M Squad (1957-1960)

Name: M Squad
Genre: Crime, Drama
Released: 2022-01-28T11:12:08+01:00
Rating: 5.00
Cast: Lee Marvin, Paul Newlan

Crime | 3 seasons

3 seasons

5,00 1 votes

State: Ended

Genre: Crime

Origin: United States

Developed by: John Francis Larkin and Richard Lewis

Stars: Lee Marvin, Paul Newlan and Morris Ankrum

IMDb score: 8,1 (487)

Releasedate: Friday 20 September 1957

This TV Show is not available on US streaming services.

M Squad plot

Frank Ballinger is a brave commissioner from the Chicago Police Department. He is a member of the special 'M Squad', an elite unit dedicated to fighting serious crime in Chicago. For example, the 'M Squad' assists other police units in fighting organized crime, corruption and violent crimes in the city. Ballinger likes to work alone in arresting and putting the heavy thugs behind bars, much to the dismay of his boss, Captain Grey.

Seasons

5,00 (1)
M Squad - Season 1 (1957-1958)
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M Squad - Season 2 (1958-1959)
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M Squad - Season 3 (1959-1960)

Full Cast & Crew

Actors and actresses

Adam Williams

Dr. Carter

Videos and trailers

All Media

Opinions about M Squad

The reviews and comments below are selected at random from our extensive user contributions. If you want to write a review or post a comment yourself, you can do so on a specific season page.

Bobbejaantje

59 comments
80 votes

Friday 18 March 2022

M Squad season 1

Lee Marvin in his first and only TV series in which he actually plays the lead (in the sixties he was still the host of The Lawbreakers but that is something different). Lee Marvin was tired of typecasting as a villain and that was a reason for him to take on the role of Lt. Frank Ballinger, M Squad agent with the Chicago police. And he does it wonderfully. I never doubted the integrity of the character he portrays. The only other regular character in (the first season of) the series is Paul Newlan as his superior Inspector Gray.

Each episode follows a fixed pattern. It starts with a snapshot of the crime, after which Lee Marvin introduces himself through voice over and explains what he is doing, before getting involved in the investigation of the crime. That voice over returns regularly and gives tons of atmosphere thanks to the beautiful deep voice of Marvin. Each episode lasts only half an hour and is packed with action. No dead moments here (just regular dead characters). It also involves a combination of brain work and outbursts of violence (usually a shoot out follows at the end). Good storylines, excellent acting from a real icon and then there are the shoots on location in Chicago in the late 1950s. The production reportedly did not have permission to shoot the footage of Chicago, which means that part of this police series was created illegally. How cool this is.

This first season was an addictive affair, luckily I have 2 more to go.