''The Vise'' (later known as ''Saber of London'', also known as ''Mark Saber'') is an American detective drama that was broadcast on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
(1955-1957) and then moved to
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
(1957-1960). The series is a
reboot
In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...
of the ''
ABC Mystery Theater'' radio and television series.
It was produced by
the Danzigers
Edward J. Danziger (1909–1999) and Harry Lee Danziger (1913–2005) were American-born brothers who produced many British films and TV shows in the 1950s and 1960s.
According to one profile "throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, their second fea ...
and starred
Donald Gray
Donald Gray (born Eldred Owermann Tidbury, 3 March 1914 – 7 April 1978) was a South African actor, well known for his starring role in the British TV series ''Mark Saber'', for providing the voices of Colonel White, Captain Black and the ...
as Mark Saber. It mostly ran during prime time in the late 1950s.
Background
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
had originally broadcast a radio series called ''ABC Mystery Theater'' alongside a television series of the same name from 1951 to 1954. In the TV series, Mark Saber was portrayed by
Tom Conway
Tom Conway (born Thomas Charles Sanders, 15 September 1904 – 22 April 1967) was a British film, television, and radio actor remembered for playing private detectives (including The Falcon, Sherlock Holmes, Bulldog Drummond, and The Saint) ...
and his assistant Tim Maloney was portrayed by
James Burke. Saber was a British detective working in an American homicide department.
In the meantime in 1954,
the Danzigers
Edward J. Danziger (1909–1999) and Harry Lee Danziger (1913–2005) were American-born brothers who produced many British films and TV shows in the 1950s and 1960s.
According to one profile "throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, their second fea ...
were developing a mystery anthology series called ''The Vise''. It was hosted by Australian actor
Ron Randell Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald.
Ron or RON may also refer to:
Arts and media
* Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character
* Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character
*Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...
and was broadcast on various ITV channels in the UK, as well as syndicated episodes of ''The Pendulum'' in the US; ''The Crooked Path'' on ITV, and ''Tension'' on ITV.
Cast
Per listing in ''
''
and ''Encyclopedia of Earth Television Crime Fighters''
*
Donald Gray
Donald Gray (born Eldred Owermann Tidbury, 3 March 1914 – 7 April 1978) was a South African actor, well known for his starring role in the British TV series ''Mark Saber'', for providing the voices of Colonel White, Captain Black and the ...
as Mark Saber
*
Michael Balfour as Barney O'Keefe (1955–1956), Saber's assistant
* Teresa Thorne as Judy (1958)
*
Diana Decker
Diana Decker (born Isabella Charlotte Diana Decker, 9 January 1925 – 4 January 2019), was a British/American actress, singer, and television personality, who was popular from the 1940s to the early 1960s.
Early life
Decker was born to an Americ ...
as Stephanie Ames (1956–1957), Saber's secretary and assistant
*
Neil McCallum as Pete Paulson (1957–1958), Saber's assistant
*
Gordon Tanner
Gordon Tanner (July 17, 1918–August 3, 1983) was a Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many ...
as Pete Paulson (1958)
*
Robert Arden
Robert Arden (11 December 1922 – 25 March 2004) was an English film, television and radio actor born in LondonAaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 20-23. who worked and live ...
as Bob Page (1958–1960), Saber's assistant
*
Colin Tapley
Colin Edward Livingstone Tapley (7 May 1909 – 1 December 1995) was a New Zealand actor in both American and British films. Born in New Zealand, he served in the Royal Air Force and an expedition to Antarctica before winning a Paramount Pictur ...
as Inspector Parker (1957–1960)
Production
In 1955,
the Danzigers
Edward J. Danziger (1909–1999) and Harry Lee Danziger (1913–2005) were American-born brothers who produced many British films and TV shows in the 1950s and 1960s.
According to one profile "throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, their second fea ...
changed the format of ''The Vise'' from an anthology series to a standard format mystery series completely dedicated to the Mark Saber stories.
They
rebooted
''Rebooted'' is the third season of the computer-animated television series '' Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu'' (titled ''Ninjago'' from the eleventh season onward). The series was created by Michael Hegner and Tommy Andreasen. The season aired f ...
the ''Mark Saber'' drama and television series that was running on ABC in the US. Saber, portrayed by
Donald Gray
Donald Gray (born Eldred Owermann Tidbury, 3 March 1914 – 7 April 1978) was a South African actor, well known for his starring role in the British TV series ''Mark Saber'', for providing the voices of Colonel White, Captain Black and the ...
, was now a one-armed private detective in London and would be solving mysteries occurring in the UK as well as in Paris and the Riviera. Instead of Maloney, Saber had various
assistants.
Gray himself was also an amputee.
Screenplays were done by Mark Grantham,
Brian Clemens
Brian Horace Clemens (30 July 1931 – 10 January 2015) was an English screenwriter and television producer, possibly best known for his work on '' The Avengers'' and '' The Professionals''. Clemens claimed to be related to Mark Twain (Samuel ...
, and others. Episodes were formatted for the half-hour time slot. Two episodes were shot every five days. In an interview with
Wheeler Winston Dixon
Wheeler Winston Dixon (born March 12, 1950) is an American filmmaker and scholar. He is an expert on film history, theory and criticism.Bill Goodykoontz, December 23, 2012, USA TodayDefining Tarantino Accessed Aug. 25, 2013, Quote = "...long, invo ...
, Clemens said that in the four years he wrote for the show, he only went on set with the Danzigers about eight times. The budgets for the episodes were about 17 thousand pounds for a feature, and shooting took about 8–10 days.
Broadcast
For the
1955-56 television season, ''The Vise'' aired on ABC at 9:30 p.m. EST on Fridays.
It also aired at the same time for the
1956–57 season.
In 1957, the show was moved to
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
and retitled ''Saber of London'', when it aired at 7:30 p.m. EST on Fridays.
In the
1957–58 season, it competed against ''
Leave It to Beaver'' on CBS and ''
The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin
''The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin'' is an American children's television series in the Western genre that aired from October 1954 to May 1959 on the ABC television network. In all, 164 episodes aired. The show starred Lee Aaker as Rusty, a boy o ...
'' on ABC. ''The Vise'' was also shown as ''The Vise: Mark Saber'' on ITV companies in Europe.
In the
1958–1959 season, ''Saber of London'' switched to 7 p.m. Sundays,
opposite CBS's ''
Lassie''. In its last year, 1959–1960, it was moved a half-hour earlier just outside prime time to 6:30 p.m EST on Sundays, just outside
prime time.
It also continued to run on ITV channels at various times in the UK.
Alternative titles for the series in syndication include ''Detective's Diary''
and ''Uncovered''
References
External links
Mark Saberon Thrilling Detective (wordpress)
at 78rpm.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vise, The (1955)
Amputees in fiction
American Broadcasting Company original programming
1955 American television series debuts
1960 American television series endings
1950s American drama television series
1950s American crime television series
Television shows set in London
Television series reboots
NBC original programming
Television shows shot at New Elstree Studios