646f9e108c Steed investigates when the autopsy of a automobile accident victim reveals 50,000 pounds worth of diamonds in his stomach. "Death of a Great Dane" was one of the sloppier entries from the second season, perhaps one of the reasons it was remade as a color episode with Diana Rigg, "The 50,000 Breakfast." 50,000 pounds worth of diamonds are found in the stomach of an auto crash victim, an entertainer employed by the Litoff organization, which has been liquidating its assets for the past six weeks. Steed gets most of the footage in this one, supported by the wonderful John Laurie, making his series debut (he went on to do "Brief for Murder," "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Station," and "Pandora"), Frederick Jaeger, remembered for playing Benson in "The Cybernauts" and "Return of the Cybernauts," Leslie French ("You Have Just Been Murdered"), and Anthony Baird ("Brief for Murder"). There were two dogs credited on screen, with Junia (the actual pet of Patrick Macnee) later appearing in "Concerto" (Steed even wonders how many weeks its been since the animal has had a decent tree!) As this episode opens a funeral is taking place; there is no immediate indication that it is in fact the funeral for a dog! We then see Steed introducing the latest case to Cathy; a man who was seriously injured in a car crash is found to have £50,000 in diamonds in his stomach; as he was heading the Switzerland it is assumed he is involved with a major outflow of currency. Steed learns that it could somehow be connected to a Mr Litoff, a very wealthy man who is linked to a number of charitable organisations. Steed goes to see Litoff, taking the diamonds and posing as a blackmailer, he is told that he can't see Litoff as he is ill. Steed tries to find out more by befriending Litoff's doctor; he is sure that somebody close to Litoff is up to no good but doesn't know who.<br/><br/>This is a decent story that was later remade during the 'Emma Peel' era something I didn't realise while watching but explains why this felt so familiar. There are one or two twists before the truth is exposed; some more obvious than others. Patrick Macnee impresses as Steed; it was fun seeing him being slightly unpleasant even if it was just to persuade potential villains that he is a wrong 'un. Honor Blackman is solid enough as Cathy but doesn't really have that much to do in this story. The guest stars were pretty good; Frederick Jaeger was suitably unpleasant as Getz, the man who appears to be running Litoff's financial empire, John Laurie, who plays Litoff's doctor, a friendly wine loving character . A far cry from his most famous role in 'Dad's Army' and Leslie French who is amusing as the polite butler who wants nothing more than to be very rude to people! Overall this isn't a classic but it is still pretty good.
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