M Squad starring Lee Marvin (1960) "THE TWISTED WAY" Complete Episode!

M Squad
Season 3 Episode 15
"The Twisted Way"
First aired 1 January, 1960
Synopsis: A witness fingers the gangster who cut a rival in half with a shotgun blast, but the killer's alibied by a beautiful actress. The thespian is beloved in ChiTown and has a sterling rep that'll guarantee acquittal. Lt. Ballinger (Lee Marvin) must discredit her story and find out why Tammy's lying for smarmy hood Sandy, who now controls the Loop liquor racket.

[@ChasOnErie]

Watched it every week ..,ONE OF MY MUST WATCH SHOWS .. 81 now!!!!! They don’t make movies now that are as good as this show !!!!!

[@13699111]

72 years old agree and sadly so much great film has disappeared from public access

[@SallySallySallySally]

If you thought "Mrs. Fassard," the crying woman at the beginning, looked familiar, you're right. That's 39-year-old Virginia Christine who was in hundreds of productions during her career. But she probably got her widest exposure to the public as the "Mrs. Olsen" character in Folgers Coffee TV commercials in the 60s and 70s.

[@williamwoodruff367]

Virginia Christine a Very Beautiful Lady!!!❤️🌹🌹🌹

[@joselopezmoya9786]

First time I ever saw LEE MARVIN as a goid guy. It's beautiful, cars from the 50's, no internet, no cell phones, people decently dressed.

[@michaelhoffman5486]

woman on the run w ann sheridan old s.f. great great noir enjoy

[@remmymafia3889]

just Marvin chain smoking at a clip that might be the most for a half hour show in the history of television.

[@michaelhorton1350]

Just landed on this gem - - Latimer production, with Basie theme song intro,…already soundtrack sounds like the band.

[@peaceandleisure3105]

Perhaps the best jazz soundtrack of any old TV show. Benny Carter, I believe.

[@DavidDillon101]

You have to love the “stolen” shot of Marvin walking with purpose along Chicago’s busy streets. Watching M Squad is great fun, and the show benefits tremendously from Marvin’s distinctive screen presence. Watching his character work, it feels good to be on the right side of the law.

[@AnitaMariaWhite]

Love Lee

[@HootOwl513]

''Stolen Shot'' is right. *M SQUAD* had full cooperation of CPD and Mayor Richard J Daley, Sr. ## Until midway in Season One, there was a story about a corrupt mayor and rotten PD. Rather than dismiss the plot as silly series TV plot fantasies, His Honor and the Boys in Blue took it personal-like and ran Lee and Latimer Productions outta town. Second Unit crews had to do a lot of ''color'' location B-Roll of Chicago cityscape BG [But still in monochrome. ''Color'' in the sportscaster sense.] Lee delighted in commando style cinema verite appearances in town under their noses. Small crew bagged the shot. And flew out before anything bad could befall him.

[@TooleManTV]

@HootOwl513 Do you know which episode it is?

[@HootOwl513]

@@TooleManTV I only heard about it. I would have to see them all. Most likely in the first season. Possibly the script was rejected, but the damage with the City PR was already done. The show was a composite of B-Roll Chicago exteriors, interior scenes shot in LA, and what wild clips they could steal with Lee on location. I was a grade schooler in Chicago in that period. That is the real city. Unlike ''Naked City'' which had the complete support of NYC City government and the NYPD. But Naked City had a different angle. It was about a humanist police who were trying to help the oppressed citizens, M Squad was about a homocide detective in a mob-dominated city. Just pure crime noir. Nothing to make Daley feel good about himself.

[@galeschool]

@@HootOwl513 @TooleManTV The episode you are referring to was "The Third Shadow" (S02E16) -- A young CPD officer is accused of taking money during a bank robbery. It was originally broadcast on 1/9/59. See my complete comment elsewhere for more information and interesting facts about Lee Marvin and M Squad.

[@steveharrison9901]

Hard to dive at night with a small spotlight on the floorboard. 😁 I’m still impressed with this show, it seems they didn’t shoot ‘day for night’ , but that makes us so darn dark on the screen. Thank you again for these rescues from obscurity, TooleMan. Actors really had something back in those days. Charisma, personality, acting chops, call it what you will. Even if the story is weak or overly formula one still watches because of the actors. I don’t think there is any VTTBOTS connection but I suggest for your personal entertainment look up a series called ‘Man with a Camera’ starring Charles Bronson. There ‘a some real good acting going on there. 👍

[@TooleManTV]

I've seen a few episodes of "Man with a Camera." Pretty good show, hard to find. M Squad films weren't preserved too well and the print quality varies from fair to fairly awful. They all tend to be very dark. Still good dramatic scripts, and Lee Marvin is in top form in this show from late in the series. No wonder he quit M Squad after three seasons and 117 episodes. He wanted to branch into film, which is exactly what he should have done!

