1. How did concerns over the
Cold War influence the
Town of No Return?
Social, cultural and historic context
Question 5
2. What happens in the
episode?
The opening sequence of ‘The Town of No Return’
symbolises the theme of the episode, which can be summer
up as the attempted invasion of Britain supported by ‘the
enemy within’. Saul, who apparently represents the
stereotypical British fisherman, is not alarmed by the strange
arrival of the imposter Mark Brandon from the sea in a
waterproof bag, but directs the invader to Lower Bazeley as
if a smartly dressed English gentleman wading in from the
sea were an everyday occurrence. This alerts the 1965
audience to familiar themes linked to spying, disguise and
impersonation.
3. Intertextual References
As the episode continues, the 1965 audience would have
quickly understood that the town of Little Bazeley is under
treat from fifth columnists, referencing World War II films
such as Went the Day Well? From 1944. The sleepy English
country village of Lower Bazeley offers an intertextual
reference to quiet is an illusion, as sinister intruders are
impersonating stereotypical British characters. Audiences in
1965 would have made the connections with the Cold War
threat from the Soviet Union.
4. Element of pastiche
As the format of the series is a light-hearted spy thriller, the
representation of ‘the enemy within’ is not seriously
threatening. Terrence Alexander, who plays imposter
landlord Piggy Warren, was well known in 1965 as a comic
actor of film and television, who often played the charming
villain. His performance, together with his oversized
handlebar moustache, plays down the potentially sinister
element of threat. This would fit with the audience’s need for
reassurance that while the threat existed, the enemy was not
efficient enough to succeed.
5. Reassuring the Audience
The sequence in which Emma Peel uses the blackboard to explain
the planned invasion of Britain to Steed is a playful intertextual
reference to the planning sequence in the 1955 film The Dam
Busters. The lightness of the dialogue and the short amount of
screen time given to this important exposition, together with the fact
that Steed sits behind a child’s desk, serve to reassure the
audience that the threat is not as significant as the threat of
invasion was in the early years of World War II.
The cool, calm and ironic response to danger shown by Steed and
Emma also helps to undercut the threat and reassure the audience
at a time of some national anxiety that they are safe with secret
agents like Steed and Emma to protect them.
