George Markstein (29 August 1926 – 15 January 1987) was a British
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
and writer of
thrillers and
teleplay
A teleplay is a screenplay or script used in the production of a scripted television program or series. In general usage, the term is most commonly seen in reference to a standalone production, such as a television film, a television play, or an ...
s. He was the script editor of the British series ''
The Prisoner
''The Prisoner'' is a 1967 British television series about an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village, where his captors designate him as Number Six and try to find out why he abruptl ...
'' for the first thirteen episodes, and appeared briefly in its
title sequence
A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a opening theme song with visu ...
. Markstein also wrote for or story-edited other television series, specialising in espionage stories, and jointly ran a successful
literary agency for screenwriters.
Life and work
In 1926, according to his friend Sidney Allinson, writing in "George Markstein and The Prisoner", Markstein was born in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, Germany,
[Bruce Edler]
George Markstein
All Movie Guide
AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne.
History
AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...
, but emigrated with his Jewish family to England with the rise of
Nazism
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
. It is likely that he lived in the United States during his youth, then moved to Britain. Markstein worked as a newspaper reporter for the ''
Southport Guardian'' of
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England.
Southport lies on the Irish ...
England in 1947. Markstein later became a journalist for the American military tabloid, the ''
Overseas Weekly''. Due to its scandal-driven content, the paper's U.S. G.I. readership referred to the paper as the ''Over Sexed Weekly''. The masthead of the newspaper lists Markstein as head of the
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
desk.
He moved into television, first on the factual series ''
This Week'',
[''Six into One: The Prisoner File'', WTVA/Illuminations for ]Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
, 1984; before acting as story consultant and contributing to multiple episodes of
ITC's ''
Court Martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
'' (1966), and then joining ''
Danger Man
''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...
'' as story consultant for the last black-and-white episode (1966), then story editor for the two episodes which were made in colour (1967). Around this time he also wrote four episodes for
Rediffusion
Rediffusion was a business that distributed radio and TV signals through wired relay networks. The business gave rise to a number of other companies, including Associated-Rediffusion, later known as Rediffusion London, the first ITV ( commer ...
's children's drama series ''
Send Foster'' (1967), and worked on the script for
Peter Yates
Peter James Yates (24 July 1929 – 9 January 2011) was an English film director and producer.
Biography Early life
Yates was born in Aldershot, Hampshire. The son of an army officer, he attended Charterhouse School as a boy, graduated from ...
's ''
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...
'' (1967), a fictionalised feature film based on the 1963
Great Train Robbery.
''The Prisoner''
When
Patrick McGoohan
Patrick Joseph McGoohan (; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television.
Born in the United States to Irish emigrant parents, he was raised in Ireland and Engla ...
announced his decision to leave ''Danger Man'', Markstein edited the basic ideas that McGoohan had worked on since 1962 that became ''The Prisoner'' series,.
[An interview with George Markstein](_blank)
, conducted by Chris Rodley in 1984. Together with producer
David Tomblin and the star McGoohan (uncredited), Markstein co-wrote the first story "Arrival," and then settled in as script editor for the series. He later described the job of story editor as "the key man in any series, he is the man in whose hands is the ethos of the series, the spirit of the series, and it is his job to cast the writers and the authors the way a director casts the actors and the stars".
Markstein makes a fleeting appearance at the start of almost every episode of ''The Prisoner'' – as the balding, bespectacled 'man behind the desk', to whom McGoohan's character is seen angrily handing his letter of resignation; and played the same, non-speaking character in the episode "
Many Happy Returns".
Markstein's view of the series was for a more-or-less conventional action/espionage story. However, as McGoohan controlled the series as Executive Producer and owner of Everyman Films, Markstein became increasingly dissatisfied as an employee and ultimately left the series after the conclusion of the initial block of thirteen episodes. A glimpse of Markstein's face remained in the opening credits, but it was without him that McGoohan took the series to its most surreal and existential levels in the final four episodes, and its bizarre conclusion.
