ITC Entertainment Distributions
Man in a Suitcase
British DVD release
Format	Action Adventure
Run time	50 min.
Creator(s)	Dennis Spooner
Starring	Richard Bradford
Country	UK
Network	ATV
Original run	September 27, 1967 – April 17, 1968
No. of episodes	30
Production Company	ITC Entertainment

Man in a Suitcase was a 1967 television series produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment. Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Dennis Spooner (born 1 December 1932 in Tottenham London; died 20 September 1986) was a British television scriptwriter, known for his ability to write to order if necessary, who created the classic British television series Man in a Suitcase, The Champions and The Adventurer, as well as writing for others... Richard Bradford (born November 10, 1937) is known for his lead role as former CIA agent turned private eye McGill in the British TV adventure series Man in a Suitcase, made by ITC in 1967. ... The ATV colour logo, used from the start of the colour standard in 1969 until the companys demise in 1981. ... is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... is the 107th day of the year (108th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the 1968 Gregorian calendar. ... The ITC Entertainment logo The Incorporated Television Company (ITC) was founded by television mogul Lew Grade in 1954. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Lew Grade, Baron Grade (birth name Louis Winogradsky) (December 25, 1906 - December 13, 1998) was an influential showbusiness impresario and television company executive in the United Kingdom. ... The ITC Entertainment logo The Incorporated Television Company (ITC) was founded by television mogul Lew Grade in 1954. ...

Repeats of the show can now be seen on ITV4. ITV4 is a UK television station which launched on November 1, 2005. ...

Origins and Overview

Man in a Suitcase was effectively a replacement for Danger Man, whose production had been curtailed when its star Patrick McGoohan 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. This article is about the 1960s TV series which was also known as Secret Agent and shouldnt be confused with the 1990s television series Secret Agent Man. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Prisoner is a 1967 UK allegorical science fiction television series, starring Patrick McGoohan. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Richard Bradford (born November 10, 1937) is known for his lead role as former CIA agent turned private eye McGill in the British TV adventure series Man in a Suitcase, made by ITC in 1967. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Marlon Brando, Jr. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ... The Chase is a 1966 American, drama film directed by Arthur Penn who afterwards went on to direct Bonnie and Clyde (1967). ... Dennis Spooner (born 1 December 1932 in Tottenham London; died 20 September 1986) was a British television scriptwriter, known for his ability to write to order if necessary, who created the classic British television series Man in a Suitcase, The Champions and The Adventurer, as well as writing for others... Alexandra Bastedo, Stuart Damon, and William Gaunt as The Champions. ...

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.) Intelligence (abbreviated or ) is the process and the result of gathering information and analyzing it to answer questions or obtain advance warnings needed to plan for the future. ... Traitor redirects here. ... A private investigator, or PI, is a person who undertakes investigations. ... A bounty hunter is an individual who seeks out fugitives (hunting) for a monetary reward (bounty), for apprehending by law, if such laws exist. ... A typical suitcase A suitcase is a narrow box-shaped bag, usually made of cloth or vinyl that more or less keeps its shape, has a handle at one end and is used mainly for transporting clothes and other possessions during trips. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ...

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 theme music of a radio or television program is a melody closely associated with the show, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits. ... Ron Grainer (August 11, 1922 - February 21, 1981) was an Australian-born composer who worked for most of his professional career in the United Kingdom. ... Chris Evans (born April 1, 1966, in Warrington, England) is an English celebrity. ... TFI Friday was a light entertainment show, produced by Ginger Productions, and hosted by Chris Evans and broadcast on Fridays at 6pm on Channel 4 from 1996 to 2000, with a repeat later that night. ...

Story and Style

In the first episode, 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. A defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. ... The Scapegoat by William Holman Hunt, 1854. ...

Building on this foundation, Man in a Suitcase was a series very much about betrayal, mistrust and deceit. Because of his unofficial, semi-legal status, McGill often found himself being hired by unscrupulous clients and unwittingly used for criminal ends, or set up as a fall guy. On several occasions, characters from his past with US Intelligence drew him into dangerous situations; and he could also be blackmailed or tricked into participating in espionage missions, as he was the perfect deniable operative. A number of the series writers were new to ITC, and this resulted in a show that was markedly different to the usual light-hearted adventure and espionage fantasy of such series. It highlighted character-based drama grounded in a cynical view of the real world, making it more akin to the spy novels of John Le Carré and Len Deighton. A fall guy is a scapegoat, a person who takes the blame for someone elses actions, or someone at the butt of jokes. ... Spy and Secret agent redirect here. ... John le Carré is the pseudonym of David John Moore Cornwell (born October 19, 1931 in Poole, Dorset, England), an English writer of espionage novels. ... Len Deighton (left) teaches Michael Caine how to break an egg on the set of The IPCRESS File. ...

