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Callan (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Callan is the title of a British
television series set in the murky world of espionage. Originally produced by ABC Weekend Television
and later Thames Television
, it was aired on the ITV
network over four seasons spread out between 1967 and 1972. The series starred British
actor Edward Woodward
as David Callan, a reluctant professional killer for a shadowy branch of the British Government's intelligence services known as 'the Section'.
(1976–81). The haunted character of Callan caught the public's imagination to such an extent that a six-episode series was commissioned, later in the same year.
The series ran from 1967 to 1972, proving popular with audiences. A cinema film followed in 1974, directed by Don Sharp and simply entitled Callan. Callan was last seen in the 1981 feature-length television story made by ATV, entitled Wet Job.
David Callan had been the Section's top operator but he had become too curious about his targets and the rationale for their removal. The Section considered him vulnerable, volatile and dangerous and had laid him off to a dead-end book-keeping job for an ungrateful employer. Callan is where Hunter can keep an eye on him and also in daily, casual and unknowing contact with his next victim. If he can kill Schneider after making his acquaintance as a fellow war games enthusiast then he can kill anyone: this is the question to which Hunter urgently requires an answer.
Hunter describes Callan as "a dead shot, with the cold nerve to kill" and considers him far too useful to be allowed to retire. In this screenplay, Hunter invites Callan back to the Section to remove Schneider as a favour. Schneider's nefarious activities are known to the authorities but he is too clever to be caught by normal methods. Hunter wants Scheider eliminated but offers Callan no help from the Section—ostensibly to allow Callan to prove his loyalty and dedication. Hunter secretly sends Toby Meres to set Callan up to take the fall for the assassination, should this become necessary.
Callan's curiosity about his victims overwhelms him again and he investigates Schneider, discovering a massive gun-running operation. Satisfied, Callan formulates his plan. He calls on his petty criminal contact Lonely, played by Russell Hunter
. Lonely is unsure of Callan's identity and motives but fearfully provides a "Noguchi .38 Magnum" plus 20 rounds (Callan returning the .38 revolver he had previously purchased from Lonely). Callan has a chance meeting with Schneider and finds common ground in their interest in model soldiers and war games.
At Schneider's house, where Callan and his host re-play a scenario from the Peninsular War
and go on to recreate the the Battle of Gettysburg
, Meres breaks in, distracting Callan. Hunter sends the police in order to ensure Callan is caught red-handed. Schneider, suspicious, uncovers Meres and holds the two men at gunpoint. Schneider searches Callan but misses the Magnum and Callan kills Schneider.
Meres attempts to finish the set-up but Callan knocks Meres unconscious. Callan phones Hunter about Schneider and says he will leave Meres to the police, quitting the Section. Hunter orders Callan's file to be changed to a red folder—targeting him for removal.
. A second season of fifteen episodes that had already been completed by ABC was therefore transmitted by its successor. This run ended with "Death Of A Hunter" in which the Section chief meets his demise, and Callan is shot - perhaps fatally. It had not been decided whether the show would return for a third series, so this device was used to leave open either the possibility of more stories in the future, or a way of winding-up the show. Two endings were taped, in which Callan either lived or died. In the end, Thames decided to bring the programme back for the 1970 series, this time in full colour.
A final set of thirteen episodes was broadcast in 1972. This saw Callan develop further than before. An unsuccessful mission meant Callan was exchanged with the Russians for one of their agents and now he was known, he was a liability. What to do with the Section's top agent was solved by promoting him into the role of Hunter - a post he disliked as much or even more than actually serving under a Hunter but which he was eventually relieved of by his predecessor when the danger had all but passed. The final three episodes were a trilogy based around the defector Richmond, played by T. P. McKenna
, (and sub-titled "The Richmond Files"), at the end of which he pleads for Callan to kill him instead of capturing him - you know what they do to people like us. Having disobeyed orders to help A Man Like Me (Final episode title), Callan finally walks out of the Section.
Successive Hunters were played by Ronald Radd
, Derek Bond
, Michael Goodliffe
and William Squire
. The latter's steely exterior and ice-cold decisive nature was often the match for Callan and he is probably the best remembered of all the supporting actors. Toby Meres was brought to life by Anthony Valentine (Peter Bowles
in the pilot) and when he departed for a posting in the US (in truth, to appear in the series Codename
on the rival BBC network) in came the young, brash, and unpredictable Cross (played by Patrick Mower
) who was just as arrogant and who needed teaching a lesson more than once in a while by his experienced teacher.
Meres was again re-cast, this time being played by Peter Egan
(better known at the time as a trendy gangster from a controversial TV series Big Breadwinner Hog
- now better known for sitcoms such as Ever Decreasing Circles
). The only recurring actors from the TV series were Woodward as Callan, Russell Hunter as Lonely and Clifford Rose as Dr Snell (who appeared in five episodes of the series from season two, three and four (though its stated that Callan has never met Snell before)).
Prism Leisure released the cinema film as Callan - The Movie on Region 0 PAL in 2001. The DVD also includes an interview with Woodward.
Network DVD
released Callan - The Monochrome Years on 22 February 2010. This four DVD set includes the remaining 2 episodes (out of 6) from the first season and 9 episodes (out of 15) from the second season, plus the Armchair Theatre pilot play 'A magnum For Schnieder'. Network also released Callan - The Colour Years in 2010. Callan - Wet Job is released by Network in 2011.
released the third and fourth seasons on DVD in the Australia in 2007.
All of the colour episodes exist, and the 1970 series was released on DVD in the UK in 2001. The episodes were edited to remove captions which would have led into the commercial breaks in the original transmission. This resulted in some awkward visual and audio jump cuts. The subsequent British DVD releases all retain the commercial break captions. The 1974 movie was released on DVD separately.
Both the 1970 and 1972 series have had Region 4 DVD releases by Umbrella Entertainment. The 1972 series also includes the movie.
The DVD releases of the movie include an interview, recorded in 2000, with Edward Woodward.
series, The Equalizer
, playing a conscience-stricken former secret agent
who becomes a protector of people in need, yet finds himself being called back into service by his former employers from time to time.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television series set in the murky world of espionage. Originally produced by ABC Weekend Television
Associated British Corporation
Associated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established in the United Kingdom during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this...
and later Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
, it was aired on the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
network over four seasons spread out between 1967 and 1972. The series starred British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor Edward Woodward
Edward Woodward
Edward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE was an English stage and screen actor and singer. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art , Woodward began his career on stage, and throughout his career he appeared in productions in both the West End in London and on Broadway in New York...
as David Callan, a reluctant professional killer for a shadowy branch of the British Government's intelligence services known as 'the Section'.
