FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OSCAR®-WINNING ACTOR LEE MARVIN STARS AS LT. FRANK BALLINGER IN
THE LANDMARK CLASSIC 1950s TV CRIME DRAMA NEW ON DVD FROM TIMELESS MEDIA
M SQUAD: THE COMPLETE SERIES
ALL 117 Memorable Episodes of Gritty Film Noir Series, Featuring
Guest Appearances by Angie Dickinson, Charles Bronson, Burt Reynolds and Leonard Nimoy,
Debuts on DVD in a Stunning 15-Disc Mega-Set
EUGENE, OR - The long wait is over for fans of classic television and crime drama, as one of the groundbreaking programs from the golden age of television finally arrives on DVD.
M Squad, starring Oscar-winning actor Lee Marvin (
The Dirty Dozen, Cat Ballou), makes a grand return when all 117 episodes arrive on DVD in a definitive 15-disc collectors' set. For
M Squad: The Complete Series, Timeless Media has painstakingly compiled over 47 hours of the captivating series which debuted on NBC in 1957 and aired for three seasons. As a bonus, the set also includes the original TV soundtrack
The Music From M Squad, a CD collection of jazz-inspired musical score from the series performed by legendary musicians Count Basie, Benny Carter, and composer/jazz pianist John Williams.
M Squad: The Complete Series, including all 15 DVDs plus music CD, will be available exclusively online at www.MSquadTV.com and other online retailers for $119.98 SRP on November 11.
The late '50s saw the emergence of the television police drama, with "
Dragnet", "
Arrest & Trial", and "
Checkmate" competing for viewership. "
M-Squad" stood apart from the others with its coarse, film noir look, unique story lines and first rate music score. Filmed in Chicago, the high-contrast cinematography brought the city to life - from the easily recognizable landmarks and swanky lake-front penthouses, to the seedy, darker side of the city. "
M Squad" (M stands for Murder), was inspired by actual Chicago crime-fighter Joseph Morris, and the series retained a sense of realism and intensity lost among the other dramas. As a credit to its realism, after an episode of "
M Squad" depicted a Chicago police officer accepting a bribe, Mayor Richard Daley banned any other television or film production in the city of Chicago. (The ban was eventually lifted with the filming of
The Blues Brothers in 1980.)
"
M Squad" stars a 33-year old Lee Marvin (with his distinguished and distinctive premature white hair) as Lt. Frank Ballinger, a no-nonsense plainclothes cop working in the elite M-Squad division of the Chicago Police Department. Marvin's portrayal of the cool tough-guy character with a big heart gave him instant name recognition, and launched his career. He went on to star in
The Dirty Dozen, Paint Your Wagon and
The Iceman Cometh, and won both the Oscar and Golden Globe awards for his role as Kid Shelleen opposite Jane Fonda in
Cat Ballou. He last starred opposite Chuck Norris in 1986's
The Delta Force, just a year before his death at age 63.
Long time character actor Paul Newlan played Ballinger's boss, Captain Grey. The rest of the cast features a revolving door of television luminaries and stars-to-be; guest actors included, most notably, Angie Dickinson, Charles Bronson, a very young Burt Reynolds, and Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley of "
Star Trek".
Also playing a starring "role" in
M Squad is the extraordinary musical score. For the first season, the producers enlisted long-time conductor and music supervisor Stanley Wilson to lead the orchestra in moody arrangements by legendary jazz man Benny Carter and a new composer on the scene, 25-year old jazz pianist John Williams (
Star Wars, etc.). For the second season, jazz great Count Basie wrote the enduring "
M Squad Theme". It was a perfect marriage of image and sound. Because of the importance of the musical score to the series, Timeless Media has included the CD version of the original 1959 soundtrack,
The Music From M Squad, within the
M Squad DVD collection.
About Timeless Media:
Timeless Media Group (TMG), a leading independent home-entertainment distribution company, produces, licenses and distributes a variety of video and audio products to a majority of retailers throughout the U.S. Products include its own award-winning military history documentaries, first run movie titles, classic television programming, and special interest DVD, along with an extensive offering of collectible compact discs. Visit www.timelessvideo.com.
M SQUAD: THE COMPLETE SERIES
Street Date: November 11, 2008
SRP: $119.98
Format: 15-DVD + Bonus CD
