UK, 23 June 1966-25 March 1967
2 series, 29 episodes, average 50m
black and white, 4:3
mono, English
A British fantasy television series. An unbroadcast pilot episode was made in 1966. It was never broadcast but the footage set in 1902 was reused in the first episode of the series, A Vintage Year for Scoundrels (1966). The episode is no longer held in the BBC's archive along with twelve episodes of the subsequent series. The remaining seventeen episodes were released on DVD in the UK in 2006.
Premise
In 1902, gentleman adventurer Adam Adamant is frozen alive in a block of ice by his mortal enemy The Face. He's revived in 1966 and has to deal with the cultural shock of living in swinging London. He's helped by the beautiful Georgina Jones, who assists him in his ceaseless battle against crime.
Credits
Regular Crew
BBC
Produced by: Verity Lambert
Script Consultant: Tony Williamson
“Adam Adamant” Theme Written by: Hal Shaper and David Lee
Sung by: Kathy Kirby
Regular Cast
Gerald Harper (Adam Adamant)
Juliet Harmer (Georgina Jones) [not in pilot episode]
Jack May (William E. Simms) [not in pilot episode]
Alternative Titles
Adam Adamant – working title
Links
See also
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
Episodes
Pilot
Adam Adamant (not broadcast)
Written by: Donald Cotton
Based on material: by Richard Harris
Directed by: William Slater
Guest Cast: Ann Holloway (Georgina Jones), Peter Ducrow (The Face), Veronica Strong, Vernon Joyner, Norman Mitchell, Grenville Steel, Norman Claridge, Michael Latimer, Ian Kingsley, Mary Hignett, Eric McCaine, Gordon Gardner, Frank Tregear, Carol Passmore, Kenneth Benda, Gordon Faith, Nicholas Brett
Edwardian adventurer Adam Adamant is frozen in ice and thaws out in 1960s London.
missing from the BBC's archives
Series One
A Vintage Year for Scoundrels (23 June 1966)
Written by: Tony Williamson
With material by: Donald Cotton, Richard Harris
Directed by: William Slater and David Proudfoot
Guest Cast: Freda Jackson (Margo Kane), Ivor Salter (Hoggett), Frank Jarvis (Hicks), Peter Ducrow (Face), Mary Hignett (patient), Joby Blanshard (detective), Bartlett Mullins (Gramps), Gordon Faith (foreigner), Kenneth Benda (Sir James), Antony Ruth (youth), Tom Macaulay (Bailey), Lionel Gamlin (Benson), John Greenwood (doctor), Pamela Sholto (woman), Grania Hayes (girl), Guy Standeven (city man)
Edwardian adventurer Adam Adamant is frozen in ice and thaws out in 1960s London. Her meets Georgina Jones who befriends him and in return Adamant helps track down the protection racketeers who murdered her grandfather.
Death Has a Thousand Faces (30 June 1966)
Written by: Tony Williamson
Directed by: Philip Dudley
Guest Cast: Stephanie Bidmead (Madam Delvario), Michael Robbins (Jeffreys), Robin John (Travis), Geoffrey Hinsliff (Parky), Sheila Fearn (Susie), Patrick O'Connell (Danny), John Rolfe (Kelvin), Beryl Nesbitt (waitress), Philip Ryan (Jackson)
Georgina sees two bikers knifing a man to death and retrieves the only clues as to their identity – a stick of Blackpool rock. The rock contains a complex diagram which, to decode, they need to visit the seaside town where its famous Golden Mile is under threat of destruction.
