Target: The Corruptors!
Target: The Corruptors! is an American crime drama series starring Stephen McNally that aired on ABC from September 29, 1961 to September 21, 1962,[1] from 10 to 11 p.m. on Fridays.[2] The Navy Motion Picture Service also made some episodes available on 16 mm film for showing aboard ship to personnel of the United States Navy.[3] The series's title in syndication was Expose.[2]: 433
| Target: The Corruptors! | |
|---|---|
 Logo of Target: The Corruptors
Marino, 1961 | |
| Genre | Crime drama |
| Created by | Lester Velie |
| Written by | Harry Essex Harry Kleiner Christopher Knopf Dick Nelson Lester Pine Les Ralston Adrian Spies Palmer Thompson |
| Directed by | William Conrad Walter Doniger Arthur Hiller Józef Lejtes Don Medford John Peyser |
| Starring | Stephen McNally Robert Harland Harold J. Stone |
| Theme music composer | Rudy Schrager |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 35 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Leonard J. Ackerman John H. Burrows |
| Producers | Mort Abrahams Leonard J. Ackerman John H. Burrows Everett Chambers Joseph Dackow Vincent M. Fennelly Stanley Kallis Don Medford |
| Cinematography | Charles Burke George E. Diskant Gilbert Warrenton |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 48 mins. |
| Production companies | Four Star Television Velie-Burrows-Ackerman Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | September 29, 1961 – June 8, 1962 |
Plot
Paul Marino is a newspaper columnist, and Jack Flood is his assistant.[1] Together they investigate criminal activity and expose organized rackets and corruption.[4] In each episode they probe a different type of illegal activity such as bookmaking, charity scams, prostitution, and protection rackets.[2]
The New York Times wrote that the first episode "indicated that the stress here may be more on violence and sensationalism than on the social phenomenon under study."[4]
Lester Vielie, one of the series's creators, said that the program was an attempt to make a different kind of series for television, one that combined "the resources of investigative journalism with the drama of television".[5] He added that involving viewers in contemporary situations that affected people's lives would be a unique approach for a dramatic series. After the show ended, Vielie had no explanation for its cancellation by ABC, especially considering its high Nielsen ratings.[5]
Cast
Main cast
- Stephen McNally as Paul Marino[2]
- Robert Harland as Jack Flood[2]
- Jo Helton as Rose Vaclavic (recurring role)
- Dennis Cross as Reicher (recurring role)
Guest stars
Production
The series was produced by Four Star Television.[7]: 2368 The producers were Leonard Ackerman and John Burrows. Gene Roddenberry wrote for at least one episode.[1] Sydney Pollack directed the episode "The Wreckers".[8]
In the opening episode, cameras used extreme closeups to show faces "in a way that projects them almost physically and uncomfortably into the living room."[4]
Senate hearing
Target: The Corruptors! was considered as part of an investigation by the Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency of the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States Senate. On July 28, 1961, a hearing focused on violence and crime on television, especially with regard to their depiction when many children were watching.[7]
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Million Dollar Dump" | Don Medford | Story by : Palmer Thompson Teleplay by : Palmer Thompson & Don Brinkley & Christopher Knopf | September 29, 1961 |
| 2 | "Pier 60" | Walter Doniger | Palmer Thompson | October 6, 1961 |
| 3 | "The Platinum Highway" | Jules Bricken | Christopher Knopf | October 13, 1961 |
| 4 | "The Invisible Government" | Robert Ellis Miller | Ellis Kadison | October 20, 1961 |
| 5 | "The Poppy Vendor" | John Peyser | Les Pine | October 27, 1961 |
| 6 | "Bite of a Tiger" | John Newland | David Karp | November 3, 1961 |
| 7 | "Touch of Evil" | Irving Lerner | Luther Davis | November 10, 1961 |
