Man in a Suitcase

Man in a Suitcase
Man in a Suitcase
Alt= Series titles over a suitcase
Format Action Drama
Created by Dennis Spooner
Richard Harris
Starring Richard Bradford
Opening theme Ron Grainer
Composer(s) Albert Elms
Country of origin UK
Language(s) English
No. of series 1
No. of episodes 30 (List of episodes)
Production
Producer(s) Sidney Cole
Running time 49mins
Production company(s) ITC Entertainment
Distributor ITC Entertainment
Broadcast
Original channel ITV
Picture format Film 35mm 4:3 Colour
Audio format Mono
Original run 27 September 1967 – 17 April 1968

Man in a Suitcase is a 1967 television series produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment.

Contents

Origins and overview

Man in a Suitcase was effectively a replacement for Danger Man, whose production had been curtailed when its star Patrick McGoohan had decided to create his own series, The Prisoner. Many of the Danger Man production crew moved over to the new series, which was initially to be titled McGill after its lead character. Like several ITC productions, the series would use an American star in an attempt to boost the show's sales in the US. An early choice was Jack Lord, but the part of McGill eventually went to Richard Bradford, a method actor who was spotted after appearing opposite Marlon Brando in the 1966 movie The Chase. The series was created by Richard Harris and Dennis Spooner. Neither writer had any further involvement with the series - Spooner was mostly involved with producing his own series, The Champions - and the lead character changed somewhat from their original conception of a hard-boiled, wise-cracking detective.

McGill was a former US Intelligence agent, who had been forced to resign from the service six years prior to the opening episode, practically accused of treason. Unable to clear his name or return to the USA, McGill makes ends meet by working as a travelling private detective and bounty hunter, based in Britain, living out of his suitcase (hence the title). His cases generally took him to different parts of Europe (and on a couple of occasions Africa.)

A distinctive feature of the show was the theme tune composed by Ron Grainer, a catchy, jazzy number. This was later appropriated by Chris Evans as the theme for his entertainment show TFI Friday. The incidental music was supplied by Albert Elms.

Story and style

In the Pilot episode, 'Man from the Dead' we discover the reason for McGill's disgrace. During an assignment six years previously, he discovered that a top Western scientist called LeFarbe was preparing to defect to the USSR. Though he planned to intercept the defector, he was ordered to stand down by his superior Harry Thyssen. Shortly afterwards, LeFarbe went over to the Russians. Accused of complicity in the defection, McGill was unable to call on Thyssen to clear his name, as his superior had been drowned in a sailing accident, and he was forced to resign from the service amid much negative publicity. Six years on, McGill discovers that Thyssen is still alive, his death having been faked. He is now working as a sailor on a Russian freighter, in which capacity he acts as a courier of secret information from LeFarbe. The scientist is in fact a double agent, now highly placed in the soviet scientific community to provide valuable intelligence. As McGill's diligence nearly blew open this important operation, his superiors had no choice but to make him a very public scapegoat, in order to maintain the illusion of the LeFarbe defection as genuine. On the series first broadcast on ATV Midlands 'Man From The Dead' was screened as the sixth episode, 'Brainwash' thought to be a stronger tale was in fact broadcast first.

Building on this foundation, Man in a Suitcase was a series very much about betrayal, mistrust and deceit. Because of his unofficial, semi-legal status, McGill often found himself being hired by unscrupulous clients and unwittingly used for criminal ends, or set up as a fall guy. On several occasions, characters from his past with US Intelligence drew him into dangerous situations; and he could also be blackmailed or tricked into participating in espionage missions, as he was the perfect deniable operative. A number of the series writers were new to ITC, and this resulted in a show that was markedly different from the usual light-hearted adventure and espionage fantasy of such series. It highlighted character-based drama grounded in a cynical view of the real world, making it more akin to the spy novels of John le Carré and Len Deighton.