More Deadly Than the Sword (7 July 1966)
Written by: Terence Frisby
Directed by: Leonard Lewis
Guest Cast: Mary Webster (Madame Nagata), Andy Ho (Ikezawa), Barry Lineham (McLennon), Yuri Borienko (Kodama), Maurice Hedley (Sir Ernest Hampton), Margaret Nolan (Sadie), Geraldine Gwyther (Miss Preston), Eva Whishaw (air stewardess), Anna May (secretary), Geoffrey Alexander (Hiram), Mona Chong (Hitomi), Ling Ling (Hanako), Lucille Soong (Suzu), Cecil Cheng (first guard), Dennis Chin (second guard), Jack Barry (first samurai), Ian McKay (second samurai), Derek Ware (third samurai)
Sir Ernest Hampton is being blackmailed with photographs of him with his mistress and is being forced to hand over military secrets. Adamant reluctantly agrees to act as a courier, carrying the secrets to the blackmails in Hong Kong.
The Sweet Smell of Disaster (14 July 1966)
Written by: Robert Banks Stewart
Directed by: Philip Dudley
Guest Cast: Charles Tingwell (Benjamin Kinthly), Adrienne Corri (Shani Mathieson), William Hurndell (McLintock), Bryan Kendrick (sales manager), David Lander (advertising manager), Jack Howlett (Spalding), Peggy Ann Clifford (caretaker), John Gatrell (Badenoch), Pauline Munro (girl in commercial), Neville Becker (man in commercial)
A research scientist who has developed a new detergent called ‘Cloud 7' is murdered. The detergent is promoted by blue plastic carnations that are given away free with each packet, fake flowers that contain an unusual scent which proves addictive to anyone smelling them. Adamant has to get the bottom of the mystery as all around him friends, colleagues and strangers fall under the spell of the flowers.
Allah Is Not Always With You (21 July 1966)
Written by: Tony Williamson
Directed by: Paul Ciappessoni
Guest Cast: Jennifer Jayne (Helen), Kevin Brennan (Vargos), John Hollis (Calvert), David Spenser (Ahmed), John Woodnutt (the sheik), Harry Webster (Raynor), Andrew Andreas (the croupier), Norman Hartley (Nicky), Nosher Powell (Lukas), Miranda Hampton (Linda), Valerie Stanton (Fluffy), George Tovey (taxi driver), Tony Cyrus (the guard)
Adamant investigates the murder of a young girl and is introduced to the world of London's night life and its associated gambling culture.
The Terribly Happy Embalmers (4 August 1966)
Written by: Brian Clemens
Directed by: Paul Ciappessoni
Guest Cast: John le Mesurier (Velmer), Deryck Guyler (Grantham), Jeremy Young (Wilson), Arthur Brough (Mr Percy), Hamilton Dyce (George), Ilona Rodgers (Susan), John Scott (Sir John Marston)
His investigations into the murder of a city financier leads Adamant into the strange world of a group of embalmers.
To Set a Deadly Fashion (11 August 1966)
Written by: Tony Williamson
Directed by: Leonard Lewis
Guest Cast: Colin Jeavons (Roger Clair), Ruth Trouncer (Mylene), Gwendolyn Watts (Janine), Alister Williamson (Howarth), Bryan Coleman (Major Fitzgibbon), Catherine Lancaster (Lyra), Keith Anderson (Charles), Nancy Nevinson (Oretta), Alan Foss (Leo), Raymond Clarke (Watkins), Fred Windrush (Denny), George Gibson (Frank), Audrey Noble (Mrs Smythe), Joan Crane (Sandra), Heather Downham (Jacky)
Adamant's latest investigation takes him into London's fashion world.
The Last Sacrifice (18 August 1966)
Written by: Richard Harris
Directed by: Philip Dudley
Guest Cast: William Dexter (Lord Rufus Pearmain), Jennifer Daniel (Esta Canfield), John Dawson (minister), Robert Macleod (Fowley), Hugh Dickson (James Denton), Glyn Dearman (Statton), Ian Fairbairn (barber), Kenneth Ives (huge man)
A magician is holding the country to ransom and it's up to Adamant to stop him.
