The Detectives (1959 TV series)
The Detectives (also known as The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor and Robert Taylor's Detectives) is an American crime drama series which ran on ABC during its first two seasons (sponsored by Procter & Gamble), and on NBC during its third and final season. The series, starring motion picture star Robert Taylor, was produced by Four Star Television in association with Levy-Gardner-Laven Productions.[1]
| The Detectives | |
|---|---|
 Robert Taylor as Capt. Matt Holbrook and wife Ursula Thiess as Lisa Bonay in The Detectives | |
| Also known as | Robert Taylor's Detectives |
| Genre | Crime drama |
| Written by | Lee Berg Borden Chase Patricia Chase Calvin Clements Sr. Norman T. Herman Michael Morris Louis Pelletier Gene Roddenberry Alvin Sapinsley Palmer Thompson |
| Directed by | Lewis Allen Richard Carlson Thomas Carr Alvin Ganzer Murray Golden Arthur Hiller Arnold Laven Don McDougall Don Medford Ted Post Paul Wendkos |
| Starring | Robert Taylor Tige Andrews Russell Thorson Lee Farr Mark Goddard Adam West |
| Composer(s) | Herschel Burke Gilbert |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 97 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Levy-Gardner-Laven Arthur H. Nadel |
| Cinematography | Joseph F. Biroc Wilfred M. Cline |
| Editor(s) | Lyle Boyer Marsh Hendry |
| Running time | 25 minutes (1959–1961) 50 minutes (1961–1962) |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC (1959–1961) NBC (1961–1962) |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | October 16, 1959 – May 18, 1962 |
Synopsis
Taylor stars as Detective Captain Matt Holbrook, the tough, no-nonsense head of an elite police investigative unit in a major U.S. city. Ostensibly, each man in Holbrook's hand-picked squad of detectives came from a different division. Lt. Johnny Russo (Tige Andrews) was from burglary, Lt. Jim Conway (Lee Farr) came from Homicide and Lt. Otto Lindstrom (Russell Thorson) was from the Bunco Squad.[2]
Production
In the series' second season, Farr left the series and was replaced by Mark Goddard as Detective Sgt. Chris Ballard. Future Batman star Adam West joined the cast during the third season as Sgt. Steve Nelson. The series moved to NBC for its third season and was increased from thirty to sixty minutes. The series was also retitled to Robert Taylor's Detectives. A total of 97 episodes were produced before the series was canceled in 1962.[3] The series was produced for Four Star by Levy-Gardner-Laven Productions, which produced other successful Four Star series, such as The Rifleman, and The Big Valley.
Future Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry was a contributing writer to the series.
Cast
- Robert Taylor as Det. Capt. Matt Holbrook
- Tige Andrews as Lt. John "Johnny" Russo
- Russell Thorson as Lt. Otto Lindstrom (1959-1961)
- Lee Farr as Lt. James "Jimmy" Conway (1959-1960)
- Mark Goddard as Sgt. Chris Ballard (1960-1962)
- Ursula Thiess as Lisa Bonay (1960-1961)
- Adam West as Sgt. Steve Nelson (1961-1962)
Guest stars
Episodes
Season 1: 1959–60
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Streger Affair" | Arnold Laven | Palmer Thompson | October 16, 1959 |
| 2 | 2 | "Shot in the Dark" | Arnold Laven | Christopher Knopf | October 23, 1959 |
| 3 | 3 | "The Hiding Place" | Joseph H. Lewis | Donald S. Sanford | October 30, 1959 |
| 4 | 4 | "Decoy" | James Neilson | Louis Pelletier | November 6, 1959 |
| 5 | 5 | "The Murderous Deadline" | Don Medford | Palmer Thompson | November 13, 1959 |
