Series synopsis
M Squad is an American crime drama mystery television series that premiered on NBC on September 20, 1957. It ended on June 21, 1960. It stars Lee Marvin, Paul Newlan, Argentina Brunetti and Judi Meredith.
Lt. Frank Ballinger is a no-nonsense plain clothes cop in the elite M Squad Division. The Squad's task is to root out organised crime and corruption in America's Second City, Chicago.
Premise
Lt. Frank Ballinger is a no-nonsense plain clothes cop in the elite M Squad Division. The Squad's task is to root out organised crime and corruption in America's Second City, Chicago.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Lee Marvin as Detective Lt. Frank Ballinger
- Paul Newlan as Police Capt. Grey
- Argentina Brunetti as Mrs. Doris Michaels
- Judi Meredith as Mary Burnett
- Paul Burke as Harry Klorr
- Yvette Vickers as Sally
- Herbert Rudley as Fred - State's Attorney
- Charles Bronson as Eddie Loder
Supporting cast
- Marc Lawrence as Vince Cronin
- William Boyett as Detective Sgt. Harris
- Don Dubbins as Stick Wilson
- Herb Vigran as Danny
- Bobby Jordan as Car Lot Employee
- Phil Phillips as George Frankliln
- Robert Karnes as Harry Conklin
- Sue Randall as Mrs. Jim Wilson (uncredited)
- Jay Novello as Max Williams
- Adam Williams as Denny Sutton
- Jimmy Lydon as Joseph Rinehart
- William Forrest as Mr. Manning
Guest cast
- Argentina Brunetti as Mrs. Doris Michaels
- Judi Meredith as Mary Burnett
- Paul Burke as Harry Klorr
- Yvette Vickers as Sally
- Herbert Rudley as Fred - State's Attorney
- Charles Bronson as Eddie Loder
- Marc Lawrence as Vince Cronin
- William Boyett as Detective Sgt. Harris
- Don Dubbins as Stick Wilson
- Herb Vigran as Danny
- Bobby Jordan as Car Lot Employee
- Phil Phillips as George Frankliln
Episodes
This series spans 3 seasons with 117 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 38 | September 20, 1957 | June 13, 1958 |
| Season 2 | 40 | September 19, 1958 | July 3, 1959 |
| Season 3 | 39 | September 18, 1959 | June 21, 1960 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Golden Look The Squad is on the lookout for a bank robbery suspect with a unique feature, witnesses say he has gold teeth. |
September 20, 1957 |
| 2 |
The Watchdog Ballinger and the Squad are out to catch a burglar who may have rabies. |
September 27, 1957 |
| 3 |
Neighborhood Killer The squad hunts down a cop killer. |
October 4, 1957 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
More Deadly 2 innocent men are iced by a currency exchange bookkeeper, to disguise her embezzlement. The sultry femme fatale's yarn that it was a heist gone bad makes sense at first, because of a wave of such robberies on Chicago's Far East Side. But the murdered customer Halper checks out as a solid working stiff, plus the other stick-ups were solo jobs while this was supposedly a 2 hood hold-up, so M Squad's debonair Lt. Ballinger's sic-ed on the case to soften up hard boiled Ora Kane. |
September 19, 1958 |
| 2 |
Dead or Alive A pair of gun crazy kids are loose in Chicago-- and a young reporter is defending them in the press against Ballinger and "police brutality". |
September 26, 1958 |
| 3 |
The Missing Claimant A shady lawyer protects a false heir to a fortune-- by killing the real relative! Ballinger is called in to set everything straight. |
October 3, 1958 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Ten Minutes to Doomsday M Squad hunts for a bomb before it blows up a hospital. Jonas Blecker, an embittered bank clerk who went to prison for dipping in the till to loan money to depositors down on their luck, wants to commemorate his 1st anniversary as a free man by killing the judge who gave him the maximum sentence. The judge is in Columbus Hospital for a delicate operation and he can't be moved. |
September 18, 1959 |
| 2 |
The European Plan Mrs Ashton is killed during a house robbery. The M squad are brought in to try and work out what happened. A very open and shut case suddenly becomes exceedingly complex. |
September 25, 1959 |
| 3 |
Sunday Punch When a well-liked retired couple is found brutally murdered, evidence points to their curmudgeonly neighbor. Lieutenant Ballinger is initially skeptical of his story, but thorough investigation reveals that things are not always as they seem. |
October 2, 1959 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | NBC |
|---|---|
| First aired | September 20, 1957 |
| Last aired | June 21, 1960 |
| Runtime | 30 minutes |
| Status | ended |