M Squad starring Lee Marvin DECOY IN WHITE (1959) Complete Episode!

M Squad was a TV series starring Lee Marvin. It ran on NBC between 1957 and 1960.
TooleMan TV has enhanced the video of this episode from an old film copy.
Set in Chicago, Illinois, the show starred Marvin as Detective Lieutenant Frank Ballinger, a member of "M Squad", a special unit of the Chicago Police, assisting other units in battling organized crime, corruption and violent crimes citywide. Paul Newlan co-starred as his boss, Captain Grey.
"Decoy in White" that aired June 12, 1959
Episode synopsis: The M Squad becomes involved when a bank manager laundering illegal money is killed. The situation becomes tangled when a young lady accompanying the bank manager comes forward.

[@johnwhite4810]

Whether he was playing a bad guy or a good guy, he was the COOLEST!

[@MexicoDigDoctor]

One of my all time favorites since I was a very little kid, and like you say, good bad or indifferent I just love that guy! Could you imagine what we would do without reruns, especially now that some of us are getting close to our 70s and beyond? I feel blessed.

[@volkerkalhoefer3973]

Never saw him with Lee van Cleef😂 would be interesting, though

[@daviddowns7552]

I think a Dragnet episode ( the big cast) was some of his earliest work.

[@allencampbell8322]

Also great in Cat Ballou

[@m.scottreeder]

@@volkerkalhoefer3973”Who Shot Liberty Valance”. You’ll find both in that movie, along with John Wayne, Strother Martin, Jimmy Stewart, and others. Both Marvin and Van Cleef are outlaws teamed together. Perfect. Van Cleef was so young in that movie that he looks like Dave Bautista.

[@ergbudster3333]

Marvin was a legit war hero of WW2. A marine, scout sniper, fought in the Pacific war against Japan. Wounded, got the Purple Heart amongst other medals.

[@valerieadams7001]

Iwo jima!

[@tomobedlam297]

​@@valerieadams7001Gesundheit!

[@daleslover2771]

Incredible man, numerous beach landing, I believe he holds the record or close to it.

[@david9783]

@@valerieadams7001 It was on Saipan he was wounded.

[@JOSEPHWINTERS-fi7zn]

YES INDEED HE WAS. ARMY 12TH COMBAT ENGINEER VETERAN LAST TOUR DEXHEIM GERMANY 🇩🇪 75-77

[@christopherwall444]

Lee Marvin...coolest of the cool..baddest of the bad. That opening noir music is awesome

[@rogerscalf231]

Yes, but on television, he went back further, when he played a murderer on an early(1955?) episode of DRAGNET. This was when Ben Alexander was on the show, I think. I'm 70, and forget some details. And I was only 2, so draw your own conclusions. What was the question?

[@paulmatulavich7321]

I'm 71 and never heard of this show. Thanks for posting these vids.

[@GetMeThere1]

I'm 71 and I remember M Squad VERY well. You must not have had a TV when you were a kid, lol. EDIT: Still, The Untouchables (Robert Stack) was by far my favorite back then; but back then I didn't appreciate the built-in irony of noir...

[@waynej2608]

​@GetMeThere1 Good point about the 'built-in noir'. That definitely enhances the enjoyment factor all these years later. And Marvin is terrific.

[@jayrosen6663]

Marvin was a Purple Heart recipient in WW2. RIP, and bless you for your service! A wonderful actor, as well!!!

[@sthompson4049]

PFC USMC Lee Marvin buried at Arlington National Cemetery

[@glennmcgee1729]

Also the Navy Cross

[@jayrosen6663]

@sthompson4049 , Thank you, I was unaware, he is entombed with other American heros, there as well! May his memory be a blessing!

[@jimlaguardia8185]

Marvin was the most authentic police detective of all. And so was this series.

[@jamesmarshall8836]

Had never seen one of these episodes before but now I know what POLICE SQUAD was spoofing, even the theme song.