As developed by Bradford, the characterization of McGill was complex. As a man who felt betrayed by life and his country, he could appear outwardly as surly, moody and uncommunicative. But this masked a sensitive interior. McGill felt compassion for those who were the victims in his cases, and would try to help them, often to his own cost.

The level of violence portrayed in the show was unprecedented for an ITC series. This was partly because of Bradford's concerns that the stories and characters should remain real. Unlike most TV action heroes of the time, McGill would not get cleanly knocked unconscious and then recover without effect - Bradford took great pains to depict the character as wounded and concussed. In addition to beatings, McGill is several times shot and stabbed, and ends more than one episode recovering in hospital.

One gimmick of the show is that McGill's first name is never revealed, though some close friends know him as "Mac".

As with the other ITC series of the era, although the plots took McGill far and wide around the world, in reality the majority of filming was done in and around Pinewood Studios. The series was unusual in its use of night-time filming (as opposed to the day for night approach common at the time). Actual locations included London's South Bank and White City Stadium (Demolished 1985) from "Man from the Dead", Albert Bridge from "The Bridge" and Kingston-upon-Thames from "Day of Execution", the latter a setting for a remarkable (for its time) night-time car chase.

Cast

Richard Bradford is the only regular actor in the series. Guest stars include some ITC stalwarts such as Stuart Damon, Jane Merrow, Basil Dignam, Ed Bishop, Anton Rodgers, George Sewell, Philip Madoc and John Gregson; and such actors as Barbara Shelley, Rodney Bewes, Felicity Kendal, Rupert Davies, Colin Blakely, Ray McAnally, Bernard Lee, Jacqueline Pearce and Donald Sutherland.

Episode list

Airdate is for ATV Midlands [1] ITV regions varied date and order.

Ep # Prod # Title Directed by Written by Original airdate
1 106 "Brainwash" Charles Crichton Francis Megahy and Bernie Cooper 27 September 1967
 
2 115 "The Sitting Pigeon" Gerry O'Hara Edmund Ward 4 October 1967
 
3 110 "Day of Execution" Charles Crichton Phillip Broadley 11 October 1967
 
4 108 "Variation on a Million Bucks
Part one
"
Pat Jackson Stanley R. Greenberg 18 October 1967
 
5 109 "Variation on a Million Bucks
Part two
"
Robert Tronson Stanley R. Greenberg 25 October 1967
6 101 "Man from the Dead" Pat Jackson Stanley R. Greenberg 1 November 1967
 
7 103 "Sweet Sue" Robert Tronson Phillip Broadley 8 November 1967
 
8 120 "Essay in Evil" Freddie Francis Kevin B. Laffan 15 November 1967
 
9 107 "The Girl Who Never Was" Robert Tronson Donald Jonson 22 November 1967
 
10 102 "All That Glitters" Herbert Wise Stanley R. Greenberg 29 November 1967
 
11 118 "Dead Man's Shoes" Peter Duffell Edmund Ward 6 December 1967
 
12 105 "Find the Lady" Robert Tronson Phillip Broadley 13 December 1967
 
13 104 "The Bridge" Pat Jackson Robert Muller 20 December 1967
 
14 116 "The Man Who Stood Still" Peter Duffell Raymond Bowers 27 December 1967
 
15 122 "Burdon of Proof" Peter Duffell Edmund Ward 3 January 1968
 
16 119 "The Whisper" Charles Crichton Morris Farhi 10 January 1968
 
17 121 "Why They Killed Nolan" Charles Crichton Donald Jonson 17 January 1968
 
18 113 "The Boston Square" Don Chaffey Wilfred Greatorex 24 January 1968
 
19 117 "Somebody Loses, Somebody...Wins?" John Glen Jan Read 31 January 1968
 
20 112 "Blind Spot" Jeremy Summers Victor Canning 7 February 1968
 
21 125 "No Friend of Mine" Charles Crichton John Stanton 14 February 1968
 
22 114 "Jigsaw Man" Charles Frend Stanley R. Greenberg and Reed de Rouen 21 February 1968
 
