Jango

Another ‘Lost’ Series

^{Investigated by Laurence Marcus}

A Gentle bumbly detective called Jango Smith, who is a cross between an overweight Jacques Tati and an indulgent Father Brown, begins a series of amiable investigations on Wednesday. - TV Times January 1961.

The character of Jango Smith was created by Geoffrey Bellman and John Whitney for a one-off play, Murder Stamp, a light-hearted but intriguing bit of hokum which was broadcast as part of Associated Rediffusion’s anthology series Television Playhouse, and broadcast on Thursday 13 October 1960. He was portrayed by Robert Urquhart, already an experienced actor who had begun his screen career as early as 1950.

Bellman had written for Shadow Squad, The Case Before You, Knight Errant Limited, Ghost Squad, Harpers West One and The Avengers. He would later go on to co-create The Informer starring Ian Hendry, and Danger UXB. Whitney had partnered Bellman on all those shows and would later co-create Upstairs, Downstairs.

The description of Jango Smith in the above TV Times intro was somewhat misleading, as Smith was not, as implied, a police detective, but a professor in criminology at Nairobi University. Smith is temporarily attached to Scotland Yard, and on the morning of his arrival it is expected that he will want VIP treatment. But his ideas conform to no pattern. Even in solving crimes his originality is well marked.

So when he hears that Stanley Fletcher, suspected of committing murder six years ago but without sufficient evidence for conviction, is leaving for Australia in four days’ time, Jango shows an interest. Now that Fletcher is leaving the country it looks as though the murder will never be solved.

Jango is told by DI Cochrane and DS Oakes that a nightwatchman for a wholesale company was found dead in an office - killed whilst trying to defend the company's safe. The company, which has looked after the watchman’s widow and son, would have liked to have seen their company secretary, Fletcher, brought to trial. Among other clues pointing to his guilt, the key left in the safe on the night of the crime belonged to Fletcher, but the police have never succeeded in breaking his alibi. "What interests Jango about the unsolved crime," said Robert Urquhart, “is that although the case appears to be dead, the people originally questioned go on changing as one does in day-to-day life. This gives one a different angle on them in relation to crime." In this case, the professor thinks the lapse of time may put the evidence in a different perspective.

The character outline of Jango was given as follows: A funny, scruffy geezer with glasses, a dirty raincoat, tweed hat and a twisted walking stick (who) is operating a one-man law business. He's not official, but his uncle's a big wheel at the Yard. He looks like a joke and his name's even more of a giggle. But he's dangerous. The danger is that he is bit of a trick-cycling expert - psychological motivation and all that jazz. He questions all the obvious answers.

Robert Urquhart's role in Murder Stamp was a slightly off-beat twist of those he had previously played. As dilettante Jango Smith, Urquhart is asking himself "whodunnit" for the first time. "I've played a murderer in films, but this is the first time in any medium that I've been even a quasi-detective."

Urquhart was a Scottish character actor who had made his stage debut at the Park Theatre Glasgow. Later, in the 1960s, Urquhart appeared in many television shows of the detective/special-agent genre, such as Department S, Callan, The Professionals, Man in a Suitcase, The Saint, and The Avengers. His career took in over 130 screen appearances. In 1974 he took the lead in The Aweful Mr. Goodall and he starred as Wing Commander MacPhearson in Pathfinders. He was married twice, first to the actress Zena Walker, and then to the Scottish hotelier and politician Jean Urquhart. He passed away in 1995, aged 72 years shortly after his second heart-bypass operation.

Moira Redmond played Jango's ex-but-ever-loving wife Bee, a cool blonde who owns a fashion boutique. Nobody knows - certainly not Jango - why they were ever divorced, as they are obviously very fond of each other. It is all very complicated, especially as Jango lodges in Bee's flat - sleeping on her elegant, contemporary sofa.

Born in the UK, Moira Redmond, an ex-Windmill Girl, had emigrated to Australia before returning home in 1957. She claimed to have played '3,000 roles on radio and television.' She told the TV Times in February 1961 that when her marriage to businessman Anthony Hughes broke up and she had to earn a living she took on "every role in the book. Sometimes I was an old lady with a squeaky voice, sometimes I was a baby crying or a little boy. Once I was Caliban in Shakespeare's The Tempest.”

