Classic TV: M Squad (1957)

 Lee Marvin had already begun to build an impressive resume as a movie actor. However, in 1957, he found his breakout role on television in M Squad, which his production company co-produced with Revue for NBC.

Marvin starred as Det.-Lt. Frank Ballinger, head of the title division of the Chicago PD. The series ran for three seasons, and for two of those seasons, jazz legend Count Basie composed the music. Long time Revue/Universal music supervisor Stanley Wilson composed the 1st season theme.

While the series is readily available on DVD, it's been a long time since it'd aired on TV. I remember when WWOR subbed in this series during the Syndex period in the 90's, when the station was forced to black out series airing in syndication in local markets outside of NYC.

Let's take a look at a sample episode, with guest stars Mike Connors, DeForest Kelley, and Bobby Driscoll ("Peter Pan", "Song of The South").

The open has been edited off for copyright reasons.

Marvin's movie career got a boost after the series ended, with films like "The Dirty Dozen", "Paint Your Wagon", and "Cat Ballou". NBC missed an opportunity to include him in network retrospectives in the 60's, 70's, and 80's.

Rating: A.