Characters
| Character | 'A Magnum for Schneider' | Regular Series | Callan Film |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Callan | Edward Woodward Edward Woodward Edward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE was an English stage and screen actor and singer. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art , Woodward began his career on stage, and throughout his career he appeared in productions in both the West End in London and on Broadway in New York... |
||
| Lonely | Russell Hunter Russell Hunter Russell Hunter was a popular Scottish television, stage and film actor. He is perhaps best known as the character "Lonely" in the TV thriller series Callan, starring Edward Woodward and that of Shop-Steward Harry in the Yorkshire Television sitcom The Gaffer.-Life:Born Russell Ellis in Glasgow,... |
||
| Toby Meres | Peter Bowles Peter Bowles -Early life:Bowles was born in London, England, the son of Sarah Jane and Herbert Reginald Bowles. His father was a chauffeur and butler at a stately home in Warwickshire; but, upon the outbreak of World War II, he was seconded to work as an engineer at Rolls-Royce and moved the family to Nottingham... |
Anthony Valentine | Peter Egan Peter Egan Peter Egan is a British actor known for playing smooth neighbour Paul Ryman in 1980s sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles. He is married to retired actress Myra Frances.-Early life:... |
| Hunter | Ronald Radd Ronald Radd Ronald Radd was a British television actor.Radd starred in some 60 different TV shows between 1955 and 1976 including The Avengers, Danger Man, and Z-Cars... |
Ronald Radd Ronald Radd Ronald Radd was a British television actor.Radd starred in some 60 different TV shows between 1955 and 1976 including The Avengers, Danger Man, and Z-Cars... , Michael Goodliffe Michael Goodliffe Lawrence Michael Andrew Goodliffe was an English actor best known for playing suave roles such as doctors, lawyers and army officers. He was also sometimes cast in working class parts.... , Derek Bond Derek Bond Derek William Douglas Bond MC was a British actor.-Life and career:Derek Bond was born 26 January 1920 in Glasgow, Scotland. He attended Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School in Hampstead, London. He saw active service with the Grenadier Guards in North Africa during the Second World War, for which he... , William Squire William Squire William Squire was a Welsh actor of stage, film and television, born in Neath, South Wales.As a stage actor, Squire performed at Stratford-upon-Avon and at the Old Vic, and notably replaced his fellow-countryman Richard Burton as King Arthur in Camelot at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway.His... |
Eric Porter Eric Porter Eric Richard Porter was an English actor of stage, film and television.-Early life:Porter was born in Shepherd's Bush, London, to Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth Spall... |
| James Cross | Patrick Mower Patrick Mower Patrick Mower , whose original name was Patrick Archibald Shaw, is an English actor well known for his many television and occasional film roles, often as a detective or secret agent.-Life:... |
||
| Liz, Hunter's Secretary | Judy Champ | Lisa Langdon | Veronica Lang |
| Snell | Clifford Rose Clifford Rose Clifford Rose is a British classical actor.He was born in Herefordshire. He was educated at the King's School, Worcester and King's College London, before appearing in rep and with the Royal Shakespeare Company.... |
Clifford Rose Clifford Rose Clifford Rose is a British classical actor.He was born in Herefordshire. He was educated at the King's School, Worcester and King's College London, before appearing in rep and with the Royal Shakespeare Company.... |
|
Series evolution
The series pilot episode aired in February 1967, in a play entitled A Magnum for Schneider by James Mitchell. Mitchell also created the equally popular When the Boat Comes InWhen the Boat Comes In
When the Boat Comes In is a British television period-drama produced by the BBC between 1976 and 1981.The series stars James Bolam as Jack Ford, a First World War veteran who returns to his poverty-stricken town of Gallowshield in the North East of England in the 1920s.The memorable traditional...
(1976–81). The haunted character of Callan caught the public's imagination to such an extent that a six-episode series was commissioned, later in the same year.
The series ran from 1967 to 1972, proving popular with audiences. A cinema film followed in 1974, directed by Don Sharp and simply entitled Callan. Callan was last seen in the 1981 feature-length television story made by ATV, entitled Wet Job.
A Magnum for Schneider
Callan has been fired from an anonymous government agency known as "The Section" which is run by Colonel Hunter. ("Hunter" is a pseudonym for the current Section Chief, like the C of SIS.) The Section removes those who pose a danger to the "innocent" by persuasion, blackmail, extortion or death.David Callan had been the Section's top operator but he had become too curious about his targets and the rationale for their removal. The Section considered him vulnerable, volatile and dangerous and had laid him off to a dead-end book-keeping job for an ungrateful employer. Callan is where Hunter can keep an eye on him and also in daily, casual and unknowing contact with his next victim. If he can kill Schneider after making his acquaintance as a fellow war games enthusiast then he can kill anyone: this is the question to which Hunter urgently requires an answer.
