THIRTEEN AGAINST FATE (1966) – FORGOTTEN TELEVISION

THIRTEEN AGAINST FATE (1966) – Based on thirteen stand-alone crime stories by Georges Simenon, the creator of Jules Maigret, this BBC series was long thought lost except for three episodes which had gone unwiped by the penny-wise and pound-foolish broadcasters. In September of 2010, the entire series was discovered in America’s Library of Congress, finally making all thirteen episodes available.

None of the 50-minute productions featured Maigret and focused on more of a psychological thriller approach rather than traditional mystery story approach.

The episodes:

THE LODGER (June 19th) – Also known as The Tenant to avoid confusion with the Alfred Hitchcock films titled The Lodger. (One silent, one with sound.) In Belgium, a Turkish rug dealer hides out in a boarding house after committing a vicious murder to cover other crimes. His guilt and paranoia over being tracked down and arrested make things unbearable for him and his mistress. Starring Zia Mohyeddin, Gwendolyn Watts, Gemma Jones and Christopher George.

TRAPPED (June 26th) – Louis Bert, a carpenter turned petty criminal, lives in Nice with Constance, a wealthy woman he is conning. On the side he romances Lulu, a prostitute whom he passes off as his sister to the wealthy Constance.

        When Lulu’s former pimp Jean is released from prison, he locates her in Nice and wants to take her back to the streets, killing Constance in the process. Louis hides all the evidence of the slaying and makes off with the late woman’s valuables, only to be caught and accused of being the murderer. Starring Keith Buckley, Sylvia Coleridge, Donald Eccles and Mary Webster.

THE TRAVELLER (July 3rd) – A traveling Norwegian named Gilles Mauvaisin returns to La Rochelle, where he learns that he has inherited a fortune from his mysteriously wealthy uncle. While evaluating his inheritance, Gilles plans to find the combination to the lock on a safe, the contents of which may finally reveal the source of his late uncle’s fortune. Starring Hywel Bennett, Alan Lake and Madeleine Christie.

THE WIDOWER (July 10th) – Bernard Jeantet married Jeanne, a prostitute, long ago to give her a good home. One day she commits suicide in an expensive hotel room and the investigation of the event reveals how she was carrying on an apparent affair with a missing man named Jacques Beaudoin. Bernard is obsessed with finding the suicide note he is convinced his wife must have left behind and uncovers more secrets that Jeanne was keeping from him. Starring Joss Ackland, Patricia Healey and Henry Gilbert.

THE JUDGE (July 17th) – A French magistrate is caught up in his current case before the Assizes but is frequently distracted by his bedridden wife’s heart problems. He fears she is faking her health issues because she suspects the affair he is having with his typist. The scenario begins to haunt him over similarities with the case he is handling that involves a man accused of murdering his cheating wife. Starring Alexander Knox and Sheila Burrell.

THE SCHOOLMASTER (July 24th) – A seemingly respectable school teacher in La Rochelle is terrified that his criminal past will come to light when a woman he loved decades earlier under his real name settles in the same city, working as a manicurist. The teacher fears his murder and his escape from Devil’s Island will be uncovered unless he can obtain the money he believes the woman is after. Starring Stephen Murray, Helen Cherry and Phyllis Montefiore. 

THE WITNESS (July 31st) – A farmer is found dead, supposedly having fallen through a skylight on his property. The man’s widow, his mother-in-law, his sisters-in-law, a male farm hand and an elderly housekeeper are suspected of foul play. Secrets and perjury play a part in the resulting investigation. Starring Pamela Brown, Daphne Heard, Sheila Grant and Elizabeth Hughes.

THE FRIEND (August 7th) – On the Cote d’Azur, two former Russians who fought against the Communists from 1917 onward, have been reduced to yacht servants for a wealthy divorcee who treats them horribly. When the divorcee’s daughter from her first marriage arrives for a visit, both men are interested in her and one frames the other for a theft. Starring Elizabeth Bell, Sandor Eles, Frederick Jaeger and Jessica Dunning.

THE SURVIVORS (August 14th) – Pierre and Charles Canut are twin sons of a seagoing man who was seemingly killed and cannibalized by fellow lifeboat passengers after the sinking of their ship. Years later, one of the lifeboat passengers is murdered and Charles is arrested on circumstantial evidence. Pierre investigates the murder himself in order to prove his brother’s innocence. Starring David Buck, Lila Kedrova and Charles Thomas.

THE SON (August 21st) – The patriarch of a prominent family kills himself. His youngest son Alain is shocked at the lack of sorrow shown by his mother and the other family members as well as the supposed friends of the dead man. The son looks into his father’s life and uncovers secrets that disgust him and test his tolerance. Starring Simon Ward, Lila Kaye and Beryl Baxter. 

THE MURDERER (August 28th) – In the Netherlands, a physician murders his wife and her secret lover, then feigns ignorance when they both turn up missing. The corpses are eventually found and though the doctor is a suspect, there is insufficient evidence against him. He now openly romances his maid, an affair he previously kept a secret. The maid has a lover of her own who encourages her to poison the doctor. Starring Frank Finlay, Michael Goodliffe and Annette Crosbie.

THE SUSPECT (September 4th) – Monsieur Hire is a ferret-like crook, voyeur and brothel customer. Even the criminal element is wary of him, and his bowling associates suspect him of informing to the police. When a prostitute is found murdered near Hire’s home, he is naturally a suspect. His obsessive voyeurism continues, however, and gives him a lead to the real murderer. Starring Marius Goring, Mary Miller and David Garfield.

THE CONSUL (September 11th) – In the late 1920s, Adil Bey becomes the new Turkish Consul in the Black Sea port city of Batum, replacing the murdered previous Consul. He speaks no Russian and is very dependent on his secretary and translator Sonia. As the relationship between the pair advances to the sexual stage, Adil begins to suspect that Sonia is a spy and that she is poisoning him and probably murdered his predecessor. Starring Jonathan Burn, Michelle Dotrice, Geoffrey Beevers and Nancy Nevinson.   

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