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Post by McCann on Apr 2, 2021 8:25:42 GMT
It was in episode 4 when Arthur rings Terry from the office and Mr. Bronson orders Arthur to take the Bedford van to the ambush.
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Post by steve99 on Jun 11, 2021 18:00:39 GMT
Watched this one a couple of nights back and I think if the card scenes had been in a Hollywood movie they'd have been referenced constantly over the years. Director Roy Ward Baker really built the tension in the card games, creating an oppressive and edgy atmosphere, particularly as Maurice is the odd one out and faces trouble if he speaks out of turn, which he's on the verge of doing. Marc Zuber's dealer's fingers twitching during the games and his quizzical looks around the table lead the viewer to believe something dodgy is going on and you realise this poker school ain't straight, not to certain outsiders anyway.
The money being chucked into the middle of the table makes me nervous even now - two grand here, five grand there and this was 1979! You'd need to have been both a top player and a bit crafty like Maurice to come away with any money in these games, by having the bottle to bet these amounts on your skill as a poker player and to outsmart the conmen. I hadn't really thought of it before but I presume the writer was offering the view that there's not much difference in essence between fancy gaming clubs and poker games played in a sweaty back room. With Maurice's first successful stint, it's not inferred verbally far less stated outright but with him being mugged so soon after leaving the club with 11 grand the assumption must be the bow-tied manager has instructed his heavies to get the casino's money back, as was the case in the second Michaelson episode.
Maurice has a stylish existence, driving a Lotus and living in a posh flat, however we see how quickly it can all come crashing down and why his wife wants him to get a steady job, albeit she seems to like the good life Maurice's gambling winnings provide. I don't know if real card pros were spoken to prior to the script being written - you'd assume so - and if it was accurate figures for a pro poker player with Maurice saying he settles for 700-800 quid a week, it shows you the kind of money that was floating about in that sphere back then.
The guy who asked Terry the time was mentioned (maybe it was a favour from someone at Euston to give a pal a few quid) and I wonder if the middle aged woman who Terry eases past when going back to the club with Maurice was an extra or just someone who happened to be passing. She looked to me to be a passer-by but I think extras are usually preferred for these kind of scenes to keep things simple and 'predictable', with retakes kept to a minimum.
PS Watching an old B-pic from 1957 just now and someone's "minders" were mentioned. Wonder how long this term has been around for.
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Post by jjmolloy on Jun 11, 2021 18:18:13 GMT
Watched this one a couple of nights back and I think if the card scenes had been in a Hollywood movie they'd have been referenced constantly over the years. Director Roy Ward Baker really built the tension in the card games, creating an oppressive and edgy atmosphere, particularly as Maurice is the odd one out and faces trouble if he speaks out of turn, which he's on the verge of doing. Marc Zuber's dealer's fingers twitching during the games and his quizzical looks around the table lead the viewer to believe something dodgy is going on and you realise this poker school ain't straight, not to certain outsiders anyway. The money being chucked into the middle of the table makes me nervous even now - two grand here, five grand there and this was 1979! You'd need to have been both a top player and a bit crafty like Maurice to come away with any money in these games, by having the bottle to bet these amounts on your skill as a poker player and to outsmart the conmen. I hadn't really thought of it before but I presume the writer was offering the view that there's not much difference in essence between fancy gaming clubs and poker games played in a sweaty back room. With Maurice's first successful stint, it's not inferred verbally far less stated outright but with him being mugged so soon after leaving the club with 11 grand the assumption must be the bow-tied manager has instructed his heavies to get the casino's money back, as was the case in the second Michaelson episode. Maurice has a stylish existence, driving a Lotus and living in a posh flat, however we see how quickly it can all come crashing down and why his wife wants him to get a steady job, albeit she seems to like the good life Maurice's gambling winnings provide. I don't know if real card pros were spoken to prior to the script being written - you'd assume so - and if it was accurate figures for a pro poker player with Maurice saying he settles for 700-800 quid a week, it shows you the kind of money that was floating about in that sphere back then. The guy who asked Terry the time was mentioned (maybe it was a favour from someone at Euston to give a pal a few quid) and I wonder if the middle aged woman who Terry eases past when going back to the club with Maurice was an extra or just someone who happened to be passing. She looked to me to be a passer-by but I think extras are usually preferred for these kind of scenes to keeps things simple and 'predictable', with retakes kept to a minimum. PS Watching an old B-pic from 1957 just now and someone's "minders" were mentioned. Wonder how long this term has been around for. '700-800 quid a week' Tax free of course!
