It Takes a Thief (1968 TV series)
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| It Takes a Thief | |
|---|---|
| Format | Drama/Adventure |
| Created by | Roland Kibbee |
| Starring | Robert Wagner Malachi Throne Fred Astaire Ed Binns |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 66 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Jack Arnold Gordon Oliver Frank Price |
| Running time | 60 min. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Original run | January 9, 1968 – March 24, 1970 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
It Takes a Thief is an American action-adventure television series that aired on ABC for two and a half seasons between January 9, 1968 to March 24, 1970. It was among the last of the 1960s spy television genre, although Mission: Impossible continued for several years. It Takes A Thief was inspired by, though not based upon, the 1955 Cary Grant motion picture To Catch a Thief, directed by Alfred Hitchcock; both of their titles stem from the English proverb "It takes a thief to catch a thief."
Contents |
[edit] Premise
It Takes a Thief featured the adventures of cat burglar, pickpocket, and thief Alexander Mundy (Robert Wagner) who steals to finance his life as a polished playboy and sophisticate. He is in prison when the U.S. government's SIA (secret intelligence agency) proposes a deal to Mundy: steal for the government in exchange for his freedom. His new SIA boss, Noah Bain (Malachi Throne), uses the catch phrase, "Hey, look, Al, I'm not asking you to spy, I'm just asking you to steal." The pilot was a 1968 television film called A Thief is a Thief or The Magnificent Thief.
During the third season, Fred Astaire played Alistair Mundy, Alexander's father, also a master gentleman-thief who says at the start of each episode, "I've heard of stealing from the government, but not for the government." Later, in the series's third season, Throne was replaced by Edward Binns as Mundy's SIA chief.
[edit] Movie remake
Universal is reportedly planning to produce a feature film remake of It Takes a Thief, with Will Smith as Alexander Mundy. Variety reported in March 2006:[1]
Smith and his Overbrook Entertainment partner James Lassiter have come aboard to produce the film with Kevin Misher, John Davis and Joe Singer. Four Brothers scribes David Elliot and Paul Lovett are set to write the script.
[edit] Episodes
[edit] Season 1 (1968)
| Episode # | Original Air Date (US) | Episode Title | Guest cast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-01 | 9 January 1968 | A Thief is a Thief | Senta Berger, Raymond Burr, Leslie Nielsen, Susan Saint James |
| 1-02 | 16 January 1968 | It Takes One to Know One | Len Birman |
| 1-03 | 30 January 1968 | When Boy Meets Girl | Suzy Parker, Donnelly Rhodes[2] |
| 1-04 | 6 February 1968 | A Very Warm Reception | Simon Oakland, Katherine Crawford[2] |
| 1-05 | 13 February 1968 | One Illegal Angel | Fernando Lamas[2] |
| 1-06 | 20 February 1968 | Totally By Design | Tina Louise, John van Dreelen, Mari Blanchard[2] |
| 1-07 | 27 February 1968 | When Thieves Fall In | Susan Saint James[2] |
| 1-08 | 5 March 1968 | A Spot of Trouble | Katherine Crawford, William Campbell, Cliff Osmond[2] |
| 1-09 | 12 March 1968 | When Good Friends Get Together | Rosemary Forsyth, Patrick Adiarte; James Shigeta (special guest star)[2] |
| 1-10 | 19 March 1968 | Birds of a Feather | Tisha Sterling, Mark Lenard, Strother Martin, Taina Elg[2] |
| 1-11 | 26 March 1968 | To Steal a Battleship | Bill Bixby, Linda Marsh[2] |
| 1-12 | 2 April 1968 | Turnabout | Ida Lupino, Steve Ihnat[2] |
| 1-14 | 9 April 1968 | The Radomir Miniature | Ina Balin[2] |