| 6 | 6 | "The Bait" | Don Medford | Leonard Freeman | November 20, 1959 |
| 7 | 7 | "My Name is Tommy" | Joseph H. Lewis | Peter Packer | November 27, 1959 |
| 8 | 8 | "Back-Seat Driver" | Arnold Laven | Meyer Dolinsky | December 4, 1959 |
| 9 | 9 | "Two-Time Loser" | Don Medford | Robert J. Shaw | December 11, 1959 |
| 10 | 10 | "The Long Drive" | Don Medford | Stanley Niss | December 18, 1959 |
| 11 | 11 | "Masquerade" | Stuart Rosenberg | Richard Collins | December 25, 1959 |
| 12 | 12 | "Life in the Balance" | Don Medford | Joseph Stefano | January 1, 1960 |
| 13 | 13 | "Karate" | Ted Post | Gene Roddenberry | January 8, 1960 |
| 14 | 14 | "Blue Fire" | Don Medford | Gene Roddenberry | January 15, 1960 |
| 15 | 15 | "My Brother's Keeper" | Don Medford | Herbert Abbott Spiro | January 22, 1960 |
| 16 | 16 | "House Call" | Arnold Laven | Peter Parker | January 29, 1960 |
| 17 | 17 | "The Trap" | Don Medford | Herbert Abbott Spiro | February 5, 1960 |
| 18 | 18 | "Conspiracy of Silence" | Stuart Rosenberg | Peter Packer | February 12, 1960 |
| 19 | 19 | "Twelve Hours to Live" | Arthur Hiller | Peter Packer | February 19, 1960 |
| 20 | 20 | "Anatomy of Fear" | Don Medford | Joseph Petracca | February 26, 1960 |
| 21 | 21 | "Armed and Dangerous" | William Graham | Louis Pelletier | March 4, 1960 |
| 22 | 22 | "The Bad Eye of Rosa Rosetti" | Don Medford | Joseph Stefano | March 11, 1960 |
| 23 | 23 | "Time and Tide" | Harry Keller | David Harmon | March 18, 1960 |
| 24 | 24 | "Little Girl Lost" | Don Medford | Calvin J. Clements | March 25, 1960 |
| 25 | 25 | "The Chameleon Truck" | Robert B. Sinclair | Robert B. Sinclair | April 1, 1960 |
| 26 | 26 | "The Old Gang" | Ted Post | Curtis Kenyon | April 8, 1960 |
Season 2: 1960–61
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | 1 | "The New Man" | Don Medford | Lee Karson | September 16, 1960 |
| 35 | 2 | "Longshot" | John Rich | Borden & Patricia Chase | September 23, 1960 |
| 36 | 3 | "The Sports Job" | Arnold Laven | Harry Kronman | September 30, 1960 |
| 37 | 4 | "Alibis" | Alvin Ganzer | Michael Morris | October 7, 1960 |
| 38 | 5 | "Shuttle" | Alvin Ganzer | Peter Packer | October 14, 1960 |
| 39 | 6 | "Cop on Trial" | Roger Kay | Borden & Patricia Chase | November 4, 1960 |
| 40 | 7 | "The Little Witness" | Arthur Hiller | Lee Berg | November 11, 1960 |
| 41 | 8 | "You Only Die Once" | Arthur Hiller | David Harmon | November 18, 1960 |
| 42 | 9 | "Adopted" | Ted Post | Teleplay by: Harry Kronman & Erna Lazarus Story by: Erna Lazarus | November 25, 1960 |
| 43 | 10 | "The Other Side" | Paul Wendkos | Borden & Patricia Chase | December 2, 1960 |
| 44 | 11 | "The Scalpel" | John Rich | Palmer Thompson | December 9, 1960 |
| 45 | 12 | "Big Poison" | Gerald Mayer | Ellis Marcus | December 16, 1960 |
| 46 | 13 | "The Informer" | William F. Claxton | Henry Greenberg | December 23, 1960 |
| 47 | 14 | "Razor's Edge" | Paul Wendkos | Lawrence Dobkin | December 30, 1960 |
| 48 | 15 | "The Frightened Ones" | Lamont Johnson | Gordon Gordon & Mildred Gordon | January 6, 1961 |
| 49 | 16 | "Power Failure" | Lewis Allen | Laurence Mascott | January 13, 1961 |
| 50 | 17 | "Kinfolk" | Don Weis | Jay Simms | January 20, 1961 |
| 51 | 18 | "Quiet Night" | Dick Moder | George Bruce | January 27, 1961 |
| 52 | 19 | "See No Evil" | Tom Gries | John K. Butler & Boyd Correll | February 3, 1961 |
| 53 | 20 | "Personal Enemy" | Robert Butler | A. I. Bezzerides | February 10, 1961 |
| 54 | 21 | "Matt's Woman" | Lewis Allen | Teleplay by: Donn Mullally & Harry Kronman Story by: Donn Mullally | February 17, 1961 |
