur. Otherwise known as The Avengers." During this voice over, Steed pours two drinks from the wine bottle and Mrs Peel replaces her gun in her boot. They clink glasses and depart together. Fade to black and then the opening titles proper begin.
Film location plate presented by ABC TV to the Stapleford Miniature Railway, which is still in use today
In contrast to the Gale episodes, there was a lighter, comic touch in Steed and Peel's interactions with each other and their reactions to other characters and situations. Earlier series had a harder tone, with the Gale era including some quite serious espionage dramas. This almost completely disappeared as Steed and Peel visibly enjoyed topping each other's witticisms. The layer of conflict with Gale – who on occasion openly resented being used by Steed, often without her permission – was absent from Steed's interaction with Peel. Also the sexual tension between Steed and Gale was not present with Peel. In both cases, the exact relationship between the partners was left ambiguous, although they seemed to have carte blanche to visit each other's homes whenever they pleased and it was not uncommon for scenes to suggest Steed had spent the night at Gale's or Peel's home, or vice-versa. Although nothing "improper" was displayed, the obviously much closer chemistry between Steed and Peel constantly suggests intimacy between the two.
Science fiction fantasy elements (a style later known as Spy-fi) emerged in stories. The duo encountered killer robots ("The Cybernauts") and giant alien carnivorous plants ("The Man-Eater of Surrey Green").
In her fourth episode, "Death at Bargain Prices", Mrs Peel takes an undercover job at a department store. Her uniform for promoting space-age toys is an elaborate leather catsuit plus silver boots, sash, and welder's gloves. The suit minus the silver accessories became her signature outfit, which she wore primarily for fight scenes, in early episodes, and in the titles. There was a fetishistic undercurrent in some episodes. In "A Touch of Brimstone" Mrs Peel dressed in a dominatrix outfit of corset, laced boots and spiked collar to become the "Queen of Sin".
Peel's avant-garde fashions, featuring bold accents and high-contrast geometric patterns, emphasized her youthful, contemporary personality. She represented the modern England of the Sixties – just as Steed, with his vintage style and mannerisms, personified Edwardian era nostalgia. According to Macnee in his book The Avengers and Me, Rigg disliked wearing leather and insisted on a new line of fabric athletic wear for the fifth series. Alun Hughes, who had designed clothing for Diana Rigg's personal wardrobe, was suggested by the actress to design Emma Peel's "softer" new wardrobe. Pierre Cardin was brought in to design a new wardrobe for Macnee. In America, TV Guide ran a four-page photospread on Rigg's new "Emmapeeler" outfits (10–16 June 1967). Eight tight-fitting jumpsuits in a variety of bright colors were created using the stretch fabric crimplene.
Another memorable feature of the show from this point onwards was its automobiles. Steed's signature cars were vintage 1926–1928 Bentley racing or town cars, including Blower Bentleys and Bentley Speed Sixes (although, uniquely, in "The Thirteenth Hole" he drives a Vauxhall 30/98), while Peel drove a sporty Lotus Elan convertible which, like her clothes, emphasized her independence and vitality. During the first Peel series, each episode ended with a short, comedic scene of the duo leaving the scene of their most recent adventure in some unusual vehicle.
For this series Diana Rigg's stunt double was stuntman Billy Westley, Patrick Macnee's stunt double was Peter Clay.
Fifth series
After one filmed series (of 26 episodes) in black and white, The Avengers began filming in colour for the fifth series in 1966. It was three years before Britain's ITV network began full colour broadcasting.
This series was broadcast in the U.S. from January to May 1967. The American prologue of the previous series was rejigged for the colour episodes. It opened with the caption The Avengers In Color (required by ABC for colour series at that time). This was followed by Steed unwrapping the foil from a champagne bottle and Peel shooting the cork away. (Unlike the "chessboard" opening of the previous series, this new prologue was also included in UK broadcasts of the series.)
