"It Takes a Thief" (1968) TV series 1968-1970

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Creator:

Roland Kibbee
(more)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

9 January 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Adventure

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Cat Burglar | Burglar | Espionage | Political Intrigue | Criminal Turned Spy

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Robert Wagner	...	Alexander Mundy / ... (66 episodes, 1968-1970)
Malachi Throne	...	Noah Bain (42 episodes, 1968-1969)

(more)

Series Directed by
Don Weis		(13 episodes, 1968-1969)
Jack Arnold		(8 episodes, 1968-1970)
Michael Caffey		(5 episodes, 1968)
Barry Shear		(5 episodes, 1969-1970)
Bruce Kessler		(5 episodes, 1969)
Leonard Horn		(4 episodes, 1968)
Gerd Oswald		(4 episodes, 1969-1970)
Jeannot Szwarc		(3 episodes, 1969)
George Tyne		(2 episodes, 1968-1969)
Leslie Stevens		(2 episodes, 1968)
Joseph Sargent		(2 episodes, 1969-1970)
Roland Kibbee		(unknown episodes)

Series Writing credits
Roland Kibbee		(66 episodes, 1968-1970)
Glen A. Larson		(19 episodes, 1968-1970)
Mort Zarcoff		(7 episodes, 1968-1969)
Gene L. Coon		(6 episodes, 1968-1969)
Stephen Kandel		(5 episodes, 1968-1969)
Leslie Stevens		(4 episodes, 1968)
Oscar Brodney		(4 episodes, 1969-1970)
Tony Barrett		(3 episodes, 1968-1969)
Dean Hargrove		(3 episodes, 1968)
Sy Salkowitz		(3 episodes, 1969-1970)
Norman Hudis		(3 episodes, 1970)
B.W. Sandefur		(2 episodes, 1968-1969)
Elroy Schwartz		(2 episodes, 1968-1969)
William Bast		(2 episodes, 1969-1970)

Series Produced by
Mort Zarcoff	....	associate producer / producer (44 episodes, 1968-1969)
Glen A. Larson	....	associate producer / producer (38 episodes, 1968-1970)
Jack Arnold	....	executive producer / producer (32 episodes, 1969-1970)
Gene L. Coon	....	producer (17 episodes, 1968-1969)
Frank Price	....	executive producer / producer (17 episodes, 1968)
Gordon Oliver	....	executive producer (15 episodes, 1968-1969)
Paul Mason	....	producer (7 episodes, 1969-1970)
Winston Miller	....	producer (6 episodes, 1968)
Leonard Horn	....	producer (3 episodes, 1968-1969)

Series Original Music by
Benny Golson		(8 episodes, 1968-1969)
Oliver Nelson		(3 episodes, 1968-1970)
Billy Goldenberg		(3 episodes, 1968-1969)
Lyn Murray		(3 episodes, 1968-1969)
Dave Grusin		(2 episodes, 1968-1970)

Series Cinematography by
Andrew Jackson		(16 episodes, 1968-1970)
Richard Batcheller		(12 episodes, 1969-1970)
Gene Polito		(9 episodes, 1968-1969)
Ralph Woolsey		(9 episodes, 1968-1969)
Enzo Serafin		(7 episodes, 1969)
Ray Flin		(5 episodes, 1969)
William Margulies		(4 episodes, 1968-1969)

Series Film Editing by
Frank Morriss		(15 episodes, 1968-1969)
Tony Martinelli		(13 episodes, 1968-1970)
Jean Jacques Berthelot		(9 episodes, 1968-1970)
Robert F. Shugrue		(6 episodes, 1968-1969)
Douglas Stewart		(6 episodes, 1968)
Edward Haire		(6 episodes, 1969)
Edwin H. Bryant		(5 episodes, 1969-1970)
George Ohanian		(3 episodes, 1970)
John Elias		(2 episodes, 1968-1969)

Series Casting by
Tom Jennings		(56 episodes, 1968-1969)

Series Art Direction by
Alexander A. Mayer		(59 episodes, 1968-1970)
Aurelio Crugnola		(7 episodes, 1969)

Series Set Decoration by
John McCarthy Jr.		(59 episodes, 1968-1970)
Robert C. Bradfield		(41 episodes, 1968-1970)
Joseph J. Stone		(9 episodes, 1968)
Marvin March		(3 episodes, 1968)
James M. Walters Sr.		(3 episodes, 1968)

Series Costume Design by
Burton Miller		(6 episodes, 1968-1970)