23 111 "Web with Four Spiders" Robert Tronson Edmund Ward 28 February 1968
 
24 126 "Which Way Did He Go, McGill?" Freddie Francis Francis Megahy and Bernie Cooper 6 March 1968
 
25 124 "Property of a Gentleman" Peter Duffell Wilfred Greatorex 13 March 1968
 
26 127 "The Revolutionaries" Peter Duffell Jan Read
Story by Kevin B. Laffan
20 March 1968
 
27 123 "Who's Mad Now?" Freddie Francis Roger Parkes 27 March 1968
 
28 128 "Three Blinks of the Eyes" Charles Crichton Vincent Tilsley 3 April 1968
 
29 129 "Castle in the Clouds" Peter Duffell Jan Read 10 April 1968
 
30 130 "Night Flight to Andorra" Freddie Francis Jan Read and Reed de Rouen 17 April 1968
 

The two part story Variation on a Million Bucks was edited into a feature film for theatrical release in Europe, entitled To Chase a Million.

DVD

The entire series has been released on DVD in Britain as a digitally re-mastered box set by Network DVD. There are 8 discs (Region 2 UK) Extras consist of commercial bumpers both US and UK a music only track on one or two episodes and an interview with series star Richard Bradford where he sometimes vehemently describes the working conditions and former producers of the show.

Prior to this, Carlton Video had released a single disc with the first two episodes.

The series is also available in Australia from Umbrella Entertainment in a box set.

Acorn Media released the first 15 episodes in a 4 disc, Region 1 box set in 2010.

Other media

British sludge metal band GZR released an eponymous homage to the series as the first track on their 1997 album Black Science.

British "alternative" stand-up comedian Ted Chippington's 1986 debut album on Birmingham's Vindaloo record label was also entitled "Man in a Suitcase".

References

  1. ^ Before 1968 ATV transmitted weekdays in the Midlands and weekends in London. See History of ITV

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Man in a Suitcase — L Homme à la valise L Homme à la valise Titre original Man in a Suitcase Genre Série d espionnage Créateur(s) Richard Harris Dennis Spooner Pays d’origine  Royaume Uni Chaîne d’origine …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Dead Man's Bluff — Russian DVD cover Directed by Aleksei Balabanov Produced by Sergei Dolgoshein Sergei Selyanov …   Wikipedia

  • Chuck Versus the Suitcase — Chuck episode Day 184: On the run Episode no …   Wikipedia

  • The Suitcase — This article is about the Mad Men episode. For the article about suitcases, see Suitcase. The Suitcase Mad Men episode …   Wikipedia

  • Choreographed Man of War — Studio album by Robert Pollard and the Soft Rock Renegades Releas …   Wikipedia

  • 30-Man Royal Rumble Match — Type de match au catch Cette page recense les différents types de match de catch hors matchs classiques. Les matchs spéciaux sont plus rares que les matchs « classiques » et se déroulent majoritairement lors des pay per view, notamment… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Girl with a Suitcase — Infobox Film name = Girl with a Suitcase caption = Original Italian poster imdb id = 0054225 writer = Leonardo Benvenuti (as Leo Benvenuti) Piero De Bernardi Enrico Medioli Giuseppe Patroni Griffi Valerio Zurlini starring = Claudia Cardinale… …   Wikipedia

  • The Suitcase Kid — is a children s novel by written by Jacqueline Wilson. The story focuses upon a young girl caught between her warring parents bitter divorce, and the determination the girl has to get her parents back together, as is common amongst children whose …   Wikipedia

  • Iron Man — This article is about the superhero. For other uses, see Iron Man (disambiguation). Iron Man Promotional art for The Invincible Iron Man vol. 5, #25 (second printing) (June 2010) by Salvador Larroca …   Wikipedia

  • List of characters in the Mega Man series — In Japan, the Mega Man series is known as Rockman . This refers to rock music, and is one of many musical puns in the series. Possible confusion over the name (i.e. believing it meant stone) is the main reason cited for the name change upon… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”