Sing a Song of Murder (25 August 1966)
Written by: John Pennington
Directed by: Philip Dudley
Guest Cast: Jerome Willis (Melville), Alex Scott (Carson), Anne Kristen (Felina), Michael Standing (Kinkead), Michael Beint (inspector), Denis Cleary (sergeant), John Dunbar (cashier), James Blake (chauffeur), Steve Peters (messenger)
When a record is played at a party, it puts everyone listening to it in a trance. Under the influence, Georgina commits a bank robbery. It's up to Adamant to uncover the secret of the subliminal messages hidden in the music.
The Doomsday Plan (1 September 1966)
Written by: Richard Harris
Directed by: Paul Ciappessoni
Guest Cast: Peter Vaughn (Dr Mort), Isobel Black (Samantha), Roy Hanlon (Streek), Andrew Robertson (Maddox), Geoffrey Lumsden (Hinchcombe), Kenneth Kendall (BBC Newsreader), John Kidd (BBC official), Charles Haggith (Myers), Talfryn Thomas (man with parcel), Patrick Durkin (heckler)
When BBC newsreaders start being replaced by doubles warning viewers of the end of the world, Adamant and Georgina investigate. Are the dire warnings of nuclear armageddon issued by the mysterious Doctor Mort about to come come true? Or is there a more mundane reason behind his pronouncements?
Death by Appointment Only (8 September 1966)
Written by: Tony Williamson
Directed by: Moira Armstrong
Guest Cast: Christine Finn (Pamela Wentworth-Howe), Patricia Haines (Sandra Webb), James Cairncross (Charles Fellows), David Garth (Sir Nigel Dee), John Walker (Daniels), Brian Hayes (caretaker), Edward Palmer (Von Reison), Colin Vancao (Philippe Jervais)
Adamant is called in to investigate the deaths of several key businessmen who have all been making large profits by playing the stock market. The trail leads to Eve Escort Agency where Georgina gets a job and Adamant meets two secretaries who seem to be running their bosses' businesses.
Beauty Is an Ugly Word (15 September 1966)
Written by: Vince Powell and Harry Driver
Directed by: Philip Dudley
Guest Cast: Peter Jeffrey (Sinoda), Annette André (Paula), John McKelvey (P.C. Mullins), John Baddeley (Petherbridge), Barry Jackson (Victor), Eddie Stacey (Max), Esmond Webb (Dr Ryan), John Church (compère), Roy Stewart (weightlifter)
Adamant is hunting for a deadly virus that destroys human tissue which has been stolen from the Insecticides Division of the Ministry of Agriculture. In less than twenty-four hours it could spread across the entire world and all Adamant has to go on is a photograph of a former Miss Earth beauty queen who vanished a year ago.
The League of Uncharitable Ladies (22 September 1966)
Written by: John Pennington
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Guest Cast: John Carson (Randolph), Amelia Bayntun (Charity), Gerald Sim (Jarrot), Larry Noble (Harry Marshall), Geraldine Moffatt (Prudence), Sheila Grant (Hope), Lucy Griffiths (Faith), Jean Gregory (Mrs Lightfoot), Joan Paton (Mrs Paton), Eve Gross (Abstinence), Pauline Loring (Mrs Winter), Joyce Carpenter (Mrs Tudor), Betty Cardno (Mrs Wright)
Old ladies are using poisoned charity flags to kill businessmen and Adamant is contacted by Jarrot who has received an invitation to die at 10 o'clock that night. Adamant meets Faith, Hope and Charity from the Gentlewomen's Charity League charity and discovers that they are not all they seem…
Ticket to Terror (29 September 1966)
Written by: Dick Sharples
Directed by: Tina Wakerell
Guest Cast: Max Adrian (Doctor Klein), Ann Lynn (Miss Caldwell), Michael Barrington (Armitage), Reg Lye (Harold), Jack Bligh (engineer), Tommy Eytle (George), Jack Barry (guard), Jane Quy (Susan Denby)
Four hundred commuters on the Waterloo and City tube line vanish leaving behind four hundred skeletons. Adamant's butler, Simms, was one of the passengers and his investigation, which uncovers a terrible conspiracy, becomes personal.
