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Mission: Impossible (1966 - 1973)
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Pow
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 14, 2020 11:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree with you, Bud, I've always gotten a big kick out of gadgets and gizmos utilized by spies in film and TV.

One of the things that bugged Sean Connery in his Bond films was that the high tech devices created by Q were becoming more and more plentiful.

I'm unsure if he felt that the contraptions were stealing the spotlight from him; or if such technology made it too easy for 007 to get out of challenging situations.

By relying upon these devices it eliminates the resourcefulness and toughness for Bond.

I can see his point. However, one of the highlights of M:I was to see what fantastic machinery Barney was going to have available for the mission.

It worked well on M:I because the writers were still able to create suspense & danger in an episode even with their astonishing tools.

I do feel that sometimes a film or TV show can go overboard with gadgets in their quest to dazzle an audience.

The "Batman" TV show did that with the Batmobile. It had an arsenal of equipment on it that it was absurd. No such auto could possibly be loaded down with so many contraptions.

Then again, that series was a camp show, so it kinda worked for them in a humorous manner.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 15, 2020 10:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
The "Batman" TV show did that with the Batmobile. It had an arsenal of equipment on it that it was absurd. No such auto could possibly be loaded down with so many contraptions.

Then again, that series was a camp show, so it kinda worked for them in a humorous manner.

The Batmobile and the utility belt were both designed to be humorous, not practical.

The amazing "Bat Turn", for example, was accomplished by deploying a parachute and then somehow spinning around 180°. Shocked

The utility belt held a plethora of "bat-somethings" for every possible occasion!

The Bond gizmos were only slightly more practically — or perhaps they just seemed that way because we loved them and desperately wanted them to be real. Very Happy

At the other end of the spectrum was the Mission: Impossible creations, which ranged from extremely practical to wildly imaginative. But they weren't meant to be pocket-sized super toys designed mostly to make the team members seem cool, like the Bond gadgets.

Their creations were part of the elaborate plans which had to succeed for the M:I team to accomplish those life-or-death missions.

The M:I team derived their "coolness" from their intelligence, their brilliant planning, and their admirable calm during tense situations. Cool

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Krel
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 15, 2020 3:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
The amazing "Bat Turn", for example, was accomplished by deploying a parachute and then somehow spinning around 180°. Shocked

The "Bat Turn" was done the same way the Batmobile rotation in the Batcave was accomplished. They placed the car on a turntable, and simply rotated it. They had a turntable painted on the soundstage floor, but if you watch when they actually have the car rotating in the Batcave, you can see that the car is mounted on a turntable. TV MAGIC! Laughing

David.
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 15, 2020 5:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Krel wrote:
The "Bat Turn" was done the same way the Batmobile rotation in the Batcave was accomplished. They placed the car on a turntable, and simply rotated it.

Right! And the funny part of the gag was suggesting that it could somehow do the same thing in the street while sitting on solid asphalt. Laughing

The gag was done several times — once even while the Batmobile was stopped dead in the street and the police tried to arrest them! No parachutes were needed. The Batmobile just rotated on its own power and sped off in the opposite direction!

In fact, several scenes showed a light blue van labeled "Batmobile Parachute Pickup Service" being dispatched to retrieve the chutes left in the streets!


_____________ Hold tight... Brace for Bat-Turn!

__________

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Pow
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 15, 2020 10:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

M:I Tidbits.

With Steven Hill (Dan Briggs) departing the show after its first season there was a search by M:I creator Bruce Geller and producer Herb Solow (Star Trek:TOS) for a new actor who would become the team leader for the Impossible Missions Force.

Actors Stuart Whitman and John Forsythe were asked to step into the new role. Both declined.

In 1966, a one-hour TV pilot was filmed entitled "Call to Danger." The premise for the show was that in Washington D.C. there existed a government agency that had a computer bank which listed anyone with special talents and unusual abilities.

Whenever a situation arose where the government had an assignment that they were unable to tackle with their own personnel, they would examine their computer data bank to see if someone listed in it could match their operation.