Later work
After ''The Prisoner'', Markstein joined the new
Thames Television
Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a Broadcast license, franchise holder for a region of the British ITV (TV network), ITV television network serving Greater London, London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until th ...
, initially as an in-house script editor, then as story editor for the first series of a counter-espionage drama ''
Special Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...
'' (1969); the third and final fourth series of spy drama ''
Callan
Callan is a given name and surname of Irish and Scottish origin. It can derive from Ó Cathaláin, meaning ''descendant of Cathalán''. Callan can also be an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Allin or Mac Callin. Notable people with the name includ ...
'' (1970, 1972); several episodes of ''
Armchair Theatre
''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968.
The Canad ...
'' (1969, 1971); and the first series of ''
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes'' (1971). He also acted as
producer for the first series of ''Man at the Top'' (1970–71), a continuation of the story begun with
John Braine
John Gerard Braine (13 April 1922 – 28 October 1986) was an English novelist. Braine is usually listed among the angry young men, a loosely defined group of English writers who emerged on the literary scene in the 1950s.
Biography
John Brain ...
's 1957 ''
Room at the Top''. Markstein became Thames's Head of Script Development, where he had input into the development of the 1974 ''
Armchair Cinema
''Armchair Cinema'' is a British television drama anthology series of one-off plays that ran on the ITV network between 1974-1975. It was produced by Euston Films in conjunction with Thames Television. The series was a spin-off from the long runni ...
'' season made by Thames's film subsidiary
Euston Films
Euston Films is a British film and television production company. It was originally a subsidiary company of Thames Television, and operated from 1971 to 1994, producing various series for Thames, which were screened nationally on the ITV network. ...
, including one-off drama ''Regan'' and its celebrated successor series ''
The Sweeney
''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective Ins ...
''.
Markstein again went freelance, and co-wrote the screenplay for ''
The Odessa File
''The Odessa File'' is a thriller by English writer Frederick Forsyth, first published in 1972, about the adventures of a young German reporter attempting to discover the location of a former SS concentration-camp commander.
The name ODESSA ...
'' (1974), based on the novel by
Frederick Forsyth
Frederick McCarthy Forsyth (born 25 August 1938) is an English novelist and journalist. He is best known for thrillers such as ''The Day of the Jackal'', ''The Odessa File'', '' The Fourth Protocol'', '' The Dogs of War'', ''The Devil's Alter ...
. In the same year, together with Jacqui Lyons, he co-founded the literary agency, Marjacq Scripts Ltd, initially to represent screenwriters, later also thriller writers and computer game authors. The name is a derived from Markstein's surname and Lyon's forename.
In addition to his interests in Marjacq, Markstein also wrote several thrillers, including ''The Cooler'' (1974), ''The Man From Yesterday'' (1976), ''Chance Awakening'' (1977, basis of the screenplay ''
Espion, lève-toi
''Espion, lève-toi'' 1982 is a French spy thriller film directed by Yves Boisset about a sleeper agent in Zurich, based on the thriller ''Chance Awakening'' (1977) by George Markstein.
This film was first supposed to be directed by Andrzej Żu ...
'' by
Yves Boisset
Yves may refer to:
* Yves, Charente-Maritime, a commune of the Charente-Maritime department in France
* Yves (given name), including a list of people with the name
* ''Yves'' (single album), a single album by Loona
* ''Yves'' (film), a 2019 Fre ...
), the historical epic ''Tara Kane'' (1978), ''Goering Testament'' (1978), ''Traitor for a Cause'' (1979), ''Ultimate Issue'' (1981), ''Ferret'' (1983), and ''Soul Hunters'' (1987).
He continued to write for television, including working on two series of ''
Shades of Greene
''Shades of Greene'' is a British television series based on short stories written by the author Graham Greene. The series began in 1975, with each hour-long episode featuring a dramatisation of one of Greene's stories, many of which dealt with ...
