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"The Smugglers" is a story that's only really renowned due to its' placing in history - it opens Season 4, it's Hartnell's penultimate story, and that's about it. Like "The Myth Makers", it's one of those lost stories you don't really hear many people pining about. It's one of the last of the 'pure' historicals, and it's really a rather wonderful little pirate thriller, the sort of thing Armada or someone published in the fifties and you can find only in charity shops now. Innes Lloyd and Gerry Davies may have faded this story out, but at least they did this fine example on the way (I have no idea how good "The Highlanders", the final sixties historical, is at the moment).
Sadly, the BBC thought otherwise, and decided to chuck the thing out, probably to make way for tapes of Are You Being Served?, and it's up to Loose Cannon to get the story to us. Thankfully, the BBC couldn't stop John Cura tele-snapping the story, and a soundtrack recording rounds out a decent recon. Also surviving are a few clips cut by Australian TV (these are mainly character deaths - this works rather well, emphasising the violence compared to the still images), plus some ciné footage taken during the location footage. This gels nicely with the story in terms of content, but the colour nature jars wiht the monochrome elsewhere. This is more a sign that this is one of the older LC recons still in circulation - nowadays they would have the tech to desaturate the colours, and it's only a few seconds.
The plot is very good, concerning the hunt for old pirate treasure on the Cornish coast, with several well-rounded characters involved. The first Doctor gets one last gasp of greatness, being a wily old soul when onboard The Black Albatross, and when stalling him while Blake arrives with the militia. It's a nice performance, especially his bemused headmaster air when dealing with Ben and Polly. This pair are fantastic - for far too long I've been judging them on the first night nerves of "The War Machines", and as with "The Tenth Planet" and "Power of the Daleks", both impressed me here. Michael Craze is simply fantastic as Ben, while Anneke Wills is charming, often making the best of sexist, lightweight material. Bith are likeable and down to Earth, and the sensible way they gradually accept they're in the 17th century is nicely done. Ben is especially good, not liking the situation, but knowing where his loyalties lie. Both are shown to be resourceful, especially when tricking Tom into releasing them from jail. The only bad bit is that the 17th century characters insist on referring to Polly as a lad - while Anneke Wills isn't the curviest of Who girls, she's unmistakably female, even when wearing trousers...
The guest cast are an absolute delight. The actors clearly relish such superb characters, and no-one goes over the top. Even John Ringham's well behaved as the savvy revenue Blake. Michael Godfrey has fun as the larger-than-life Captain Pike, but makes the character truly dangerous. The undercurrent of threat when first meeting The Doctor onboard The Black Albatross is quite remarkable. Even more malicious is George A. Cooper (best known as Grange Hill caretaker Mr. Griffiths) as the ironically-name Cherub, a terrifying heavy. The inevitable fight between Cherub and Pike is powerful stuff even in the recon. Longfoot, Kewper and Jamaica are all vividly portrayed. The Squire's a nicely amoral bureaucrat too, and it's unsure who he'll side with throughout. The scripting is sharp, and this is obviously a bit of a labour of love from Hayles, all of the characters getting showpiece scenes, and with all the subterfuge and personal agendas it's remarkably pacey. This being the BBC, the period is rendered beautifully, even if The Black Albatross is reduced to being a couple of sets, with no model shots. Nice to have a bit of location footage as well, taking advantage of that fact Cornwall hasn't changed a bit in ~300 years, which adds that extra veneer of class.
It's a tight, punchy story deserving of a much greater repute. It's a charming little piece, if lacking that bit extra to make it an all-conquering classic, real craftsman's stuff, and works better as a swansong for the Hartnell era than the uninvolved, tacky "Tenth Planet".
Review
written: 22/07/2006
"The Smugglers" Reconstruction
@ Loose Cannon 
"The
Smugglers" Photonovel @ bbc.co.uk
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