Man from Interpol is a 1960 television series produced by The Danzigers.The Man from Interpol at Danziger website The NBC series was filmed the United Kingdom,Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. . and the music was scored by jazz musician Tony Crombie.

Background

By early 1959, Danziger Productions were in their fourth year of Saber of London / The Vise at their own newly-built near the village of Elstree. This made it the only one of the Elstree Studios studio not built in Borehamwood.

The studio had begun developing an Interpol-themed follow-up in spring 1958. Kinematograph Weekly reported in April 1958 that "A New Danziger television series called Interpol started shooting at New Elstree last week with Denis Shaw in the lead," but noted complications as Julian Windle and Leslie Parkyn had "already acquired the world exclusive rights from Interpol to make a television series based on Interpol's activities, with scripts written around actual cases in the files at the organisation's Paris headquarters."

By October 1958 the series was shooting as Caesar Smith—Interpol Agent at New Elstree. Variety reported a "three-cornered legal tussle... over the use of 'Interpol' in the title," with Warwick Productions – the company helmed by Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli – instituting legal action against Danziger Productions and urging the Rank Organisation to drop its own project Interpol Calling. Warwick claimed copyright due to a feature film of that title still in commercial release. The Danziger Bros. had "already completed the first two in their series" at that point.

The order was for a batch of 39 half-hours called Caesar Smith-Interpol Agent. One early entry was released theatrically in the UK as a supporting feature, The Great Van Robbery (6,350 ft, U.A., 16 February 1959). The trade synopsis described "Caesar Smith, an Interpol detective from Scotland Yard" investigating a £150,000 Royal Mint van robbery, with Denis Shaw as "the shrewd and courageous Smith," produced by Edward J. and Harry Lee Danziger, directed by Max Varnel, story by Brian Clemens and Eldon Howard, and photography by Nick Roeg.

In June 1959 the project was re-launched as The Man from Interpol. Variety noted that Malcolm Arnold, who had written the theme for The Bridge on the River Kwai, had been signed to score The Man From Interpol vidpic series now in production at the new Elstree studios, with Richard Wyler, the American star, in the lead." The series was described as "an expansion of the idea from their Interpol Calling series which has now suspended production at Pinewood after the completion of the first 14 half-hours," the latter a Rank and Jack Wrather partnership. The Danziger version had already been sold to Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network but not yet offered to U.S. TV, while the "Mark Saber series [was] due to start its sixth year with Donald Gray continuing as the private eye." The Danzigers also had lined up The Cheaters and a colour series The Adventures of Ali Baba for UA-TV to follow.

The series was bought by Sterling Drug and ran on NBC, Saturdays at 10:30 p.m., from January 30, 1960, while they were still releasing new episodes of the Danziger's previous series Saber of London on Sundays on the same network.

After its first run ended on 22 October 1960, the series was shown as NBC's Detective's Diary, from 14 January 1961, with reruns of Saber of London ending on 7 January.Ross Reports - Television Index, Vol. 12 No. 48, Nov 28-Dec 4, 1960, Editor Jerry Leichter - "NBC- Man from Interpol (Sat, 10:30-11pm NYT) Last program was on Oct 22, 1960. Detective's Diary (Sat, 12:30-1pm NYT) Reruns of the Man from Interpol series, starring Richard Wyler as special agent Anthony Smith of Scotland Yard's Interpol Division, begin on the program, effective Jan 14. Reruns of Mark Saber, ended with the program of Jan 7."

Premise Anthony Smith, an agent based at Britain's Interpol Division at Scotland Yard, takes on international assignments dealing with murderers, drug smugglers and slave runners.

Cast Richard Wyler as Interpol Agent Anthony Smith John Longden as Superintendent Mercer John Serret as Inspector Gouthier / Inspector Frenay (French Police Chief) Peter Allenby as Ricardi, of the Italian Carabineri