'' (1975–76) for Thames, a series of adaptations of short stories by
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
, for which Markstein acted as script consultant jointly with Greene's brother, former director-general of the BBC, Sir
Hugh Greene
Sir Hugh Carleton Greene (15 November 1910 – 19 February 1987) was a British television executive and journalist. He was director-general of the BBC from 1960 to 1969.
After working for newspapers in the 1930s, Greene spent most of his later ...
. Other series he wrote episodes for included ''
Return of the Saint
''Return of the Saint'' is a British action-adventure television series that aired for one series in 1978 and 1979 in Britain on ITV, and was also broadcast on CBS in the United States. It was co-produced by ITC Entertainment and the Italian bro ...
'' (1978), the pilot (''Storyboard: The Traitor'') and two further episodes of ''
Mr. Palfrey of Westminster
''Mr Palfrey of Westminster'' is a British television drama produced by Thames Television for ITV which ran between 18 April 1984 and 11 June 1985.
Plot summary
Mr Palfrey is a mild, middle-aged man—the epitome of a middle-ranking British Ci ...
'' (Thames, 1983, 1984, 1985), and one episode of ''
Philip Marlowe, Private Eye
''Philip Marlowe, Private Eye'' is an American mystery series that aired on HBO in the United States from April 16, 1983 through June 3, 1986, and on ITV in the United Kingdom. The series features Powers Boothe as Raymond Chandler's title char ...
'' (Thames, 1986). His final television work was as story editor on the six part series ''
London Embassy'' (Thames, 1987), based on a book of short stories by
Paul Theroux
Paul Edward Theroux (born April 10, 1941) is an American novelist and travel writer who has written numerous books, including the travelogue, '' The Great Railway Bazaar'' (1975). Some of his works of fiction have been adapted as feature films. He ...
about the unusual experiences of an American diplomat based in London.
For the cinema he wrote the initial synopsis for the 1982
SAS embassy-storming film ''
Who Dares Wins
''Who Dares Wins'' (Latin: ''Qui audet adipiscitur''; el, Ο Τολμών Νικά, ''O tolmón niká''; french: Qui ose gagne; it, Chi osa vince; Portuguese: ''Quem ousa vence''; German: ''Wer wagt, gewinnt'') is a motto made popular in the ...
'', which was then turned into a novel ''The Tiptoe Boys'' in thirty days flat by author
James Follett
James Follett (27 July 1939 – 10 January 2021) was an English author and screenwriter. Follett became a full-time fiction writer in 1976, after resigning from contract work as a technical writer for the Ministry of Defence. He wrote over 20 ...
and then into a screenplay by screenwriter
Reginald Rose
Reginald Rose (December 10, 1920 – April 19, 2002) was an American screenwriter. He wrote about controversial social and political issues. His realistic approach was particularly influential in the anthology programs of the 1950s.
Rose w ...
.
James Follett
James Follett (27 July 1939 – 10 January 2021) was an English author and screenwriter. Follett became a full-time fiction writer in 1976, after resigning from contract work as a technical writer for the Ministry of Defence. He wrote over 20 ...
, ''The Tiptoe Boys''
foreword to the revised edition
, 1999. James Follett, who began writing professionally in 1973, has described George Markstein as his "guru", and is still represented by Markstein's company Marjacq.
Following a long illness, Markstein died of kidney failure in 1987.
Works
Novels
* ''The Cooler'' (1974)
* ''The Man From Yesterday'' (1976)
* ''Chance Awakening'' (1977)
* ''Tara Kane'' (1978)
* ''The Goering Testament'' (1978)
* ''Traitor for a Cause'' (1979)
* ''Ultimate Issue'' (1981)
* ''Ferret'' (1983)
* ''Soul Hunters'' (1987)
Writing credits
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
conducted by Chris Rodley in 1984.
* from the 1984 documentary ''Six into One: The Prisoner File'', which includes edited parts of the above interview
*
– James Follett website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Markstein, George
1926 births
1987 deaths
British spy fiction writers
British television producers
Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom
Deaths from kidney failure
20th-century British novelists
People from Berlin