Checkmate (TV series)
| Checkmate | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Detective/Mystery |
| Created by | Eric Ambler |
| Directed by | Frank Arrigo Jules Bricken Herschel Daugherty Walter Doniger Robert Florey William A. Graham Tom Gries Douglas Heyes James Wong Howe Robert Ellis Miller Alexander Singer Don Taylor Don Weis |
| Starring | Anthony George Sebastian Cabot Doug McClure |
| Theme music composer | John Williams |
| Composer(s) | Marty Paich Pete Rugolo Morton Stevens John Williams Stanley Wilson |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 70 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Richard Berg Herbert Coleman Joseph T. Naar |
| Editor(s) | Howard Epstein Lee Huntington Tony Martinelli |
| Cinematography | Joseph F. Biroc Dale Deverman Ray Flin Lionel Lindon Fred Mandl John L. Russell Bud Thackery John F. Warren |
| Running time | 60 mins. |
| Production company(s) | JaMco Productions |
| Distributor | MCA Television |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original run | September 17, 1960 – September 1, 1962 |
Checkmate is an American detective television series starring Anthony George, Sebastian Cabot, and Doug McClure. The show aired on CBS Television from 1960 to 1962 for a total of 70 episodes and was produced by Jack Benny's production company, "JaMco Productions" in co-operation with Revue Studios.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
The series chronicled the adventures of a private detective agency set in San Francisco. Created by Eric Ambler, the program involves the cases of the detective agency CHECKMATE INC. Anthony George and Doug McClure run the agency which specializes in preventing crimes before they happen from George's (Corey's) stylish apartment, supposedly at 3330 Union St. Sebastian Cabot portrays a PhD college professor whom they employ as an adviser. Dr. Hyatt's dacshund Bismarck also appears occasionally. Ken Lynch is frequently seen as police dept. contact Lt. Thomas Brand. The atmospheric series ran for seventy episodes over two seasons and was an enormous critical favorite because of the intelligence of the scripts and the superb performances. Many exterior scenes were shot in San Francisco.
Gold Key Comics published a short-lived (2 issues) comic book based on the series in 1962.
[edit] Distribution
The series was also seen in Canada from 1961 on CTV during that network's initial season.[1]
[edit] Cast
- Sebastian Cabot....Dr. Carl Hyatt
- Anthony George....Don Corey
- Doug McClure....Jed Sills
- Ken Lynch....Lt. Thomas Brand
- Jack Betts....Chris Devlin
[edit] Notable guest stars
- Anna Maria Alberghetti "Runaway" (1960)
- Dana Andrews "Trial by Midnight" (1962)
- Eve Arden "Death by Design" (1961)
- John Astin "The Yacht Club Gang" (1962), "So Beats My Plastic Heart" (1962)
- Anne Baxter "Death Runs Wild" (1960)
- Ralph Bellamy "Portrait of a Man Running" (1961)
- Jack Benny "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Game" (1962)
- Charles Bickford "Target Tycoon"(1960)
- Bill Bixby "To the Best of My Recollection" (1961)
- Lloyd Bridges "The Two of Us" (1961)
- Ellen Burstyn "The Bold and the Tough" (1962)
- Cyd Charisse "Dance of Death" (1961)
- Sid Caesar "Kill the Sound" (1961)
- James Coburn "A Chant of Silence" (1962)
- Richard Conte "Moment of Truth" (1960), "An Assassin Arrives Andante" (1962)
- Russ Conway
- Joseph Cotten "Face in the Window" (1960)
- Norma Crane "Hour of Execution" (1961)
- Francis De Sales
- Angie Dickinson "Remembrances of Crimes Past" (1962)
- Donna Douglas "The Deadly Silence" (1961)
- Buddy Ebsen "Side by Side" (1962)
- Norman Fell
- Joan Fontaine "Voyage into Fear" (1961)
- Ron Foster
- Beverly Garland "Between Two Guns" (1961)
- James Gregory "Hour of Execution" (1961)
- Peter Helm
- Celeste Holm "So Beats My Plastic Heart" (1962)
- James Hong "In a Foreign Quarter" (1962)
- Jeffrey Hunter "Waiting for Jocko" (1961)
- David Janssen "Ride a Wild Horse" (1962)
- Martin Landau "Moment of Truth" (1960), "Hot Wind in a Cold Town" (1961)
- Charles Laughton "Terror from the East" (1961)
- Cloris Leachman "The Mask of Vengeance" (1960)
- Julie London "Goodbye, Griff" (1961)
- Jack Lord "The Star System" (1962)
- Peter Lorre "The Human Touch" (1961)
- Tina Louise "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Game" (1962)
- Dorothy Malone "The Heat of Passion" (1961)
- Scott Marlowe "Brooding Fixation" (1962)
- Lee Marvin "Jungle Castle" (1961)
- Tyler McVey
- Vera Miles "The Crimson Pool" (1961)
- Ricardo Montalbán "Hot Wind in a Cold Town" (1961)
- Elizabeth Montgomery "The Star System" (1962)
- Mary Tyler Moore "Lady on the Brink" (1960)
- Patricia Neal "The Yacht Club Gang" (1962)
- Margaret O'Brien "Deadly Shadow" (1960)
- Dan O'Herlihy "Referendum on Murder" (1962)
- Susan Oliver "The Thrill Seeker" (1961)
- Eleanor Parker "The Renaissance of Gussie Hill" (1962)
- Walter Pidgeon "Death Beyond Recall" (1962)
- Tony Randall "The Button Down Break" (1961)
- Madlyn Rhue "Target Tycoon" (1960)
- Jimmie Rodgers
- Mickey Rooney "The Paper Killer" (1961)
- Janice Rule
- Barbara Rush "The Dark Divide" (1960)
- George Sanders "The Sound of Nervous Laughter" (1962)
- Dan Sheridan
- Dean Stockwell "Cyanide Touch" (1960)
- Robert Vaughn "Interrupted Honeymoon" (1960)
- James Whitmore "Nice Guys Finish Last" (1961)
- John Williams (actor)
- William Windom "Through a Dark Glass" (1961)
- Jane Wyman "Lady on the Brink" (1960)
- Keenan Wynn "A Slight Touch of Venom" (1961)
[edit] DVD releases
Timeless Media Group has released two best-of collections on DVD in Region 1. Checkmate: The Best of Season 1[2] was released on October 30, 2009 and Checkmate: The Best of Season 2 was released on March 25, 2008.[3]
Timeless Media Group released Checkmate: The Complete Series on 14 DVDs on June 22, 2010 (Region 1).http://www.timelessvideo.com/dvds/checkmate14dvd.html
[edit] References
- ^ Braithwaite, Dennis (2 October 1961). "Filmed Accolades Put Private TV Network on the Air". Globe and Mail. p. 4..
- ^ http://www.timelessvideo.com/dvds/checkmate.html
- ^ http://www.timelessvideo.com/dvds/checkmate2.html