| 55 | 22 | "An Eye for an Eye" | James Clavell | Mort Thaw | February 24, 1961 |
| 56 | 23 | "Bad Apple" | Paul Wendkos | Howard Dimsdale | March 3, 1961 |
Season 3: 1961–62
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date US |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 68 | 1 | "Tobey's Place" | Paul Wendkos | Michael Morris | September 29, 1961 |
| 69 | 2 | "The Legend of Jim Riva" | Richard Carlson | Teleplay by: John K. Butler & Boyd Correll Story by: Arthur Browne Jr. | October 6, 1961 |
| 70 | 3 | "Shadow of His Brother" | Richard Carlson | Palmer Thompson | October 13, 1961 |
| 71 | 4 | "A Barrell Full of Monkeys" | Robert Butler | Calvin Clements Sr. | October 27, 1961 |
| 72 | 5 | "One Lucky Break" | Thomas Carr | Alvin Sapinsley | November 3, 1961 |
| 73 | 6 | "A Piece of Tomorrow" | Walter Doniger | Lee Berg | November 10, 1961 |
| 74 | 7 | "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" | Alvin Ganzer | Herman Groves | November 17, 1961 |
| 75 | 8 | "Hit and Miss" | Richard Carlson | Louis Pelletier | December 1, 1961 |
| 76 | 9 | "Song of the Guilty Heart" | Ted Post | Michael Morris | December 8, 1961 |
| 77 | 10 | "Escort" | Richard Carlson | Ed Adamson | December 15, 1961 |
| 78 | 11 | "The Queen of Craven Point" | Thomas Carr | Calvin Clements Sr. | December 22, 1961 |
| 79 | 12 | "Act of God" | Paul Wendkos | Jack Laird | December 29, 1961 |
| 80 | 13 | "Point of No Return" | Charles F. Haas | Calvin Clements Sr. | January 12, 1962 |
| 81 | 14 | "Crossed Wires" | Richard Carlson | Antony Ellis | January 19, 1962 |
| 82 | 15 | "Night on the Town" | Robert Butler | Elliot West | January 26, 1962 |
| 83 | 16 | "Pandora's Box" | Paul Wendkos | Calvin Clements Sr. | February 2, 1962 |
| 84 | 17 | "The Jagged Edge" | Alvin Ganzer | A.I. Bezzerides | February 9, 1962 |
| 85 | 18 | "The Outsider" | Thomas Carr | Barry Trivers | February 16, 1962 |
| 86 | 19 | "Walk a Crooked Line" | Lewis Allen | Clark Howat | February 23, 1962 |
| 87 | 20 | "Night Boat" | Arthur Hiller | Calvin Clements Sr. | March 2, 1962 |
| 88 | 21 | "One Lousy Wednesday" | Lewis Allen | Alvin Sapinsley | March 9, 1962 |
| 89 | 22 | "The Con Man" | Paul Wendkos | Lewis Reed | March 16, 1962 |
| 90 | 23 | "Never The Twain" | Richard Donner | Calvin Clements Sr. | March 23, 1962 |
| 91 | 24 | "Three Blind Mice: Part 1" | Paul Wendkos | Alvin Sapinsley | March 30, 1962 |
| 92 | 25 | "Three Blind Mice: Part 2" | Paul Wendkos | Alvin Sapinsley | April 6, 1962 |
| 93 | 26 | "Finders Keepers" | Paul Wendkos | Don Brinkley | April 13, 1962 |
| 94 | 27 | "The Fourth Commandment" | Lawrence Dobkin | Lee Berg | April 20, 1962 |
| 95 | 28 | "The Walls Have Eyes" | Alvin Ganzer | Gordon Gordon, Mildred Gordon, & Anthony Boucher | April 27, 1962 |
| 96 | 29 | "Strangers in the House" | Tom Gries | Peter Stephens | May 4, 1962 |
| 97 | 30 | "Saturday Edition" | Robert Butler | Sy Salkowitz | May 18, 1962 |
Paperback Novel
Prolific pulpsmith Norman Daniels was tapped by Lancer Books to write an original novel based on the series' concept and characters, and the book, named for the series, was released in 1962, with a cover price of 35¢, its copyright assigned to the author. It manages to sport all three iterations of the title: The cover, beneath a close-up photo of the star's eyes, says Robert Taylor starring in The Detectives; the spine says merely The Detectives and then cites the author; the title page proclaims Robert Taylor's Detectives.
