Filmed in Chicago circa the late 1950s, M Squad is my kind of cop show, with an authentic sense of place, a driving, brassy jazz score, shady characters with names like Johnny East Side, a captain feeling the heat from “downtown” to “close the books” on a case, and plenty of hardboiled dialogue. Best of all, M Squad stars Lee Marvin in his breakout role as plainclothes cop Lt. Frank Ballinger, who works in the titular special division of the Chi-town police department. Marvin, who made his bones portraying tough guys on the wrong side of the law in such films as The Big Heat, was in his element as $530 a month plainclothes cop Ballinger—whether glowering at a crime scene, unnerving a suspect with a smile, or even counseling an unfaithful wife on what to tell her husband: “Tell him the truth. It's gonna hurt, but if it heals, it'll heal clean.” In each 25-minute episode, Ballinger was kept busy by some heinous crime (“In a town like Chicago, anything can happen and usually does”), answering every crank call and running down every phony lead (“You can smell ‘em the minute you look at ‘em, but you know you have to check them out. It's footwork, hot and slow”). This 1957-1960 series—as tough and no-nonsense as the City of Big Shoulders itself—ranks with the best of TV noir, but it is perhaps best known today as the inspiration and template for Police Squad and the spinoff Naked Gun feature film spoofs. This no-frills set contains all 117 episodes from the series' three-season run, as well as a bonus music CD of the original soundtrack featuring Count Basie's great theme that made its debut in season two. M Squad offers ample opportunity for future star-gazing. Angie Dickinson is featured in the episode “Diamond Hard” as a “B-girl” whom Ballinger helps to keep on the straight and narrow. “The Teacher” costars Tom “Billy Jack” Laughlin as a vicious gang leader, and Burt Reynolds, doing his tortured Brando bit, as a former bad kid trying to go straight. And “The Fire Makers” pairs Leonard Nimoy and James Coburn as sibling arsonists. Not surprisingly, the picture quality varies from episode to episode, but that shouldn't diminish the thrill of watching Marvin coolly demonstrate “the Chicago way.” Highly recommended for larger TV collections. (D. Liebenson)
M Squad: The Complete Series
Timeless Media Group, 15 discs, 2,866 min., not rated, DVD: $119.98 February 2, 2009
M Squad: The Complete Series
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