This is the debut episode of this late 1950s crime show starring the great Lee Marvin. Who better to play a tough cop than the deep-voiced manly Marvin?
This is narration-style, like what was done in film noirs of the '40s and '50s, tough crime stories in the big city when the main cop narrates the story. This program - and I don't know if all that follows (116 more episodes) - almost reminded a big of Dragnet with the Joe Friday explaining the situation as it went along, many times the cops being frustrated over the difficulty of solving crimes.
That certainly happens here after a bank robber/murder in with a handful of people including a six-year-old boy are murdered. All anyone can remember about one of the escaped crooks is that he had a scalp wound and gold teeth.
That's what "Frank Ballinger" (Lee Marvin) and partner "Pete Grauman" (Bruce Gordon) have to go on, and it's not easy to track down in a big city like Chicago.
What I liked that struck me differently from other shows of the period was that most of this episode was shot outdoors using available light. Even in the police station, this did not look like it was set up with perfect lighting from a Hollywood set. It all added up to a more realistic-looking cop story.
This is my first look at this show in over 50 years. I don't have much in the way of memories of it except that Marvin was good in it. I hadn't recalled that Gordon was his partner. Maybe that was because this was his only episode! Bruce went on the play the famous villain and Al Capone associate "Frank Nitti" in The Untouchables.
This opening story is only so-so, to be honest, but it had a very realistic tone to it. I'm anxious to see how upcoming episodes play out before judging it now in early 2010. Thankfully, Timeless Video has offered us a DVD package set with all 117 episodes.
This is narration-style, like what was done in film noirs of the '40s and '50s, tough crime stories in the big city when the main cop narrates the story. This program - and I don't know if all that follows (116 more episodes) - almost reminded a big of Dragnet with the Joe Friday explaining the situation as it went along, many times the cops being frustrated over the difficulty of solving crimes.
That certainly happens here after a bank robber/murder in with a handful of people including a six-year-old boy are murdered. All anyone can remember about one of the escaped crooks is that he had a scalp wound and gold teeth.
That's what "Frank Ballinger" (Lee Marvin) and partner "Pete Grauman" (Bruce Gordon) have to go on, and it's not easy to track down in a big city like Chicago.
What I liked that struck me differently from other shows of the period was that most of this episode was shot outdoors using available light. Even in the police station, this did not look like it was set up with perfect lighting from a Hollywood set. It all added up to a more realistic-looking cop story.
This is my first look at this show in over 50 years. I don't have much in the way of memories of it except that Marvin was good in it. I hadn't recalled that Gordon was his partner. Maybe that was because this was his only episode! Bruce went on the play the famous villain and Al Capone associate "Frank Nitti" in The Untouchables.
This opening story is only so-so, to be honest, but it had a very realistic tone to it. I'm anxious to see how upcoming episodes play out before judging it now in early 2010. Thankfully, Timeless Video has offered us a DVD package set with all 117 episodes.