The Felony Squad is a half-hour television crime drama originally broadcast on the ABC network from September 12, 1966, to January 31, 1969.[1]
| The Felony Squad | |
|---|---|
 Howard Duff working in front of the camera and behind it, 1967. | |
| Genre | Crime drama |
| Created by | Richard Murphy |
| Starring | Howard Duff Dennis Cole Ben Alexander |
| Theme music composer | Pete Rugolo |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 73 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Walter Grauman |
| Producers | Richard Newton (1966–1967) Philip Saltzman (1967–1969) |
| Running time | 30 mins. |
| Production company | 20th Century-Fox Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | September 12, 1966 – January 31, 1969 |
Overview
editSergeant Sam Stone and Detective Jim Briggs are investigators in a major crimes unit in an unidentified West Coast city.[2] (L.A. City Hall is shown at dusk in the final scene of the opening credits). Duff's character was the veteran who was teaching his younger partner the nuances of life in this new facet of police work.[citation needed] Another main character was desk sergeant Dan Briggs, the father of Cole's character.[2]
Originally titled Men Against Evil,[3] the show was set to be a soap opera-type program that would have been broadcast two nights per week. By March 1966 Stone's alcoholic wife and other "main female characters" were removed, with the focus of the program changed from personal lives of policemen to the work of the police.[4] In addition, following primary sponsor Liggett & Myers' objection about being associated with the word "evil," the show's title was changed.[citation needed]
Regular Cast
edit- Howard Duff as Detective Sgt. Sam Stone[1]
- Dennis Cole as Detective Jim Briggs[1]
- Ben Alexander as Desk Sgt. Dan Briggs[1]
- Frank Maxwell as Captain Frank Nye (1966–1967)[1]
- Barney Phillips as Captain Ed Franks (1967–1969)[1]
- Robert DoQui as Detective Cliff Sims (1968–1969)[2]
- Len Wayland as District Attorney Adam Fisher (recurring)[citation needed]
Guest Stars
edit- Joe Don Baker as Shep in "My Mommy Got Lost" (1967)
- Francis De Sales as Harmon in "The Broken Badge" (1966)
- Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr., as Pepe Enciras in "Epitaph for a Cop" (1968)
- Don Keefer as Harry Jocelyn in "A Most Proper Killing" (1967)
- Ricky Kelman as Donny Clement in "The Fatal Hours" (1968)
- John M. Pickard as Cahill in "A Blueprint for Dying" (1968)
- Eric Shea as Mike Bradley in "A Date with Terror" (1966)
- Brooke Bundy as Betty Joyce in "The Deadly Innocents" (1968)
- Lana Wood as Sherry Martin in "The Last Man in the World" (1967)
Episodes
editSeason 1: 1966–67
edit| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Streets Are Paved with Quicksand" | Michael Ritchie | Harold Gast | September 12, 1966 |
| 2 | 2 | "A Walk to Oblivion" | Michael Ritchie | Franklin Barton | September 19, 1966 |
| 3 | 3 | "The Broken Badge" | Vincent McEveety | George Eckstein | September 26, 1966 |
| 4 | 4 | "Strike Out" | Andrew McCullough | Donald S. Sanford | October 3, 1966 |
| 5 | 5 | "A Date with Terror" | Richard Donner | Hank Searles | October 10, 1966 |
| 6 | 6 | "Flame Out" | Thomas Carr | Donald S. Sanford | October 17, 1966 |
| 7 | 7 | "The Immaculate Killer" | Seymour Robbie | Alfred Brenner | October 24, 1966 |
| 8 | 8 | "The Death of a Dream" | Richard Donner | Adrian Spies | October 31, 1966 |
| 9 | 9 | "Prologue to Murder" | Allen Reisner | John Kneubuhl | November 7, 1966 |
| 10 | 10 | "Killer with a Badge" | Jud Taylor | Donald S. Sanford | November 14, 1966 |
| 11 | 11 | "Between Two Fires" | László Benedek | Harold Gast | November 21, 1966 |
| 12 | 12 | "The Terror Trap" | Tom Gries | Alvin Boretz | November 28, 1966 |
| 13 | 13 | "The Killer Instinct" | Robert Butler | Mann Rubin | December 5, 1966 |
| 14 | 14 | "Fear Below" | Walter Grauman | S : Franklin Barton; T : Donald S. Sanford | December 12, 1966 |
