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SABER OF LONDON

UK / ITV - Associated Rediffusion - Danziger / 83x30 minute episodes / Broadcast 1959-62 black and white

Producer: Danziger Brothers

Crime drama series. One armed detective Mark Saber investigates crimes on the continent. There were 155 episodes of Mark Saber/Saber of London. See also Mark Saber (which also starred Donald Gray). Donald Gray's biographer Trevor Jordan supplied the following additional information:-

Mark Saber was the original 65 episodes broadcast on Associated Redifusion between Thursday June 20th 1957 and Friday February 6th 1959. It started with File It Under Murder when Mark Saber got a new Secretary Stevie Ames played by singer Diane Decker. She was replaced in episode 41 The Big Snatch by Secretary Judy (Theresa Thorne) and Saber got himself an assistant called Barney O'Keefe (Michael Balfour). The First 65 episodes went out under the title Mark Saber (US The Vise) but had started earlier in 1955 in the US. The public took to the gallant Saber who always got his man and when the series finished the public clamoured for more. Danziger who were the fifties experts at producing cheap films could make two episodes a week. Saber of London was the follow up series (US Detectives Diary) starting at episode 66 The Captain and his Killers but Judy had gone and Michael Balfour was replaced by Canadian Neil McCallum as Pete Paulson .

This started on ITV on Monday Nov 16th 1959 and ended with episode 90 The Visitor on Monday May 16th 1960. In episode 91 Neil McCallum was replaced with assistant Larry Nelson played by Gordon Tanner but he only lasted to episode 104 Field Goal broadcast on Monday June 20th 1960. Robert Arden took over as Bob Page in episode 105 A Toast To Death and stayed with the series until episode 142 A Date with Trouble (never shown on ITV London). Sabers last assistant was Eddy Welles played by Gary Thorne for episodes 143 to 150 ending with The Scream in the Night with Anto Rodgers on Monday April 23rd 1962.

The last six episodes from Lost and Found until Sweetheart Beware Saber had no assistant. The series ended abruptly on April 30th 1962 but was confusing as ITV showed it out of sequence with Pete Paulson as Sabers assistant one week and Rober Arden the next. The series was shown for the last time on ITV in 1969 on Granada as 30 minute theatre and Sweetheart Beware shown for first time on June 13th 1969. Danziger ceased production in 1961 but poor Donald Gray was badly typecast as Mark Saber.

cast
DONALD GRAY as Mark Saber
ROBERT ARDEN as Bob Page
JERRY THORNE as Eddie Wells
JENNIFER JAYNE as Ann Summers
PATRICK HOLT as Inspector Brady
NEIL McCALLUM as Peter Paulson


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