"Checkmate" (1960) TV series 1960-1962

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Creator:

Eric Ambler

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

17 September 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

Don Corey and Jed Sills operate Checkmate, Inc., a very high priced detective agency in San Francisco...

Plot Keywords:

San Francisco California

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Doug McClure	...	Jed Sills (70 episodes, 1960-1962)
Sebastian Cabot	...	Dr. Carl Hyatt (70 episodes, 1960-1962)
Anthony George	...	Don Corey (68 episodes, 1960-1962)

Runtime:

60 min (70 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Jamco Productions

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Car 54, Where Are You?: Quiet! We're Thinking (#1.29)" (1962)

great old show

How funny - all of us baby boomers have memories of particular episodes.

"Checkmate" was a detective-type show starring Sebastian Cabot, Doug McClure, and Anthony George. Sadly, all these actors are gone now. The series was based in San Francisco. The firm was established to stop crime before it happened. Each episode would focus on a particular cast member, but the others would appear in the episode as well. The firm was owned by Don Corey (George) and he worked with an associate, Jed Sills (Doug McClure) and a university criminologist (Cabot). So you had a hunk for the teens in McClure, a familiar face in Cabot, who had been in movies from 1946 and later in television, and someone interesting to women over 18 (George). Cabot had not yet played Mr. French in "Family Affair." The creator of the series was the wonderful Eric Ambler.

This was a very classy show that had many guest stars from the world of film. I recently saw two episodes, one starring Claire Bloom and the other starring Jeffrey Hunter as a psycho. Episodes and DVDs of the whole series occasionally show up on ebay, so it's worth checking.

Personal memories - Tony George, during his years on "One Life to Live," used to live in my friend's building. He was a very slight man, though he doesn't look it on screen. When working on the Audrey Hepburn book, my research partner interviewed Doug McClure, and I actually transcribed the tape. He said that he had just been to the doctor and gotten a clean bill of health for his lung cancer. He died very shortly afterward, and I remember the man who interviewed him being very upset. When Jeremy Brett died shortly after I interviewed him, I received a card from my research partner that said, "Welcome to the black widow's club." Now, here's the episode I remember - it was with Anne Baxter and had something to do with a horse.

These really should be released on an official DVD.