Millionaire recluse 'Chester Farson' ( Gordon Gostelow ) dies of heart failure. Eldest son 'Gerald' ( Terance Alexander ) keeps news of his death secret, hiring drunken Shakespearian actor 'Gray' to impersonate his father to avoid paying death duties. He neglects to tell sister 'Jane' ( Justine Lord ) about the deception, instructing his servants to keep her away from the family home in case she unmasks the fake. Jane spots one of her father's paintings - 'Property Of A Gentleman' - up for auction in London, and denounces it as stolen property. She hires McGill to investigate. Breaking into the Farson home, Mac finds Gray beginning to live the part. As the plot unravels, Mac is offered a bribe to keep his mouth shut. But will he?
Wilfred Greatorex had his name removed from the credits. Presumably he was unhappy with the way it turned out. It is a decent enough story, based on an entirely believable premise. With Inheritance Tax having recently been made into a hot political issue by the Tories ( inspired by its scrapping in America by the thankfully-gone Bush administration ), it is interesting to see that even in 1967 the rich considered the paying of 'death duties' to be grossly unfair. They firmly believe that the tax burden should be placed on those at the lower end of the social scale.
The main weaknesses are the casting of Justine Lord and Gordon Gostelow. Lord's role looks as if it was written for Sylvia Syms. She is miscast as an English rose ( though looks stunning in some groovy '60's fashions ). Gostelow, on the other hand, is delightfully eccentric as 'Gray' ( he was dubbed for his brief role as 'Farson' ) but there's a bit too much of him. The episode at times takes on a lunatic air reminiscent of a Diana Rigg 'Avengers'. Frank Gatliff as an 'auctioneer' and Derek Francis' 'doctor' provide welcome support. However, this is not one of the more successful episodes.
By the way, McGill says he comes from Texas.
Wilfred Greatorex had his name removed from the credits. Presumably he was unhappy with the way it turned out. It is a decent enough story, based on an entirely believable premise. With Inheritance Tax having recently been made into a hot political issue by the Tories ( inspired by its scrapping in America by the thankfully-gone Bush administration ), it is interesting to see that even in 1967 the rich considered the paying of 'death duties' to be grossly unfair. They firmly believe that the tax burden should be placed on those at the lower end of the social scale.
The main weaknesses are the casting of Justine Lord and Gordon Gostelow. Lord's role looks as if it was written for Sylvia Syms. She is miscast as an English rose ( though looks stunning in some groovy '60's fashions ). Gostelow, on the other hand, is delightfully eccentric as 'Gray' ( he was dubbed for his brief role as 'Farson' ) but there's a bit too much of him. The episode at times takes on a lunatic air reminiscent of a Diana Rigg 'Avengers'. Frank Gatliff as an 'auctioneer' and Derek Francis' 'doctor' provide welcome support. However, this is not one of the more successful episodes.
By the way, McGill says he comes from Texas.