Hunter describes Callan as "a dead shot, with the cold nerve to kill" and considers him far too useful to be allowed to retire. In this screenplay, Hunter invites Callan back to the Section to remove Schneider as a favour. Schneider's nefarious activities are known to the authorities but he is too clever to be caught by normal methods. Hunter wants Scheider eliminated but offers Callan no help from the Section—ostensibly to allow Callan to prove his loyalty and dedication. Hunter secretly sends Toby Meres to set Callan up to take the fall for the assassination, should this become necessary.
Callan's curiosity about his victims overwhelms him again and he investigates Schneider, discovering a massive gun-running operation. Satisfied, Callan formulates his plan. He calls on his petty criminal contact Lonely, played by Russell Hunter
Russell Hunter
Russell Hunter was a popular Scottish television, stage and film actor. He is perhaps best known as the character "Lonely" in the TV thriller series Callan, starring Edward Woodward and that of Shop-Steward Harry in the Yorkshire Television sitcom The Gaffer.-Life:Born Russell Ellis in Glasgow,...
. Lonely is unsure of Callan's identity and motives but fearfully provides a "Noguchi .38 Magnum" plus 20 rounds (Callan returning the .38 revolver he had previously purchased from Lonely). Callan has a chance meeting with Schneider and finds common ground in their interest in model soldiers and war games.
At Schneider's house, where Callan and his host re-play a scenario from the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
and go on to recreate the the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
, Meres breaks in, distracting Callan. Hunter sends the police in order to ensure Callan is caught red-handed. Schneider, suspicious, uncovers Meres and holds the two men at gunpoint. Schneider searches Callan but misses the Magnum and Callan kills Schneider.
Meres attempts to finish the set-up but Callan knocks Meres unconscious. Callan phones Hunter about Schneider and says he will leave Meres to the police, quitting the Section. Hunter orders Callan's file to be changed to a red folder—targeting him for removal.
ABC series
ABC then commisioned a series of six episodes in 1967. In the first episode Callan rejoins the section in an un-offical capacity.Thames series
By 1969, ABC Weekend Television had, via enforced merger, become Thames TelevisionThames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
. A second season of fifteen episodes that had already been completed by ABC was therefore transmitted by its successor. This run ended with "Death Of A Hunter" in which the Section chief meets his demise, and Callan is shot - perhaps fatally. It had not been decided whether the show would return for a third series, so this device was used to leave open either the possibility of more stories in the future, or a way of winding-up the show. Two endings were taped, in which Callan either lived or died. In the end, Thames decided to bring the programme back for the 1970 series, this time in full colour.
A final set of thirteen episodes was broadcast in 1972. This saw Callan develop further than before. An unsuccessful mission meant Callan was exchanged with the Russians for one of their agents and now he was known, he was a liability. What to do with the Section's top agent was solved by promoting him into the role of Hunter - a post he disliked as much or even more than actually serving under a Hunter but which he was eventually relieved of by his predecessor when the danger had all but passed. The final three episodes were a trilogy based around the defector Richmond, played by T. P. McKenna
T. P. McKenna
Thomas Patrick McKenna , known professionally as T. P. McKenna, was an Irish actor who worked on stage, in film and television in Ireland and the UK from the 1950s.- Film and television :...
, (and sub-titled "The Richmond Files"), at the end of which he pleads for Callan to kill him instead of capturing him - you know what they do to people like us. Having disobeyed orders to help A Man Like Me (Final episode title), Callan finally walks out of the Section.
Successive Hunters were played by Ronald Radd
Ronald Radd
Ronald Radd was a British television actor.Radd starred in some 60 different TV shows between 1955 and 1976 including The Avengers, Danger Man, and Z-Cars...
, Derek Bond
Derek Bond
Derek William Douglas Bond MC was a British actor.-Life and career:Derek Bond was born 26 January 1920 in Glasgow, Scotland. He attended Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School in Hampstead, London. He saw active service with the Grenadier Guards in North Africa during the Second World War, for which he...
