Escape From Venice is a welcome return to the spy-themed shows of the first season with an exciting story involving the rescuing of Lee Crane from the beautiful city of Venice. The only city that can be shut off from the rest of the world or so the show tells us. It's great to watch the cast creep around the scenic, if sometimes, creepy city of Venice visiting coffee shops and casinos and if it wasn't for the limits of the budget you would swear that you were involved in a James Bond story. The episode comes alive thanks to Bennett's writing and shows that it wasn't necessary to keep the show involved in the ocean to make it exciting. A great episode but unfortunately the series would soon return to silliness
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (TV Series)
Escape from Venice (1965)
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Italian Overture
ShadeGrenade8 November 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Crane is in Venice to meet a spy named 'Alicia' ( Rachel Roman ) who has important information for him. The Russians have developed a new ultimate weapon, and a scientist has found a means of combating it. Unfortunately, he is dead, and the tapes he left behind are all in code. The key to unlocking the code is a tune. Alicia has just enough time to hum the tune to Crane, before being killed by a knife-wielding gondolier. Crane escapes, but is then framed for the girl's murder. Nelson, Sharkey, and Riley head for Venice - the only city that can be closed off from the outside world - to find their colleague. But they have formidable opposition in the shape of casino owner 'Count Ferdie Staglione' ( Renzo Cesana ) and his glamorous sidekick 'Julietta' ( Delphi Lawrence )...
'Voyage' never got closer to 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.' than in this Charles Bennett-scripted episode, which features Nelson and Sharkey using radio cigarette cases ( Solo had one of these in 'M.F.U.' Season 1 ), and an 'innocent', an ordinary person who gets accidentally drawn into the world of espionage. In this case its 'Betty Harmon', a vacationing American school teacher, played by Margot Stevenson. Its a lot of fun, and manages to successfully duplicate Venice thanks to some good sets and well-integrated stock footage. The sight of a tuxedo-clad Nelson in a casino adds further to the enjoyment. Danica D'Hondt is another mouth-watering employee of The Nelson Institute of Marine Research. She and Crane are clearly on more than just first name terms.
The incidental music was by Nelson. Not Admiral Nelson, but Nelson Riddle, just before he picked up his baton to chronicle the musical exploits of Adam West's 'Batman'!
'Voyage' never got closer to 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.' than in this Charles Bennett-scripted episode, which features Nelson and Sharkey using radio cigarette cases ( Solo had one of these in 'M.F.U.' Season 1 ), and an 'innocent', an ordinary person who gets accidentally drawn into the world of espionage. In this case its 'Betty Harmon', a vacationing American school teacher, played by Margot Stevenson. Its a lot of fun, and manages to successfully duplicate Venice thanks to some good sets and well-integrated stock footage. The sight of a tuxedo-clad Nelson in a casino adds further to the enjoyment. Danica D'Hondt is another mouth-watering employee of The Nelson Institute of Marine Research. She and Crane are clearly on more than just first name terms.
The incidental music was by Nelson. Not Admiral Nelson, but Nelson Riddle, just before he picked up his baton to chronicle the musical exploits of Adam West's 'Batman'!
Once again, "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" gets all espionagey
planktonrules21 September 2017
Captain Crane is in Venice in order to retrieve a top secret code which will be used to decode important things. The odd part is that the code is actually a tune...and it's a tad odd when the woman giving Crane the formula is knifed in the back! The evil gondolier is unable to kill Crane as well but tells the police that Crane is the killer. So now you've got evil commies AND the local police gunning for Crane. So, it's up to the Admiral to go to Venice and try to retrieve Crane...and the code.
This was a pretty good episode. I did laugh at some of the scenes where Crane was supposedly swimming in the canals of Venice, as the water is apparently incredibly polluted...so much so that Katharine Hepburn got an eye infection doing a scene in "Summertime"...and the eye infection apparently NEVER went away completely! Fortunately, the water was obviously on the back lot and looked a lot cleaner! Some interesting twists and an enjoyable show.
This was a pretty good episode. I did laugh at some of the scenes where Crane was supposedly swimming in the canals of Venice, as the water is apparently incredibly polluted...so much so that Katharine Hepburn got an eye infection doing a scene in "Summertime"...and the eye infection apparently NEVER went away completely! Fortunately, the water was obviously on the back lot and looked a lot cleaner! Some interesting twists and an enjoyable show.