Series Makeup Department
Larry Germain	....	hair stylist (66 episodes, 1968-1970)
Bud Westmore	....	makeup artist (66 episodes, 1968-1970)

Series Production Management
James M. Walters Jr.	....	unit manager / production manager (35 episodes, 1969-1970)
Abby Singer	....	unit manager (17 episodes, 1968)
Joseph C. Cavalier	....	unit manager (12 episodes, 1968-1969)
Danilo Sabatini	....	production manager (7 episodes, 1969)
Marco Tamburella	....	unit manager (7 episodes, 1969)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jack Doran	....	assistant director (29 episodes, 1968-1970)
Richard Learman	....	assistant director (8 episodes, 1969-1970)
Fabrizio Castellani	....	assistant director (7 episodes, 1969)
Robert G. Stone	....	assistant director (7 episodes, 1969)
John Clarke Bowman	....	assistant director (4 episodes, 1968)
Ralph Ferrin	....	assistant director (3 episodes, 1968)
Frank Losee	....	assistant director (3 episodes, 1968)

Series Sound Department
Melvin M. Metcalfe Sr.	....	sound (36 episodes, 1968-1970)
Frank H. Wilkinson	....	sound (8 episodes, 1968-1969)
Kurt Doubrowsky	....	sound (7 episodes, 1969)
James T. Porter	....	sound (3 episodes, 1968-1969)
Ed Somers Sr.	....	sound (3 episodes, 1968-1969)
Lyle Cain	....	sound (2 episodes, 1968-1969)
Earl Crain Jr.	....	sound (2 episodes, 1968)
Ted G. Mann	....	sound (2 episodes, 1969)

Series Stunts
Charlie Picerni	....	stunts (1 episode, 1968)
Jerry Brutsche	....	stunts (1 episode, 1969)
Steven Burnett	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Chuck Courtney	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Dick Crockett	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Howard Curtis	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
George Orrison	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
George Robotham	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
George Sawaya	....	stunts (unknown episodes)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Burton Miller	....	costumes (53 episodes, 1968-1970)
Metka Kosak	....	costumes (7 episodes, 1969)
Hugh McFarland	....	costumes (7 episodes, 1969)

Series Editorial Department
Richard Belding	....	editorial supervision (66 episodes, 1968-1970)
Robert Brower	....	color coordinator (66 episodes, 1968-1970)
Ron Meredith	....	assistant film editor (unknown episodes)

Series Music Department
Stanley Wilson	....	music supervision / musical supervision (66 episodes, 1968-1970)
Dave Grusin	....	composer: theme music (63 episodes, 1968-1970)

Series Other crew
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	main titles / titles (50 episodes, 1968-1970)
Dean Hargrove	....	story consultant (11 episodes, 1968)
Glen A. Larson	....	script consultant (2 episodes, 1968)

Production Companies

• Universal TV

Distributors

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1968) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Studios USA Television

Other Companies

• Universal City Studios  filmed at
• Universal Title  titles & optical effects

Also Known As:

"Once a Crook" (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

60 min (65 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Universal TV

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.

Quotes:

Noah Bain: We're not asking you to spy. We're just asking you to steal.
Alexander Mundy: Let me get this straight: you WANT me to steal?

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Hot Diggity Dog (1990)

Ultimate Cool - World Traveller and all that goes with it.

Someone do a DVD boxed set with commentaries on this quickly before Malachi Throne, Susan St. James and R.J. leave us!!!! Much like the Man From UNCLE, Mission: Impossible and other shows "filmed" all over the world, the Universal backlot was Paris, Istanbul, Rome, etc. But the one thing this show did have that none other would was R.J., AKA Robert Wagner. The first season was great and when joined by his Dad (Fred Astaire) the scripts became a little more tortured, but still, you wanted to move and talk like R.J. When Bette Davis was a co-star as an ailing female thief that was going to hold a formal party, R. J. commented on the class she exuded by saying, "White Tie - First Cabin". He is what Austin Powers attempted to be, he is what a less brutal version of Connery's Bond could have been. No matter where he went, he could be the playboy who knew the best Bistro in Cannes, the grooviest bar in Picadilly, the best casino in Monaco. He had the women: Susan St. James before Rock Hudson, an early interracial fling with one of the Fifth Dimension-ettes. Studios are making a fortune on DVD releases. I am stunned with slack-jawed amazement that they can come up with the first season of the Brady Bunch but not a unique cultural event like "It Takes a Thief". Trust me, we'll buy it.