The mid-'80s seemed to be a good time for repeating classic TV shows from the '60s and '70s. We looked at BUDGIE in the previous post, but around the same time it was repeated, so also was CALLAN. Callan, played by EDWARD WOODWARD, was a realistic spy series which had none of the panache of 007. Created and written by author JAMES MITCHELL (as well as other writers), it was grim, grimy, gritty, and - when RUSSELL HUNTER's character LONELY was on screen - could also be described as grotty. It started in 1967 and ran for four series of 44 episodes until 1972, though it was absent from TV in '68 and '71. There was also a movie in 1974, which was an expanded version of the ARMCHAIR THEATRE pilot episode (A MAGNUM For SCHNEIDER), first shown in February of '67.
There was also a TV 'reunion' movie called WET JOB in 1981, which I didn't know about or see until '84, when it was repeated. I wasn't aware it was a repeat, and seem to recall it being advertised in the TV listings as though it was a new production, so I wonder if perhaps it wasn't shown in Scotland in '81, or did it just slip under my radar? It wasn't 'til a few short years ago that I learned it had been transmitted earlier, and it was quite a surprise to me. I was living in another house between 1983 and '87, and therefore associate the film with there, rather than the previous abode I was in when it was originally broadcast, and in which I once again reside. (It's complicated, but unimportant from your perspective, so don't worry about it.)
It was strange to view episodes I hadn't seen since the '60s and early '70s, when I'd lived in a prior house to the two referred to above. I even remembered specific scenes, so it was like revisiting my past, something I always enjoy. (Not that it's relevant to anything, but the final series of Callan ended three weeks to the day before we flitted in 1972.) Anyway, I purchased series 3 & 4 (the colour years) from my local SAINSBURY's a week or so back, and will be buying what survives (several episodes were wiped) of series 1 & 2 (the monochrome years) before very long. Callan had a haunting theme tune (known as 'Girl In The Dark', and also 'This Man Alone'), as well as atmospheric opening titles, which anyone who ever saw the show will surely remember. Unfortunately, because of an ongoing copyright dispute, the theme wasn't used for the '74 movie or '81 feature-length special.
So who else remembers Callan? Surely everyone around my age will recall it fondly, so why not share your reminiscences with your fellow Crivs?!
Update: Right, that's Callan the monochrome years, Wet Job, and This Man Alone documentary now ordered and paid for. I'll do a post once I've seen them.
******
Update: Right, that's Callan the monochrome years, Wet Job, and This Man Alone documentary now ordered and paid for. I'll do a post once I've seen them.
20 comments:
I had been lent a copy and read 'A Magnum for Schneider' before it was produced for television and was amazed at the closeness of the adaption. The actual series when it was created kept to a pretty high standard.
I have recently read BONFIRE NIGHT credited as being the last Callan book written by James Mitchell. If a fan of Callan it's worth reading for the preface by the author's son.
That book wetted my appetite for Callan and I am presently reading CALLAN UNCOVERED which reprints the newspaper short stories by Mitchell which I was totally unaware of.
The TV series left such a strong visual memory of the characters that reading the stories is a visual treat even though unillustrated.
Hey Kid, I found a Callan within the last five years. It is a great series. I tracked it down because of my love for Edward Woodward in the Equalizer. He is a great actor.
Travis Morgan
Yes I recall Callan - big fan and I recall watching episodes when they were screened here in Australia, in the mid to late 70s I guess, and it would be guess. Late at night here and I recall watching them with the lights down to give them my full attention, but once that theme kicked in with that bare lightbulb swinging two and fro you were right back into the bleak world of Callan and the Section. (Always tried to guess when the gun would fire and shatter it!)
I have since aquired on DVD all of the colour seasons, what remains of the black and white episodes and the film, only missing the Wet Job. The episodes with Patrick Mower were the first that I saw (he seemed to be everywhere in the early 70S - also screening at about the same time was another fave of mine, Special Branch, and he was in that too).
Whenever I watch my DVDs of Callan, Special Branch or The Sweeney I'm taken right back to the 70s as if it were just yesterday.
I have a vague memory of perhaps reading my brother's copy of A Magnum For Schneider back in the '70s, but I don't think I've ever read any of the other books, T47. That's something I intend to rectify before they nail me in the box. I believe Wet Job was available on DVD, so I must track down a copy.
******
I always wondered whether The Equalizer was meant to be Callan, TM. After all, it was revealed in one episode that David Callan wasn't his real name. Robert McColl could've been just another alias.
