The most realistic and gritty of all the 1960's ITC thriller series and one of the best. If The Saint did it with suavity, The Champions with super-powers, Jason King and his Department S colleagues with camp panache and Randall and Hopkirk with supernatural powers, McGill, a CIA outcast trying to make a living as a private eye in mid-60's England, just did it. With no fuss or flashiness, Richard Bradford's anti-hero and his "have gun will travel" policy took him into adventures more believable and down to earth than those of his stable-mates.
In this pilot episode for example, McGill gets waylaid by a deposed white African leader who wants him to reveal how back in his CIA days he assisted with that country's revolution with the ultimate aim of deposing the present government and re-establishing white government over the locals. Given that the British government of the time was having well-publicised disputes with former colonies in the African continent, there's a strong whiff of topicality about the narrative, only bolstered further by the use of forced interrogation techniques redolent of "The Manchurian Candidate" and "The Ipcress Files" to name but two. It's pretty obvious to say also that both these themes are still very much in the news today.
The silver-haired Bradford is excellent as the laconic, friendless, endlessly cynical McGill. This episode was crisply directed by celebrated Ealing director Charles Crichton (later to direct "A Fish Called Wanda"). Yes, you will see various guest stars from the supporting cast of most of the afore-mentioned shows not to mention sets, cars and now and again variations on the same story too. Indeed McGill's anti-Establishment stance is not too far away from the daddy of all 60's TV rebels, Patrick McGoohan's "The Prisoner".
"Man In A Suitcase" (which incidentally boasts another great Ron Grainer theme) may not have aimed quite as high as McGoohan's tormented odyssey but this was solid entertainment and very good quality stuff of its kind, one of the best adventure series of the 60's I'd say.
