"M Squad" (1957) TV series 1957-1960

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

20 September 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Crime

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.

Plot Keywords:

Police

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Lee Marvin	...	Detective Lt. Frank Ballinger / ... (117 episodes, 1957-1960)
Paul Newlan	...	Police Capt. Grey (103 episodes, 1957-1960)

Series Directed by
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)

Series Writing credits
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)

Series Produced by
John Larkin	....	producer / executive producer (70 episodes, 1957-1959)
Maxwell Shane	....	producer (39 episodes, 1959-1960)
Richard Lewis	....	executive producer / producer (38 episodes, 1957-1958)
Robert Bassler	....	producer (6 episodes, 1959)
Michael Abel	....	producer (2 episodes, 1957)

Series Original Music by
Benny Carter		(56 episodes, 1958-1960)
John Williams		(8 episodes, 1958-1959)
Gerald Fried		(3 episodes, 1958)
Ernest Gold		(2 episodes, 1958)
Lyn Murray		(2 episodes, 1959)

Series Cinematography by
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)

Series Film Editing by
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)

Series Art Direction by
Arthur Lonergan		(48 episodes, 1958-1960)
Martin Obzina		(20 episodes, 1957-1960)
George Patrick		(13 episodes, 1958-1960)
Howard E. Johnson		(8 episodes, 1958-1960)
Lloyd S. Papez		(6 episodes, 1958)
John J. Lloyd		(5 episodes, 1958-1960)
John Meehan		(4 episodes, 1957-1958)
John Ewing		(3 episodes, 1957-1958)
Frank Arrigo		(3 episodes, 1958)

Series Set Decoration by
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)

Series Makeup Department
Florence Bush	....	hair stylist (85 episodes, 1957-1960)
Jack Barron	....	makeup artist (79 episodes, 1957-1960)
Leo Lotito Jr.	....	makeup artist (5 episodes, 1957-1959)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
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)

Series Sound Department
Earl Crain Jr.	....	sound (27 episodes, 1957-1959)
William H. Lynch	....	sound (16 episodes, 1957-1960)
Melvin M. Metcalfe Sr.	....	sound (11 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)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Vincent Dee	....	costume supervisor (85 episodes, 1957-1960)

Series Editorial Department
Richard G. Wray	....	editorial supervisor / supervising editor (102 episodes, 1957-1960)
David J. O'Connell	....	editorial supervisor (9 episodes, 1960)

Series Music Department
Stanley Wilson	....	music supervisor (84 episodes, 1957-1960)
Count Basie	....	composer: theme music (79 episodes, 1958-1960)

Series Other crew
William Kozlenko	....	story consultant (2 episodes, 1957)
Robert Tallman	....	story editor (2 episodes, 1958)

Production Companies

• Latimer Productions
• Revue Studios

Distributors

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1957-1960) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• MCA Television
• Nostalgia Collectibles (2005) (USA) (VHS)
• Studios USA Television
• Timeless Media Group (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Revue Studios  filming location

Runtime:

30 min (117 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Latimer Productions

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.

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Remington Steele: Steele Spawning (#4.12)" (1986)

Soundtrack:

M Squad

A tough-as-nails police show

This show was so hard-bitten Ballinger almost got killed once having been pumped full of lead. When did Joe Friday ever get shot? It's a crime this adult drama has never been rerun.