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Samantha Eggar in Anna and the King

In 1972, Samantha Eggar co-starred with Yul Brynner in the ill-fated Anna and the King, a TV version of the popular 1956 film The King and I. Of course, the whole thing started with the 1944 book 'Anna and the King of Siam', which was followed by a 1946 movie of the same name (starring Rex Harrison, who Samantha Eggar would later co-star with in Doctor Dolittle).

Anna and the King was supposed to be a big deal. It was supposedly the most expensive half hour show ever produced up until that time. Yul Brynner kept a watchful eye over the production and made sure that original sets, props and costumes from the previous film versions were used. When the show premiered, however, it was met with mixed reaction. It came out at the same time as M*A*S*H (Anna and the King executive produced Gene Reynolds also worked on M*A*S*H) and that show went on massive success, while Anna and the King was not given a second season.

So why did Anna and the King fail? One reason may have been the focus of the show. Someone decided to gear Anna and the King towards a younger audience, adding an ill-advised laugh track and diminishing the role of the King and Anna in favor of a focus on their children. The show could have easily been family friendly and entertaining without having canned laughter and still having the primary concentration be on the relationship between Samantha Eggar and Yul Brynner.

In Anna and the King, Samantha Eggar portrays Anna Owens, a role previously played by Irene Dunne and Deborah Kerr. Of course, Yul Brynner had been playing the King of Siam on stage for years and had appeared alongside Deborah Kerr in the 1956 film The King and I. Supposedly, Yul Brynner handpicked Samantha Eggar to be Anna Owens in the television version. Yul Brynner and Samantha Eggar had already worked together in the 1971 movie The Light at the Edge of the World.

I've only seen the pilot of Anna and the King, but Samantha Eggar does a wonderful job. She puts a lot of energy and zeal into her role and seems to enjoy wearing the variety of period costumes. In the TV production of Anna and the King, the character of Anna Owens is supposed to be from America, rather than Britain like in all previous versions of the story. Samantha Eggar does not attempt to do an American accent. However, one overlooked point is that people in mid-19th century America may not necessarily have had traditional American accents the way we think of them now. Many people in the United States in the 19th century may still have had strong European accents, depending on how long they had been in the country.

Here are some promotional materials for Anna and the King:

Here are a few images of Samantha Eggar in the 1972 pilot for Anna and the King:

Gay Rowan in Dead on Target

In 1976, Gay Rowan appeared in what was perhaps her most substantial post-Starlost role, in the TV movie Our Man Flint: Dead on Target. Canadian actress Gay Rowan is probably best remembered for her part in the 1973 cult science fiction TV show The Starlost. The Starlost was only on for a short time but it seemed sure that Gay Rowan would go on to bigger things. It didn't exactly work out that way, but she did make some notable appearances during the decade after the demise of The Starlost.

Our Man Flint: Dead on Target was television adaptation of the successful Flint feature films of the mid 1960s, Our Man Flint and In Like Flint. James Coburn portrayed Derek Flint in the movies and veteran TV/film actor Ray Danton (in one of his last acting roles before turning to directing full-time) assumed the role a decade later for Dead on Target. The ultra-chic '60s motif of the cinematic Flint was updated to reflect '70s chic for this television continuation. This version of Flint also seems a bit more down to earth. He no longer appears to be fabulously wealthy or incomparably slick, rather he seems more like a capable private investigator, driving a rather modest car and living in a nice house. Many of the more surreal aspects of the films are toned down.

Gay Rowan co-stars with Ray Danton as Bonita Rogers, a woman who wants to become Derek Flint's apprentice. Of course, he quickly accepts her and she plays Flint's sidekick for the duration of Dead on Target. Gay Rowan handles herself very well here. She is given limited material to work with but she makes the most of it and comes off as very charming. Bonita Rogers seems to have an affection for Derek Flint, becoming jealous of his masseuse at one point, and there is other occasional back-and-forth interplay concerning their relationship. Additionally, Gay Rowan's character gets to wear a variety of very fashionable 70s gear and she wears it quite well!

One gets the feeling that Our Man Flint: Dead on Target was a pilot film for a television series. I haven't read that specifically, but Dead on Target definitely has the same feel of other pilot films of the 70s and 80s. It's a shame that this wasn't made into a weekly series because I think it would have made a fun show. Obviously, Dead on Target had a few problems but I think they could have tightened things up in a series. It would have been particularly nice to see Gay Rowan return to television after The Starlost and to see the progression of her character from Dead on Target.

Here are some images of Gay Rowan in Dead on Target:

Diana Rigg on The Sentimental Agent

About two years before starring as Emma Peel on The Avengers, Diana Rigg made her television debut in 1963 on The Sentimental Agent. The Sentimental Agent was a spin-off from another series, Man of the World, and starred Carlos Thompson as a sophisticated Argentinian import/export man who involved himself in various intrigues. The show only had 13 episodes.

The Sentimental Agent has the distinction of introducing Diana Rigg to the world of television. She had been performing on-stage since the 1950s, but in the early 1960s she decided to begin performing on TV. The Sentimental Agent was her first appearance, then she did a few teleplays before landing the role of Emma Peel on The Avengers.

Diana Rigg's Sentimental Agent episode, 'A Very Desirable Plot', was originally broadcast in late 1963. The episode takes place in the Caribbean, where a bunch of people have bought plots of land to build homes on. However, the land turns out to be unsuitable for building and the people are outraged to find that they may have been swindled out of their money. The suave Carlos Varela (played by Carlos Thompson) is the one who has sold these people prefabricated houses to put on their land and he is as surprised as they are to find out that the land is a swamp. After some of the landowners place blame on him for being involved with this scheme, he quickly sets about trying to rectify the situation. Carlos Varela must find the man who sold them the undesirable land and then lay a trap for him in order to rescue the large group of scam victims.

Diana Rigg plays Francy, the daughter of a retired British military man who has spent his savings to purchase land and a home in a tropical island paradise. Francy does not trust Carlos Varela and begins her own investigation. Of course, being as enchanting as she is, Carlos takes a liking to her and she appears to like him as well.

Its a bit hard to believe that this is someone's television debut because she acts so naturally. I guess being onstage for years previously had really paid off, because Diana Rigg is wonderful here. She displays all of the charm and understated exuberance that would make her famous a couple of years later in The Avengers. All in all, a very auspicious screen debut and its no wonder that she would become internationally known shortly thereafter.

Here are some images of Diana Rigg on The Sentimental Agent: