- "It's a very smooth ride. Feels as though we're hardly moving."
— Lord Stilton
"Vault of Death" is the thirteenth episode of Thunderbirds season 1, first broadcast on 23rd December 1965.
Plot[]
A bank worker is locked inside the main vault of the Bank of England while the air is slowly being extracted. When Parker hears that there is an emergency at the bank, he does all in his power to prevent the manager from arriving with the key as he believes the bank is being robbed by an old criminal colleague of his, Light-Fingered Fred.
Storyline[]
- Main article: Vault of Death/Storyline
Transcript[]
- Main article: Vault of Death/Transcript
Cast[]
Regular Characters[]
.png "Jeff Tracy (Vault of Death).png (138 KB)")
.png "Scott (Vault of Death).png (130 KB)")
.png "Lady Penelope (Bank of England).png (130 KB)")
.png "Virgil (Vault of Death).png (135 KB)")
.png "Alan (Vault of Death).png (145 KB)")
.png "Brains (Vault of Death).png (137 KB)")
.png "Parker (Parkmoor).png (132 KB)")
Parker
(David Graham)
(David Graham)
.png "Tin-Tin (Vault of Death).png (144 KB)")
1.png "John (Vault of Death)1.png (139 KB)")
.png "Grandma (Vault of Death).png (133 KB)")
Grandma Tracy
(Christine Finn)
(Christine Finn)
Guest Characters[]
Lord Silton
(Peter Dyneley)
(Peter Dyneley)
Lovegrove
(Ray Barrett)
(Ray Barrett)
Lambert
(David Graham)
(David Graham)
.png "Bank staff (6).png (119 KB)")
Executive Carter
(Shane Rimmer, David Graham)
(Shane Rimmer, David Graham)
.png "Bank staff (5).png (122 KB)")
Executive Taylor
(David Graham)
(David Graham)
a.png "Bank staff (4)a.png (136 KB)")
Executive Moore
(David Graham)
(David Graham)
a.png "Bank staff (3)a.png (140 KB)")
Executive Longman
(Peter Dyneley)
(Peter Dyneley)
a.png "Bank staff (1)a.png (134 KB)")
Executive Barrett
(David Graham)
(David Graham)
.png "Policeman (Bank of England).png (107 KB)")
Policeman
(David Graham)
(David Graham)
Lil
(Sylvia Anderson)
(Sylvia Anderson)
Light-Fingered Fred
(David Graham)
(David Graham)
Cameo Roles[]
.png "Taylor (bank).png (141 KB)")
Unnamed executive
.png "Moore (bank).png (138 KB)")
Unnamed executive
Unnamed executive
Unnamed executive
Inmate (1)
Parkmoor Scrubs
Parkmoor Scrubs
Inmate (2)
Parkmoor Scrubs
Parkmoor Scrubs
International Rescue Equipment Used[]
.png "Fab 1 (3).png (871 KB)")
Non-International Rescue Equipment Used[]
Locations[]
Crowd Scenes[]
Trivia[]
- In the 30 minute 'cliffhanger' edition, part 1 ends when only half of the air is left in the vault.
- Voice artist David Graham really surpasses himself in this episode, supplying the voices of not less than ten different characters (Brains, Gordon, Parker, Kyrano, Lambert, Light-Fingered Fred, Taylor, Moore, Barrett, and a policeman).
- The heavy duty drill props has previously been WASP ray guns from Stingray.
The added skelton, bottom left
- When interviewed for volume one of Filmed in Supermarionation (2009), director David Elliott recalled that "when we were shooting the London Underground set, the camera operator, John Foley, said, 'What we need is a dead ticket inspector!' We spent an hour searching for this bloody puppet skeleton that had been made for another film [The Uninvited], but couldn't find it anywhere. Eventually we gave up, which was a pity." For the 2019 version of Vault of Death, the skeleton was digitally inserted into the scene.
- The heliport landing pad (which Thunderbird 2 lands) is actually the Marineville Control Tower also from Stingray.
- This marks the first episode Parker is seen smiling.
Goofs[]
- Main article: Vault of Death/Goofs
Foreign Titles[]
- French: Le talent de Parker
- German: Ein Todsicherer Safe
- Spanish: La bóveda de la muerte; La cripta de la muerte (DVD)
- Italian: La camera blindata della morte
- Dutch: Kluis des doods (TV 1968); De doodskluis (TV 1991); Doodskluis (VHS, DVD)
- Portuguese: O Cofre da Morte
- Japanese: 死の大金庫