[@EricWhite-co8nu]

Lee Marvin has always been a firm favourite of mine.i already knew he was a U.S. marine who served in WW2.R.Lee Ermey also was a marine, and I'm proud to say a friend of mine

[@videomaniac108]

I grew up in Chicago in the 1950s on the Northside where some of these scenes were filmed. It's kind of nostalgic for me to see what those places looked like back then.

[@user-dk3up2nl1m]

Im now watching Naked City with actors who became famous later on like..Robert Duvall..William Shatner..Colombo...and the scenes of NY in the city streets is very nostalgic. They even filmed Yankee Stadium in the 50s!

[@ahundredpercentprosperous4222]

M-Squad, 87th Precinct, Peter Gunn, even Highway Patrol. Love almost anything that is similar to 'film noir' with the best being late 1930's to early 1960's, and a lot of them made in B&W. Most have good writing and then-well known actors, long since gone. The music & classic cars add a bit of extra 'punch' to the overall production. Nailing the bad guys HARD! Showing what it was like when even the 'big shots' were not above the law because they had money and connections in high places.

[@None-zc5vg]

The 'big shots' are ALWAYS above 'the law' which is only there to keep the little people in check.

[@valerieadams7001]

Don't forget Naked City!

[@BobBesco]

One of my earliest and best remembered TV memories! It's great to revisit this series today.

[@bumblebeemoi]

Mike Mazurki as the strong man. Mike had been a professional wrestler before he making 142 films, usually a brutish character, thug or gangster. He was Moose Malloy in "Murder My Sweeet" with Dick Powell (as Philip Marlowe) in 1944. Believe it or not, he was a Fordham Law Grad and did practice law before making much more money in wrestling.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

His best fight scene by far was the wrestling match in Night and The City, the American cut to be specific.

[@NancySanders-om4ic]

Wow,I was not aware of that,thank you,for sharing that information.

[@david9783]

Very cool details!

[@strickly60s45]

Mike Mazurki. I also enjoyed him as "Clon" in the brief half-hour sitcom from around 1967 called "It's About Time". Good Laughs. Thanks.

[@david9783]

@@strickly60s45 Hey I remember that one!

[@leelarson107]

This is the greatest TV series ever made, starring my all-time favorite actor Lee Marvin. I have the entire set on DVD.

[@AnitaMariaWhite]

I do too!!

[@dareisnogod5711]

Your head is way up there; hope you aren't afraid of dark, smelly places.

[@dizzman5546]

​@@dareisnogod5711???

[@rafaelramirez1507]

Lee Marvin was magnificent. One of my all-time favorite crime dramas. Great episodes with top notch character actors. Bad guy here is actor Mike Road who was also the voice of Bannon in the Jonny Quest cartoon series.

[@bigbadbubba099]

Lee Marvin was was teen crush.....one cool guy. Love this ...Thank you!!

[@ergbudster3333]

One of my favorite TV shows ever.

[@davidhull1481]

I haven’t watched M Squad since I was a kid, and I’d forgotten how much the opening of Police Squad owes to it.

[@mikenixon2401]

I'm probably a couple years younger than you @davidhull1481 . I know my mom liked programs like this although I don't specifically remember it. Also, I was probably sitting/sleeping on the staircase having been sent up to bed. This is a great find.

[@davidhull1481]

@@mikenixon2401 I gotta admit that I was kinda young for it too, but somehow I do remember it. Ok, I just looked it up and I was 10 when it ended, so I could well have watched it at the time.

[@nomadmarauder-dw9re]

Yes indeed.

[@redbarchetta8782]

It's the inspiration for Police Squad.

[@davidhull1481]

@@redbarchetta8782 Yeah, like I said. One of the influences.

[@davidgeoclark9208]

My favorite Lee Marvin role was in Cat Ballou. Very entertaining and funny.

[@NancySanders-om4ic]

He Won the Oscar for Best actor in that movie.Jane Fonda Co- starred.

[@MichaelWiedemann-hl5ir]

He was good in 'Paint Your Wagon' with Clint Eastwood. They each sing, ugh. Separately, thank goodness.

