Classic Tele: Man In A Suitcase - 1966

A British action series produced by ITC, filmed in and around Pinewood Studios (Sound Stages J and K) and on location in London, England during 1966/7. There were 30 colour one-hour episodes, originally screened from September 27th 1967. The eponymous hero was McGill, a former CIA agent, who had been framed and tossed out of the agency. He became a freelance operator working in Europe, using his skills as a private eye.

Man in a Suitcase was effectively a replacement for Danger Man, whose production had been curtailed when its star Patrick McGhooan 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.

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.

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.

EPISODE GUIDE

BRAINWASH - September 27th 1967
Written by Francis Megahy and Bernie Cooper, Directed by Charles Crichton. Guest stars: Colin Blakely, Howard Marion-Crawford, Suzan Farmer.

THE SITTING PIGEON - October 4th 1967
Written by Edmund Ward, Directed by Gerry O'Hara. Guest stars: Robinh Bailey, George Sewell, James Grout, Mark Eden.

DAY OF EXECUTION - October 11th 1967
Written by Philip Broadley, Directed by Charles Crichton. Guest stars: Donald Sutherland, Rosemary Nicols, Jeremy Spencer.

VARIATION ON A MILLION BUCKS (Part 1) - October 18th 1967
Written by Stanley R. Greenberg, Directed by Pat Jackson. Guest stars: Anton Rogers, Yoko Tani, Ron Randall, Mike Pratt.

VARIATION ON A MILLION BUCKS (Part 2) - October 25th 1967
Written by Stanley R. Greenberg, Directed by Robert Tronson. Guest stars: Anton Rogers, Yoko Tani, Ron Randall, Mike Pratt.
(These two episodes were syndicated to make a TV movie in the U.S. titled 'To Chase a Million')

MAN FROM THE DEAD - November 1st 1967
Written by Stanley R. Greenberg, Directed by Pat Jackson. Guest stars: John Barrie, Angela Browne, Stuart Damon.
(The original working title for this episode was 'Man in a Suitcase' but this was used as the series title instead of just 'McGill')

SWEET SUE - November 8th 1967
Written by Philip Broadley, Directed by Robert Tronson. Guest stars: Judy Geeson, Peter Blythe, George A. Cooper.

ESSAY IN EVIL - November 15th 1967
Written by Kevin B. Laffin, Directed by Freddie Francis. Guest stars: Donald Houston, Peter Vaughan, John Cairney
(The working title for this episode was 'The Mine')

THE GIRL WHO NEVER WAS - November 22nd 1967
Written by Donald Jonson, Directed by Robert Tronson. Guest stars: Bernard Lee, Priscilla Morgan, Harold Goodwin.
(The working title for this episode was 'Love of Venus')

ALL THAT GLITTERS - November 29th 1967
Written by Stanley R. Greenberg, Directed by Herbert Wise. Guest stars: Michael Goodliffe, Barbara Shelley, Eric Thompson.
(The working title of this episode was 'Mad Dogs and Englishmen')

DEAD MAN'S SHOES - December 6th 1967
Written by Edmund Ward, Directed by Peter Duffell. Guest stars: Derren Nesbitt, John Carson, James Villiers.

FIND THE LADY - December 13th 1967
Written by Philip Broadley, Directed by Robert Tronson. Guest stars: Patrick Cargill, Maxwell Shaw, Jeanne Roland.
(The working title of this episode was 'My Brother Giulio')

THE BRIDGE - December 20th 1967
Written by Robert Muller, Directed by Pat Jackson. Guest stars: Bill Owen, Jane Merrow, Rodney Bewes.

THE MAN WHO STOOD STILL - December 27th 1967
Written by Raymond Bowers, Directed by Peter Duffell. Guest stars: Rupert Davies, Cyril Shaps, Ricardo Montez.

BURDEN OF PROOF - January 3rd 1968
Written by Edmund Ward, Directed by Peter Duffell. Guest stars: John Gregson, Nicola Pagett, Gerald Sim.

THE WHISPER - January 10th 1968
Written by Moris Farhi, Directed by Charles Crichton. Guest stars: Colin Blakely, Patrick Allen, Sheila Brennan.
(The working title of this episode was 'The Mercenary')

WHY THEY KILLED NOLAN - January 17th 1968
Written by Donald Jonson, Directed by Charles Crichton. Guest stars: Sam Kydd, Ursula Howells, Griffith Jones.

THE BOSTON SQUARE - January 24th 1968
Written by Wilfred Greatorex, Directed by Don Chaffey. Guest stars: Rex Everhart, Peter Arne, Ed Bishop.

SOMEBODY LOSES, SOMEBODY... WINS? - January 31st 1968
Written by Jan Read, Directed by John Glen. Guest stars: Godfrey Quigley, Jacqueline Pearce, Philip Madoc.

BLIND SPOT - February 7th 1968
Written by Victor Canning, Directed by Jeremy Summers. Guest stars: Marius Goring, Felicity Kendal, Derek Newark.

NO FRIEND OF MINE - February 14th 1968
Written by John Stanton, Directed by Charles Crichton. Guest stars: Peter Williams, Clive Morton, Allan Cuthbertson.

THE JIGSAW MAN - February 21st 1968
Written by Stanley R. Greenberg and Reed DeRouen, Directed by Charles Friend. Guest stars: Maurice Kaufmann, Paul Bertoya, Mike Sarne.

WEB WITH FOUR SPIDERS - February 28th 1968
Written by Edmund Ward, Directed by Robert Tronson. Guest stars: Ray McAnally, Jacqueline Ellis, Ralph Michael.

WHICH WAY DID HE GO, McGILL? - March 6th 1968
Written by Francis Megahy and Bernie Cooper, Directed by Freddie Francis. Guest stars: Donald Sutherland, Jennifer Jayne, J.G.Devlin.

PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN - March 13th 1968
Written by Wilfred Greatorex, Directed by Peter Duffell. Guest stars: Terence Alexander, Justine Lord, Gordon Gostelow.

THE REVOLUTIONARIES - March 20th 1968
Written by Kevin B. Laffin, Directed by Peter Duffell. Guest stars: Hugh Burden, Ferdy Mayne, Sonia Fox.

WHO'S MAD NOW? - March 27th 1968
Written by Roger Parkes, Directed by Freddie Francis. Guest stars: Robert Hutton, Audine Leith, Philip Madoc.

THREE BLINKS OF THE EYES - April 3rd 1968
Written by Vincent Tilsey, Directed by Charles Crichton. Guest stars: John Gabriel III, Faith Brook, Drewe Henly.

CASTLE IN THE CLOUDS - April 10th 1968
Written by Jan Read, Directed by Peter Duffell. Guest stars: Gerald Flood, Edward Fox, Gay Hamilton.
(The working title of this episode was 'The Adventuress')

NIGHT FLIGHT TO ANDORRA - April 17th 1968
Written by Jan Read and Reed DeRouen, Directed by Freddie Francis. Guest Stars: Peter Woodthorpe, Zia Mohyeddin, Luanshya Greer.