M Squad: The Complete Series [Special Edition]
Description
One of the most memorable of the early television police dramas, M Squad debuted in 1957 running for three seasons on NBC.
There were many black and white crime dramas competing for viewers in the late fifties, notably Dragnet, Arrest and Trial, and Checkmate. M Squad stands apart because of its unique combination of story, production values, musical score and a great cast portraying crime fighters getting down and dirty on the mean streets.
Lee Marvin, stars as Lt. Frank Ballinger, a no-nonsense Chicago plainclothes cop in the elite M-Squad Division. The Squad's (M-for Murder) task is to root out organized crime and corruption in Americas Second City. Marvin's portrayal of a tough undercover officer gave Marvin name recognition with the public, and did much to make him a star. He would go on to many starring roles (The Dirty Dozen, Cat Ballou) and to win a coveted OscarⓇ for Best Actor.
Frank Ballinger's boss, Captain Grey, is played by Paul Newlan, a fine actor who brings weight and substance to the role of running the M-Squad. It is perhaps his most memorable role.
But it wasn't just the crisp, taut story lines and great cast that made M Squad memorable.
First, it was shot in gritty, film noir style black and white. The excellent high contrast cinematography brings Chicago to life, with all of its easily recognizable landmarks, swanky penthouses on Lake Michigan, and the seedy darker side of the city.
Second was the musical score. In keeping with the film noir look of the series, the producers enlisted conductor Stanley Wilson to lead the orchestra in arrangements by legendary jazz men Benny Carter, and a young John Williams (Star Wars). For the second season, the great jazz artist Count Basie wrote the enduring "M Squad Theme."
The resulting television series is hard to match for its intensity and its humanity. Marvin's hard-nosed Frank Ballinger is the archetype of all the tough- guy, big-hearted crime fighters. M Squad is that rare television series that has it all. It is about time long-time fans and newcomers have a chance to experience the complete TV series on 16 high-quality DVDs of this great show.
Bonus Features for DVD
- Wagon Train - "The Jose Morales Story" (October 26, 1960) - Guest Starring Lee Marvin
- Checkmate - "Jungle Castle" (April 1, 1961) - Guest Starring Lee Marvin
- The Virginian - "It Tolls for Thee" (1962) - Guest Starring Lee Marvin
- Lee Marvin Presents Lawbreaker - "Pittsburgh" (1963) - Hosted by Lee Marvin
Product Information
DISCS 16 |
RUN-TIME 3,066 min |
ASPECT RATIO 1.33:1 |
COLOR Color, Black and White |
LANGUAGE English |
REGION Region 1 |
RATING Not Rated |
PRODUCTION DATE 1957-1960 |
CLOSED-CAPTIONED No |
SUBTITLES None |
Cast & Crew
Lee Marvin | Detective Lt. Frank Ballinger, Lt. Frank Ballinger, Barney |
Paul Newlan | Police Capt. Grey |
Gail Kobe | Anne Weldon, Dottie Jordan, Mrs. Larry Coleman |
Morris Ankrum | Police Capt. Dean, Police Inspector Dean |
Claire Carleton | Dolly Mundy, Sea Horse Bar Owner, Switchboard Operator |
William Phipps | Al 'Bugsy' Page, Joe Mazzerin, Larry Barker |
Paula Raymond | Judith Rollins, Myrna Bradley, Simone Brayden |
Whitney Blake | Jo Bennett, Peg Mallinson, Susan Spencer |
Grant Richards | Eddie Pagano, Edward J. Carty, Monty |
