It Takes a Thief: The Bill Is in Committee (1968)

U.S. TV Publicity Photo

It Takes a Thief was an American TV show that aired for three seasons between January 9, 1968 and March 24, 1970 on ABC.  Robert Wagner starred as Al Mundy, a playboy gentleman-thief who agrees to work (i.e., steal) for the U.S. government in return for his release from prison. 

Jocelyn appeared in an episode called The Bill is in Committee (Season 2, Episode 3), which originally aired on October 8, 1968.  Based on reports in Variety, it appears that the episode was shot in the latter part of August 1968.

In this episode, a U.S. Senator is being blackmailed by a foreign government that is using compromising photos of him with a young woman to coerce him into approving a bill for foreign aid to that government, a bill which is before his committee.  Al is sent to this foreign country undercover as a magician who has been scheduled to perform for its leader.  His job is to steal the camera negatives.  The magician’s assistant, Roxanne, is played capably by Yvonne Craig (who appeared in two Elvis movies, but is probably best known as Batgirl on the Batman TV series of the 1960’s).  Jocelyn plays Michelle, a young woman who is somewhat of a forced mistress to the foreign leader and who has met the real magician a few years before.  Michelle keeps Al’s secret and helps him steal the negatives (as well as an invaluable diamond) in return for Al agreeing to help her escape from the country.

Jocelyn looks fantastic, does a good acting job, and the episode is quite entertaining.  Jocelyn performs with a generic foreign accent that sounds a bit German and wears some cool, trendy mod-60’s fashions.  Although Jocelyn did not receive the opening credit that Yvonne Craig did for the episode, she has significant screen time in a key role (and not much less screen time than Craig).

 

The complete series of It Takes a Thief was released by Entertainment One on DVD in the U.S. in 2011.  In 2014, it was released on DVD in Australia.  This would be in the running for my favorite TV appearance by Jocelyn, so all fans should make a point to track down and watch her episode.