[@mariakelly90210]

​@@TooleManTVCould you please download episodes of Twelve O'Clock High starring my man Robert Lansing?

[@Johnnycdrums]

"Man With A Camera" is an excellent series.

[@4ljc433]

Lee Marvin was a WW2 veteran and a true Hero. RESPECT!

[@GetMeThere1]

And it's well worth keeping in mind that MANY famous actors served then, as well -- from....Mel Brooks to Morgan Freeman; Dennis Weaver (Chester on Gunsmoke --and James Arness, the Marshal, too) to Jonathan Winters. The list is VERY long.

[@remmymafia3889]

[participated in 29 amphibious landing in the Pacific war with Japan. Atleast half were probably under withering fire from the 'fight until death' Japanese soldiers.

[@mickeybitsko1676]

Best opening promo in tv land and Chicagoland, Lloyd Pettit a shot, and a goal!

[@SallySallySallySally]

Now you know where the idea of the short-lived TV comedy "Police Squad" came from. "Lt. Frank Ballinger" (Lee Marvin) jumps out of his car shooting just like "Det. Frank Drebin" (Leslie Nielsen) does! ("Police Squad" is actually a parody of "M Squad.") Other trivia: "M Squad" was actually shot in its entirety on sound stages in Los Angeles. Every year or so, they would go to Chicago to film a year's worth of exteriors with Marvin walking down various streets and walking in and out of various businesses. Then they would insert these shots as needed in the episodes. "Hawaiian Eye" did the same thing with its exteriors filmed in Hawaii all at once then used in the editor's booth stateside.

[@AnitaMariaWhite]

wow

[@stevelonmo9495]

Not just M Squad - which was actually quite a good show for its day. Other 1/2 hour cop shows like Felony Squad, and N.Y.P.D. were targets too.

[@greenfuzz13]

I'm already older (66) than Lee Marvin when he died age 63. Packed a lot of living into a short life.

[@dmytryk7887]

That little bit of dialog at the beginning about the shotgun reminded me of something similar from "Dragnet". When someone got killed with a shotgun a character says "The first shot cut him in half, the second shot turned him into a crowd."

[@HootOwl513]

If you look at the dotted lines too closely, you will recognize this show as an homage to Dragnet. Better jazz. Chicago in the late '50/early '60s instead of LA. I like the clssic noir Republic Studios lighting style and camera work. Noir but TV. I lived on the Near North Side then.

[@thejerseyj5479]

​@HootOwl513 Chicago in the 50's must have been a real swinging place. The intro to Hugh Hefners original "Playboy after Dark" showed him driving his Mercedes convertible through Chicago. A very cool show as well.

[@Classicrocker6119]

That’s the quickest I’ve ever seen anyone find a suspect from the mugshot photo albums! Good job by Mr. Kyoto!😀 I look forward to seeing additional episodes of “M Squad”

[@user-tn1er9mj1p]

Great police detective series.

[@Joeblow-ms3cv]

Indubidubly 🙂

[@leelarson107]

I have the complete set on DVD. Lee Marvin is my all-time favorite actor, and 'M Squad' is my favorite TV series.

[@jamesschwartz3837]

And so explains the opening music to Police Squad with Leslie Neilson.

[@rf3495]

Yes Police Squad was entirely styled after M Squad

[@Downecker]

I'm 74 and remember this and many other ! As a kid my favorite tough guys- Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson , John Wayne and Marlon Brando! There were more but these were my era. James Cagney, Edward G, Bogart, and George Raft were before my time as a kid 😂😂 !! I still saw the movies, thought 😂😂❤❤

[@Kw1161]

Now I know where the theme to “Naked Gun” came from…😊! Have a great day!

[@Joeblow-ms3cv]

FINALLY, a hit series after 12 prior attempts ("A" Squad, "B" Squad, ...) 🙂

[@chriswaring5565]

WAS THINKING ABOUT POLICE SQUAD WHEN I WATCHED THIS

[@StoneyRerootkit]

Police Squad!!!! In Color😊 And Funny AF🎉💗🆒🦅🤠🍄😅🌪🐸😱😈😎🐘

[@BeachsideHank]

Virginia Christine "Mrs. Jake Fassard" Later Mrs. Olsen, Folgers coffee lady.

[@steveprestegard5151]

23:02 I love a happy ending.

[@davidhull1481]

People of a certain age will remember the actress who plays the sobbing widow as Mrs Olson, the Swedish lady who is always found in the kitchen of a newlywed woman. Said newlywed doesn’t know anything about making coffee, and good old Mrs Olson teaches her how to use “Mountain Grown” Folgers instant.

