The Persuaders was a British television series, which first aired in 1970 and 1971. It starred Roger Moore as Lord Brett Sinclair, and Tony Curtis as sidekick Danny Wilde, both millionaire international playboys, but from very different backgrounds. The somewhat inconsistent premise of the series was that the aristocratic Sinclair was forced to team up with rough diamond American Wilde to fight crime on behalf of a judge, or face jail. 24 episodes were made by Lew Grade's ITC company, each 50 minutes long. It featured theme music by John Barry. Many feel it is one of the finest television series ever made anywhere.
In some ways the Sinclair character was inspired by Roger Moore's earlier work with The Saint, and in turn this led to him being chosen as James Bond for several Bond films in the 70s and early 80s. Like the Bond genre, The Persuaders creates a rich fantasy world of high living, fast cars, and beautiful women, and is also very often played, subtly, for laughs as much as drama. The contrast of the two main characters' personalities, as well as the rapport of the two actors, is used to great effect to create interesting stories. Seen from a modern perspective, the series is outrageously politically incorrect.
The series was intended to be a joint UK/US production, but while it was a huge success in Britain, Europe and Australia, it made little impact in the US. Given that the series was filmed in England and was very English in flavour, notwithstanding the contribution of Curtis, it is perhaps not surprising.