Redmond came from a long line of theatrical people. Her mother and father were both on the stage. Her brother was too, although he gave up in order to go into business. Both grandparents wrote, produced and acted in their own plays. "But in my teens I had other plans. Three months of the year I was going to be a doctor; then for three months I would decide on being a missionary in China or Africa, and I would finish up with the ambition of being an opera singer." Eventually though, she started her career at 16 as a dancer in pantomime, then studied music and sang in musical comedy. In an extensive career, Redmond added numerous roles to her CV - including the Duchess of Cleveland in The First Churchills, Domitia in I, Claudius and Lady Constance in Strathblair. She married the producer and director Herbert Wise. She passed away in 2006, aged 77 years, having suffered from senile dementia for some time.

Murder Stamp was the 6th most popular programme for the week ending 16 October 1960. The Daily Mirror said that Murder Stamp 'made an entertaining Whodunit last night - if you like your sleuths slightly daffy' and said that Robert Urquhart played the sleuth with 'the nervous approach of a maiden aunt.' Completely removed from reality, his character was said to be 'as much comedy as crime'. However, the review also suggested that 'should the writers Bellman and Whitney decide to team up for another 'neat little piece of non-violence', they would be welcomed back. This was echoed by a review in The Stage on 20 October which described the play as a detective story with 'one or two neat twists and a central character sufficiently different to be interesting.'

Bellman and Whitney would not team up for another adventure for Jango, but Associated Rediffusion were keen for a series. In search of suitable scripts, Murder Stamp was shown to a party of leading playwrights. Eight new half hour plays were chosen, vetted and worked on by director Cyril Coke and Robert Urqhart. The writers included Mike Watts, who wrote the successful series Castle Haven, Peter Ling who co-created Compact and Crossroads, and ex-Detective-Superintendent Albert Webb, who had tracked down the acid bath murderer John George Haigh in 1949.

Urquhart was delighted to see the reincarnation of his ‘favourite’ character. "You see, Jango became a friend of mine," he said. "He is as different and sophisticated as his name. He is intelligent, even a bit intellectual, but without being pretentious; tough, but never violent, sexy, but not a smooth talking Romeo; amusing, although unintentionally so. In short, Jango is a thoroughly nice guy."

Following on from the first episode in the series, in which Jango sets out to discover how a lady was poisoned – (it turns out her husband put the poison in her Teasmade by the side of their bed), Alan Dick – TV critic for the Daily Herald, wrote on Thursday 26 January 1961; If it (Jango) keeps up last night's standard, we will have at last, an interesting and intelligent relief from the usual Wednesday TV tedium.' The amateur sleuth, 'wacky', 'badly dressed', and whose technique is 'a mixture of Sherlock Holmes, Father Brown and the Thin Man' was played, the review said, by Robert Urquhart 'who adds to the quaintness of the character.’

'But he is not the waffling idiot he seems. That baggy suit is from a good tailor (witness four buttons on the cuff (?!)), the tie is old school and the eyes behind the thick glasses are shrewd.'

Guest stars who appeared in the series included comedian Bernie Winters, Dudley Foster (Z Cars), Patrick Newell (The Avengers), Derek Francis (Oh, Brother!), Arthur Brough (Are You Being Served?), Brian Wilde (Porridge), Harold Goodwin (United!), André Maranne (the Pink Panther films) and Sam Kydd (naturally).

Despite the decent reviews, only one series of Jango was made. Perhaps the format would have lent itself to an hour presentation rather than 30-minutes during which time the crime had to be committed, investigated and solved. Alas we shall probably never know as none of the episodes appear to have survived (unless you know different).

What does survive though is a message given, in 1961, to all CID Officers at Scotland Yard: Be on the lookout for this Professor of Criminology. Jango Smith is on the sleuth again. Frankly, he looks a proper Charlie. But believe you me, he isn't!