[@michaelhorton1350]

EASILY hippest background and outro in all of private dick product - with Carter chart and Basie unit recording, nothing else in dickdom has chops like this. And,…and,…that’s just taste of overall series quality. Marvin has decent scripts, excellent voice-over.

[@johnl5316]

I saw Marvin speaking with Jason Robarts in an area of the lobby one day decades ago at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills

[@Joeblow-ms3cv]

I'd have a cup of Folgers anytime with Mrs. Olson. 🙂

[@cliffordnewell2445]

M Squad is great. Lee Marvin is great.

[@allenmurray7893]

I rememberr this growing up. Loved it.

[@timoakes450]

Walker aka Parker -ccccccccccccooooool

[@user-fx3yr4ss8e]

Lee Marvin was his best in military movies Rest in peace Lee

[@hertzair1186]

You can see how Police Squad (In Color) came right from this….

[@lorenzobeckmann3736]

fender to fender, stainless side trim to stainless side trim the "S" curves of Lake Shore Drive

[@gregmiller9710]

thanks TooleMan! :)

[@galeschool]

The original broadcast date of this episode was 1/1/1960.

[@daleslover2771]

I'm watching for the beauty of these old cars.... but back then, that was brand new Detroit Steel. Love to hear those tires squeal, then watch the jounce when they brake to stop..😂.

[@stevelewis7263]

I love the fact in the opening credits, to return fire Lee Marvin takes a "two handed" position, instead of the usual Hollywood "snap shooting" blindly from the hip, I believe Lee was a Marine sniper in WW2.

[@asullivan4047]

Interesting/informative/entertaining. Enjoy the cars/police equipment/office furniture & the likes of that era. Remember Lee from an early Twilight Zone episode.

[@spudspuddy]

the intro jazz is great

[@13699111]

Excellent film

[@user-pt8mq2xf1p]

I remember how cars rocked and squeaked up and down over bumps like in the intro of the show. So funny now. Go Lee Marvin.

[@greenfuzz13]

Fords have long had a reputation for squeaking rubber bushings. Mostly upper and lower a-arm bushings. My folks had 49, 55, 63, and 69 Fords and they all squeaked.

[@stephenclickard9428]

The band led by Stanley Wilson fantastic . You will find it on Spotify .

[@irish89055]

I can see how this could be parodied later

[@galeschool]

Some little known facts about M Squad: Lee Marvin actually lived in Chicago for a time in the 1940s before he went to Hollywood. He served in combat in WW II and moved to Chicago to attend school after leaving the service. He liked Chicago as a miniature version of New York (where he was from) and this is one reason that the series was set in Chicago. (Most biographies of Marvin don't mention any of this, but he told this story to TV Guide in a 1958 interview during M Squad's run.) Chicago's police chief did not officially endorse M Squad, which he felt reduced crime solving to a neatly canned half-hour formula. However, a Chicago police detective did serve as an unofficial consultant to the production crew to help make the series realistic. Because Chicago police officers could not work outside jobs without department approval, this consultant was uncredited and could receive no salary, only a "stipend" for expenses. And during the show's run, the Chicago police received numerous calls for and requests to speak to "Lt. Ballinger". The production crew routinely spent two weeks -- one in the summer and one in the winter -- in Chicago each season filming mostly location and background shots. When the series became popular, a few action scenes were also filmed on location, but the crew never had permission to close city streets or otherwise disrupt vehicle or pedestrian traffic. No more than 5% of each episode was filmed on location -- the rest was shot on Revue's sound stages and back lots. The producers also filmed some scenes on LA streets that they thought could pass for Chicago locations. Some shots appear to be of downtown and south central LA and the USC area. Observant viewers may notice errors such as palm trees (Chicago did not have palm trees until the 1970s -- the crew tried to frame the shots to cut off the tops of the trees, but the trunks are still noticeable), triangular bus stop signs (Chicago used rectangular signs), and mountains (Chicago has none). The M Squad headquarters was an actual Chicago building. The show never explained what the "M" stood for, but it was not "murder" since not all of the crimes were homicides. "Miscellaneous" is one possibility. Another is "Mayor" since the group tackled high profile cases which could have involved mayoral interest. It is also rumored that an episode about a crooked cop, which aired midway through the second season at the height of the show's popularity, so angered mayor Richard J. Daley that he declared Chicago off limits to Hollywood producers from then on. (That episode was "The Third Shadow" and it aired on 1/9/1959.) The show ran one more season, with the crew having to quickly film a shot and take off before the police would spot them and find a reason to harass them. Of course, Chicago now goes out of its way to woo Hollywood producers, and several major films are shot there each year.

