ACTION TV ONLINE EPISODE GUIDE
EPISODE GUIDE INDEX
A Mask For Alexis
BBC 1959
SEASON ONE
1
TX : 21st September 1959

Publicity : A Mask For Alexis - The New Monday Thriller Serial: Although this new serial is the first that he was written for BBC Television, the author, Lindsay Hardy, is a familiar name in Australian broadcasting, where in four years he has had one-hundred-and-fifty documentaries and one-thousand-three-hundred serial episodes produced. He has also worked in Hollywood, writing for films and television and has had three novels published. A Max For Alexis is a murder mystery with plenty of unexpected twists and turns. It centres on Christopher March, who is detailed one day by his boss, Alexis Brant, to go to Paris on what he imagines to be a routine job. He has done this kind of thing so often before that he has come to look upon himself as little more than a glorified messenger-boy for his high-powered employer - a master of the "big deal". But this time his mission turns out to be far from routine. For not only does he not reach Paris, but he never even boards the plane … (Radio Times, September 18, 1959).

Notes : Episodes were transmitted 8:05pm to 8:35pm.
2
TX : 12th July 1967

Synopsis : When Christopher March is sent to Paris by his boss, Alexis Brant, as far as he is concerned it is just a routine business visit. But March's mission turns out to be far from routine. He never reaches Paris, in fact he never even boards the plane. He is arrested at the airport and charged with the murder of his employer.
3
TX : 19th July 1967

Synopsis : Christopher March, sent on a business trip to Paris by the high-powered business tycoon Alexis Brant, is arrested at the airport and charged with the murder of his employer. Realising he has been framed with diabolical thoroughness, March decides to take desperate measures to prove his innocence. He escapes from the police, determined to find the unknown girl who was with him in a bar at the time of the murder.
4
TX : 26th July 1967

Synopsis : Christopher March, falsely charged with the murder of his employer, Alexis Brant, escapes from the police and, disguised as a Johnny-onion man, attempts to find the girl who can verify the fact that he was in a bar at the time of the murder. But the "brain" that had carefully framed March is taking steps to make sure that the girl will provide no such alibi.
5
TX : 2nd August 1967

Synopsis : Christopher Marsh, falsely charged with the murder of his employer, Alexis Brant, and on the run from the police, believes he has been framed by Elaine Brant, his employer's wife. March tries to get hold of Weeks, a barman at the Jester Club, where March was drinking at the same time of the murder. But it looks as if Weeks hasn't got long to live...
6
TX : 9th August 1967

Synopsis : Christopher March, believing himself to be framed for the murder of his employer by his employer's wife, Elaine Brant, is on the run from the police. Aided by Brenda Carpenter, he discovers that Alexis Brant was visited on the night he was murdered by a business associate, Henri Clouzot. In an effort to find Clouzot, March decides to visit Brant's penthouse - the scene of the murder.
Regular Characters
Portrayed By
Christopher March
David Knight
Brenda Carpenter
Gene Anderson
Elaine Brant
Hariette Johns
Marcia
Diane Wilson
Alexis Brant
Kevin Brennan
Graber
Alec Foster
Symes
Ralph Tovey
Raven
Julian Sherrier
Paul Weeks
Toke Townley
Marguerite Clouzot
Ina De La Haye
Henri Clouzot
Harold Robert
Receptionist
Mary Abbott
Porter
Ronald Mayer
Detective Sergeant Edwards
Edward Cast
Police Constable Courtney
Barry Steele
Police Doctor
Patrick Desmond
Fingerprint Man
John Simpson
Plainclothes Man
Stephen MacDonald
Grimes
Ernest Butcher
Mrs Megett
Gladys Henson
Uniformed Constable
Alan Hayward
Cycle Dealer
Sam Kydd
Man With The Bike
Donald Bradley
Poppa Rosetti
Frank Sieman
Maria Rosetti
June Rodney
Page Boy
Stephen Rich
Police Constable
Ian Ainsley
Policewoman
Hilary Bains
Detective Inspector Fenner
Ewen Solon

The series was produced and directed by Eric Fawcett and written by Lindsay Hardy. Film Editor for the series was Ian Callaway. Film Cameraman for the series was Bryan Langley. The series was designed by Roy Oxley.


Another entry in a distinguished line of thriller serials which populated BBC 1 throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, A Mask For Alexis is marked by the rare distinction of having been penned by an Australian writer, Lindsay Hardy. The serial concerned Christopher March (David Knight), a top sales executive for a thriving London concern who was ordered by his employer, Alexis Brant (Kevin Brennan), to travel to Paris to negotiate a lucrative new contract with a potential client. Bidding farewell to his wife, he travels to the airport, but is shocked when he is arrested at the airport and summarily charged with the murder of Alexis.

At the airport, he learns of the details of his former employer's murder and realizes that he has been comprehensively framed by person or persons unknown. Evidence found at the murder scene implicates him, and he does not have a motive as the murder was committed whilst he in a London bar, and the woman with whom he was enjoying a quiet drink appears to have vanished without trace. Realising that he will need to prove his innocence as the police will only believe the evidence at hand, he escapes from their custody in search of the truth - with Detective Inspector Fenner (Ewen Solon) in hot pursuit. His search for the unidentified girl he shared a drink with is hampered by the fact that the murderous party responsible for Alexis' death do their level best to threaten and intimidate her into remaining well hidden. March eventually comes to the conclusion that Elaine Brant (Harriette Johns), his employer's wife, was responsible for having Alexis' killed to inherit the tycoon's vast fortune and set up with her new lover, Henri Clouzot (Harold Robert).

He eventually locates the girl from the bar, Brenda Carpenter (Gene Anderson), the pair learn that Brant was visited on the night of his murder by Henri, and they venture to the scene of the crime - Brant's luxurious apartment - to find the real culprit. The series is similar in form and content to many of the other thriller serials of the time, but in this particular instance virtually none of the primary or supporting performances are of any great significance. The serial was largely forgotten amidst a plethora of higher-profile programmes, and the series was never commercially exploited, which is remarkable considering the fact that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation would normally have snapped up any BBC Television content for which an Australian author was responsible.

Text © Matthew Lee, 2004.