Coronet Blue

Mike is running from some men when he falls into the harbour. He climbs out remembering only that he was running and the phrase 'coronet blue'. As the show continues from week to week, Mike... See full summary »

Creator:

Larry Cohen

Stars:

Frank Converse, Joe Silver, Brian Bedford

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Frank Converse	...	Michael Alden (13 episodes, 1967)
Joe Silver	...	Max Spier (9 episodes, 1967)

Storyline

Mike is running from some men when he falls into the harbour. He climbs out remembering only that he was running and the phrase 'coronet blue'. As the show continues from week to week, Mike tries to piece together clues as to his identity as individuals he refers to as Greybeards seem to be intent on killing him.

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Plot Keywords:

amnesia | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 May 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Geheimnis der blauen Krone

Filming Locations:

Pathe Studios, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Plautus Productions, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min (13 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Coronet Blue" creator Larry Cohen, in his autobiography "The Radical Allegories of an Independent Filmmaker," explained the mystery behind the series' title/catch-phrase. "When the Brodkin Organization took over the series, they wanted to turn it into an anthology... so they played down the amnesia aspect until there was nothing about it at all in the show. It was just Frank Converse wandering from one story to the next with no connective format at all. Anyway, the show ended after seventeen weeks and nobody found out what 'coronet blue' meant. The actual secret is that Converse was not really an American at all. He was a Russian who had been trained to appear like an American and was sent to the U.S. as a spy. He belonged to a spy unit called 'Coronet Blue.' He decided to defect, so the Russians tried to kill him before he can give away the identities of the other Soviet agents. And nobody can really identify him because he doesn't exist as an American. Coronet Blue was actually an outgrowth of 'The Traitor' episode of The Defenders (1961)." However, anyone who has seen the show knows that the amnesia aspect was in fact NOT played down (one episode had Alden declining a golden opportunity to learn the truth about himself - or at least a good part of it - on moral grounds concerning the way the information became available to him). Other facts are that thirteen episodes were all that were filmed, and that from first air date to last is only fourteen weeks - fifteen potential weekly air dates if you include those at both ends, but only eleven of the episodes were aired; in any case, Cohen's "seventeen weeks," made in a BOOK wherein he presumably had plenty of time to check and be certain that he got such fundamental facts correct, is indefensible. All this calls the validity of the entirety of his statement into question.

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Soundtracks

Coronet Blue
(uncredited)
Music by Laurence Rosenthal
Lyrics by Earl Shuman
Sung by Lenny Welch

User Reviews

Huge Hit

I never missed a show I thought Frank Converse was dreamy and very well cast. Every show made you think the next one was for sure going to reveal the secret that would unravel Michaels life. I can still hear the theme song in my head. I wish someone would have picked and the ball and ran with it! It's a shame a hit show just fell to the wayside..:(