The first 16 episodes of the fifth series begin with Peel receiving a call-to-duty message from Steed: "Mrs Peel, we're needed." Peel was conducting her normal activities when she unexpectedly received a message on a calling card or within a delivered gift, at which point Steed suddenly appeared (usually in her apartment). The messages were delivered by Steed in increasingly bizarre ways as the series progressed: in a newspaper Peel had just bought, or on traffic lights while she was out driving. On one occasion Steed appeared on her television set, interrupting an old science-fiction movie (actually clips from their Year Four episode "The Cybernauts") to call her to work. Another way Steed contacted her was in the beginning of episode 13, "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Station" when she enters her flat and sees a Meccano Percy the Small Engine going around a circular track with a note on one of the train cars that says "Mrs. Peel" in bold letters, she then walks over to Steed who says "you're needed". At the start of "The Hidden Tiger" Peel is redecorating her apartment (wearing a jumpsuit and drinking champagne); she peels off a strip of wallpaper, revealing the words "Mrs Peel" painted on the wall beneath. She turns to see Steed in the apartment removing another strip of wallpaper, revealing "We're needed" painted underneath on another wall. In another instance Emma enters Steed's flat to find he has just fallen down the stairs, and he painfully gasps, "Mrs Peel, you're needed." Often the episode's tag scene returned to the situation of the "Mrs Peel, we're needed" scene. "The Hidden Tiger" returns to the partially redecorated apartment where Steed begins painting a love heart and arrow and the initials of two people on the wall, but paints over the initials when Peel sees his graffito. In "The Superlative Seven" the call to duty and the tag both involve a duck shooting situation where unexpected items fall from the sky after shots are fired.
The series also introduced a comic tag line caption to the episode title, using the format of "Steed [does this], Emma [does that]." For example "The Joker" had the opening caption: "Steed trumps an ace, Emma plays a lone hand".('The Joker' was to a large extent a re-write colour episode of the earlier Cathy Gale b/w era story; 'Don't Look Behind You' as were a few other later episodes re-writes in colour of b/w era tales.)
The "Mrs Peel, we're needed" scenes and the alternate tag lines were dropped after the first 16 episodes, after a break in production, for financial reasons. They were deemed by the U.K. networks as disposable if The Avengers was to return to ITV screens. (Dave Rogers' book The Avengers Anew lists a set for every Steed/Peel episode except "The Forget-Me-Knot".)
Stories were increasingly characterised by a futuristic, science fiction bent, with mad scientists and their creations wreaking havoc. The duo dealt with being shrunk to doll size ("Mission... Highly Improbable"), pet cats being electrically altered into ferocious and lethal "miniature tigers" ("The Hidden Tiger"), killer automata ("Return of The Cybernauts"), mind-transferring machines ("Who's Who???"), and invisible foes ("The See-Through Man").
The series parodied its American contemporaries with episodes such as "The Girl From AUNTIE", "Mission... Highly Improbable" and "The Winged Avenger" (spoofing The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mission: Impossible and Batman, respectively). The show still carried the basic format – Steed and his associate were charged with solving the problem in the space of a 50-minute episode, thus preserving the safety of 1960s Britain.
Comedy was evident in the names and acronyms of the organizations. For example, in "The Living Dead", two rival groups examine reported ghost sightings: FOG (Friends Of Ghosts) and SMOG (Scientific Measurement Of Ghosts). "The Hidden Tiger" features the Philanthropic Union for Rescue, Relief and Recuperation of Cats—PURRR—led by characters named Cheshire, Manx, and Angora.
The series also occasionally adopted a metafictional tone, coming close to breaking the fourth wall. In the series 5 episode "Something Nasty in the Nursery" Peel directly references the series' storytelling convention of having potentially helpful sources of information killed off just before she or Steed arrive. This then occurs a few minutes later. In the tag scene for the same episode, Steed and Peel tell viewers – indirectly – to tune in next week.
For this series Diana Rigg's stunt double was stuntwoman Cyd Child, though stuntman Peter Elliot doubled for Rigg in a stunt dive in "The Bird Who Knew Too Much".
Rigg's departure
Rigg was initially unhappy with the way she was treated by the show's producers. During her first series she learned she was being paid less than the camera man. She demanded a raise, to put her more on a par with her co-star, or she would leave the show. The producers gave in, thanks to the show's great popularity in the US.
At the end of the fifth series in 1967, Rigg left to pursue other projects. This included following Honor Blackman to play a leading role in a James Bond film, in this case On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
Rigg and Macnee have remained lifelong friends.