Episodes No. Title Directed by Written by Original release date (NBC) Ref 1 "Nest of Vipers" Godfrey Grayson Brian Clemens January 30, 1960 2 "The Feathered Friend" Godfrey Grayson Brian Clemens February 6, 1960 3 "Soul Pedlars" Max Varnel George St. George February 13, 1960 4 "Odds on Murder" Godfrey Grayson Eldon Howard February 20, 1960 5 "The Key Witness" Godfrey Grayson Brian Clemens February 27, 1960 6 "Escape Route" Ernest Morris Stanley Miller March 5, 1960 7 "All the Dead Were Harrisons" Godfrey Grayson Mark Grantham March 12, 1960 8 "Love by Extortion" Montgomery Tully Brian Clemens March 19, 1960 9 "The Dollmaker" Robert Lynn Unknown March 26, 1960 10 "No Other Way" Ernest Morris Eldon Howard April 2, 1960 11 "The Trap" Godfrey Grayson Brian Clemens April 9, 1960 12 "The Man Who Sold Hope" Robert Lynn Brian Clemens April 16, 1960 13 "The Murder Racket" Godfrey Grayson Unknown April 23, 1960 14 "Death Via Parcel Post" Montgomery Tully Mark Grantham April 30, 1960 15 "Out of Thin Air" Montgomery Tully Brian Clemens May 7, 1960 16 "The Case of Mike Krello" Montgomery Tully Eldon Howard May 14, 1960 17 "Killer with a Long Arm" Montgomery Tully Brian Clemens May 21, 1960 18 "Murder in the Smart Set" Montgomery Tully Mark Grantham May 28, 1960 19 "The Front Man" Unknown Unknown June 4, 1960 20 "Murder Below Deck" Montgomery Tully Mark Grantham June 11, 1960 21 "International Diamond Incident" Montgomery Tully Unknown June 18, 1960 22 "The Last Words" Godfrey Grayson Brian Clemens June 25, 1960 23 "The Maharajah of Den" Peter Curran Eldon Howard July 2, 1960 24 "Diplomatic Courier" Montgomery Tully Howard Eldon July 9, 1960 25 "Inside Job" Godfrey Grayson Brian Clemens July 16, 1960 26 "A Woman in Paris" Montgomery Tully Eldon Howard July 23, 1960 27 "Mistaken Identity" Godfrey Grayson Brian Clemens July 30, 1960 28 "Man Alone" Max Varnel Brian Clemens August 6, 1960 29 "Missing Child" Max Varnel Eldon Howard August 13, 1960 30 "The Big Thirst" Godfrey Grayson Unknown August 20, 1960 31 "My Brother's Keeper" Godfrey Grayson Unknown August 27, 1960 32 "Death in Oils" Godfrey Grayson Mark Grantham September 3, 1960 33 "Multi-Murder" Godfrey Grayson Brian Clemens September 10, 1960 34 "Latest Fashions in Crime" Godfrey Grayson Unknown September 17, 1960 35 "The Art of Murder" Godfrey Grayson Unknown September 24, 1960 36 "The Child of Eve" Godfrey Grayson Unknown October 1, 1960 37 "Tight Secret" Godfrey Grayson Ken Taylor October 8, 1960 38 "The Big Racket" Godfrey Grayson Brian Clemens October 15, 1960 39 "The Golden Shiri" Montgomery Tully Mark Grantham October 22, 1960

Title sequence

In its original form, as seen in the episode "Killer with a Long Arm", the series title caption opens with a panning shot from the roof of Scotland Yard down to ground level, where Anthony Smith exits through Deans Gate and stands by the road. The camera zooms in on Smith as the words "Man", then "from", then "Interpol" are superimposed in sequence. As the shot moves closer, the credit "Starring Richard Wyler as Anthony Smith in" is superimposed, followed by the episode title.

In most prints currently in circulation, this sequence is truncated. The pan down Scotland Yard begins half-way down the building, the zoom-in occurs without the superimposed titles, and there is a sudden cut to the close-up as the episode title appears.

Broadcast and streaming

The series was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on the ITV network in September 1960, where it was listed in the Wednesday schedule for the ITA/ITV network. The series continued to appear on ITV regional schedules until 1969.

The series was repeated on the UK satellite channel Bravo between 1989 and 1996. Listings for at least 32 episodes have been located in the British Newspaper Archive.

In April 2025 Talking Pictures TV began a repeat run from the Danziger archive billed as a new series.

Episodes shown were:

29 April 2025 – The Feathered Friend 6 May 2025 – Odds on Murder 13 May 2025 – The Key Witness 20 May 2025 – All the Dead Were Harrisons 27 May 2025 – No Other Way 3 June 2025 – Killer with a Long Arm 10 June 2025 – Murder in the Smart Set 17 June 2025 – Mistaken Identity 24 June 2025 – A Man Alone

The episodes are made available on the channel's catch-up service TPTV Encore.TPTV Highlights PDFs passim

Home media

Germany

In June 2017 Pidax Film released the German-dubbed episodes as Der Mann von Interpol (Man from Interpol) [2 DVDs] Die weiße Taube / The Feathered Friend Der Kronzeuge / The Key Witness Die Trauminsel / Escape Route Ein tödliches Souvenir / The Dollmaker Goldregen / Out of Thin Air Auf falscher Fährte / Murder in the Smart Set Die letzten Worte / The Last Words Verbrechen an Bord / Murder Below Deck Die Safeknacker / Tight Secret Falsche Papiere / Mistaken Identity Der kleine Sohn des Botschafters / The Missing Child 20 Stangen Dynamit / Multi-Murder Das Vermächtnis / The Art of Murder

United Kingdom A four-episode compilation The Danziger Crime Series was released on DVD in the UK on 18 July 2016 containing two episodes of Saber of London and two episodes of Man from Interpol – Escape Route and The Big Racket sourced from recordings of Bravo screenings.

Reception According to BFI Screenonline "this uneasy attempt to graft a youthful hero (Wyler's boyish projection) on to a rugged crime-buster framework usually associated with more mature leading characters - Charles Korvin's Inspector Duval in the 1959–1960 series Interpol Calling (ITV), for instance – gave The Man from Interpol little more than an air of tired hysteria."The Danzigers at BFI Screenonline

References

External links The Man from Interpol at CTVA The Man from Interpol at IMDb