Overview
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Release Date:
20 September 1957 (USA)
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Plot:
The hard-hitting adventures of tough Lieutenant Frank Ballinger, a member of the Chicago Police Department's M Squad, an elite crime-fighting unit.
full summary
Awards:
1 nomination
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| Lee Marvin | ... | Detective Lt. Frank Ballinger / ... (117 episodes, 1957-1960) |
 | Paul Newlan | ... | Police Capt. Grey (103 episodes, 1957-1960) |
(more) |
| Don Medford | | (10 episodes, 1958-1959) |
| Herman Hoffman | | (10 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| Don Taylor | | (9 episodes, 1958-1960) |
| David Lowell Rich | | (9 episodes, 1958-1959) |
| John Brahm | | (8 episodes, 1957-1959) |
| Bernard Girard | | (8 episodes, 1957) |
| Sidney Lanfield | | (8 episodes, 1958-1959) |
| Francis D. Lyon | | (7 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| Paul Stewart | | (5 episodes, 1960) |
| Allen H. Miner | | (4 episodes, 1958-1959) |
| Bernard L. Kowalski | | (4 episodes, 1958) |
| Don McDougall | | (4 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| Earl Bellamy | | (3 episodes, 1957-1960) |
| James Neilson | | (3 episodes, 1958-1959) |
| Jerry Hopper | | (3 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| Don Weis | | (2 episodes, 1957) |
| Mark Sandrich Jr. | | (2 episodes, 1958-1959) |
| Robert Ellis Miller | | (2 episodes, 1959) |
| Virgil W. Vogel | | (2 episodes, 1959) |
| Marc Lawrence | | (2 episodes, 1960) |
| |
|
| Jack Laird | | (12 episodes, 1957-1959) |
| Joel Murcott | | (11 episodes, 1957-1959) |
| Stuart Jerome | | (11 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| Wilton Schiller | | (8 episodes, 1957-1959) |
| Merwin Gerard | | (7 episodes, 1958-1959) |
| Maxwell Shane | | (7 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| Hendrik Vollaerts | | (6 episodes, 1957-1960) |
| Jack Jacobs | | (5 episodes, 1958-1959) |
| Harry W. Junkin | | (5 episodes, 1958) |
| Robert C. Dennis | | (5 episodes, 1959) |
| Donald S. Sanford | | (3 episodes, 1958-1959) |
| Whitman Chambers | | (3 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| Frank L. Moss | | (3 episodes, 1959) |
| Terry Crosby | | (3 episodes, 1960) |
| Jay D. Crowley | | (3 episodes, 1960) |
| Robert Quaid | | (3 episodes, 1960) |
| Fenton Earnshaw | | (2 episodes, 1957-1960) |
| Irving Rubine | | (2 episodes, 1957-1958) |
| Bernard C. Schoenfeld | | (2 episodes, 1957-1958) |
| Palmer Thompson | | (2 episodes, 1957-1958) |
| B.X. Sanborn | | (2 episodes, 1958-1959) |
| Sidney Marshall | | (2 episodes, 1958) |
| Oscar Millard | | (2 episodes, 1958) |
| Barry Trivers | | (2 episodes, 1958) |
| Arthur Rowe | | (2 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| Irwin Winehouse | | (2 episodes, 1959) |
| A. Sanford Wolfe | | (2 episodes, 1959) |
| Kevin Thomas | | (2 episodes, 1960) |
| Adam Williams | | (2 episodes, 1960) |
|
| Ray Rennahan | | (23 episodes, 1957-1960) |
| William A. Sickner | | (18 episodes, 1957-1959) |
| John L. Russell | | (15 episodes, 1958-1960) |
| Bud Thackery | | (13 episodes, 1957-1960) |
| Mack Stengler | | (13 episodes, 1957-1959) |
| Lionel Lindon | | (5 episodes, 1957-1960) |
| Bert Glennon | | (5 episodes, 1958-1960) |
| Gilbert Warrenton | | (4 episodes, 1957-1960) |
| John F. Warren | | (4 episodes, 1958-1960) |
| William Bradford | | (2 episodes, 1957) |
| Ray Cory | | (2 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| Richard L. Rawlings | | (2 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| Ellsworth Fredericks | | (2 episodes, 1959) |
| Neal Beckner | | (2 episodes, 1960) |
| Ray Flin | | (2 episodes, 1960) |
| |
|
| Douglas Stewart | | (23 episodes, 1958-1959) |
| John B. Moss | | (12 episodes, 1957-1958) |
| Bill Mosher | | (9 episodes, 1957-1958) |
| Milton Shifman | | (8 episodes, 1957-1959) |
| Patrick McCormack | | (8 episodes, 1958) |
| William W. Moore | | (8 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| Lee Huntington | | (7 episodes, 1958-1960) |
| Hugh Chaloupka | | (7 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| Stanley Rabjohn | | (5 episodes, 1958-1959) |
| W. Duncan Mansfield | | (5 episodes, 1960) |
| Eugene Pendleton | | (4 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| Danny B. Landres | | (3 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| Roy V. Livingston | | (2 episodes, 1958-1959) |
| Robert Seiter | | (2 episodes, 1958-1959) |
| Daniel A. Nathan | | (2 episodes, 1958) |
| |
|
| Glen Daniels | | (15 episodes, 1957-1958) |
| George Milo | | (12 episodes, 1957-1960) |
| Mac Mulcahy | | (12 episodes, 1958-1959) |
| James M. Walters Sr. | | (11 episodes, 1957-1960) |