1968–69: With Tara King (Linda Thorson)
Thorson and Macnee
When Diana Rigg left the series in October 1967, the British network executives decided that the current series formula, despite resulting in popular success, could not be pursued further. Thus they decided that a "return to realism" was appropriate for the sixth series (1968–69). Brian Clemens and Albert Fennel were replaced by John Bryce, producer of most of the Cathy Gale-era episodes.
Bryce had a difficult situation in hand. He had to find a replacement for Diana Rigg and shoot the first seven episodes of the new series, which were supposed to be shipped to America together with the last eight Emma Peel colour episodes.
Bryce signed his then-girlfriend, 20-year-old newcomer Linda Thorson, as the new female costar and chose the name "Tara King" for her character. Thorson played the role with more innocence in mind and at heart; and unlike the previous partnerships with Cathy and Emma, the writers allowed subtle hints of romance to blossom between Steed and King. King also differed from Steed's previous partners in that she was a fully fledged (albeit initially inexperienced) agent working for Steed's organisation; his previous partners had all been (in the words of the prologue used for American broadcasts of the first Rigg series) talented amateurs. Bryce wanted Tara to be blonde, so Thorson's brown hair was bleached. However the process badly damaged Thorson's hair, so she had to wear wigs for the first third of her episodes, until her own hair grew back. Her natural brown hair was not seen until the episode "All Done with Mirrors".
Production of the first seven episodes of the sixth series began. However financial problems and internal difficulties undermined Bryce's effort. He only managed to complete three episodes: "Invitation to a Killing" (a 90-minute episode introducing Tara King), "The Great, Great Britain Crime" (some of its original footage was reused in the 1969 episode "Homicide and Old Lace") and "Invasion of the Earthmen" (which survived relatively intact except for the scenes in which Tara wears a brown wig.)
After a rough cut screening of these episodes to studio executives, Bryce was fired and Clemens and Fennel were summoned back. At their return, a fourth episode called "The Murderous Connection" was in its second day of production. After revising the script, it was renamed as "The Curious Case of the Countless Clues" and production was resumed. Production of the episode "Split!", a leftover script from the Emma Peel colour series, proceeded. Two completely new episodes were also shot: "Get-A-Way", and "Look (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) But There Were These Two Fellers".
Dennis Spooner said of the event that "Brian left The Avengers for about three episodes, someone took over, and when Brian came back, it was in a terrible state. He was faced with doing a rewrite on a film they'd already shot." The episode had a story error where Steed leaves for a destination. The villains then realise this and pursue him – yet arrive there before Steed does. It was fixed by having a character ask Steed 'What took you so long?', to which he replies 'I came the pretty way'. "You can only do that on The Avengers you see. It was just my favourite show to work on."[10]
Clemens and Fennel decided to film a new episode to introduce Tara King. This, the third episode filmed for the sixth series, was titled "The Forget-Me-Knot" and bade farewell to Emma Peel and introduced her successor, a trained but inexperienced agent named Tara King. It would be broadcast as the first episode of the sixth series. Tara debuts in dynamic style: when Steed is called to Headquarters, he is attacked and knocked down by trainee agent King who mistakes him for her training partner.
No farewell scenes for Emma Peel had been shot when Diana Rigg left the series. Rigg was recalled for "The Forget-Me-Knot", through which Emma acts as Steed's partner as usual. Rigg also filmed a farewell scene for Emma which appeared as the tag scene of the episode. It was explained that Emma's husband, Peter Peel, was found alive and rescued, and she left the British secret service to be with him. Emma visits Steed to say goodbye, and while leaving she passes Tara on the stairway giving the advice that "He likes his tea stirred anti-clockwise." Steed looks out the window as a departing Emma enters the Bentley driven by Peter – who from a distance seems to resemble Steed (and was played by Patrick Macnee, wearing a bowler hat and umbrella).
Bryce's original episode introducing Tara, "Invitation to a Killing", was revised as a regular 60-minute episode named "Have Guns Will Haggle". These episodes, together with "Invasion of the Earthmen" and the last eight Peel colour episodes, were shipped to America in February 1968.
