RARE CLASSIC DETECTIVE SERIES TO OWN-- YAY - Page 2

mousiegirl · ‎03-09-2010

@Oznell wrote:
Well, I was on the hunt specifically for classic, preferably midcentury (Fifties through Sixties, Seventies) U.S. TV detective shows, and hit pay dirt.

A lot of these are fairly obscure to me, mostly U.S., with a few Brits thrown in. Detectives, police, espionage. Love the fact that these fantastic actors, many of them from the movies, made these shows. Of course, many of the series had a limited run, say maybe 39 episodes, but to me that is plenty, if the production is good.

And look at the names:

Ralph Meeker-- "Not for Hire"

Richard Widmark-- "Madigan"

Beverly Garland-- "Decoy"

Mike Connors-- "Tightrope"

Glenn Ford-- "Cade's County

John Cassavetes-- "Johnny Staccato"

Brian Donleavy-- "Dangerous Assignment

Richard Carlson-- "I Led Three Lives"

Leslie Neilsen-- "The New Breed"

And on and on. Some of these are familiar, some I've never heard of. Not sure if the direct link would be permitted, but you can get to the site by googling:

TV's Greatest Detective Series, Thomas Film Classics

@Oznell I am familiar with this site and have bought many dvd sets, also on ebay, and the guy Thomas who sold his site Thomas Classics to a guy who has an ebay business, discovered him there, then discovered the Thomas Classics site which he bought, a few years later. I have Decoy, discovered it on youtube and liked what I viewed, so bought the complete series. I hadn't heard of most of these, but have heard of Burke's Law, a later tv series I believe than the others.

I don't know if I would like Johnny Staccato since John Cassavetes, married to Gena Rowlands, died of cirrhosis of the liver due to his drinking, was such a rotten guy in Rosemary's Baby, lol, love that movie, but he drove me nuts due to what he was doing to his wife, Mia Farrow.

I have heard of Madigan and Tightrope, but never have seen those. A few more that looked interesting to me are Man with a Camera, Public Defender, Peter Gunn, heard of Gunn, but not the rest, but saw them when I saw Decoy on youtube, a good way to find out if one likes them before buying, view a few episodes on youtube.

Oznell · ‎11-08-2014

Oh, that's a good idea, @mousiegirl. It didn't occur to me that some of them might be on youtube so could be checked out, prior to purchasing.

"Decoy" also interested me since I like Beverly Garland. Thanks for the tip!

Judaline · ‎03-10-2010

@Oznell wrote:
Well, I was on the hunt specifically for classic, preferably midcentury (Fifties through Sixties, Seventies) U.S. TV detective shows, and hit pay dirt.

A lot of these are fairly obscure to me, mostly U.S., with a few Brits thrown in. Detectives, police, espionage. Love the fact that these fantastic actors, many of them from the movies, made these shows. Of course, many of the series had a limited run, say maybe 39 episodes, but to me that is plenty, if the production is good.

And look at the names:

Ralph Meeker-- "Not for Hire"

Richard Widmark-- "Madigan"

Beverly Garland-- "Decoy"

Mike Connors-- "Tightrope"

Glenn Ford-- "Cade's County

John Cassavetes-- "Johnny Staccato"

Brian Donleavy-- "Dangerous Assignment

Richard Carlson-- "I Led Three Lives"

Leslie Neilsen-- "The New Breed"

And on and on. Some of these are familiar, some I've never heard of. Not sure if the direct link would be permitted, but you can get to the site by googling:

TV's Greatest Detective Series, Thomas Film Classics

I remember them all. Cassavetes was always good. He was very cool in the day. Herbert Philbrick (Richard Carlson) led 3 lives. Enjoyed it. How about Richard Diamond? (David Janssen). Mary Tyler Moore's legs were shown in each show-she was his secretary and that's all we ever saw. I think it was her claim to fame. Ralph Bellamy was in a really oldie-forgot the name but I'll think of it. I doubt very much it's available. He played Mike Barnett, Private Eye.

Oznell · ‎11-08-2014

@Judaline, I did notice that Ralph Bellamy had a series on that site-- but failed to note the title. So they might very well have that one.

Boy, Bellamy must have worked steadily in TV as well as movies and stage. At least as late as "The Invaders", he was still making guest appearances on series. An old pro!

mousiegirl · ‎03-09-2010

@Oznell wrote:
@Judaline, I did notice that Ralph Bellamy had a series on that site-- but failed to note the title. So they might very well have that one.

Boy, Bellamy must have worked steadily in TV as well as movies and stage. At least as late as "The Invaders", he was still making guest appearances on series. An old pro!

@Oznell He was in Rosemary's Baby also, some great actors, mostly older, in that movie.

Oznell · ‎11-08-2014

Oh, that's right, @mousiegirl. If I'm not mistaken, feisty Ruth Gordon was in that one too!

mousiegirl · ‎03-09-2010

@Oznell wrote:
Oh, that's right, @mousiegirl. If I'm not mistaken, feisty Ruth Gordon was in that one too!

@Oznell Yes, loved her. She brought the spark to the movie, a real character, lol.

stevieb · ‎03-10-2010

I seem to remember hearing of Madigan and The New Breed, the others are news to me... Don't think I've heard of any of them...

In my pantry with my cupcakes...

spiderw · ‎06-14-2010

I am familiar with a few of those mentioned shows. In fact I remember I Led Three Lives and still remember the name of the man the story was based on, Herb Philbrick!!!! I was very young but that show was on in our house . Carlson was also in many Sci Fi movies among them The Creature of the Black Lagoon and It Came from Out of Space, I think Barbara Rush was in that one too.

Thanks for the information on these rare series, Oznell.