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.

One gimmick of the show is that McGill's first name is never revealed, though some close friends know him as "Mac". A gimmick is a unique or quirky special feature that makes something stand out from its contemporaries. ... Look up Appendix:Most popular given names by country in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Cast

Richard Bradford is the only regular actor in the series. Guest stars include some ITC stalwarts such as Stuart Damon, Jane Merrow, Basil Dignam, Ed Bishop, Anton Rodgers, George Sewell, Philip Madoc and John Gregson; and such actors as Barbara Shelley, Rodney Bewes, Felicity Kendal, Rupert Davies, Colin Blakely, Ray McAnally, Bernard Lee, Jacqueline Pearce and Donald Sutherland. Richard Bradford (born November 10, 1937) is known for his lead role as former CIA agent turned private eye McGill in the British TV adventure series Man in a Suitcase, made by ITC in 1967. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Jane Merrow (born 1941) was a British actress born in London who was active in the 1960s and 1970s in England and the US. Her most notable role was as Alais, the mistress of Henry II (played by Peter OToole in The Lion in Winter (1968). ... Basil Dignam (b. ... Ed Bishop (1932-2005), as he appeared in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey (where he played the Captain of the Aries 1B space-station-to-moon shuttle, in a role which first featured dialogue: the dialogue was later cut from his scenes). ... Anton Rodgers (born 10 January 1933, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire) is a British actor. ... George Sewell (31 August 1924 — 1 April 2007), was an English actor, the son of a florist family in Tottenham, London. ... Philip Madoc (born 5 July 1934 in Merthyr Tydfil) is a British actor who has had many television and film roles. ... John Gregson (15 March 1919 - 8 January 1975) was a British actor. ... Barbara Shelley (born August 15, 1933) is a British film and television actor She is now retired, but was at her busiest in the late 1950s (Blood of the Vampire) and 1960s when she became Hammer Horrors number one female star, with The Gorgon (1964), Dracula, Prince of Darkness... Rodney Bewes (born 27 November 1938 born in Bingley, West Yorkshire) is a British TV actor probably best known for playing the lovable Bob Ferris in the classic BBC sitcoms The Likely Lads and Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? Bewes was RADA trained and got his break in the... Felicity Kendal in The Good Life. ... This article is about the British actor. ... Colin Blakely (September 23, 1930 - May 7, 1987) was a British character actor. ... Ray McAnally (March 30, 1926 – June 15, 1989) was an Irish actor famous for his performances in films such as The Mission, My Left Foot, and A Very British Coup. ... Bernard Lee as M in The Man with the Golden Gun Bernard Lee (January 10, 1908 – January 16, 1981) was a British actor, best known for his role as M in the first eleven James Bond films. ... Jacqueline Pearce (born 20 December 1943 in Byfleet, England) is an actress. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Episodes

1. Man from the Dead
2. All That Glitters
3. Sweet Sue
4. The Bridge
5. Find the Lady
6. Brainwash
7. The Girl Who Never Was
8. Variation on a Million Bucks part one
9. Variation on a Million Bucks part two
10. Day of Execution
11. Web With Four Spiders
12. Blind Spot
13. The Boston Square
14. Jigsaw Man
15. The Sitting Pigeon
16. The Man Who Stood Still
17. Somebody Loses Somebody... Wins?
18. Dead Man's Shoes
19. The Whisper
20. Essay in Evil
21. Why They Killed Nolan
22. Burden of Proof
23. Who's Mad Now?
24. Property of a Gentleman
25. No Friend of Mine
26. Which Way Did He Go, McGill?
27. The Revolutionaries
28. Three Blinks of the Eyes
29. Castle in the Clouds
30. Night Flight to Andorra

The two part story Variation on a Million Bucks was edited into a feature film for theatrical release in Europe, entitled To Chase a Million. A reel of film, which predates digital cinematography. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ...

DVD

The entire series has been released on DVD - in Britain as a digitally re-mastered box set by Network Video. Prior to this, Carlton Video had released a single disc with the first two episodes. The series is also available in Australia from Umbrella Entertainment in a superb box set and offers a superior print to the other releases. DVD (Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ...

External links

http://maninasuitcase.mysite.orange.co.uk/

• Man in a Suitcase at the Internet Movie Database
• Cast lists for each episode
• Man in a Suitcase: title sequence at YouTube
• Man in a Suitcase: fansite with episode guide and background information

• British Film Institute Screen Online