| 1-14 | 16 April 1968 | Locked in the Cradle of the Keep | Celeste Yarnall, Marti Stevens[2] |
| 1-15 | 23 April 1968 | A Matter of Royal Larceny | Lynda Day, Henry Wilcoxon[2] |
| 1-16 | 30 April 1968 | The Lay of the Land | Hermione Gingold; Sheila Larken (introducing)[2] |
[edit] Season 2 (1968-1969)
| Episode # | Original Air Date (US) | Episode Title | Guest cast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-01 | 24 September 1968 | One Night on Soledade | |
| 2-02 | 1 October 1968 | A Sour Note | |
| 2-03 | 8 October 1968 | The Bill is in Committee | |
| 2-04 | 15 October 1968 | The Thingamabob Heist | |
| 2-05 | 22 October 1968 | Get Me to the Revolution on Time | |
| 2-06 | 29 October 1968 | The Packager | |
| 2-07 | 12 November 1968 | Hans Across the Border - Part 1 | |
| 2-08 | 19 November 1968 | Hans Across the Border - Part 2 | |
| 2-09 | 26 November 1968 | A Case of Red Turnips | |
| 2-10 | 3 December 1968 | The Galloping Skin Game | |
| 2-11 | 17 December 1968 | Glass Riddle | |
| 2-12 | 31 December 1968 | To Catch a Roaring Lion | |
| 2-13 | 7 January 1969 | Guess Who's Coming to Rio? | |
| 2-14 | 21 January 1969 | The Artist Is for Framing | |
| 2-15 | 28 January 1969 | The Naked Billionaire | |
| 2-16 | 11 February 1969 | A Matter of Grey Matter - Part 1 | |
| 2-17 | 11 February 1969 | A Matter of Grey Matter - Part 2 | |
| 2-18 | 18 February 1969 | Catspaw | |
| 2-19 | 25 February 1969 | Boom at the Top | |
| 2-20 | 11 March 1969 | The Funeral Is on Mundy | |
| 2-21 | 18 March 1969 | The Baranoff Time Table | |
| 2-22 | 25 March 1969 | Rock-Bye, Bye, Baby | |
| 2-23 | 1 April 1969 | The Family | |
| 2-24 | 8 April 1969 | 38-23-36 | |
| 2-25 | 15 April 1969 | The Great Chess Gambit | |
| 2-26 | 22 April 1969 | Mad in Japan |
[edit] Season 3 (1969-1970)
| Episode # | Original Air Date (US) | Episode Title | Guest cast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-01 | 25 September 1969 | Saturday Night in Venice | |
| 3-02 | 2 October 1969 | Who'll Bid Two Million Dollars? | |
| 3-03 | 9 October 1969 | The Beautiful People | |
| 3-04 | 16 October 1969 | The Great Casino Caper | Fred Astaire |
| 3-05 | 23 October 1969 | Flowers from Alexander | |
| 3-06 | 30 October 1969 | The Blue, Blue Danube | |
| 3-07 | 6 November 1969 | The Three Virgins of Rome | Fred Astaire |
| 3-08 | 13 November 1969 | Payoff in the Piazza | |
| 3-09 | 20 November 1969 | The King of Thieves | |
| 3-10 | 27 November 1969 | A Friend in Deed | |
| 3-11 | 4 December 1969 | The Second Time Around | Fred Astaire |
| 3-12 | 11 December 1969 | The Old Who Came in from the Spy | |
| 3-13 | 18 December 1969 | To Lure a Man | |
| 3-14 | 25 December 1969 | The Scorpio Drop | |
| 3-15 | 15 January 1970 | Nice Girls Marry Stock Brokers | |
| 3-16 | 19 January 1970 | The Steal-Driving Man | |
| 3-17 | 26 January 1970 | Touch of Magic | |
| 3-18 | 2 February 1970 | Fortune City | Stefanie Powers |
| 3-19 | 2 February 1970 | Situation Red | |
| 3-20 | 23 February 1970 | To Sing a Song of Murder | The Fifth Dimension - Marilyn McCoo, Billy Davis Jr., Florence LaRue Gordon, Lamonte McLemore, Ron Townson. |
| 3-21 | 2 March 1970 | The Suzie Simone Caper | |
| 3-22 | 9 March 1970 | An Evening with Alister Mundy | Fred Astaire |
| 3-23 | 16 March 1970 | Beyond a Treasonable Doubt | |
| 3-24 | 24 March 1970 | Project X |
[edit] Trivia
- This show marks the TV debut of veteran movie actor Robert Wagner. He would later co-star/star in two more successful series, Switch (1975-1978) and Hart to Hart (1979-1984), and would also have a hugely successful movie career of the 1990s.
- Future Hart to Hart star and longtime friend of Wagner's, Stefanie Powers guest-starred with Wagner on Fortune City.