Representing the government agency was an agent played by Peter Graves (born Peter Aurness).

Both Geller & Solow viewed the pilot and knew immediately that Graves would make an excellent addition to the M:I series as IMF team leader Jim Phelps.

Peter brought a more relaxed atmosphere to the set that was not present during its tense first season. Graves was friendly and got along with everyone in the cast and crew.

P.S. In 1983, producer Glen Larson (Battlestar Galictica,TOS, Buck Rogers) would oversee the spy show "Masquerade." The show was on ABC and only ran for one season.

It starred Rod Taylor as the head of Operation Masquerade.

This was a government agency that would employ citizens with unique skill sets for daring assignments.

The field agents were Casey Collins (Kirstie Alley), and Danny Doyle (Greg Evigan).

Clearly this series was a copy of Call to Danger.

Writer Harlan Ellison once remarked that Glenn Larson was known around Hollywood insiders as 'Glen Larceny' due to his constant plagiarism for his TV shows.
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2020 7:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

"Glen Lasony". That's funny.

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Krel
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2020 1:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
I agree with you, Bud, I've always gotten a big kick out of gadgets and gizmos utilized by spies in film and TV.

One of the things that bugged Sean Connery in his Bond films was that the high tech devices created by Q were becoming more and more plentiful.

I have a book on the "Get Smart" TV show, and there is a section where they talk to a man that was an Intelligence Agent in the 60s. They asked him if they had gadgets like in the movies and TV shows. He said yes, and it was the movies and TV shows that caused it. The Agents would see a gadget and ask for one like it.

When he started in the C.I.A., the most common weapon was the .38 Special, S&W Chief's Special. If they wanted an automatic, the .9mm pistol of choice was the S&W Model 39. After "Doctor No", everyone wanted a .32acp Walther PPK! So they went from a .38 Special, down to a .32acp. Laughing

When he was an Agent in Europe, the most advanced gadget he had was a silenced, battery powered vacuum cleaner. They would sneak into one embassy through the fireplace, and they used the vacuum cleaner to cleanup after themselves. They also used to sneak onto the roof of the Soviet Embassy and listen to them talk in the restrooms by putting their ear to the vent pipe! Laughing

My favorite was where they put a blind drop. A blind drop is a hidden location where Agents could leave or receive documents, instructions, or small items. This drop was in a bridge, where they replaced one of the bolts with a hollow one!

The Spy shows ushered in more sophisticated gadgets and equipment in the Intelligence Agencies.

David.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2020 3:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

What an amazing post, Agent David! Very Happy

I love the idea that the world of international espionage realized the importance of hi-tech gadgets and how they could be a benefit to agents in the field.

This is a classic case of "art inspires reality". Thanks for sharing this with the brave agents here at the secret quarters of The Men from A.S.F.! :8

Hey, I think I'll create a Poll Thread which asks the members to pick their favorite "spy movie". I'll include the best of the Bond and M:I movies. What else should it include? Confused

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PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2020 5:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

M:I Year #2 Facts.

"Echo of Yesterday," episode # 38, First Aired: December 10, 1967.

In order for the IMF to achieve this particular assignment, they drug a former associate of Adolph Hitler.

While in this drugged state the associate is made to believe he is back in time with Hitler. To this end, Rollin (Martin Landau) and Willie (Peter Lupus) are disguised as Hitler & a uniformed bodyguard respectively.

Peter Lupus recalls a very unpleasant incident while filming this episode.

Lupus and Landau, in order to save time from getting into and out of their wardrobe as Hitler & his bodyguard for lunch, decided to simply stay in their costumes when they went to eat.

As they walked into the commissary for lunch they were met with bloodcurdling screams.

The actors were not aware that some of the commissary staff were concentration camp survivors.

From then on both actors would would cover up their outfits so as not to upset any of the staff.
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2020 5:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Interesting story. Thanks, Mike.

And yet some people today try to resurrect these horrible ideas from the past — including our outgoing president who encourages them to do so. Sad

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Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Nov 17, 2020 10:25 am; edited 1 time in total
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2020 7:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
As they walked into the commissary for lunch they were met with bloodcurdling screams.

