''Assignment Vienna'' is an American

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aired in the United States by

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as an element in its 1972-73

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'' The Men''. The series, created by

Eric Bercovici Eric Bercovici (February 27, 1933 – February 9, 2014) was an American television and film producer and screenwriter. He was best known for producing and adapting the screenplay for the 1980 television miniseries ''Shōgun''. Born in New York ...

and Jerry Ludwig, was made by

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Synopsis

''Assignment Vienna'' told the story of Jake Webster ( Robert Conrad), an American expatriate in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

who was the operator of Jake's Bar & Grill, an American-style establishment near the scenic heart of the city. In fact, the business was a cover for Jake's actual reason for being in Vienna. He was involved in tracking down various spies and international criminals at the behest of U.S. intelligence, which apparently held something against him which, if disclosed, would have resulted in his being

deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

from Austria and apparently then incarcerated in the United States. Jake's liaison with U.S. intelligence was a Major Caldwell (

Charles Cioffi Charles M. Cioffi (born October 31, 1935) is an American film and television actor best known as Lt. Matt Reardon in ''Get Christie Love!'' opposite co-star Teresa Graves. Born in New York City, he attended Michigan State University, where he ...

Anton Diffring Anton Diffring (born Alfred Pollack, 20 October 1916 – 19 May 1989) was a German-born character actor who had an extensive career in the United Kingdom from the 1940s to the 1980s, latterly appearing in international films. He appeared in ove ...

played Inspector Hoffman of the Vienna police. ''The Men'' initially aired on Thursday nights but was moved at midseason to Saturday nights. It did not garner a large share of viewers in either time slot and none of the elements were renewed. The program was

shot on location Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for exam ...

in Vienna.

Pilot

The pilot film, called ''Assignment: Munich'' and aired earlier in 1972, had the same three main characters, but a different cast (Jake, Major Caldwell, and Inspector Hoffman were played by

Roy Scheider Roy Richard Scheider (; November 10, 1932 – February 10, 2008) was an American actor and amateur boxer. Described by AllMovie as "one of the most unique and distinguished of all Hollywood actors", he gained fame for his leading and supporting ...

Richard Basehart John Richard Basehart (August 31, 1914 – September 17, 1984) was an American actor. He starred as Admiral Harriman Nelson in the television science-fiction drama ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'' (1964–68). He also portrayed Wilton Knight ...

, and

Werner Klemperer Werner Klemperer (March 22, 1920 – December 6, 2000) was an American actor. He was known for playing Colonel Wilhelm Klink on the CBS television sitcom ''Hogan's Heroes'', for which he twice won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in ...

, respectively) and was filmed on location in Munich. The location for the series was changed to prevent any disruption to filming caused by that year's

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, and Scheider chose not to return for the series in favour of a movie career.

Score

In 2010, ''

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'' released

Dave Grusin Robert David "Dave" Grusin (born June 26, 1934) is an American composer, arranger, producer, jazz pianist, and band leader. He has composed many scores for feature films and television, and has won numerous awards for his soundtrack and record w ...

's series theme and three episode scores (along with John Parker's two additional scores) as part of their five-disc collection of MGM television music, ''TV Omnibus: Volume One (1962-1976)''.

Cast

* Robert Conrad as Jake Webster *

as Maj. Caldwell *

as Inspector Hoffman

Episode list

References

Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, ''

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External links

*{{IMDb title, 0068042 American Broadcasting Company original programming 1972 American television series debuts 1973 American television series endings Espionage television series Television series about the Cold War Television series by MGM Television Television shows set in Vienna 1970s American drama television series