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M Squad

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M Squad
Lee Marvin as Lt. Frank Ballinger, from NBC'sM Squadin 1959.
GenreCrime drama
StarringLee Marvin
Paul Newlan
ComposersMain theme by
Count Basie
Stanley Wilson
Incidental music and arrangements by
Sonny Burke
Pete Carpenter
Benny Carter
John T. Williams
Orchestra conducted by
Stanley Wilson
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No.of seasons3
No.of episodes117(list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersJohn Larkin
Richard Lewis
ProducersRobert Bassler
Maxwell Shane
EditorsLee Huntington
John B. Moss
Stanley Rabjohn
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesLatimer Productions
Revue Studios
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 20, 1957(1957-09-20)–
June 21, 1960(1960-06-21)

M Squadis an Americancrime dramatelevision series that ran from 1957 to 1960 onNBC.It was produced byLee Marvin's Latimer Productions andRevue Studios.Its mainsponsorwas thePall Mallcigarettebrand; Lee Marvin, the program's star, appeared in its commercials during many episodes.[1][2]Alternate sponsors wereGeneral Electric(GE),Hazel BishopandBulovawatches.

Synopsis

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Set inChicago, Illinois,the show starred Marvin as Detective Lieutenant Frank Ballinger, a member of "M Squad", a special unit of theChicago Police,assisting other units in battling organized crime, corruption and violent crimes citywide.Paul Newlanco-starred as his Boss, Captain Grey. Although Marvin had been appearing in feature films since 1951, it was this series that made him a star, and he later went on to an even bigger film career afterward.Nelson Casewas the announcer.[3]The popularity ofM Squadwas proven in the ratings wars by theNBCnetwork choosing a Friday night time slot oppositeFrank Sinatra'sABCvariety show in the fall of 1957 andPhil Silvers' long runningCBScomedy,Sgt. Bilko,in 1958. Both series were eventually cancelled.

Music

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Thetheme musicfor the first season was composed byStanley Wilson,[4]who won the1959 Grammy Awardfor the Best Soundtrack Album and Background Score from Motion Picture or Television.[citation needed]In the second and third seasons, the new theme was composed byCount Basie.[4]

Asoundtrackalbum,Music from M Squad,with liner notes by Lee Marvin, was released byRCA VictorRecords in 1959 during the last season of the show.[5][4]

Home media

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Timeless Media GroupreleasedM Squad: The Complete Serieson DVD in the Region 1 on November 11, 2008.[6]This release has been discontinued and is out of print.

On November 4, 2014, Timeless Media re-released the complete series on DVD in a new 16-disc special edition collection that contains an entire disc of bonus content.[7]

Episodes

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Main article:List of M Squad episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
138September 20, 1957(1957-09-20)June 13, 1958(1958-06-13)
240September 19, 1958(1958-09-19)July 3, 1959(1959-07-03)
339September 18, 1959(1959-09-18)June 21, 1960(1960-06-21)

Guest stars

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Notes

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Lee Marvin inM Squad

In episode "The Jumper", an officer was depicted taking bribes. This promptedRichard J. Daley,theMayor of Chicagoat the time, to discourage motion picture and television location filming in Chicago for the rest of his administration (1955–1976). (He made an exception for the 1975John WaynefilmBrannigan,because of Daley's personal admiration for Wayne.)The Blues Brothers,released in 1980, marked the reversal of the policy under then-mayorJane Byrne.[citation needed]

Lee Marvin as Lt. Frank Ballinger carried twoColt Cobrasnub nosed revolvers, the lightweight variant of Colt's "Detective's Special" revolver, which was popular with detectives at the time. Lt. Ballinger was the first TV police detective, of any note, to carry a backup revolver. The second Cobra revolver was carried in a more concealed position than the other.[10][11]

A novel was published in 1962,M Squad: The Chicago Cop Killer,by David Saunders. It was published byBelmont Books,New York.

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Pall Mall PresentsM Squad".Tobacco Videos.Archived fromthe originalon June 26, 2010.
  2. ^Lee Marvin for Pall Mall Cigarettes(TV commercial).YouTube.July 9, 2011.Archivedfrom the original on December 22, 2021.RetrievedMarch 26,2020.
  3. ^Alicoate, Charles A., ed. (1960).The 1960 Radio Annual and Television Year Book.Radio Daily Corp. p. 1198.
  4. ^abc"Studio City Walk of Fame Highlights: 'M Squad'".Studio City, CA Patch.February 7, 2012.RetrievedMarch 26,2020.
  5. ^"The Music from M Squad - Stanley Wilson | Credits".AllMusic.RetrievedMarch 26,2020.
  6. ^"Official Press Release for M Squad - The Complete Series".Archived fromthe originalon November 1, 2014.
  7. ^"Package Art Arrives for TMG's 'Complete TV Series: Special Edition'".Archived fromthe originalon November 1, 2014.
  8. ^"Tuesday April 5 Program Listings".The Washington Star.April 3, 1960.
  9. ^"TV for Today and Tomorrow".The Hammond Times.March 16, 1965. p. A4. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  10. ^Ahern, Jerry (March 1989). "Movie and T.V. Guns".Petersen's Handguns for Sport & Defense.p. 43.
  11. ^Thompson, Leroy (February 1, 2019). "Don't Snub the Snub".Concealed Carry Handguns.pp. 54–55.
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