missing from the BBC's archives
The Village of Evil (6 October 1966)
Written by: Vince Powell and Harry Driver
Directed by: Anthea Browne-Wilkinson
Guest Cast: John Bailey (Dr Craigshaw), Colette O'Neil (Myra Bamford), Christopher Coll (Joe), John Law (Mr Corbett), Trevor Baxter (Mr Burke), John Henderson (vicar), Dinny Powell (Daniel), Len Jones (Jerry Fletcher)
While taking a well-earned break in the countryside Adamant and Georgina meet a young boy who needs their help finding his white mice that have been stolen. His investigations uncover a dead man at an inn and an occult prayer book, leading to the realisation that the entire village is involved in Satanism.
D for Destruction (13 October 1966)
Written by: Tony Williamson
Directed by: Moira Armstrong
Guest Cast: Michael Ripper (Sergeant Major Jeffers), Iain Cuthbertson (Colonel Mannering), Patrick Troughton (General Mongerson), Walter Sparrow (Corporal Gray), John Hart Dyke (Private Davis), Anthony Blackshaw (Corporal Jenkins), Raymond Hardy (guard), Michael Sheard (major), John Porter Davison (Private Jones)
Members of the 51st Yeomanry regiment are being murered and Adamant is called in to investigate.
Series Two
A Slight Case of Reincarnation (31 December 1966)
Written by: Tony Williamson
From a story by: Brian Clemens
Additional material by: Donald Cotton and Richard Harris
Directed by: Roger Jenkins
Guest Cast: Martin Miller (Doctor Heindrick), Peter Madden (Doctor Sanderson), Carole Mowlam (Nurse Henders), Mary Yeomans (Louise), John Frawley (Sir Charles Thetford), Peggy Ann Wood (Lady Elizabeth Thetford), Horace James (Hinkaya), Patrick Kavanagh (Hammond), Norman Pitt (Charlesworth), John Cazabon (Simpson), Tom Clegg (Jarvis), William Hurndell (Logan), Peter Ducrow (The Face), Kenneth Benda (Sir James), Gordon Faith (foreigner)
African leader Hinkaya arrives in the UK for an important conference and survives an attempted assassination. Adamant is assigned to keep an eye on him but he is attacked by Hinkaya's political opponents. When he comes round he is startled to find himself in a nursing home in 1902 and that his adventures in the 1960s were all a dream…
missing from the BBC's archives
Black Echo (7 January 1967)
Written by: Donald and Derek Ford
Directed by: Moira Armstrong
Guest Cast: Gladys Cooper (Grand Duchess Vorokhov), Judy Parfitt (Ireyna), Donald Eccles (Sir Henry), Peter Bathurst (Sir George), Peter Ducrow (The Face), Trevor Baxter (Beardsley), Brian Gilmar (Sergei), Mo Kiki (cossack), Kenneth Ives (oil delivery man), James Appleby (chauffeur)
Adamant is called in by the Bank of England to investigate the Grand Duchess Vorokhov who wants to withdraw all of her £150 million as Adamant knew the real Grand Duchess in 1901. But Georgina learns that a delivery man was driven insane at the Duchess' country mansion, terrified by something lurking in the basement. But Adamant has other things to worry about – the return of the Face!
Conspiracy of Death (14 January 1967)
Written by: Vince Powell and Harry Driver
Directed by: Roger Jenkins
Guest Cast: Derek Farr (Onslow), Annette Carell (Monique), John Scott Martin (Johnson), Harold Goodwin (Davison), George Woodbridge (Penrose), David Blake Kelly (Connelly), Fanny Carby (Colly), Leslie Glazer (police constable)
Simm's wartime comrade Janker Johnson is murdered at their old RAF base and Adamant is called in to investigate.