[@JohnDoe-fh4gd]

Indubitably ☺️

[@waynej2608]

Point Blank and The Dirty Dozen were impressive, too.

[@garyaugustus690]

Walker, in 'Point Blank'...

[@plicketyplunk]

Lee Marvin was in a single episode of Dragnet. I saw it a couple of years ago and his performance was worthy of an award. That said, it was a performance that made me shudder down to my toes. Highly recommend.

[@calvinbealer7264]

Great Background Music 🎶🎶🎶 by Count Basie.

[@brucescott4261]

@calvinbealer7264 ...Yes, indeedy!!!

[@RockyRaccoonsdead]

Very cool CB was awesome

[@None-zc5vg]

I only saw the one episode of this series way back ca. 1959/60. The County Basie theme-music stuck in the mind across the decades. Now that dollar bills are practically worthless, forging them is pointless .

[@Mark-td5ux]

No one had the presence and sense of menace like Lee Marvin.

[@a.leemorrisjr.9255]

Lee Marvin, Original Tough Guy😊.

[@jamessnee7171]

Lee Marvin was a Real-Life Tough Guy. You can tell.

[@NancySanders-om4ic]

​@@jamessnee7171I think your description of Mr.Marvin was probably " accurate." Thank you,for sharing your point of view.

[@peterjeffery8495]

Marvin was so cool and believable here, a veteran of the Marines he served in the South Pacific during WW2. The best part of the show was the music. A score by Count Basie!

[@thomaswayneward]

Count Basie was great, he played at my high school graduation.

[@annepoitrineau5650]

I had never heard of this series. Great episode!!

[@Trupp42]

I heard of it but I was too young at the time. I used to watch a little bit of Honey West. I started watching wild wild west with Robert Conrad. Yes, Lee Marvin was great in the Dirty Dozen.

[@handsomeman-pm9vy]

1980s show "Police Squad" was based on this show.

[@hertzair1186]

This was the inspiration for “Police Squad”…..and you can see why.

[@alecwilliams7111]

Very well done for its day. A younger Lee Marvin is particularly interesting to watch. On the whole, good writing and good acting.

[@dareisnogod5711]

Good writing? They had to tell a 2 hr. story in 25 mins.

[@plasticweapon]

@@dareisnogod5711and they succeeded. that's good writing.

[@marvwatkins7029]

So glad the days were always warm and sunny and that it never rained or snowed in Chicago back then, much like Los Angeles.

[@HootOwl513]

They started out in Chicago

[@LaptopLarry330]

“M Squad” was a crime drama TV series that starred Lee Marvin. It aired on NBC from 1957 to 1960. “M Squad” was basically “Dragnet” on steroids, with a lot of action, gunfire, and was violent, even by 1950s standards. The show had good TV ratings, but when Lee Marvin’s contract was completed in 1960, NBC could not reach an agreement on a new contract, as he was a rising star in Hollywood films when not working on the TV series. Marvin left the show, and “M Squad” was cancelled by NBC. “M Squad” was thought to be a “lost” TV series, but after an extensive worldwide search for episodes of the program in the 2000s by the show’s fans, ALL of the show’s episodes were found, and “M Squad” was released as a DVD box set. It will be well worth your effort to buy it for your home video library.

[@TooleManTV]

I found grainy M Squad episodes on a website many years ago, long before the DVDs were released. This is one of those. I just bought the DVD set.

[@maureencora1]

Touche' (smile)

[@stevensica89]

I remember as a kid growing up in the 1960s in NYC one of the local stations would broadcast one on occasion, usually if a baseball game was rained out.

[@frdjr2527]

@@stevensica89 I watched "M Squad" reruns during the 1960s on WPIX-11 in NY.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Marvin was a very good actor. Point Blank is one of my favorites.

[@johncaldwell-wq1hp]

great old show,-I used to watch this in the 50's--just terrific to see Marvin !!

[@eduardocolon7762]

Lee Marvin sporting the classic Pork Pie hat.