For this series the government official who gave Steed his orders was depicted on screen. Mother, introduced in "The Forget-Me-Knot", is a man in a wheelchair. The role was taken by Patrick Newell who had played different roles in two earlier episodes, most recently in series five. Mother's headquarters would shift from place to place, including one episode where his complete office was on the top level of a double-decker bus. (Several James Bond films of the 1970s would make use of a similar gimmick for Bond's briefings.)
Added later as a regular was Mother's mute Amazonian assistant, Rhonda (Rhonda Parker). There was one appearance by an agency official code-named "Father", a blind older woman played by Iris Russell. (Russell had appeared in the series several times previously in other roles.) In one episode, "Killer", Steed is paired with Lady Diana Forbes Blakeney (Jennifer Croxton) while King is on holiday.
Scriptwriter Dennis Spooner later reflected on this series. "When I wrote "Look (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) But There Were These Two Fellers", that was definitely the last series. They were going to make no more, so in that series we went right over the top; we went really weird, because they knew there weren't going to be any more."[11]
Spooner said the series "worked because it became a parody on itself, almost. You can only do that so long." Overall he attributes the success of the show to its light approach. "We spoofed everything, we took Mission: Impossible, Bad Day at Black Rock, High Noon, The Dirty Dozen, The Birds... we took them all. The film buffs used to love it. There were always lines in it that people knew what we were talking about."[11]
Vehicle wise, Steed continued to drive vintage green Bentleys in the first seven episodes in production. His regular transport for the remainder of the series were two yellow Rolls-Royce cars. Mother also occasionally appeared in silver Rolls-Royces. Tara King drove an AC 428 and a Lotus Europa. Lady Diana Forbes Blakeney drove an MGC Roadster.
The revised series continued to be broadcast in America. The episodes with Linda Thorson as King proved to be highly rated in Europe and the UK. In the United States however, the ABC network that carried the series chose to air it opposite the number one show in the country at the time, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Steed and King could not compete, and the show was cancelled in the US. Without this vital commercial backing, production could not continue in Britain either, and the series ended in May 1969. The final scene of the final episode ("Bizarre") has Steed and King, champagne glasses in hand, accidentally launching themselves into orbit aboard a rocket, as Mother breaks the fourth wall and says to the audience, "They'll be back!" before adding in shock, "They're unchaperoned up there!"
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Courtesy of Chatwick University Archives, 1960
Arsène Lupin is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created by French writer Maurice Leblanc.
Lupin was featured in 20 novels and 28 short stories by Leblanc, with the short stories collected into book form for a total of 24 books. The first story, "L'Arrestation d'Arsène Lupin", was published in the magazine Je sais tout on 15 July 1905.
The character has also appeared in a number of books from other writers as well as numerous film, television , stage play, and comic book adaptations.
Arsene Lupin Contre Herlock Sholmes
Aside from the Arsène Lupin stories written by Maurice Leblanc (1864–1941) himself, five authorized sequels were written in the 1970s by the celebrated mystery writing team of Boileau-Narcejac.
The character of Lupin was first introduced in a series of short stories serialized in the magazine Je sais tout, starting in No. 6, dated 15 July 1905. He was originally called Arsène Lopin, until a local politician of the same name protested, resulting in the name change.
Arsène Lupin is a literary descendant of Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail's Rocambole. Like him, he is often a force for good, while operating on the wrong side of the law. Those whom Lupin defeats, always with his characteristic Gallic style and panache, are worse villains than he. Lupin shares distinct similarities with E. W. Hornung's archetypal gentleman thief A. J. Raffles who first appeared in The Amateur Cracksman in 1899, but both creations can be said to anticipate and have inspired later characters such as Louis Joseph Vance's The Lone Wolf and Leslie Charteris's The Saint.
The character of Arsène Lupin might also have been based by Leblanc on French anarchist Marius Jacob, whose trial made headlines in March 1905, but Leblanc had also read Octave Mirbeau's Les 21 jours d'un neurasthénique (1901), which features a gentleman thief named Arthur Lebeau, and had seen Mirbeau's comedy Scrupules (1902), whose main character is a gentleman thief.