| 8 | "Mr. Megalomania" | Don Medford | Adrian Spies | November 17, 1961 |
| 9 | "The Golden Carpet" | Josef Leytes | Story by : Ellis Marcus Teleplay by : Ellis Marcus & Harold Callen | November 24, 1961 |
| 10 | "To Wear a Badge" | Walter Doniger | Story by : Gene Roddenberry Teleplay by : Harry Essex | December 1, 1961 |
| 11 | "Silent Partner" | Don Medford | Story by : David Chandler & Shimon Wincelberg Teleplay by : Shimon Wincelberg | December 8, 1961 |
| 12 | "Prison Empire" | William Conrad | Harry Essex | December 15, 1961 |
| 13 | "The Fix" | James Sheldon | Carey Wilber | December 22, 1961 |
| 14 | "Quicksand" | Josef Leytes | Jack Curtis | December 29, 1961 |
| 15 | "A Man is Waiting to Be Murdered" | John Peyser | Louis Lantz | January 5, 1962 |
| 16 | "One for the Road" | Donald McDougall | Paul King | January 12, 1962 |
| 17 | "Play it Blue" | William Conrad | Story by : Richard Landau Teleplay by : Alexander Richards & Harry Essex | January 19, 1962 |
| 18 | "Chase the Dragon" | Don Medford | Harry Kleiner | January 26, 1962 |
| 19 | "The Middle Man" | David Alexander | Morton Fine & David Friedkin | February 2, 1962 |
| 20 | "Viva Vegas" | Walter Doniger | Les Pine | February 9, 1962 |
| 21 | "Fortress of Despair" | Arthur Hiller | Gilbert Ralston | February 16, 1962 |
| 22 | "The Wrecker" | Sydney Pollack | Dick Nelson | March 2, 1962 |
| 23 | "Babes in Wall Street" | William Conrad | Story by : Daniel Mainwaring Teleplay by : Daniel Mainwaring & Harry Essex | March 9, 1962 |
| 24 | "My Native Land" | William Conrad | Story by : Bruce Geller Teleplay by : Jerry Sohl & Harry Essex | March 16, 1962 |
| 25 | "The Malignant Hearts" | Don Medford | John Wry | March 23, 1962 |
| 26 | "A Man's Castle" | William Conrad | Les Pine | March 30, 1962 |
| 27 | "Journey into Mourning" | William Conrad | Christopher Knopf | April 13, 1962 |
| 28 | "The Blind Goddess" | Harry Keller | Harry Kleiner | April 20, 1962 |
| 29 | "A Book of Faces" | William Conrad | Dick Nelson | April 27, 1962 |
| 30 | "License to Steal" | Unknown | Unknown | May 4, 1962 |
| 31 | "Yankee Dollar" | William Conrad | Unknown | May 11, 1962 |
| 32 | "The Organizers: Part 1" | Unknown | Unknown | May 18, 1962 |
| 33 | "The Organizers: Part 2" | Unknown | Unknown | May 25, 1962 |
| 34 | "Nobody Gets Hurt" | Unknown | Unknown | June 1, 1962 |
| 35 | "Goodbye Children" | Unknown | Unknown | June 8, 1962 |
References
- McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 818. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
- Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (June 24, 2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Random House Publishing Group. p. 1358. ISBN 978-0-307-48320-1. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
- "List of New Motion Pictures And TV Series Available To Ships and Overseas Bases". All Hands: The Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin. February 1963. pp. 46–47. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- "'Father of the Bride' Seen in Premiere". The New York Times. September 30, 1961. p. 51. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- Daniel, Douglass K. (January 1, 1996). Lou Grant: The Making of TV's Top Newspaper Drama. Syracuse University Press. pp. 11–12. ISBN 978-0-8156-0363-4. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
- Sculthorpe, Derek (October 4, 2018). Edmond O'Brien: Everyman of Film Noir. McFarland. p. 197. ISBN 978-1-4766-7443-8. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
- Hearings before the Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency of the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States Senate: Eighty-Seventh Congress, First Session. United States Senate. pp. 2365–2403. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
- Meyer, Janet L. (August 13, 2015). Sydney Pollack: A Critical Filmography. McFarland. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-4766-0979-9. Retrieved February 26, 2023.