[@davidhull1481]

I love the way his hat stays on for most of the fight.

[@samspurgeon4222]

That was one of the things Spielberg and Lucas used in the Indiana Jones movies too. In the first 3, his hat only comes off 1 time in a fight, right before the tank goes off the cliff in Last Crusade. It was supposed to be a suspenseful moment about whether Indy went over the cliff as well. Then funnily enough, the wind blows his hat back to him at the end of the scene lol

[@rodneygolden2796]

Marvin's voice-overs were incisive, peppy, snd trendy/cool, never lethargic and droll. This added to the excitement, and "what's-next" mood atmosphere of this mid-century gem. Lee Marvin was a really cool cat! Wish I could have met him for a talk and a few beers! What fun that would have been; right?

[@user-tz8ih7pr8o]

My grandma loved Lee Marvin 😍💞🎉😊 she called him a "Tailor made man "😊❤❤

[@paulstark6818]

A good series LM always great performer thank you ❤❤❤❤❤

[@kurttoy5035]

Wish somebody would pick up this show. MeTV, Cozi, there's a show that deserves to be picked up.

[@j.s.wagner2582]

OMG! I remember when M Squad was new! How I am going to enjoy re-watching these!

[@ronaldringler1497]

Love this show. Have the entire set.

[@davidhull1481]

Mike Mazurki- “Where’s my Velma!”.

[@rogerscalf231]

Mike Mazurki..." Klon, kill!" know what that quote is from?

[@davidhull1481]

@@rogerscalf231 No, I don’t. Tell me.

[@rogerscalf231]

It's About Time. A caveman comedy, about 2 astronauts, who's space capsule went back in time, and wound up having to deal with dinosaurs and cave people. Starred Imogene Coca, Joe E. Ross and Mike Mazurki played caveman Klon who was caveman "Boss,s" bodyguard, would offer to "take care" of Boss's problem by grunting " KLON KILL" ? to Boss for his approval. Oh, and it was a Sherwood Shwartz ( Gilligan's Island) Production. The entire series is available on a single dvd.

[@davidhull1481]

@@rogerscalf231 I remember the series and may have even watched some episodes. And actually I can sing the theme song (to myself). “It’s about time, it’s about space, it’s about mumble mumble in a far off place”.

[@Odonata2024]

Thanks for posting this!

[@mikeflynn1629]

I'm 66 never heard of this show what a fantastic find. Lee Marvin looks like he's in the dirty dozen.

[@handsomeman-pm9vy]

You missed it by 10 years. 1957 to 1960.

[@Teho231]

I remember this show as a child sometime around 5 or 6. Even at that time Lee Marvin was fun to watch, he was perfect for that character he played.

[@alandesouzacruz5124]

Lee Marvin badass actor

[@JohnDoe-fh4gd]

Kitty moved back home to a small town in South Dakota where she got married to the local football star, turned preacher, had lots and lots of little babies, and LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER. ☺️

[@xxmoviemakerxxx]

Marvin uses his handcuffs as improvised brass knuckles causing Mazurki to forget his karate.

[@neuromantoo]

The handcuff bit was pretty sharp. Never saw before in any tv show or movie. By the way Mike Mazurki had a BA in art and then went to law school. He stopped practicing law and became a pro wrestler before becoming an actor, interesting guy.

[@PatrolOfficer161]

They'd work together again in "Donovan's Reef!"

[@middlega]

@@neuromantoo and his influence on pro wrestling continues to this day, as he was a founding member (and first president) of The Cauliflower Alley Club. The fraternal order has provided help for countless pro wrestlers who find themselves down on their luck or facing tough times over the past six decades.

[@justiceforall6412]

Mr. Marvin was an actual WWII hero! There's a 50's episode of Dragnet where he played a serial killer, only they didn't call them that then. A very good episode. Thanks for this post!

[@pojo9925]

Been searching for M Squad. Like this show and the soundtrack.

[@daneblack2593]

All right count Basie in the credits

[@b3bilco]

Benny Carter too!