The official last book of the series, The Billions of Arsene Lupin, was published without the ninth chapter "The Safe" ("IX. Les coffres-forts"), and even the published book was withdrawn at Leblanc's son's request. However, in 2002, by the efforts of some Lupinians and Korean translator Sung Gwi-Su, the missing part was restored and the complete final collection of Arsene Lupin happened to be published first in Korea, from Kkachi Publishing House.
Arsène Lupin and Sherlock Holmes
Leblanc introduced Sherlock Holmes to Lupin in the short story "Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late" in Je sais tout No. 17, 15 June 1906. In it, Holmes meets a young Lupin for the first time. After legal objections from Conan Doyle, the name was changed to "Herlock Sholmes" when the story was collected in book form in Volume 1.
Sholmes returned in two more stories collected in Volume 2, "Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmes", and then in a guest-starring role in the battle for the secret of the Hollow Needle in L'Aiguille creuse. Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmes was published in the United States in 1910 under the title "The Blonde Lady" which used the name "Holmlock Shears" for Sherlock Holmes, and "Wilson" for Watson.
In 813, Lupin manages to solve a riddle that Herlock Sholmes was unable to figure out.
Sherlock Holmes, this time with his real name and accompanied by familiar characters such as Watson and Lestrade (all copyright protection having long expired), also confronted Arsène Lupin in the 2008 PC 3D adventure game Sherlock Holmes versus Arsène Lupin. In this game Holmes (and occasionally others) are attempting to stop Lupin from stealing five British valuable items. Lupin wants to steal the items in order to humiliate Britain, but he also admires Holmes and thus challenges him to try to stop him.
In a novella "The Prisoner of the Tower, or A Short But Beautiful Journey of Three Wise Men" by Boris Akunin published in 2008 in Russia as the conclusion of "Jade Rosary Beads" book, Sherlock Holmes and Erast Fandorin oppose Arsène Lupin on December 31, 1899.
Fantasy elements
Several Arsène Lupin novels contain some interesting fantasy elements: a radioactive 'god-stone' that cures people and causes mutations is the object of an epic battle in L’Île aux trente cercueils; the secret of the Fountain of Youth, a mineral water source hidden beneath a lake in the Auvergne, is the goal sought by the protagonists in La Demoiselle aux yeux verts; finally, in La Comtesse de Cagliostro, Lupin's arch-enemy and lover is none other than Joséphine Balsamo, the alleged granddaughter of Cagliostro himself.
Bibliography
1.Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar (Arsène Lupin, gentleman cambrioleur, 1907 coll., 9 stories) (AKA Exploits of Arsène Lupin, Extraordinary Adventures of Arsène Lupin)
2.Arsene Lupin vs. Herlock Sholmes (Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmès, 1908 coll., 2 stories) (AKA The Blonde Lady)
3.The Hollow Needle (L'Aiguille creuse, 1909)
4.813 (813, 1910)
5.The Crystal Stopper (Le Bouchon de cristal, 1912)
6.The Confessions of Arsene Lupin (Les Confidences d'Arsène Lupin, 1913 coll., 9 stories)
7.The Shell Shard (L'Éclat d'obus, 1916) (AKA: Woman of Mystery) Not originally part of the Arsène Lupin series, Lupin was written into the story in the 1923 edition.
8.The Golden Triangle (Le Triangle d'or, 1918) (AKA: The Return of Arsène Lupin)
9.The Island of Thirty Coffins (L’Île aux trente cercueils, 1919) (AKA: The Secret of Sarek)
10.The Teeth of The Tiger (Les Dents du tigre, 1921)
11.The Eight Strokes of The Clock (Les Huit Coups de l'horloge, 1923 coll., 8 stories)
12.The Countess of Cagliostro (La Comtesse de Cagliostro, 1924) (AKA: Memoirs of Arsene Lupin)
13.The Damsel With Green Eyes (La Demoiselle aux yeux verts, 1927) (AKA: The Girl With the Green Eyes, Arsène Lupin, Super Sleuth)
14.The Overcoat of Arsène Lupin (Le Pardessus d'Arsène Lupin, published in English in 1926) First published in 1924 in France as Dent d'Hercule Petitgris. Altered into a Lupin story and published in English as The Overcoat of Arsène Lupin in 1926 in The Popular Magazine.
