M Squad
M Squad | |
---|---|
Lee Marvin as Lt. Frank Ballinger, from NBC'sM Squadin 1959. | |
Genre | Crime drama |
Starring | Lee Marvin Paul Newlan |
Composers | Main 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 origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No.of seasons | 3 |
No.of episodes | 117(list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers | John Larkin Richard Lewis |
Producers | Robert Bassler Maxwell Shane |
Editors | Lee Huntington John B. Moss Stanley Rabjohn |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production companies | Latimer Productions Revue Studios |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | September 20, 1957 June 21, 1960 | –
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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | |||
1 | 38 | September 20, 1957 | June 13, 1958 | |
2 | 40 | September 19, 1958 | July 3, 1959 | |
3 | 39 | September 18, 1959 | June 21, 1960 |
Guest stars
[edit]- Roscoe Ates
- Joanna Barnes
- Charles Bronson
- Mike Connors
- Russ Conway
- Walter Coy
- Whitney Blake
- Paul Burke
- Terry Burnham(2 episodes)[8][9]
- James Coburn
- Francis De Sales
- Angie Dickinson
- Joe Flynn
- Alan Hale, Jr.
- Ron Hayes
- Werner Klemperer
- Robert Knapp
- Tom Laughlin
- Ruta Lee
- DeForest Kelley
- Nan Leslie
- Dayton Lummis
- Tyler McVey
- Walter Maslow
- Carole Mathews
- Joyce Meadows
- Sid Melton
- John Mitchum
- Ed Nelson
- Leonard Nimoy
- J. Pat O'Malley
- Michael Pataki
- Burt Reynolds
- Don Rickles
- Janice Rule
- Barbara Stuart
- Mary Treen
- H. M. Wynant
- Rose Marie
Notes
[edit]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
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"Pall Mall PresentsM Squad".Tobacco Videos.Archived fromthe originalon June 26, 2010.
- ^Lee Marvin for Pall Mall Cigarettes(TV commercial).YouTube.July 9, 2011.Archivedfrom the original on December 22, 2021.RetrievedMarch 26,2020.
- ^Alicoate, Charles A., ed. (1960).The 1960 Radio Annual and Television Year Book.Radio Daily Corp. p. 1198.
- ^abc"Studio City Walk of Fame Highlights: 'M Squad'".Studio City, CA Patch.February 7, 2012.RetrievedMarch 26,2020.
- ^"The Music from M Squad - Stanley Wilson | Credits".AllMusic.RetrievedMarch 26,2020.
- ^"Official Press Release for M Squad - The Complete Series".Archived fromthe originalon November 1, 2014.
- ^"Package Art Arrives for TMG's 'Complete TV Series: Special Edition'".Archived fromthe originalon November 1, 2014.
- ^"Tuesday April 5 Program Listings".The Washington Star.April 3, 1960.
- ^"TV for Today and Tomorrow".The Hammond Times.March 16, 1965. p. A4. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
- ^Ahern, Jerry (March 1989). "Movie and T.V. Guns".Petersen's Handguns for Sport & Defense.p. 43.
- ^Thompson, Leroy (February 1, 2019). "Don't Snub the Snub".Concealed Carry Handguns.pp. 54–55.
External links
[edit]- 1957 American television series debuts
- 1960 American television series endings
- 1950s American crime drama television series
- 1960s American crime drama television series
- Black-and-white American television shows
- Fictional portrayals of the Chicago Police Department
- Television series by Universal Television
- Television shows set in Chicago
- NBC television dramas