[@TOFKAS01]

LOL....funny how "Police-Squad" made fun out of this....

[@keithbyrd-MysticRuby0117]

I HAVE THIS SERIES ON DVD...LOVE THE SERIES AND THE MUSIC SCORE

[@maxinenall9950]

Oh my goodness 😮 that was a cool show 😍 love you Lee 🥰

[@z978ady]

Atleast Lee Marvin was willing to do the grind of cop shows. You couldn't get Charles Bronson or Steve Mcqueen near this type of cop show on television.

[@BrandonBlackmoor]

OMG, it's a prequel to POLICE SQUAD!

[@maxinenall9950]

I remember see the tough guy in lots of films, he was perfect for the part 😱 but a real nice guy 🥰

[@davidcritchley3509]

The model for Police Squad!

[@MusicLiberates]

It’s worth noticing the great music soundtrack of this show. Intelligently composed jazz big band orchestrations, impeccably performed on real instruments by top tier musicians. We don’t get that much any more.

[@josephharrism.d.1056]

What about LM in Twilight Zone? “Man of Steel”? As ex-boxer fighting a robot after Boxing outlawed in near future.

[@samspurgeon4222]

I remember him as the bounty hunter in the western episode where the bad guy was supposed to come back from his grave for revenge. I believe Lee Van Cleef and Strother Martin were in that episode as well.

[@marcomalo02]

I watched this show in original run. Good TV for the time.

[@frankfarago2825]

8:57 Lee Marvin's haircut. Now I won't be able to sleep for 3 nights straight.

[@voiskumbeaver3285]

It's interesting how Marvin's off screen narration is pitched higher than his usual delivery and doesn't sound like him.

[@alanosterman7130]

I was 6 when this show first aired, and it was one of my favorites. Born in Chicago, and still here, where it was filmed. Missed it for decades. Then very glad METV aired it, about 8 years ago, then they pulled it off...WHY ? Seems like Perry Mason will air on there till 3000.

[@charlesmascari8197]

Lee Marvin really was a US Marine hero in WWII. The real deal.*

[@garylandrum9036]

Lee Marvin GREAT ACTOR

[@iamrichrocker]

Never knew this show existed..was a big fan of LM since Dirty Dozen..he was the personna of cool..

[@markbrodie2784]

loved lee marvin

[@bobtis]

awesome tool man TY

[@gino423]

Lee one of a kind.....

[@kurman4749]

Lee Marvin could do nothing wrong as far as I am concerned. He was a consummate actor.

[@jorgezarco9269]

M Squad...in black and white. I bought an $8 Count Basie CD once. I needed entertainment during a 59 minute bike ride.

[@Paul-lm5gv]

These 50s cop/detective shows were great! 77 Sunset Strip! Surfside 6, Peter Gunn, Dragnet, Naked City, Tightrope etc. A lot of them were produced by Warner Brothers (WB) and had great theme songs! The 60s brought shows like The Untouchables, Mannix, The Fugitive, Adam-12, Hawaii Five-0 etc.!

[@baronvonnembles]

I'd never seen an episode of this and thus never realized that Police Squad was poking fun at it. The opening is especially obvious.

[@handsomeman-pm9vy]

Correct. Police Squad (1980s) was parody of this show.

[@JackF99]

I want to live back when the world, and people were in grayscale.

[@bargeon1]

Music provided by Count Basie

[@maureencora1]

The Bad Guy is Mike Roads the Voice of Race Bannon on 1964 Jonny Quest.

[@davidpage3893]

Mike Road was a very good underrated actor. His voice was similar to Lee Marvin. He died in 2013 at the age 95.

[@maureencora1]

@@davidpage3893 Touche' (smile)

[@davidpage3893]

@@maureencora1 Yeah…That’s right, Touche’.

[@johnnowakowski4062]

Lee Marvin. One badass dude...LOL!

[@ricardocantoral7672]

It's hilarious how movies and TV of this era always had "chops" whenever martial arts was exhibited.