******
I remember Special Branch, PC, and The Sweeney was another good show. There's a soap called Emmerdale in the UK, which Patrick Mower was in, though I don't know if he still is 'cos I never watch it. DVDs are a great invention, aren't they? Just a shame that TV bigwigs didn't have the foresight to anticipate the home market for old programmes, otherwise they might not have wiped so many episodes of great TV shows.
Great Series, i have the box sets too brilliantly written & acted, Patrick mower is superb, as is Russel Hunter, love the Episode where Callan takes on a Underworld Gangster, Wet job was good too, I guess you must already have 'public Eye' thats great too..if not, i highly recommend it, Alfred Burke is superb, and some excellent scripts & episodes.
I remember being slightly disappointed after watching Wet Job, RD, but that was 35 years ago, so it's on my list of things to acquire. Public Eye was a great series, and I watched it when I was a youngster. Don't think I've seen any since the '70s (perhaps apart from an occasional repeat, but even then that would've been the '80s or '90s), and it's on the same list mentioned above. Callan and Public eye showed that there was nothing glamorous about the 'spy' game.
Ah, Public Eye, another classic. The Brits really knew how to make those down-to-earth slow-burner series. Managed to get hold of a few series of Public Eye on DVD as well as a DVD-sized book that came with a boxed set but could be bought on its own. Has a history of the series plus episode guide and sits neatly on the shelf with the DVDs. A company called Umbrella issued a lot of the ITC and other classic series on disc over here, allowing me to compile quite a library. The Callan movie was included in a slip case set with the fourth series. As well as Callan, Special Branch and the Sweeney I have been able to acquire both Diana Rigg series of the Avengers, all of The Champions, Department S, Van der Valk, Danger Man, UFO, series one of Space 1999 (wasn't a fan of series two) and some discs that somebody had broken up sets to sell giving me a handful of episodes of both Jason King and the Persuaders. When I'm in the mood I've been able to put on for myself whole months of retro TV viewing.
It's a shame some sort of rights issues have prevented the Patrick Mower-lead series Target from being issued on disc, I used to enjoy that one as well.
I've got The Saint (monochrome & colour), The Champions, Randall & Hopkirk, Black Beauty, Follyfoot, Batman, The Prisoner, Columbo, Adam Adamant, Adventures Of Superman (George Reeves), Sherlock Holmes, UFO, Callan, Budgie, Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads, The Goodies (gotta have some comedy in the mix), and probably others I've forgotten. At some stage I'll get Public Eye, The Persuaders, Man In A Suitcase, The Fugitive, The Baron, and perhaps The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Thing is though, PC, will I have enough time left to watch them all?
Oh, and talking of comedy, I've also got Fawlty Towers, Black Adder, and Father Ted. Great stuff!
Just searching for The Wet Job on DVD and found out that there is a big book on all things Callan which I never knew about, The Callan File. A 554 page volume covering the TV series, books and movie with interviews with a lot of the actors, writers and such involved. Written by Robert Fairclough and Mike Kenwood.
This has now gone onto my wish list.
Also a great fan of British comedy, with DVDs of Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, Black Adder, Porridge, Yes Minister / Prime Minister, Ripping Yarns, Open All Hours, Last of the Summer Wine (the first four series) and One Foot in the Grave, probably more but I'd actually have to get up off my chair and walk over to the shelves to check - as you say; where will we find the time to watch 'em all?! I'm only five years off retirement age (scares the hell out of me) so that could fill part of my days when work isn't getting in the way any more.
At some stage I'll have to get It Ain't Half Hot, Mum - considered politically incorrect these days, but still worth a laugh. Then there's Steptoe & Son also to be added to the list. Fortunately, these boxed sets aren't too expensive nowadays, PC. I've still got boxed sets of Gerry Anderson shows to watch. Got them in my collection - Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, UFO - had them for years now, still can't find the time. I need an extension on my life.
It's interesting that there is mention that the name Callan could have been a pseudonym as it was his name when serving in the army or being in prison long before joining The Section I do not remember a mention in an episode that it could be a pseudonym.
I moved to the US in 1974 and saw Callan only when first broadcast in the UK and never again. My memory of the movie was the crashing of a Range Rover which at the time was both a new and expensive vehicle. I also thought Ronald Radd was the best Hunter.
Robert McCall of the The Equalizer was a hilarious series as I lived in NYC when it was being filmed. The film crew was often on streets in Manhattan closed to traffic for filming purposes. In the series if memory serves me McCall drove a Jaguar and always found a parking spot exactly where he wanted to be. Pure Fiction. Also the charactor kept telling clients "Trust me" while staring at them. This from someone who never looked very healthy and indeed when the actor took ill with heart problems he was promptly replaced by Robert Mitchum who seemed quite out of it himself.
