The Vise (1955 TV series)

The Vise (later known as Saber of London, also known as Mark Saber) is an American detective drama that was broadcast on ABC (1955-1957) and then moved to NBC (1957-1960). The series is a reboot of the ABC Mystery Theater radio and television series.[1] It was produced by the Danzigers and starred Donald Gray as Mark Saber. It mostly ran during prime time in the late 1950s.

The Vise
Also known as
  • The Vise: Mark Saber
  • Saber of London
  • Saber of Scotland Yard
  • Detective's Diary
  • Uncovered
  • Mark Saber
Genrecrime drama
Based onABC Mystery Theater
Written byMark Grantham, Brian Clemens, others
StarringDonald Gray
Country of originUnited States, United Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes156
Production
Producerthe Danzigers
Running time30 minutes
Release
Original networkABC, NBC
Original releaseSeptember 1955 (1955-09) –
May 15, 1960 (1960-05-15)
Chronology
Related showsMystery Theater
This article is about the Mark Saber reboot series that ran from 1955–1960. For the original radio and television series, see ABC Mystery Theater.


Background
Main article: ABC Mystery Theater

ABC 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 and his assistant Tim Maloney was portrayed by James Burke. Saber was a British detective working in an American homicide department.[1]

In the meantime in 1954, the Danzigers were developing a mystery anthology series called The Vise. It was hosted by Australian actor Ron Randell 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.[2]

Cast

Per listing in The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present[1] and Encyclopedia of Earth Television Crime Fighters[3]

Production

In 1955, the Danzigers changed the format of The Vise from an anthology series to a standard format mystery series completely dedicated to the Mark Saber stories.[2] They rebooted the Mark Saber drama and television series that was running on ABC in the US. Saber, portrayed by Donald Gray, 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.[1] Gray himself was also an amputee.[2]

Screenplays were done by Mark Grantham, Brian Clemens, and others. Episodes were formatted for the half-hour time slot. Two episodes were shot every five days.[4] In an interview with Wheeler W. Dixon, 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,[5]

Broadcast

For the 1955-56 television season, The Vise aired on ABC at 9:30 p.m. EST on Fridays.[1] It also aired at the same time for the 1956–57 season.

In 1957, the show was moved to NBC and retitled Saber of London, when it aired at 7:30 p.m. EST on Fridays.[1] In the 1957–58 season, it competed against Leave It to Beaver on CBS and The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin on ABC. The Vise was also shown as The Vise: Mark Saber on ITV companies in Europe.[2]

In the 1958–1959 season, Saber of London switched to 7 p.m. Sundays,[1] 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.[1] It also continued to run on ITV channels at various times in the UK.[2] Alternative titles for the series in syndication include Detective's Diary[1] and Uncovered[6]

References
  1. Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present (9th ed.). Random House Publishing Group. p. 854. ISBN 9780307483201.
  2. "BFI Screenonline: Danzigers, The Biography". Screenonline. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  3. Aaker, Everett, ed. (2006). Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters: All Regular Cast Members in American Crime and Mystery Series, 1948-1959. McFarland / University of Michigan. pp. 180, 237–238. ISBN 9780786424764.
  4. Dixon, Wheeler W. (1998). The Transparency of Spectacle: Meditations on the Moving Image. State University of New York Press. p. 93. ISBN 9780791437810.
  5. Dixon, Wheeler W., ed. (2001). Collected Interviews: Voices from Twentieth-century Cinema. Southern Illinois University Press. p. 49. ISBN 9780809324170.
  6. Shulman, Arthur; Youman, Roger, eds. (1966). How Sweet it was: Television: a Pictorial Commentary. Bonanza Books. p. 43.


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