[@rodneygolden2796]

Hey Toole Man, what happened to the MUSIC 🎵 in the closing credits section of this episode, and the opening and closing credits of a few others??? There's a bit of inconsistency going on therein. Please address answer me when possible. No worries, you're still one of my recent instant favorites! The ""Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, etc. are all a SMASH! Go Toole Man, Go!

[@asullivan4047]

Interesting/informative/entertaining. Don't remember seeing this presentation before-???🤔. Quick ending episode more so then drag net.

[@biakabutooka]

Kirk Douglas was offered the role of Kid Shelleen but turned it down so the part went to Lee Marvin who won an undeserved Oscar( Richard Burton,Rod Steiger, Oskar Werner,Laurence Olivier were all nominated). Peckinpah wanted Lee Marvin for Pike Bishop but Marvin was already contracted to "Paint Your Wagon" filming roughly concurrently. 20th Century Fox wanted Marvin for Patton but Lee turned it down in favor of Monte Walsh. One of Marvin's best roles was Walker in John Boorman's Point Blank(1967) remade as Payback 22 years later with Mel Gibson.

[@death2pc]

Rock solid! This WAS magic, real. Beautiful Betty..........

[@caseyjonessnr1200]

A new TV series to me.

[@TooleManTV]

You're never too young... ;)

[@richmcgee434]

There's always something new in the past.

[@plasticweapon]

@@richmcgee434 YES!

[@LaptopLarry330]

It is a shame that the closing music during the closing credits was edited out to avoid copyright infringement. :-(

[@percybyssheshelly]

Yeah I loved the music on that show.

[@richardjohnson6628]

Are those "BRASS KNUCKLES" Lee Marvin put on when he was fighting the Martial Arts Criminal at the end? 🧐🧐🧐

[@cheeptrick5464]

His handcuffs improvised as such.

[@richardjohnson6628]

@@cheeptrick5464 OH, okay 👍.

[@ciroalb3]

My recollection is that Mayor Daley would not allow the show to be filmed in the city because he didn't want the city to be associated with crime - the memory of Capone was too fresh. But then there was the Untouchables at about the same time

[@valerieadams7001]

I think some scenes were eventually filmed in Chicago, and Capone's presence is still here!

[@abramgaller2037]

The TV cop dramas were so much better in those days .

[@Labommelkreet]

Well made film, but I never understand those criminal stories. Will have to read the story somewhere.

[@dabedwards]

The Zucker/Abrahams team based the first episode of Police Squad directly on an episode of M Squad, and you can find the comparison on line. Needless to say, it´s virtually impossible to watch the original now without laughing. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXXLg2R7nK5md6M The same goes for "Zero Hour" the thriller which inspired "Airplane" and in that case, they actually aquired all rights to the original script so they could parody it shamelessly without any threat of copyright infringement

[@13699111]

Excellent

[@justthink5854]

Kitty stayed in North Dakota for one more winter, won a beauty contest, moved to sunny Italy and the rest is history.

[@lorenzobeckmann3736]

I watched this series first run

[@gino423]

They all paid their dues b4 hitting the big screen

[@stephenclickard9428]

Lee had a great voice wouldn’t you say .lee looked great in a hat.

[@mshotz1]

Police Squad was based upon this series.

[@torgman]

Closing theme removed!? 😡FU, ASCAP!

[@skylershank9309]

The fight was vintage Lee Marvin. Remember when he enjoyed whipping Jimmy Stewart with a cat o' nine tails in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance?

[@paulrose7507]

I also had all M Squad but due to a problem in my apartment i lost that show and thousands of tv series. Paul

[@marisaelenenadiejamusiccom3974]

Interesting 🌹♥️

[@johnclark4593]

Hopefully Lee Marvin picked up Jack Ruby at the Carousel Club.

[@elliottschertzer876]

Aired June 12th,1959

[@karltork6040]

Do you have any episodes of "Man Hunt" Staring Victor Jory???

[@ricardosalazar5743]

Good Show