Comic book
Dell Comics issued a comic book rendition of Robert Taylor's "The Detectives" during the series run .[4][5][6]
Related
A few years after The Detectives ended, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Taylor's ex-wife, had her very own successful series also produced by Four Star/Levy-Gardner-Laven Productions, The Big Valley, which also aired on ABC.
Several cast members on The Detectives went on to major TV roles after the series ended:
- Robert Taylor, series star of The Detectives, who played Det.Capt. Matt Holbrook, went on to star in the successful syndicated TV series Death Valley Days, where he remained until his death in 1969. He had enjoyed a long and successful film career as a leading man in over 70 films- prior to starring in The Detectives.
- Adam West, who was added to the cast in The Detectives' final season as Det. Steve Nelson, went on to play the lead role in the ABC series Batman.
- Tige Andrews, who played Det. Johnny Russo, went on to play as Police Detective Captain Adam Greer in ABC's The Mod Squad. He also appeared in the original Star Trek as Klingon officer Kras in the episode "Friday's Child".
- Mark Goddard, who played Det. Chris Ballard, went on to star in the CBS sci-fi series Lost In Space. Prior to the Detectives, Goddard co-starred in the popular (but cancelled after one season), CBS-TV series,Johnny Ringo, also produced by Four Star.
- Russell Thorson, who played Det. Otto Lindstrom, had a long list of film and T.V. credits before and after The Detectives, including the T.V. movie "Cocoon"[7][8][9] - the original pilot episode of the CBS series, Hawaii Five-O starring Jack Lord.
Syndication
In syndication, the series was rebroadcast for a time under the name, Captain of Detectives. Rebroadcasts were shown in the early 2000s on cable's TV Land network.
Home media
The Detectives has been released in Germany (in dubbed German language only) under the name "Kein Fall für FBI" As of 2019, there has been no official release of Robert Taylor's "The Detectives" on DVD in the U.S.
References
- Brown, Les (1992). Les Brown's Encyclopedia of Television (3 ed.). Gale Research. pp. 152. ISBN 0-8103-8871-5.
- https://www.tvtime.com/en/show/77778
- Wayne, Jane Ellen (2006). The Leading Men of MGM. Carroll & Graf Publishers. pp. 187–188. ISBN 0-7867-1768-8.
- "four-color-series-ii-issue-1168". ComicBookRealm.com.
- "four-color-series-ii-issue-1219". ComicBookRealm.com.
- "four-color-series-ii-issue-1240". ComicBookRealm.com.
- "Pilot". 20 September 1968 – via www.imdb.com.
- "Cocoon: Part 1". 4 June 1969 – via www.imdb.com.
- "Cocoon: Part 2". 11 June 1969 – via www.imdb.com.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Detectives (1959 TV series). |
- The Detectives on IMDb
- The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor at TV.com
- The Detectives starring Robert Taylor - Series Info and Episode Guide
- Amazon Customer Discussions- The Detectives-Starring Robert Taylor
- The Detectives opening sequence (with syndicated name/logo "Captain Of Detectives"- YouTube
- The Detectives closing sequence as originally broadcast - YouTube
- The Shuttle The Detectives complete season 2 episode
- Terror on Ice The Detectives: with Robert Taylor, Russell Thorson, Tige Andrews, and Mark Goddard
- Audio Narrative of The Detectives