Checkmate (American TV series)

Checkmate
Sebastian Cabot, Carolyn Craig, and Doug McClure (1962)
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
Composers	Marty Paich Pete Rugolo Morton Stevens John Williams Stanley Wilson
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	70
Production
Producers	Richard Berg Herbert Coleman Joseph T. Naar
Cinematography	Joseph F. Biroc Dale Deverman Ray Flin Lionel Lindon Fred Mandl John L. Russell Bud Thackery John F. Warren
Editors	Howard Epstein Lee Huntington Tony Martinelli
Running time	60 mins.
Production companies	JaMco Productions Revue Studios
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	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. Guest stars included Charles Laughton, Peter Lorre, Lee Marvin, Mickey Rooney and many other prominent performers.

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 called Checkmate, Inc. Don Corey and Jed Sills run the agency, which specializes in preventing crimes before they happen, from Corey's stylish apartment, supposedly at 3330 Union St. Sebastian Cabot portrays a Ph.D. college professor whom they employ as an adviser. Dr. Hyatt's dachshund Bismarck also appears occasionally. Ken Lynch is frequently seen as police dept. contact Lt. Thomas Brand.

The series was a critical favorite. Many exterior scenes were shot in San Francisco. In 1961 John J. Lloyd won the show's sole Emmy nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction and Scenic Design. The icon for this series is swirling liquid shapes at the opening and closing of each episode with theme music.

In 1962, Gold Key Comics published a short-lived (2 issues) comic book based on the series.

Broadcast History

The series aired on CBS on Saturday in the 8:30-9:30 PM time slot from its début on September 17, 1960 until June 24, 1961. The series was a hit that season, finishing at #21 among all series. It was then reprogrammed to Wednesday in the same time slot from October 4, 1961 to June 20, 1962, where it fell opposite The Perry Como Show on NBC. CBS replaced it with The Beverly Hillbillies.

Distribution

The series was also seen in Canada from 1961 on CTV during that network's initial season.

Cast

• Anthony George....Don Corey
• Sebastian Cabot....Dr. Carl Hyatt
• Doug McClure....Jed Sills
• Ken Lynch....Lt. Thomas Brand
• Jack Betts....Chris Devlin

Notable guest stars

• Philip Abbott "Trial by Midnight" (1961)
• 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)
• Scott Brady "Voyage into Fear" (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 "The Star System" (1962)
• Joseph Cotten "Face in the Window" (1960)
• Norma Crane "Hour of Execution" (1961)
• John Dehner "The Heat of Passion" (1961)
• Francis De Sales "To the Best of My Recollection" (1961)
• Angie Dickinson "Remembrances of Crimes Past" (1962)
• Donna Douglas "The Deadly Silence" (1961)
• Buddy Ebsen "Side by Side" (1962)
• Norman Fell "Hot Wind in a Cold Town" (1961)
• Joan Fontaine "Voyage into Fear" (1961)
• Ron Foster "The Mask of Vengeance" (1960)
• Beverly Garland "Between Two Guns" (1961)
• James Gregory "Hour of Execution" (1961)
• Peter Helm "Rendezvous in Washington" (1960)
• Celeste Holm "So Beats My Plastic Heart" (1962)
• James Hong "In a Foreign Quarter" (1962)
• Clegg Hoyt "The Deadly Silence" (1961)
• Jeffrey Hunter "Waiting for Jocko" (1961)
• David Janssen in "Ride a Wild Horse" (1962)
• Wright King as Jim Barker in "Portrait of a Man Running" (1961)
• 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)
• Eve McVeagh "A Very Rough Sketch" (1962)
• Tyler McVey "Deadly Shadow" (1960), "To the Best of My Recollection" (1961), and "Side by Side" (1962)
• 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)
• Stuart Randall "The Cyanide Touch" (1960)
• Tony Randall "The Button Down Break" (1961)
• Madlyn Rhue "Target Tycoon" (1960)
• Jimmie Rodgers "Melody for Murder" (1961)
• Mickey Rooney "The Paper Killer" (1961)
• Janice Rule "The Mask of Vengeance" (1960)
• Barbara Rush "The Dark Divide" (1960)
• George Sanders "The Sound of Nervous Laughter" (1962)
• Dan Sheridan "A Very Rough Sketch" (1962)
• Dean Stockwell "Cyanide Touch" (1960)
• Olive Sturgess "Brooding Fixation" (1962)
• Robert Vaughn "Interrupted Honeymoon" (1960)
• James Whitmore "Nice Guys Finish Last" (1961)
• Elen Willard "Laugh Till I Die" (1961)
• John Williams "The Murder Game" (1960)
• William Windom "Through a Dark Glass" (1961)
• Jane Wyman "Lady on the Brink" (1960)
• Keenan Wynn "A Slight Touch of Venom" (1961)

DVD releases

Timeless Media Group has released two "Best of..." collections on DVD in Region 1. Checkmate: The Best of Season 1 was released on October 30, 2009 and Checkmate: The Best of Season 2 was released on March 25, 2008.

Timeless Media Group released Checkmate: The Complete Series on 14 DVDs on June 22, 2010 (Region 1).https://web.archive.org/web/20101129001609/http://timelessvideo.com/dvds/checkmate14dvd.html

External links

• Checkmate at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show
• Checkmate at epguides.com
• A.V. Club article on Checkmate episode "The Paper Killer"