| 15 | 15 | "A Penny Game, a Two-Bit Murder" | Richard Donner | Adrian Spies | December 19, 1966 |
| 16 | 16 | "Miss Reilly's Revenge" | Michael Ritchie | T : George Eckstein; S/T : Leonard Kantor | December 26, 1966 |
| 17 | 17 | "A Death for a Death" | Herschel Daugherty | S : Harry Kronman; S/T : Donald S. Sanford | January 2, 1967 |
| 18 | 18 | "The Deadly Partner" | Lawrence Dobkin | Donald S. Sanford | January 9, 1967 |
| 19 | 19 | "The Night of the Shark: Part 1" | Allen Reisner | Harold Gast | January 16, 1967 |
| 20 | 20 | "The Night of the Shark: Part 2" | Allen Reisner | Harold Gast | January 23, 1967 |
| 21 | 21 | "The Strangler" | Lee H. Katzin | S : Lee Erwin; S/T : Tony Barrett | January 30, 1967 |
| 22 | 22 | "Breakout" | Larry Peerce | Barry Oringer | February 6, 1967 |
| 23 | 23 | "The Desperate Silence" | Allen Reisner | Gwen Bagni & Paul Dubov | February 13, 1967 |
| 24 | 24 | "Target!" | Allen Reisner | Frank L. Moss | February 20, 1967 |
| 25 | 25 | "Echo of a Killing" | Gene Nelson | Dan Ullman | February 27, 1967 |
| 26 | 26 | "Live Coward, Dead Hero" | Robert Butler | T : Franklin Barton; S/T : Jay Simms | March 13, 1967 |
| 27 | 27 | "A Blueprint for Dying" | Lee H. Katzin | Tony Barrett | March 20, 1967 |
| 28 | 28 | "The Fear Merchant" | Lawrence Dobkin | S : Quentin Sparr; T : Tony Barrett | March 27, 1967 |
| 29 | 29 | "The Savage Streets" | Seymour Robbie | T : Philip Saltzman; S/T : L.T. Bentwood | April 3, 1967 |
| 30 | 30 | "Debt of Fear" | Lawrence Dobkin | John Furia Jr. (as "John Joseph") | April 10, 1967 |
Season 2: 1967–68
edit| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 1 | "Let Him Die!" | George McCowan | Tony Barrett | September 11, 1967 |
| 32 | 2 | "The Counterfeit Cop" | Walter Grauman | Art Wallace | September 18, 1967 |
| 33 | 3 | "A Most Proper Killing" | Walter Grauman | Franklin Barton | September 25, 1967 |
| 34 | 4 | "The 30-Gram Kill" | George McCowan | S : Don Tait & Willian Koenig; T : Tony Bennett | October 2, 1967 |
| 35 | 5 | "The Death Bag" | Charles Rondeau | Tony Barrett | October 9, 1967 |
| 36 | 6 | "The Deadly Junkman" | William Hale | Don Brinkley | October 16, 1967 |
| 37 | 7 | "The Pat Hand of Death" | Sutton Roley | Tony Barrett | October 30, 1967 |
| 38 | 8 | "Hit and Run, Run, Run" | Seymour Robbie | Dan Ullman | November 6, 1967 |
| 39 | 9 | "Time of Trial" | Gerd Oswald | Robert E. Thompson | November 13, 1967 |
| 40 | 10 | "Who'll Take Care of Joey" | Herbert Hirschman | Tony Barrett | November 20, 1967 |
| 41 | 11 | "My Mommy Got Lost" | George McCowan | Robert Heverly | November 27, 1967 |
| 42 | 12 | "Ordeal by Terror" | Lawrence Dobkin | S : William Kayden; T : Philip Saltzman | December 4, 1967 |
| 43 | 13 | "An Arrangement with Death: Part 1" | George McCowan | Franklin Barton | December 11, 1967 |
| 44 | 14 | "An Arrangement with Death: Part 2" | George McCowan | Franklin Barton | December 18, 1967 |
| 45 | 15 | "No Sad Songs for Charlie" | Gerd Oswald | Earl Felton | December 25, 1967 |
| 46 | 16 | "Bed of Strangers" | James Sheldon | Jack Turley | January 1, 1968 |
| 47 | 17 | "Killing, Country Style" | George McCowan | S : Judith & Robert Guy Barrows; T : Robert Heverly | January 8, 1968 |
| 48 | 18 | "The Flip Side of Fear: Part 1" | George McCowan | Don Brinkley | January 15, 1968 |
| 49 | 19 | "The Flip Side of Fear: Part 2" | George McCowan | Don Brinkley | January 22, 1968 |
| 50 | 20 | "The Love Victim" | Nicholas Colasanto | T : Robert Heverly; S/T : Anthony Lawrence | February 5, 1968 |
| 51 | 21 | "The Deadly Abductors" | Howard Duff | Jerry Devine | February 12, 1968 |
| 52 | 22 | "Nightmare on a Dead-End Street" | Ron Kelly | Richard Landau | February 19, 1968 |
| 53 | 23 | "Epitaph for a Cop" | George McCowan | S : Jack Morton; T : Jack Morton & Norman Klenman | February 26, 1968 |
| 54 | 24 | "Man on Fire" | George McCowan | Jerome Ross | March 4, 1968 |
| 55 | 25 | "Image of Evil" | Lawrence Dobkin | Bob Barbash | March 11, 1968 |
