Man In A Suitcase (ITV 1967-1968, Richard Bradford)

In Man In A Suitcase ex US intelligence agent McGill works as a private detective and sometime bounty hunter in Britain and sometimes Europe. McGill has no ties, carries a gun and lives out of a suitcase.

McGill is expensive too $500 a day but his real motivation is tracking down the people who framed him into losing his job at the CIA (he was framed over a scientist defecting to the USSR).

Made at the height of the swinging sixties Man In A Suitcase taps into the then popular cold war spy drama vein of John La Carre and Len Deighton but imbues it with enough Avengers style touches and ITC trademarks to easily claim it’s own style.

It’s actually probably the least dated of all ITC series whether that is down to a lessening of some of the more comedic aspects that would creep into ITC’s action adventure output or down to the playing of star Richard Bradford we’re not sure but lets face it McGill was cool then and he’s still cool now.

Guest stars included the likes of Felicity Kendal, Colin Blakely, Anton Rodgers, Mike Pratt, Stuart Damon, Peter Vaughan, Derren Nesbitt, Sally Geeson, and even Donald Sutherland.

The laconic McGill’s first name was John but he seldom used. The superb theme tune was by Ron Grainer whose other claim to sixties fame was for also writing the theme tune for the very different Steptoe and Son.

production details
UK / ITV – ITC – ATV – Transcontinental / 30×60 minute episodes / broadcast 27 September 1967 – 17 April 1968 (broadcast dates refer to the ATV region)

Creator: Richard Harris / Theme Music: Ron Grainer / Stunt Arranger: Roy Vincente / Executive story consultant: Stanley R. Greenberg / Producer: Sidney Cole

cast
RICHARD BRADFORD as McGill

THE EPISODES
1. BRAINWASH (27 Sep 67)
2. THE SITTING PIGEON (4 Oct 67)
3. DAY OF EXECUTION (11 Oct 67)
4. VARIATION ON A MILLION BUCKS PART 1 (18 Oct 67)
5. VARIATION ON A MILLION BUCKS PART 2 (25 Oct 67)
6. MAN FROM THE DEAD (1 Nov 67)
7. SWEET SUE (8 Nov 67)
8. ESSAY IN EVIL (15 Nov 67)
9. THE GIRL WHO NEVER WAS (22 Nov 67)
10. ALL THAT GLITTERS (29 Nov 67)
11. DEAD MAN’S SHOES (6 Dec 67)
12. FIND THE LADY (13 Dec 67)
13. THE BRIDGE (20 Dec 67)
14. THE MAN WHO STOOD STILL (27 Dec 67)
15. BURDEN OF PROOF (3 Jan 68)
16. THE WHISPER (10 Jan 68)
17. WHY THEY KILLED NOLAN (17 Jan 68)
18. THE BOSTON SQUARE (24 Jan 68)
19. SOMEBODY LOSES SOMEBODY… WINS? (31 Jan 68)
20. BLIND SPOT (7 Feb 68)
21. NO FRIEND OF MINE (14 Feb 68)
22. JIGSAW MAN (21 Feb 68)
23. WEB WITH FOUR SPIDERS (28 Feb 68)
24. WHICH WAY DID HE GO, MCGILL (6 Mar 68)
25. PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN (13 Mar 68)
26. THE REVOLUTIONARIES (20 Mar 68)
27. WHO’S MAD NOW? (27 Mar 68)
28. THREE BLINKS OF THE EYES (3 Apr 68)
29. CASTLE IN THE CLOUDS (10 Apr 68)
30. NIGHT FLIGHT TO ANDORRA (17 Apr 68)