| James Redd | | (11 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| Perry Murdock | | (9 episodes, 1957-1960) |
| Ralph Sylos | | (9 episodes, 1958-1960) |
| John McCarthy Jr. | | (4 episodes, 1958-1959) |
| Carl J. Lawrence | | (4 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| Rudy Butler | | (2 episodes, 1960) |
| |
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| Ronnie Rondell Jr. | .... | assistant director (15 episodes, 1957-1960) |
| Charles S. Gould | .... | assistant director (13 episodes, 1957-1959) |
| Hilton A. Green | .... | assistant director (10 episodes, 1957-1960) |
| Frank Fox | .... | assistant director (10 episodes, 1958-1960) |
| Ben Bishop | .... | assistant director (10 episodes, 1958-1959) |
| James H. Brown | .... | assistant director (5 episodes, 1957-1960) |
| James Nicholson | .... | assistant director (4 episodes, 1957-1958) |
| Edward K. Dodds | .... | assistant director (4 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| Henry Kline | .... | assistant director (4 episodes, 1960) |
| George Lollier | .... | assistant director (3 episodes, 1957-1958) |
| John Pommer | .... | assistant director (3 episodes, 1957-1958) |
| Will Sheldon | .... | assistant director (3 episodes, 1958-1959) |
| George Bisk | .... | assistant director (3 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| Carter De Haven Jr. | .... | assistant director (3 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| Jack Doran | .... | assistant director (3 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| Abby Singer | .... | assistant director (2 episodes, 1957-1958) |
| Dolph Zimmer | .... | assistant director (2 episodes, 1958) |
| Donald Baer | .... | assistant director (2 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| Milton Carter | .... | assistant director (2 episodes, 1959) |
| William Dorfman | .... | assistant director (2 episodes, 1960) |
| Nat Holt Jr. | .... | assistant director (2 episodes, 1960) |
| |
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| Earl Crain Jr. | .... | sound (27 episodes, 1957-1959) |
| William H. Lynch | .... | sound (16 episodes, 1957-1960) |
| Melvin M. Metcalfe Sr. | .... | sound (10 episodes, 1957-1960) |
| John C. Grubb | .... | sound (9 episodes, 1957-1960) |
| Stephen Bass | .... | sound (9 episodes, 1957-1959) |
| Earl Crain Sr. | .... | sound (8 episodes, 1958-1960) |
| Frank H. Wilkinson | .... | sound (6 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| Richard Tyler | .... | sound (3 episodes, 1957) |
| B.F. Ryan | .... | sound (3 episodes, 1958) |
| Dick Tyler Sr. | .... | sound (3 episodes, 1958) |
| Joe Lapis | .... | sound (3 episodes, 1959-1960) |
| John K. Kean | .... | sound (2 episodes, 1958) |
| William Russell | .... | sound (2 episodes, 1960) |
| |
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| Vincent Dee | .... | costume supervisor (85 episodes, 1957-1960) |
| |
Additional Details
Runtime:
30 min (117 episodes)
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1
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Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The show was inspired by the exploits of legendary Chicago crime fighter Det. Supt. Joseph Morris. Det. Lt.
Frank Pape, who worked for Morris, served as a technical adviser on the show, without getting credit, however, because of his active status within the Chicago Police Department, which banned police moonlighting.
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Quotes:
Lt. Frank Ballinger:
[
spoken in voiceover near beginning of each episode, as he tells audience about a recently committed crime] My name is Frank Ballinger, detective-lieutenant, M Squad, a special detail of the Chicago police.
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Soundtrack:
Theme From M Squad
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FAQ
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Message Boards
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company.
M Squad is probably the only true film noir TV show ever shot. It was done with low camera angles and the most intense black and white photography with surprising lighting. As few shades of gray as possible were used. It needs to be viewed on a b/w TV for the full effect. It is an important work, and if the series still exists, it should be shown on PBS. Very intense drama. A good antidote to the sugary sweet shows like (two of my true favorites) Leave it to Beaver and Father Knows Best. Good shows, but the fifties were nasty, and the TV shows that you find on G4 or Nick are just not representative. It was a show that made the viewers uncomfortable, I have read. I a very thankful that my parents never took those parental rating seriously (yes, they had them then).