THE INNOCENT: Susan Oliver plays Ursula Alice Baldwin (goes by Alice), Waverly's cousin's niece, a witty, bubbly girl who doesn't feel particularly upset at her uncle's death and wants to get cozy with Illya. Oliver has, of course, been made immortal thanks to the role of Vina in the original Star Trek pilot, "The Cage" (and then its redress, "The Menagerie"), in which she was also featured as the show's famous Orion slave girl, a staple of the show's end credit sequence. Her mother was a famous astrologer, which makes the psychic scene in this episode a strange nod to her biography (another is that the psychic is played by Antoinette Bower, who would also be on Star Trek, as Sylvia in the Halloween episode "Catspaw"). She began we acting career in the 1950s, and by the 60s was a staple guest star on television. Despite some movie work here and there (for example, Jerry Lewis's The Disorderly Orderly), she continued to toil on television through the 80s, and in her prime became a passionate aviatrix. She died from lung cancer in 1990.
REVIEW: While I wish writer Alan Caillou didn't always rely on "Gypsies" (a word that's now a slur) as elements of his episodes (at least in The Terbuf Affair, they weren't villains with supernatural abilities), this particular script is incredibly witty and one of my favorite episodes to date. Part of it is surely that Roma expert Illya Kuryakin is the Man from UNCLE, as Solo is stuck at HQ with a bum knee from (ohm the indignity!) having stumbled on the office cat (we need to see this!). It gives Robert Vaughn a break from the gruelling television schedule, and David McCallum a chance to shine, get a bit of a romance, and even do his own magic tricks AND stunts in well-directed fights courtesy of Sherman Marks (I'll try to keep a lookout for his one episode per season).
This is also a pretty good episode for Waverly, or at least, for Leo G. Carroll, here in a dual role. In addition to UNCLE's New York chief - admitting to youthful improprieties with women! - he also briefly plays his cousin, the gregarious Baldwin, killed by his own dog at the villains' behest by the end of the first act. But as Baldwin, Carroll's slow, deliberate, tired performance as Waverly is all but gone, and my fears that this would be a Carroll-heavy slog were dispelled. So it's a CHOICE, is it? But even Waverly seems a bit more animated in this one, perhaps by osmosis. No one really gets the short end of the stick in this script anyway. Susan Oliver is always a welcome presence and her character is a lot of fun. Solo, though sidelined, still gets some good lines and a little to do. There's a bit for Sarah over at Channel D. The two main villains are memorable (Antoinette Bower is a physical threat and Paul Lambert skulks around dressed as Dracula, which makes some measure of sense given the link between the vampire and dogs). And even the bit parts are made interesting - the old lady in the hospital who wants Illya to slip her a drink, and the unbelievable dog expert (Pat Harrington Jr., who was Schneider on One Day at a Time) who can trace a pup's lineage from a photo, calls Oliver "Miss America", and lends Illya a fox to lure the attack dogs away (don't worry, we have proof of life on the fox).
The plot creates a mystery around Roma tropes and their alleged ability to control animals, but it's all done with chemicals, just as the seance at Baldwin's place is a fake (and there are some nice details on that - Caillou obviously uses the Roma because he's got a backlog of research on them). It's all in service of forcing superstitious millionaires to give up their stocks of a certain company for a song, lest their own animals turn against them. Ultimately, the baddies are hoisted on their own petard, with the main guy getting splashed with pheromones that drive his dogs wild. All very entertaining!
HEARD ON CHANNEL D: "No man is free who has to work for a living, but I'm available." (Illya)
"Do you believe in Gypsies?" "No, of course not. They're just a figment of the imagination." (Alice and Illya)
"Illya Kuryakin, the man from cousin." (Alice)
"Everything I want, I have." "I hate people who are so well adjusted." (Illya and Alice)
"There's no such thing." "Another thing you taught me that there was no such thing as no such thing." (Waverly and Solo)
"Will you get away from me, you mad dog?" "He can't help it, sir. It's your cousin's dog, you know? He fancies your breed." (Waverly and Solo)
"What goes well with gin? Orchids?" (Illya)
BONDED: Very slim, but the reclusive multi-millionaire lady who falls prey to her own dog but survives is Mrs. Willard; in Diamonds Are Forever, the targeted reclusive multi-millionaire is called Willard Whyte.
REWATCHABILITY - High: A rare(?) spotlight on Illya with a cracking script, strong guest-stars, and fun action. Not a dog at all!
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