Fox's Batman (1966) Composer Gives This A Lift
StuOz25 July 2010
This episode was scripted by Mr Charles Bennett who scripted some of the most wonderfully insane colour episodes of Voyage/Sea, episodes that sometimes dared to feature light comedy as well, I am actually one of the very few in this world who thinks that Mr Bennett was one of Voyage's two or three very best writers, but hey, I don't like his too mundane Escape From Venice script or the actors in it! But most others like it so don't pay too much attention to me.
It seems that season two of Voyage can't do a totally poor episode and Escape From Venice is saved by the introduction of an all new music composer who also scored all of the first two seasons of Fox's Batman (1966) series: Mr Nelson Riddle! And yes, his Venice score sounds a lot like Batman to the point that I almost expect Adam West to walk in at any minute! The Venice score would be re-used in several other Voyage episodes, such as year two's The Monster's Web.
David Hedison fans and spy show fans will love this hour but StuOz is only listening to the music!
It seems that season two of Voyage can't do a totally poor episode and Escape From Venice is saved by the introduction of an all new music composer who also scored all of the first two seasons of Fox's Batman (1966) series: Mr Nelson Riddle! And yes, his Venice score sounds a lot like Batman to the point that I almost expect Adam West to walk in at any minute! The Venice score would be re-used in several other Voyage episodes, such as year two's The Monster's Web.
David Hedison fans and spy show fans will love this hour but StuOz is only listening to the music!
High stakes at Venice's Casino !!
elo-equipamentos31 January 2020
This Voyage episode is totally on the ground, on Italy at old Venice and their countless water channels, Crane is trapped there after got a secret code from the enemy here just named as other side, Nelson gathered a small group to rescue him without know his whereabout, Crane struggles even wound at narrow waterways, then through of a antiquarian American informer (Vincent Gardenia), Crane gets send a message to Nelson, the final meeting takes place at Casino where the owner is the Count Staglione (Cesana) an enemy's agent at Italy, seemingly a good spy episode, but sadly has many unfilled blank spaces, spurious plot, odd enough the code was passing by a tune sang by the Captain Crane, also the meeting place a sort of bar at edge of channel actually is the harbor where Seaview dock at San Francisco on previous episodes, stay tuned at this small detail!!!
Resume:
First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7
Resume:
First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7
More spy tedium
qatmom3 June 2012
Another tedious, interminable spy episode. Where are the mega-guppies when they are needed? Maybe 20th Century thought they could hark back to Hedison's 1959-1960 series "Five Fingers", and make another dashing spy out of him. Maybe. That's not the Lee Crane I admire, the survivor of Nelson's peculiar moodiness and countless battles with menacing sea monsters.
Crane spends a lot of time treading water in the sewage of Venice, wearing a white jacket with a curiously pink "blood" stain (it looks like alizarin crimson or a good match for Stargazer lilies). He may survive the gunshot, but he should develop a roaring infection after soaking in such waters.
There is unintended humor as Nelson finds himself in the company of what he assumes is a Desperately Lonely Woman who has targeted him for her attentions. He squirms beautifully. Fortunately, she quickly redeems herself as being not quite THAT desperate.
20th Century rolls what must be most of their stock footage of Venice, just to keep reminding us where the story is set in case it slipped our minds or we failed to note Crane marinating in brown water.
I love this series, I really do--just not "Escape from Venice".
Crane spends a lot of time treading water in the sewage of Venice, wearing a white jacket with a curiously pink "blood" stain (it looks like alizarin crimson or a good match for Stargazer lilies). He may survive the gunshot, but he should develop a roaring infection after soaking in such waters.
There is unintended humor as Nelson finds himself in the company of what he assumes is a Desperately Lonely Woman who has targeted him for her attentions. He squirms beautifully. Fortunately, she quickly redeems herself as being not quite THAT desperate.
20th Century rolls what must be most of their stock footage of Venice, just to keep reminding us where the story is set in case it slipped our minds or we failed to note Crane marinating in brown water.
I love this series, I really do--just not "Escape from Venice".
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