It Takes a Thief (1968–1970)

The adventures of suave cat burglar Alexander Mundy, who plies his trade for the U.S. Government.

Creator:

Roland Kibbee

Stars:

Robert Wagner, Malachi Throne, Edward Binns

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Robert Wagner	...	Alexander Mundy (66 episodes, 1968-1970)
Malachi Throne	...	Noah Bain (42 episodes, 1968-1969)

Storyline

Alexander Mundy - smooth, suave, sophisticated - is the world's greatest cat burglar. Finally arrested after years of pilfering, he strikes a deal with American agent Noah Bain: a full pardon if Mundy agrees to use his skills to steal for the SIA, an American espionage agency. Technically under house arrest, Mundy travels all over the world performing daring acts of thievery in the name of Uncle Sam.

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Plot Keywords:

cat burglar | burglar | espionage | political intrigue | criminal turned spy | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 January 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

Once a Crook

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

51 min 51 min (65 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the first season, Alexander Mundy was a cat burglar hired by American spy agency: The SIA. In the second season, he became a freelance operative.

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Quotes

Alistair Mundy: [part of opening title narration] I've hear of stealing *from* the government, but *for* the government

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Connections

Referenced in Neues aus der Anstalt: Superwahljahr Reloaded (2011)

User Reviews

NEXT...IT TAKES A THIEF...IN COLOR!

"Let me get this straight,........you want me to steal?"

That line was from one of the coolest episonage shows ever conceived which was right in there with Mission:Impossible,The Man From UNCLE, The Avengers,I Spy,and other spy/action based shows of the 1960's. I remember this series back when I was a kid,but most recently it appeared on a summer hiatus of TV Land's Crimestoppers. Speaking of which I haven't seen since they last showed the repeats back in the early to mid-1970's. Robert Wagner was the debonair jewel thief(Alexander Mundy) turned international man of episonage who was hired by the U.S. Government for a range of dangerous,yet sometimes deadly on various assignments,but in some of the episodes he did his job with such grace and STYLE! The series also had Fred Astaire as his dad who was also a jewel thief,but also worked for the government as well. There was one of the episodes where(and one of the oddest and weirdest episodes ever produced)he would be in a tight jam and somewhere would have to risk his neck to save the damsel in distress like The Fifth Dimension's Marliyn McCoo,or other broads like Petula Clark,Nancy Sinatra and so forth.

The episode that was on TV Land back here this summer was a very rare episode that featured the one and only Peter Sellers in a dual role;in which he would played an informant in one,and a cold blooded killer out to get our hero in another! Great ending if you get the chance to see it. The series originally ran on ABC-TV from 1968-71,and when the show ended I thought why destroy a good thing that was very good since this show was NOT a spy show,but a good hearted well-produced crime drama/action-adventure spectacle which after this show ended Robert Wagner went on to star in other crime/action shows like "Switch" with Eddie Albert(aka from Green Acres),and Sharon Gless(from Cagney & Lacey) ,and "Hart to Hart"(with Stephanie Powers),and to the LOST Wagner series from the early 1980's(I forgot the title of it,but it ran on NBC)

If the producers were going to the make a feature film based on the Hollywood Legend of actor Cary Grant,Robert Wagner would win it---- HANDS DOWN!