Saturday, June 1, 2024

YouTube Theatre: Banyon (1971)

 With The Untouchables readily available in syndication in the 70's, Warner Bros. thought they could tap into the nostalgia of the show's setting (early 30's), but in a different locale.

Banyon was set in Los Angeles in the late 30's, instead of Chicago during Prohibition. NBC aired a 2 hour TV movie in March 1971, with Robert Forster in the title role as private eye Miles Banyon. Standard stuff. A client is murdered in Banyon's office by a thug intent on framing Banyon.

Our supporting cast includes Herb Edelman (ex-The Good Guys), Jose Ferrer, & Hermoine Gingold.


18 months later, Banyon was finally green-lit to series, but now with Quinn Martin co-producing with WB. Joan Blondell (ex-Here Come The Brides) replaced Gingold as Peggy. Unfortunately, the series was a bust, the first of three such failures for Martin at NBC.

No rating. Just a public service.

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