, Michael Goodliffe
Michael Goodliffe
Lawrence Michael Andrew Goodliffe was an English actor best known for playing suave roles such as doctors, lawyers and army officers. He was also sometimes cast in working class parts....
and William Squire
William Squire
William Squire was a Welsh actor of stage, film and television, born in Neath, South Wales.As a stage actor, Squire performed at Stratford-upon-Avon and at the Old Vic, and notably replaced his fellow-countryman Richard Burton as King Arthur in Camelot at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway.His...
. The latter's steely exterior and ice-cold decisive nature was often the match for Callan and he is probably the best remembered of all the supporting actors. Toby Meres was brought to life by Anthony Valentine (Peter Bowles
Peter Bowles
-Early life:Bowles was born in London, England, the son of Sarah Jane and Herbert Reginald Bowles. His father was a chauffeur and butler at a stately home in Warwickshire; but, upon the outbreak of World War II, he was seconded to work as an engineer at Rolls-Royce and moved the family to Nottingham...
in the pilot) and when he departed for a posting in the US (in truth, to appear in the series Codename
Codename (TV series)
Codename was a short-lived British television series produced by the BBC in 1970.An espionage thriller series, Codename was based around a secret organisation, MI17, being run from a residential hall at Cambridge University...
on the rival BBC network) in came the young, brash, and unpredictable Cross (played by Patrick Mower
Patrick Mower
Patrick Mower , whose original name was Patrick Archibald Shaw, is an English actor well known for his many television and occasional film roles, often as a detective or secret agent.-Life:...
) who was just as arrogant and who needed teaching a lesson more than once in a while by his experienced teacher.
Cinema Film
The cinema film was an expanded re-working of the original pilot, A Magnum For Schneider which was the basis of the novel Red File for Callan, also by James Mitchell. The film's credits claim that it is based on the novel, misquoting its title slightly as A Red File for Callan.Meres was again re-cast, this time being played by Peter Egan
Peter Egan
Peter Egan is a British actor known for playing smooth neighbour Paul Ryman in 1980s sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles. He is married to retired actress Myra Frances.-Early life:...
(better known at the time as a trendy gangster from a controversial TV series Big Breadwinner Hog
Big Breadwinner Hog
Big Breadwinner Hog is a British television thriller serial devised by Robin Chapman, produced by Granada TV and transmitted in eight parts, starting at 9.00pm on 11 April 1969 on the ITV network. It portrayed the ruthless rise through the criminal underworld of the trendy young London gangster...
- now better known for sitcoms such as Ever Decreasing Circles
Ever Decreasing Circles
Ever Decreasing Circles is a British situation comedy which ran on BBC1 for four series from 1984 to 1989.It was written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, and reunited them with Richard Briers, the star of their previous hit show, The Good Life. It was much less brash than most situation comedies,...
). The only recurring actors from the TV series were Woodward as Callan, Russell Hunter as Lonely and Clifford Rose as Dr Snell (who appeared in five episodes of the series from season two, three and four (though its stated that Callan has never met Snell before)).
Reunion episode: Wet Job
In the 1981 feature-length television story Wet Job, Callan has become the proprietor of a military memorabilia shop when he is recruited by the new Hunter for one more job. Alas, he has to do this alone: Lonely has become a dapper gent, engaged to be married, and with enough self-confidence to defy Callan's request for help. In the (satisfying) end, Callan completes the task, survives, and even ends up with a girlfriend.Episodes
The original TV play was screened in 1967, followed by a first season of six episodes, a second season of fifteen episodes, a third season of nine episodes, and a fourth season of thirteen episodes.Region 2
Clear Vision Video released three DVDs subtitled "Series 1 Parts 1 - 3 of 3", also available in a box titled Callan - The Complete Series One, in 2001. In fact these DVDs comprise the nine episodes of Series 3, the first colour season, although the back cover blurbs incorrectly state that "This edition comes from the first series that was ever shown on Thames Television in 1970".Prism Leisure released the cinema film as Callan - The Movie on Region 0 PAL in 2001. The DVD also includes an interview with Woodward.