The actors were not aware that some of the commissary staff were concentration camp survivors.

From then on both actors would would cover up their outfits so as not to upset any of the staff.

Okay, I'm calling shenanigans on this one.

In the 1960s WWII movies and TV shows were still very popular, as the majority of the audience were the WWII generation, and had fought in WWII. It is inconceivable that these commissary staff would not have seen and served people in German uniforms in the commissary. .

David.
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 17, 2020 10:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
The actors were not aware that some of the commissary staff were concentration camp survivors.

From then on both actors would would cover up their outfits so as not to upset any of the staff.

David's observation sounds quite reasonable. The story does seem a bit difficult to fully accept. But perhaps the description in Mike's source is not completely accurate.

Based on what David said, along with the fact that Mike said "some of the commissary staff were concentration camp survivors", maybe the actually incident only involved a one or two elderly Germans who recently immigrated to United Sates, and they hadn't been employed by the studio very long.

Therefore, they weren't as familiar with actors in Nazi costumes coming into the commissary, the way the more experienced folks were. Their shocked reactions were caused by a quick flood of horrible memories at the sight of the uniforms.

In point of fact, I think Lupus and Landau would have been sympathetic even if only one worker had the bad reaction, and actors would have done what Mike described after the incident.

In other words, David's logical observation indicates that if there's any truth to the story, some of the details may have been somewhat exaggerated over the years.
Very Happy
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 17, 2020 2:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The recollection is from an interview from M:I cast member Peter Lupus who was wearing a Nazi uniform for part of this episode.

I guess I cannot attest to whether or not his recall is perfect from this incident, or if over the decades his memory of the incident is flawed in some way.

No shenanigans were intended on my part.
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 17, 2020 3:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

M:I Trivia from Season # .

"The Photographer'' December 17, 1967, episode #40.

Writers William Read Woodfield & Alan Balter were attempting to look for a new and different kind of foe for the IMF.

For inspiration they were inspired by the child of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg who were convicted of treason and executed in the U.S. in 1953.

Episode #41, "The Spy" from January 1, 1968.

With this episode we see that the end credits now reads Paramount Television and no longer Desilu Studio.

Paramount/Gulf-Western had bought up Desilu and would now be producing M:I and Star Trek:TOS as well.

Episode #45, "The Counterfeiter" from February 4, 1968.

Director Lee Katzin remembers this particular episode as a difficult one.

The guest star was Edmund O'Brien who was quite ill during the shooting. O'Brien had difficulty recalling his lines and became quite irritable during filming.

The plot has O'Brien's character, Raymond Halder, being surreptitiously subjected to an IMF laser. The laser makes Halder ill due to his sense of gravity being distorted and causes severe headaches.

Due to this plot development, O'Brien's real life illness is not apparent.

Katzin was a big fan of O'Brien and was saddened that he only was able to work with the esteemed actor when O'Brien was not at his best.

Episode # 49: "Trial By Furry," March 10, 1968.

This episode has the IMF infiltrate a South American prison where they pose as prisoners.

If the prison camp looks familiar for this episode it's because it is the same one that was constructed for "Hogan's Heroes" as Stalag 13 on the famous Culver City's '40 Acres Back lot."

This episode's tense and claustrophobic atmosphere was similar to the classic film "Stalag 17" (1951) which had Peter Graves as one of its cast members.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 17, 2020 4:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I understand, Mike.

I was just wondering if the way the interviewer described the event might have led us to falsely assume that more than just one or two distraught commissary workers reacted so emotionally to the sight of Lupus and Landau dressed as Nazis.

I'm not doubting that it happened, I'm just speculating on how many people actually emitted "bloodcurdling screams" at the sight of the guys dressed as Nazis. Even if it was only one terrified person who shocked all the people present, the description of the event would valid.

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Last edited by Bud Brewster on Wed Nov 18, 2020 3:21 pm; edited 1 time in total
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