"Dangerous Assignment" (1952) TV series

Writers:

Phil Sudano
Arthur Towe

Seasons:

1

Genre:

Adventure

Plot:

"The Commissioner" sent US special agent Steve Mitchell to exotic locales where he encounters adventure and international intrigue, all played out using extreme violence.

Plot Keywords:

Espionage

Cast

Brian Donlevy

...

Steve Mitchell (37 episodes, 1952)

Series Directed by
Bill Karn		(17 episodes, 1952)

Series Writing credits
Robert Ryf		(24 episodes, 1952)
Al C. Ward		(11 episodes, 1952)
Adrian Gendot		(9 episodes, 1952)
Russ Bender		(2 episodes, 1952)
Charles R. Condon		(2 episodes, 1952)
Sherman L. Lowe		(2 episodes, 1952)
Phil Sudano		(unknown episodes)
Arthur Towe		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Harold E. Knox	....	producer (14 episodes, 1952)
Brian Donlevy	....	executive producer / producer (5 episodes, 1952)

Series Original Music by
Von Dexter		(13 episodes, 1952)

Series Cinematography by
Lester White		(13 episodes, 1952)

Series Film Editing by
Edward Schroeder		(10 episodes, 1952)
Maurice Wright		(3 episodes, 1952)

Series Casting by
Harvey Clermont		(12 episodes, 1952)

Series Production Design by
George Van Marter		(13 episodes, 1952)

Series Set Decoration by
George Milo		(10 episodes, 1952)
John McCarthy Jr.		(3 episodes, 1952)

Series Makeup Department
David Newell	....	makeup artist (10 episodes, 1952)
David Newell	....	makeup artist (2 episodes, 1952)

Series Production Management
Frank Parmenter	....	production supervisor (14 episodes, 1952)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William McGarry	....	assistant director (13 episodes, 1952)

Series Sound Department
Earl Snyder	....	sound (13 episodes, 1952)

Series Special Effects by
Harry Redmond Jr.	....	special effects / special effects director (13 episodes, 1952)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Chuck Keehne	....	wardrobe (12 episodes, 1952)

Series Music Department
Von Dexter	....	musical director / conductor (10 episodes, 1952)

Series Other crew
Edward O. Denault	....	production assistant (8 episodes, 1952)

Production Companies

• Donlevy Development Company Inc.
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC)

Distributors

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1952) (USA) (TV) (via syndication)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (all media)
• Critics' Choice Video (2006) (USA) (DVD) (collection 2)

Runtime:

26 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Company:

Donlevy Development Company Inc.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[prologue to many episodes]
Steve Mitchell:Yeah, danger is my assignment. I get sent to a lot of places I can't even pronounce. They all spell the same thing, though - trouble.

Danger Is My Assignment

This well-done espionage thriller from the early days of the Cold War has one of the best openings of any TV series. US agent Steve Mitchell (Brian Donlevy) wearing a top hat and smoking a cigarette ambles down a foggy desolate waterfront back street (a ship whistle is blowing in the background). He stops momentarily to take a drag off his cigarette. Just as he takes a puff, from out of nowhere a dagger wisps past his face and sticks in the post next to him. He looks up with an expression half fright, half anger. Bold letters pop up reading, "Dangerous Assignment." The intro is brief and to the point. I was ten when I first watched the series. I don't remember much else about the show, but I do remember the speeding dagger.

I recently watched the episode "The Missing Diplomat Story" on DVD and was pleasantly surprised that the program has held up so well with passing time. The acting is tops with many familiar faces in the cast, especially Lyle Talbot as the Commissioner who gives Steve his dangerous assignment. The story involves Steve being sent to Spain to find a missing diplomat, code name Gelba, and his daughter Ketti. His contact Majak is waiting for him at the Hotel Granada in Barcelona and so is danger.

A cool jazz pianist named Xavier who plays boogie woogie on the ivory is an added bonus. He not only advises Steve but uses all the hep-cat talk popular at the time. At the end of the show Xavier even has Steve speaking the vernacular, calling the Commissioner "Jack" over the phone and telling him he is going to make a cat out of a dog.