Network DVD
Network DVD
Network DVD is a DVD publishing company that specialises in classic British television. In particular, it has the rights to a number of well-known ITV programmes...
released Callan - The Monochrome Years on 22 February 2010. This four DVD set includes the remaining 2 episodes (out of 6) from the first season and 9 episodes (out of 15) from the second season, plus the Armchair Theatre pilot play 'A magnum For Schnieder'. Network also released Callan - The Colour Years in 2010. Callan - Wet Job is released by Network in 2011.
Region 4
Umbrella EntertainmentUmbrella entertainment
Umbrella Entertainment is an Australian owned, independent all-rights feature film, documentary and television program distribution company that was set up in 2001 by Jeff Harrison...
released the third and fourth seasons on DVD in the Australia in 2007.
Region 1
Acorn Media released Callan- Set 1 on 7 July 2009 which includes all 9 episodes from series 3. On 26 January 2010, Callan- Set 2 was released featuring all 13 episodes from series 4. It has not yet been decided whether further seasons will be released to DVD in Region 1.Colour-coded files
The Section used a series of colour-coded files to indicate targets of different priorities;| Colour | Description |
|---|---|
| Red File | For dangerous targets of most urgent priority, marked for death |
| Yellow File | For a subject under occasional surveillance |
| Blue File | For members of the 'wrong' party |
| White File | For people who were to be put out of action by sending them into divorce courts, bankruptcy, prison or mental homes |
Callan in the archives
The Armchair Theatre play exists as a film recording of the original black-and-white video broadcast. The first two series (or seasons) were recorded in black-and-white video, with filmed inserts, and several episodes from these have been lost or wiped. The surviving episodes from Series 1 appear to have been re-shot onto 625-line videotape by pointing a camera at a monitor displaying the original 405-line version. The surviving Series 2 episodes exist on 625-line videotapes. In the case of "The Worst Soldier I Ever Saw", the Network DVD cover blurb states that the episode only survived as an unedited studio block, which had to be edited into its proper format for DVD release.All of the colour episodes exist, and the 1970 series was released on DVD in the UK in 2001. The episodes were edited to remove captions which would have led into the commercial breaks in the original transmission. This resulted in some awkward visual and audio jump cuts. The subsequent British DVD releases all retain the commercial break captions. The 1974 movie was released on DVD separately.
Both the 1970 and 1972 series have had Region 4 DVD releases by Umbrella Entertainment. The 1972 series also includes the movie.
The DVD releases of the movie include an interview, recorded in 2000, with Edward Woodward.
The Equalizer
In the 1980s, Woodward starred in the AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
series, The Equalizer
The Equalizer
The Equalizer is an American television series that ran for four seasons, initially on CBS, between 1985 and 1989. It starred Edward Woodward as an aging New York vigilante with a mysterious past...
, playing a conscience-stricken former secret agent
Secret Agent
Secret Agent is a British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on two stories in Ashenden: Or the British Agent by W. Somerset Maugham. The film starred John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Madeleine Carroll, and Robert Young...
who becomes a protector of people in need, yet finds himself being called back into service by his former employers from time to time.
La Femme Nikita
Another TV series made at the end of the 1990s, La Femme Nikita was inspired by the French movie of the same name (not the remakes) and starring Peta Wilson as Nikita. Framed for murder and forced into joining Section One, she displays all of the reluctance to kill shown by Callan, and a need to know why? In a strange sort of reprise, Edward Woodward enters the final season as the head of Center 'Mr Jones' who turns out to be Nikita's father.The Novels
- A Magnum for Schneider - also published as Red File for Callan and Callan - (1969)
- Russian Roulette (1973)
- Death and Bright Water (1974)
- Smear Job (1975)
- Bonfire Night (2002)