15.The Man with the Goatskin (L'Homme à la peau de bique (1927)
16.The Barnett & Co. Agency (L'Agence Barnett et Cie., 1928 coll., 8 stories) (AKA: Jim Barnett Intervenes, Arsène Lupin Intervenes)
17.The Mysterious Mansion (La Demeure mystérieuse, 1929) (AKA: The Melamare Mystery)
18.The Mystery of The Green Ruby (La Barre-y-va, 1930)
19.The Emerald Cabochon (Le Cabochon d'émeraude (1930)
20.The Woman With Two Smiles (La Femme aux deux sourires, 1933) (AKA: The Double Smile)
21.Victor of the Vice Squad (Victor de la Brigade mondaine, 1933) (AKA: The Return of Arsene Lupin)
22.The Revenge of The Countess of Cagliostro (La Cagliostro se venge, 1935)
23.The Billions of Arsène Lupin (Les Milliards d'Arsène Lupin, 1939)
24.The Last Love of Arsene Lupin (Le Dernier Amour d'Arsène Lupin, 2012)
Other material by LeBlanc
1.Arsène Lupin (Arsène Lupin (pièce de théâtre) Originally a 4-part play written by Maurice LeBlanc and Francis de Croisset, it was subsequently novelized by LeBlanc and published in 1909. It was then translated into English by Edgar Jepson and published in 1909 by Doubleday as "Arsene Lupin: By Maurice LeBlanc & Edgar Jepson"
By other writers
Boileau-Narcejac1.Le Secret d’Eunerville (1973)
2.La Poudrière (1974)
3.Le Second visage d’Arsène Lupin (1975)
4.La Justice d’Arsène Lupin (1977)
5.Le Serment d’Arsène Lupin (1979)
Notable pastiches
The Adventure of Mona Lisa by Carolyn Wells in The Century (January, 1912)
Sure Way to Catch Every Criminal. Ha! Ha! by Carolyn Wells in The Century (July, 1912)
The Adventure of the Clothes-Line by Carolyn Wells in The Century (May, 1915)
The Silver Hair Crime (= Clue?) by Nick Carter in New Magnet Library No. 1282 (1930)
Aristide Dupin who appears in Union Jack Nos. 1481, 1483, 1489, 1493 and 1498 (1932) in the Sexton Blake collection by Gwyn Evans
La Clé est sous le paillasson by Marcel Aymé (1934)
Gaspard Zemba who appears in The Shadow Magazine (December 1, 1935) by Walter B. Gibson
Arsène Lupin vs. Colonel Linnaus by Anthony Boucher in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine Vo. 5, No. 19 (1944)
L’Affaire Oliveira by Thomas Narcejac in Confidences dans ma nuit (1946)
Le Gentleman en Noir by Claude Ferny (c. 1950) (two novels)
International Investigators, Inc. by Edward G. Ashton in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine (February 1952)
Le Secret des rois de France ou La Véritable identité d’Arsène Lupin by Valère Catogan (1955)
In Compartment 813 by Arthur Porges in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine (June 1966)
Arsène Lupin, gentleman de la nuit by Jean-Claude Lamy (1983)
Auguste Lupa in Son of Holmes (1986) and Rasputin’s Revenge (1987) by John Lescroart
Various stories in the Tales of the Shadowmen anthology series, ed. by Jean-Marc Lofficier and Randy Lofficier, Black Coat Press (2005-ongoing)
Arsène Lupin is also referred to as the grandfather of Lupin III in the Japanese manga series of the same name. He appears in chapter 37 of the series.
Arsène Lupin and Sherlock Holmes have been the basis for the popular Japanese manga series Detective Conan. Kaitou Kid (originating from Magic Kaito) resembles and represents Lupin, while Conan Edogawa resembles and represents Sherlock Holmes.
In the Adventure of The Doraemons, the robot cat The Mysterious Thief Dorapent resembles Lupin.
A funny animal pastiche of Arsène Lupin is Arpin Lusène, of the Scrooge McDuck Universe.
