As was typical for the BBC back in the 1960s, actors of color were rarely seen on "The Avengers." This episode is a noticeable exception.
Poor Razafi, stabbed in the back, was played by Paul Danquah, a British actor whose father was Ghanian.
And Lala, who did the stabbing, was played by Esther Anderson, a Jamaican of mixed African and Indian ancestry.
Anderson, a lovely woman and beauty-pageant winner, went on to have a very successful career in acting and film-making, as well helping to develop the Reggae music sound through Island Records. She also apparently had relationships with Bob Marley and Marlon Brando.
She's led a very interesting life, yet perhaps her oddest professional moment was being impersonated by Diana Rigg.
Could Esther Anderson ever, in a million years, be confused for Diana Rigg?
Esther Anderson, above left, as Lala, and in a couple of unidentified shots from over the years. Immediately above, right, she's shown with Sidney Poitier in `A Warm December,' for which she won an NAACP Image Award for Best Actress in 1973. Below, a moment with Bob Marley.
Thus, the light-skinned and auburn-haired Emma can simply throw on Lala's dress and totally fool the (somewhat dim) Trent.
Ah, well, thus is the magic of the screen made!
The audacity of producers to have Emma take Lala's place can only be attributed to the magic of black-and-white filmmaking.
In B&W, everybody is but 50 shades of gray!