| 56 | 26 | "The Human Target" | Herbert Hirschman | S : Ellis Kadison & Joel Kane; T : Norman Klenman | March 18, 1968 |
Season 3: 1968–69
edit| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57 | 1 | "A Fashion for Dying" | Nicholas Colasanto | Don Brinkley | September 27, 1968 | |
| 58 | 2 | "Jury of One" | Gene Nelson | Jack Turley | October 4, 1968 | |
| 59 | 3 | "Underground Nightmare" | Nicholas Colasanto | Don Brinkley | October 11, 1968 | |
| 60 | 4 | "The Deadly Innocents" | George McCowan | Jack Turley | October 18, 1968 | |
| 61 | 5 | "Kiss Me, Kill You" | George McCowan | Franklin Barton | November 1, 1968 | |
| 62 | 6 | "The Nowhere Man: Part 1" | George McCowan | Philip Saltzman | November 8, 1968 | |
| 63 | 7 | "The Nowhere Man: Part 2" | George McCowan | Philip Saltzman | November 15, 1968 | |
| 64 | 8 | "Matched for Murder" | Robert Butler | Robert Heverly | November 22, 1968 | |
| 65 | 9 | "The Fatal Hours" | Otto Lang | Franklin Barton | November 29, 1968 | |
| 66 | 10 | "Hostage" | Gerd Oswald | Mark Rodgers | December 13, 1968 | |
| 67 | 11 | "The Distant Shore" | George McCowan | Mark Rodgers | December 20, 1968 | |
| 68 | 12 | "Dark Memory" | George McCowan | Mark Rodgers | December 27, 1968 | |
| 69 | 13 | "The Last Man in the World" | Harvey Hart | Robert Heverly | January 3, 1969 | |
| 70 | 14 | "Conspiracy of Power: Part 1" | George McCowan | Unknown | January 10, 1969 | |
| 71 | 15 | "Conspiracy of Power: Part 2" | George McCowan | Unknown | January 17, 1969 | |
| 72 | 16 | "Blind Terror" | George McCowan | S : Hank Searls; T : Robert Heverly | January 24, 1969 | |
| 73 | 17 | "The Law and Order Blues" | George McCowan | Harold Gast | January 31, 1969 | |
|
This episode was a crossover with Judd, for the Defense. | ||||||
Production
editThe show was filmed in Los Angeles locations.[2]
From the show's debut until September 1968, it was broadcast on Monday nights from 9 to 9:30 Eastern Time. In the Fall of 1968 it was switched to Fridays from 8:30 to 9 E.T.[2] The program was cancelled at midseason after just thirteen aired episodes. The final episode of the series was part of a crossover with the ABC legal drama Judd, for the Defense, starring Carl Betz, which was cancelled at the end of its season after a two-year run.
Alexander's role in the series was not only onscreen but also offscreen as a technical adviser. His earlier work with Jack Webb in Dragnet was the basis for this added position,[citation needed] but resulted in his inability to reprise his role of Officer Frank Smith when Webb revived Dragnet in late 1966.[4] He died of a heart attack less than six months after The Felony Squad left the air.[citation needed]
The Felony Squad was sponsored by L&M cigarettes, as seen on the 1967 episode "The Day of the Shark Part 1".
20th-Century Fox supplied the series.[1] Pete Rugolo composed Felony Squad Theme.[2]
Critical response
editJack Gould wrote in The New York Times that the debut episode was "a very old-fashioned and conventional yarn about tight-lipped detectives doing a day's work."[5]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 283. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
- ^ a b c d e f Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (1999). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (7th ed.). New York: The Ballentine Publishing Group. p. 341. ISBN 0-345-42923-0.
- ^ Adams, Val (July 17, 1966). "Friday's Friend On the Felony Squad". The New York Times. p. 85. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
- ^ a b Shubilla, Thom “Beefstew” (April 21, 2022). Primetime 1966–1967: The Full Spectrum of Television's First All-Color Season. McFarland. pp. 68–69. ISBN 978-1-4766-8344-7. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
- ^ Gould, Jack (September 20, 1966). "TV: 'Rat Patrol' Takes On Rommel: 4 Commandos Display Jeep-Driving Skill 'Felony Squad' and 'Iron Horse' Bow". The New York Times. p. 93. Retrieved May 11, 2023.