Woodward was cast as McCall because of Callan and his appearance known to US audiences in the movie Breaker Morant. When The Equalizer movies turned up later with Denzel Washington the persona of the charactor was more believable as the actor had more physical presence.
Saying Callan and Public Eye showed that there was nothing glamorous about the 'spy' game is a little disingenuous as Frank Marker was a private detective not a spy. Both series had great opening credits and music as well as good scripts and actors.
Hi Kid, George Sewell Is good in Wet Job, Most of the Public Eye 'Birmingham Series' has been wiped, which is a great shame, although a handful of episodes are available through network DVD, start with the 'Brighton Series' Box set, Its Great..If you Ever Get Time!
In the 1st episode of series 3 'Where Else Would I Go', he tells someone with whom he served in the army and who doesn't recognise the name David Callan, that he would've known him under a different name. Of course, it could be that the different name is a pseudonym, bit that's not the way it comes across - he seems to be implying that Callan is his 'current' name.
I thought it was obvious by my use of inverted commas that I was using the word 'spy' in a wider, more flexible sense than just government 'secret agents'. Private detectives follow people, look through keyholes, bug telephones, take photographs from hidden vantage points - in short - SPY on people. I'd therefore say that my use of the word is actually quite legitimate, if more encompassing than just the world of James Bond. Either way, both Callan and Public Eye, as I said, showed that there was nothing glamorous about the 'espionage' game.
Here's a little quote from Wikipedia:
"Espionage or spying is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information. Spies help agencies uncover secret information. Any individual or spy ring (a cooperating group of spies), in the service of a government, company or independent operation, can commit espionage. The practice is clandestine, as it is by definition unwelcome."
I'd say that easily covers Frank Marker's job pretty well, even if most of his cases were presumably only cheating husbands and wives.
******
Thanks, RD, I'll look out for that one. As I said, Public Eye was a great wee series.
Kid, did you watch the BBC's new version of Dracula? If so, what did you think of it? I'm too young to remember Callan so please excuse my changing the topic :)
Well, I'm puzzled why the BBC made Dracula a mix between David Walliams and James Mason, and I wish Mark Gatiss would refrain from infusing his own personal sexual preferences into just about everything he writes, but I found the 1st episode interesting and the 3rd disappointing. I enjoyed the 2nd episode more than the others, but not quite sure why. Overall, it was... okay.
McCall always found a parking place exactly where he needed to be. So did Mannix, Cannon, and Barnaby Jones.
But then, nobody would watch a show about a detective or spy driving around all day looking for a parking space.
For the same reason, Kirk and Spock (and Picard and Riker) never had to wait for an elevator.
Maybe McCall was Callan, and maybe Number Six/The Prisoner was John Drake. And maybe not, but it's fun to specul
...ate. It was 'officially' denied that Drake was The Prisoner, TC, but that was no doubt for copyright reasons. The file photo used at the start of The Prisoner was the same one as used in Danger Man, and a contact that John Drake used turned up in a Prisoner episode under the same name and played by the same actor. (Going from memory, I think the episode was 'The Girl Who Was Death'.) As to whether McCall was Callan, I think that was 'officially' denied as well, but they would do that, wouldn't they? Funny that the last four letters of The Equalizer's surname are the same as the first four of Callan's. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.
There was a rumor among fans that the contact in "The Girl Who Was Death" addresses McGoohan as "Drake." There was a similar rumor about the first episode, in which Number Six encounters another inmate (Paul Eddington) who was one of his colleagues in the secret service. Probably just fan gossip, though.
There was also a rumor that The Girl Who Was Death was a script left over from Danger Man, but I'm skeptical. Danger Man was relatively realistic, and did not usually do "secret agent superhero saves the world from the mad scientist" plots. My impression is that "Girl" was a spoof of the 1960s spy-fi (Bond, Matt Helm, Flint, Man From U.N.C.L.E.) fad.
I've got the DVD box set of The Prisoner, TC, so I must watch that episode again to see if it's true about the name. However, the episode is a 'bedtime story' that Number Six is telling to two kids (Number Two's perhaps, can't quite remember) so I suppose it could be dismissed as 'apocryphal'. I imagine it's possible that the plot was a leftover from Danger Man (Secret Agent Man in the US) that was tweaked a bit for The Prisoner episode.
Post a Comment