Případ Grendwal (A Grendwal Case), a play by Pavel Dostál, Czech playwright and Minister of Culture
Tuxedo Mask from the popular Japanese manga and anime series Sailor Moon, also resembles Arsène Lupin.
Arsène Lupin et le mystère d'Arsonval by Michel Zink
Qui fait peur à Virginia Woolf ? (... Élémentaire mon cher Lupin !) by Gabriel Thoveron
Crimes parfaits by Christian Poslaniec
La Dent de Jane by Daniel Salmon (2001)
Les Lupins de Vincent by Caroline Cayol et Didier Cayol (2006)
Code Lupin by Michel Bussi (2006)
L'Église creuse by Patrick Genevaux (2009) (short story)
The Many Faces of Arsène Lupin collection of short stories edited by Jean-Marc Lofficier & Randy Lofficier (Black Coat Press, 2012)
Other Reading
Dorothée, Danseuse de Corde (1923) (The Secret Tomb) an eponymous heroine solves one of Arsène Lupin's four fabulous secrets.
Films
Arsène Lupin 2004 movie posterThe Gentleman Burglar (B&W., US, 1908) with William Ranows (Lupin).
Arsène Lupin (B&W., 1914) with Georges Tréville (Lupin).
Arsène Lupin (B&W., UK, 1915) with Gerald Ames (Lupin).
The Gentleman Burglar (B&W., US, 1915) with William Stowell (Lupin).
Arsène Lupin (B&W., US, 1917) with Earle Williams (Lupin).
The Teeth of the Tiger (B&W., US, 1919) with David Powell (Lupin).
813 (B&W., US, 1920) with Wedgewood Nowell (Lupin) and Wallace Beery.
Les Dernières aventures d'Arsène Lupin (B&W., France/Hungary, 1921).
813 - Rupimono (B&W., Japan, 1923) with Minami Mitsuaki (Lupin).
Arsène Lupin (B&W., US, 1932) with John Barrymore (Lupin).[1]
Arsène Lupin, Détective (B&W., 1937) with Jules Berry (Lupin).
Arsène Lupin Returns (B&W., US, 1938) with Melvyn Douglas (Lupin).
Enter Arsène Lupin (B&W., US, 1944) with Charles Korvin (Lupin).
Arsenio Lupin (B&W., Mexico, 1945) with R. Pereda (Lupin).
Nanatsu-no Houseki (B&W., Japan, 1950) with Keiji Sada (Lupin).
Tora no-Kiba (B&W., Japan, 1951) with Ken Uehara (Lupin).
Kao-no Nai Otoko (B&W., Japan, 1955) with Eiji Okada (Lupin).
Les Aventures d'Arsène Lupin (col., 1957) with Robert Lamoureux (Lupin).
Signé Arsène Lupin (B&W., 1959) with Robert Lamoureux (Lupin).
Arsène Lupin contre Arsène Lupin (B&W., 1962) with Jean-Pierre Cassel and Jean-Claude Brialy (Lupins).
Arsène Lupin (col., 2004) with Romain Duris (Lupin).
Lupin no Kiganjo (col., Japan, 2011) with Kōichi Yamadera (Lupin).
Television
Arsène Lupin, 26 60-minute episodes (1971, 1973–1974) with Georges Descrières (Lupin), Arsène Lupin at the Internet Movie Database.
L'Île aux trente cercueils, six 60-minute episodes (1979) (the character of Lupin, who only appears at the end of the novel, was removed entirely).
Arsène Lupin joue et perd, six 52-minute episodes (1980) loosely based on 813 with Jean-Claude Brialy (Lupin).
Le Retour d'Arsène Lupin, twelve 90-minute episodes (1989–1990) and Les Nouveaux Exploits d'Arsène Lupin, eight 90-minute episodes (1995–1996) with François Dunoyer (Lupin).
Lupin (Philippine TV series), Philippines (2007) with Richard Gutierrez (Lupin).
Stage
Arsène Lupin by Francis de Croisset and Maurice Leblanc. Four-act play first performed on October 28, 1908, at the Athenée in Paris.
Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmès by Victor Darlay & Henri de Gorsse. Four-act play first performed on October 10, 1910, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. (American edition ISBN 1-932983-16-3)
Le Retour d'Arsène Lupin by Francis de Croisset and Maurice Leblanc. One-act play first performed on September 16, 1911, at the Théâtre de la Cigale in Paris.
Arsène Lupin, Banquier by Yves Mirande & Albert Willemetz, libretto by Marcel Lattès. Three-act operetta, first performed on May 7, 1930, at the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiennes in Paris.
A/L The Youth of Phantom Thief Lupin by Yoshimasa Saitou . Takarazuka Revue performance, 2007, starring Yūga Yamato and Hana Hizuki.
Rupan －ARSÈNE LUPIN－ by Haruhiko Masatsuka . Takarazuka Revue performance, 2013, starring Masaki Ryū and Reika Manaki (after Le Dernier Amour d'Arsène Lupin)
Comics and animation
Les Exploits d'Arsène Lupin aka Night Hood, produced by Cinar & France-Animation, 26 episodes for 24 min. in (1996)
Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène Lupin, a character created by Monkey Punch for a series of manga, anime television shows, movies and OVA's based in Japan and around the world. Because Monkey Punch did not seek permission to use the character from the Leblanc estate, the character was renamed in the early English adaptations and also had to be renamed when the anime series was broadcast on French TV.
Soul Eater episode 3, the introduction of Death The Kid and the Thompson Sisters initially depicts them chasing the demonic form of Arsène Lupin so that the sisters could claim and devour his soul. When Death The Kid begins panicking about the lack of symmetry with the sisters and their appearances, Lupin escapes down a manhole and is not seen for the rest of the episode.
Hidan no Aria episode 4, Riko Mine reveals that she is a descendant of Arsène Lupin after she hijacked the airplane that Aria took. She also reveals Aria's identity as the descendant of Sherlock Holmes.
The exploits of Arsène Lupin inspired an entire Phantom Thief (Kaitō) sub-genre of Japanese media.
Kaito Kid from the manga series Magic Kaito and Detective Conan is often compared to Arsene Lupin. Lupin is also highlighted in volume 4 of the Detective Conan manga's edition of "Gosho Aoyama's Mystery Library", a section of the graphic novels (usually the last page) where the author introduces a different detective (or in this case, a villain/detective) from literature.
Meimi Haneoka, who "transforms" into Kaitō Saint Tail heavily inspired by Arsene Lupin, a thief with acrobatic and magician skills, from Saint Tail (by Megumi Tachikawa)
Chizuko "Chiko" Mikamo, from The Daughter of Twenty Faces.
There is also an ongoing manga adaptation of Arsene Lupin first published in 2011, from Gundam artist Takashi Morita.
Comics
Arsene Lupin, as he appeared in volume 4 of Case ClosedArsène Lupin, written by Georges Cheylard, art by Bourdin. Daily strip published in France-Soir in 1948-49.
Arsène Lupin, written & drawn by Jacques Blondeau. 575 daily strips published in Le Parisien Libéré from 1956-58.
Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmès: La Dame blonde, written by Joëlle Gilles, art by Gilles & B. Cado, published by the authors, 1983.
Arsène Lupin, written by André-Paul Duchateau, artist Géron, published by C. Lefrancq. 1.Le Bouchon de cristal (1989)
2.813 — La Double Vie d'Arsène Lupin (1990)
3.813 — Les Trois crimes d'Arsène Lupin (1991)
4.La Demoiselle aux yeux verts (1992)
5.L'Aiguille creuse (1994)
Arpin Lusène is featured as a character in the Donald Duck & Co stories The Black Knight (1997), Attaaaaaack! (2000) and The Black Knight GLORPS again! (2004) by Don Rosa.
In Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier, Lupin is featured as a member of Les Hommes Mysterieux, the French analogue of Britain's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
United States Secret Service
Ford F-250
Vehicle #7228
Vehicle Inspection Team
Picture Date: 05/14/2014
This truck was parked near The White House in Washington D.C.
This is the first time I’ve seen the SIS building clear of junk and building site detritus on the Thames side for several years.
Celebrated the view with this snap on my walk down to Vauxhall last night. I do find this Postmodern building endlessly fascinating and distinctive, unlike anything else in London.