missing from the BBC's archives
The Basardi Affair (21 January 1967)
Written by: Ian Stuart Black
Directed by: Henri Safran
Guest Cast: Zia Moyheddin (Sheikh Abdul), Kate O'Mara (Sonia Fawzi), Suzanne Mockler (Eileen Smith), Joe Cornelius (chauffeur), Roy Stewart (guard), Salmaan Peer (Prince Mahmud), William Kendall (Sir Robert), Douglas Kirk (servant), Elroy Joseph (sword dancer), Sumantha, Sumanda (belly dancers)
Sheikh Adbul is being threatened and Adamant finds himself drawn into an international exploitation racket.
missing from the BBC's archives
The Survivors (28 January 1967)
Written by: Vince Powell and Harry Driver
Directed by: Moira Armstrong
Guest Cast: Edwin Richfield (Singleton), Edward Evans (Blundell), Anthony Dawes (minister), Elizabeth Benson (Mrs Granger), Erik Chitty (Chritchley), Roy Evans (Marty), Hilda Fenemore (Mrs Clasp), Brian Mosley (Ray), Terry Walsh (Gerry)
An inventor dies and his invention appears on the market almost straight away. Adamant smells a rat…
missing from the BBC's archives
Face In a Mirror (4 February 1967)
Written by: John Pennington
Directed by: Henri Safran
Guest Cast: Edward Brayshaw (Gladwin), Jean Marsh (Lady Lydia), Ric Hutton (Maydew), Peter Ducrow (The Face), Fred McNaughton (Livingston), Bill John (Hudson), Bob Godfrey (Roach), Maurice Quick (Kilvert), Douglas Kirk (Wein), Ian McKay (Beddoes), Philip Anthony, Humphrey Heathcote, Graham Rigby (reporters), Jack Philips (waiter), Basil Dignam (Baker), Peter Stenson (Lewis), Rudolph Walker (Nikubu)
The Face is back and still determined to kill Adamant. This time he's found a man named Farley who is the exact double of Adamant and using him to discredit his enemy.
missing from the BBC's archives
Another Little Drink (11 February 1967)
Written by: Ian Stuart Black
Directed by: Laurence Bourne
Guest Cast: Peter Bowles (P.K. Davies), Sally Bazely (Carol Shelly), Meredith Evans (Doctor Loton), Norman Wyne (supervisor), Stephanie Heesom, Pauline Fitzgerald (dancers), Frederic Abbott (Yorke), Robert McBain (Addison), Michael Golden (guard)
Georgina attends a party to launch a new soft drink but discovers that there's much more to the product than meets the eye.
missing from the BBC's archives
Death Begins at Seventy (18 February 1967)
Written by: Dick Sharples
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Guest Cast: Kenneth J. Warren (Doctor Henry Heason), Sheila Burrell (matron), George Benson (Timothy Henshaw), Roy Evans (postman), Windsor Davies (Charlie Pearson), Cyd Hayman (Mary Smith), John Glyn-Jones (Harry Newly), Bill McLean (young man), Derek Martin (coach driver), Nosher Powell (first security guard), Alan Thompson (second security guard)
Simms receives a message from one of his old theatrical friends, Timothy Henshaw, that draws him and Adamant into a mystery at an old people's home.
missing from the BBC's archives
Tunnel of Death (25 February 1967)
Written by: Richard Waring
Directed by: Moira Armstrong
Guest Cast: Geraldine Newman (Constance), Geoffrey Chater (Commissioner Hobson), Jerold Wells (Barker), Tex Fuller (sewerman), Arnold Diamond (Scarlatti), Kenneth Ives (Bruno), Walter Sparrow (Brooke), Walter Glennie, Michael Greenwood, Derek Martin, John Mincer, Peter Sugden (villains), Peter Ducrow (The Face), Denis Cleary, Frank Seton (petty crooks), John Lawrence (policeman), John Garvin, James Appleby (passers-by)
Georgina is behaving oddly and Adamant discovers that the Face is behind it, using brainwashing machines disguised as hairdryers at a boutique to influence some of the most important women in the country.