Ruta Lee | Connie Meston, Ora Kane, Sheila McAfee |
Don Medford | Director |
Herman Hoffman | Director |
Don Taylor | Director |
David Lowell Rich | Director |
John Brahm | Director |
Bernard Girard | Director |
Sidney Lanfield | Director |
Francis D. Lyon | Director |
Paul Stewart | Director |
Allen H. Miner | Director |
Bernard L. Kowalski | Director |
Don McDougall | Director |
Earl Bellamy | Director |
James Neilson | Director |
Jerry Hopper | Director |
Don Weis | Director |
Mark Sandrich Jr. | Director |
Robert Ellis Miller | Director |
Virgil W. Vogel | Director |
Marc Lawrence | Director |
Robert Florey | Director |
John Peyser | Director |
Robert Altman | Director |
Richard Bartlett | Director |
Edward Ludwig | Director |
Boris Sagal | Director |
Dan Alexander | Director |
David Butler | Director |
Murray Golden | Director |
Fletcher Markle | Director |
Bretaigne Windust | Director |
Dann Cahn | Director |
Robert B. Sinclair | Director |
William Witney | Director |
David Alexander | Writer |
Earl Baldwin | Writer |
Bill S. Ballinger | Writer |
Martin Berkeley | Writer |
Harold Jack Bloom | Writer |
Frank Burt | Writer |
Whitman Chambers | Writer |
Donald H. Clark | Writer |
Terry Crosby | Writer |
Jay D. Crowley | Writer |
Paul David | Writer |
Richard Deming | Writer |
Robert C. Dennis | Writer |
William Driskill | Writer |
Fenton Earnshaw | Writer |
James Edmiston | Writer |
Lee Erwin | Writer |
Scott Flohr | Writer |
Frank Fox | Writer |
Paul Gangelin | Writer |
Merwin Gerard | Writer |
Leo Gordon | Writer |
James Edward Grant | Writer |
Ian Hamilton | Writer |
Ric Hardman | Writer |
David P. Harmon | Writer |
Ward Hawkins | Writer |
Douglas Heyes | Writer |
William Holder | Writer |
Keith Hunter | Writer |
Boris Ingster | Writer |
Jack Jacobs | Writer |
Stuart Jerome | Writer |
Harry W. Junkin | Writer |
Joel Kane | Writer |
Leonard Kantor | Writer |
Jon Kubichan | Writer |
Jack Laird | Writer |
John Francis Larkin | Writer |
Leonard Lee | Writer |
Norman Lessing | Writer |
Seeleg Lester | Writer |
Melvin Levy | Writer |
Lawrence B. Marcus | Writer |
Sidney Marshall | Writer |
William McCluskey | Writer |
Lawrence Menkin | Writer |
Oscar Millard | Writer |
Allen H. Miner | Writer |
Bob Mitchell | Writer |
Frank L. Moss | Writer |
Joel Murcott | Writer |
Frederick Nebel | Writer |
Leonard Neubauer | Writer |
Arthur E. Orloff | Writer |
Robert Quaid | Writer |
Joel Rapp | Writer |
Lewis Reed | Writer |
Lawrence Resner | Writer |
Clarke Reynolds | Writer |
Allen Rivkin | Writer |
Dennis Roberts | Writer |
John Robinson | Writer |
Arthur Rowe | Writer |
Irving Rubine | Writer |
Donald S. Sanford | Writer |
Wilton Schiller | Writer |
Bernard C. Schoenfeld | Writer |
Maxwell Shane | Writer |
Robert J. Shaw | Writer |
Stirling Silliphant | Writer |
Jerry Sohl | Writer |
Harold Swanton | Writer |
Robert Tallman | Writer |
Kevin Thomas | Writer |
Palmer Thompson | Writer |
Barry Trivers | Writer |
Hendrik Vollaerts | Writer |
George Waggner | Writer |
Thomas Walsh | Writer |
Adam Williams | Writer |
Warren Wilson | Writer |
Irwin Winehouse | Writer |
A. Sanford Wolfe | Writer |
John Francis Larkin | Producer |
John Francis Larkin | Producer |
Maxwell Shane | Producer |
Richard Lewis | Producer |
Richard Lewis | Producer |
Robert Bassler | Producer |
Michael Abel | Producer |
Michael Abel | Producer |