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Post by steve99 on Jun 11, 2021 23:11:25 GMT
£40,000 a year with no tax was more than a decent bit of wedge back then although I think Mrs Michaelson would have done her best to put a large dent in it. I meant to say in my previous post that Anthony Valentine was terrific as Maurice. He really got into the skin of the character and when watching this episode without distractions you're drawn into Maurice's world and his way of looking at life. Arthur is already shown to be economical with the truth, telling Maurice flash cars like the Lotus just fall out of bed price wise but is almost offended when Dave says the same thing to him. The book is confidential and it'll certainly stay that way as you'd need to have eyes like Superman to clock anything for all the time Arthur lets people view its contents.
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Post by westminster on Jun 12, 2021 19:01:45 GMT
I agree, Anthony Valentine was very good in this episode, the Maurice Michaelson character really worked. Very well observed I thought. That late-70s Jack-the-lad playboy thing he had going on was very much of its time though. They've more or less disappeared now drugs have taken over everything outside the straight and narrow.
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Post by jjmolloy on Jun 12, 2021 23:35:57 GMT
I agree, Anthony Valentine was very good in this episode, the Maurice Michaelson character really worked. Very well observed I thought. That late-70s Jack-the-lad playboy thing he had going on was very much of its time though. They've more or less disappeared now drugs have taken over everything outside the straight and narrow. Dunno, I know a couple of 'professional' gamblers, under the radar types. One of them cleaned out a bookies a while back. 50,000 euros. Banned for life by the rest of them. But he was no Maurice that's for sure, doesn't even have a motor.
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Post by steve99 on Jun 17, 2021 19:13:15 GMT
Ouch, 50,000. That was an expensive nag. I think most of them keep a low profile as they don't want to advertise their 'danger' to the bookies.
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Post by djdwesty on Nov 29, 2021 17:36:57 GMT
I absolutely love this one.....it has everything, comedy, car chase and a good scrap. The scenes with Arthur and the Lotus is absolutely brilliant. I wonder if its at this point that the TV company realise its George who is the star billing and not Dennis
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Post by westminster on Apr 22, 2023 8:26:21 GMT
I absolutely love this one.....it has everything, comedy, car chase and a good scrap. The scenes with Arthur and the Lotus is absolutely brilliant. I wonder if its at this point that the TV company realise its George who is the star billing and not Dennis Watched this episode yet again yesterday (on ITV4) and, yes, I agree, it's got everything. Not much more to add to the comments already made, but you can really see how this is a Leon Griffiths episode. The plot and settings are all very much dodgy late-70s west London. But you can also see how things are on the cusp of change. Maurice Michaelson's flash (Harold Shand) flat and Lotus giving something of a hint of the yuppie culture that would emerge shortly thereafter. Interesting really, the Maurice Michaelsons of this world were part of the underbelly of life at that time. Nowadays he'd probably be a big wheel in banking, finance, or something similar.
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mlynn
Car Lot Browser
I need a new cam belt for me motor
Posts: 12
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Post by mlynn on Sept 28, 2023 22:16:01 GMT
Great episode. Chris (from Mind Your Language) looks a bit like Starsky. It must have been a popular haircut that year.
There are a few comedy shows and films featuring card games: 1. Minder (Aces High And Sometimes Very Low and You Lose Some, You Win Some), 2. Only Fools and Horses (A Losing Streak), 3. Still Game (Cairds), 4. The Sting, 5. Casino Royale.
The difficulty is if you don't know card games the viewer could be lost about what was going on so they have to explain it in a simple way for the viewer.
I actually thought Maurice reappeared in The Roof of All Evil but I checked and that was a different character played by Pete Postlethwaite.
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Post by jjmolloy on Sept 29, 2023 0:20:47 GMT
Great episode. Chris (from Mind Your Language) looks a bit like Starsky. It must have been a popular haircut that year. There are a few comedy shows and films featuring card games: 1. Minder (Aces High And Sometimes Very Low and You Lose Some, You Win Some), 2. Only Fools and Horses (A Losing Streak), 3. Still Game (Cairds), 4. The Sting, 5. Casino Royale. The difficulty is if you don't know card games the viewer could be lost about what was going on so they have to explain it in a simple way for the viewer. I actually thought Maurice reappeared in The Roof of All Evil but I checked and that was a different character played by Pete Postlethwaite. Maurice appeared again in Series 2, episode 3. You Lose Some, You Win Some. #2.3 You Lose Some, You Win Some
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