missing from the BBC's archives
The Deadly Bullet (4 March 1967)
Written by: Vince Powell and Harry Driver
Directed by: Henri Safran
Guest Cast: Nigel Stock (Oliver Meadows), Bill Kerr (Inspector Foster), Sheila Brennan (Wanda Manton), Henry Gilbert (George Manton), John Garrie (Jimmy Manton), Jill Curzon (Juanita), Graham Corry (Carlos), Winnie Holman (Lily), Bernard Shine (Sergeant Valentine), Harold Bennett (‘Pop' Williams)
The Great Manton is murdered in front of an audience while performing his trademark bullet trick on stage and Adamant is called in to help investigate.
missing from the BBC's archives
The Resurrectionists (11 March 1967)
Written by: Derek and Donald Ford
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Guest Cast: Wendy Gifford (Sara Linden), Bernard Kay (Doctor Morris Vaine), Frank Williams (Mr Byers-Thompson), Peter Stephens (the minister), Sheila Grant (Miss Coburn), Peter Torquil (chauffeur), Tracey Crisp (Susan), Imogen Graham (receptionist), Cicely Paget-Bowman (Mrs Whitenshaw), Peter Ducrow (The Face), William Sully (Otto)
A scientist has developed a technique for taming wild animals but tries to destroy it. Adamant is called in to find out why.
missing from the BBC's archives
Wish You Were Here (18 March 1967)
Written by: James MacTaggart
Directed by: Moira Armstrong
Guest Cast: Michael Gwynn (Lord Hawksmoor), Marion Mathie (Sonia), Hilda Barry (Mrs Simms), Peter Birrel (Saville), Will Stampe (arcade attendant), Skip Martin (Hercules), Brian Hayes (RAC doorman), Anthony Blackshaw (policeman), Terry Richards (matron), Kitty Attwood, Maisie MacFarquhar, Maria Pope (old ladies), Arthur Wild (pageboy), Neil Rhoden (pianist)
Simms travels to Southend to help his mother who has been charged with disturbing the peace. He uncovers a con-trick involving rigged arcade machines and follows a trail of clues to a theatre where he falls foul of the con-men. Georgina and Adamant set out to rescue him.
missing from the BBC's archives
A Sinister Sort of Service (25 March 1967)
Written by: Tony Williamson
Directed by: Laurence Bourne
Guest Cast: T.P. McKenna (Jason Lang), Frances Cuka (Sandra Verrel), David Garth (Sir Nigel Dee), Peter Ducrow (The Face), John Crocker (jeweller), David Kelly (furrier), Josef Zaranoff (Miklo), Alf Joint (first judo student), Clare Jenkins (S.S. girl), Mark Moss (Thomas), James Bulmer, Bill Lyons, Neil Curnow (S.S. men)
As Adamant celebrates his 100th birthday, Sir Nigel tells him of a recent gold bullion robbery. During the evening, they learn of six more robberies that occur simultaneously and Adamant starts to investigate that security company that assessed the companies whose gold was stolen.
References
Periodicals
- Journal of British Cinema and Television vol.1 no.1 (2004) pp.175-177 – book review of Saints and Avengers: British Adventure Series of the 1960s by James Chapman (by Nicholas J. Cull)
- Sight & Sound vol.16 no.10 (October 2006) p.90 – DVD review (Television: Adam Adamant Lives by Sergio Angelini)
- Time Screen no.20 (Spring 1994) pp.4-8 – illustrated credits, article (Tony Williamson by Michael Richardson)
- TV Zone no.205 (September 2006) pp.70-72,74,76-78 – illustrated article (You only live twice by Andrew Pixley)
Books
- Kaleidoscope BBC Television Drama Research Guide 1936-2011, The First Digital Edition edited by Simon Coward, Richard Down and Chris Perry pp.38-41 (Dudley, West Midlands: Kaleidoscope Publishing (2011)) – credits
- The Pocket Essential Ridley Scott by Brian J. Robb pp.17-18 – credits, note