[@TooleManTV]

@galeschool - thanks for the background details on Lee Marvin and M Squad! I had thought "M" stood for "murder," but you're right - there's not a murder in every episode. Maybe it stands for "Marvin," as in the star of the show. 😁 Palm trees in Chicago in the 1970's? Ridiculous! But in the 2020's, with climate change, it might not be such a dumb idea...

[@galeschool]

@@TooleManTV Palm trees in Chicago: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m6CaoWtmpKdjY9U

[@TooleManTV]

@@galeschool Oh, I see. First thought was palm TREES, but that would have been a non-starter.

[@bobbell1922]

The Daly story seems a little off since in The Third Shadow the "corrupt" policeman was ultimately fully cleared. Also, and I don't really know why, but I always thought the M in M Squad stood for "Major", as in major cases.

[@galeschool]

@@bobbell1922 Mayor Daley and his police commissioner were never fans of M Squad from its beginning, and maybe The Third Shadow was the last straw for them. Someone mentioned that perhaps the producer didn't give sufficient "respect" (bribes?) to city officials. As for what the M meant, your guess is as good as mine. It was never explained at the time.

[@randyhutton9371]

That's a Modigliani on the actresses' living room wall.

[@moodydon1]

These old shows with people in the car-always sitting next to each other, as if the car was only half as wide... or all 3 in the front seat, even though there is a back seat. Highway Patrol-all the patrol cars were 2-doors. Adam-12 Pete & Reed sat where most people sit.

[@markbrodie2784]

love these old coppers shows

[@richardblayneamerican8149]

Will somebody PLEASE get Mrs. Olsen a cup of decaf Folger's so she can calm down?!?

[@stephenclickard9428]

The actor crying in the begging was on every show ,dragnet, etc. even coffee commercials for ever.

[@remmymafia3889]

I knew these episodes had a lot of cigarette smoking, but the thug holding his cigarette from behind his chick, to her mouth for a drag off it (18:00 mark), is by far the most extreme situation ever in cinema history, of another individual offering their support to another, by this type of gesture.

[@stephenclickard9428]

Driving with a light in your face ,not so hard when you’re not driving.

[@luisreyes1963]

One of the best police shows of that era. M Squad used to be shown late nights on Chicago's MEtv back in the early 2Ks. Why this isn't on Tubi or Pluto TV, I'll never know. 😟

[@davidhimmelsbach557]

But the only killing that could be placed on the villain was the shooting of his girl -- witnessed by Lee Marvin. That one was open and shut.

[@davidhimmelsbach557]

Joanna Barnes was in no end of TV.

[@mikenixon2401]

One of my favorite parts of these old TV shows and films (of course didn't know better at the time) is the storyline keeps moving. Plus, no concern about political correctness.

[@tectorgorch8698]

Man, that's a helluva body count for 23 minutes.

[@death2pc]

Look....... It's Mrs. Olson.

[@davidhull1481]

I’m a little unclear here- was any motive given about why she was helping the murderer?

[@ardeladimwit]

When Real Cops drove Ford Fairlanes

[@sallysagadin2160]

Sexy Lee Marvin. Always loved that man.

[@gerardwalleyn6439]

Good Ep. as usual but the plot made no sense because what big shot kills another big shot himself answer none they hire a 2 bit hit man preferably from out of town. If that happened here there is no drama or story.

[@mikeflynn1629]

Just leave it there please

[@stephenclickard9428]

Two guys fighting on an island ,ww2 Lee and hyacowa sorry about the spelling.

[@dmytryk7887]

I think it was Toshiro Mifune, "Hell in the Pacific"

[@GazAce]

This is virtually unwatchable, not content.. quality! Why post?

[@stephenclickard9428]

Police squad? Not even close.

[@aubreypolgreen9980]

How u don't have a picture of ur daughter

[@jameswoodend6029]

Got to see a couple episodes sure it was a derivative of naked city / but some really nice film noir here

[@z978ady]

Would like to see it in color. Too many black suits.

[@CaptainNavman]

I liked seeing Marvin NOT a baddie

[@plasticweapon]

he played a good guy plenty of times.

[@mikeflynn1629]

Crap guilty women crying come on! It's hard to take

[@thomascarlisle7895]

It is easy to see why M squad was so short lived.

[@stevelonmo9495]

3 years is not so short lived....... It was very popular and (I read somewhere) only finished after 3 years because Lee Marvin wanted out.

[@alanoldham1700]

117 eps in 3 years is a pretty solid run.

[@davidford1538]

the murdered mobster's wife went to become Mr. Olsen doing Folger's Coffee Commercials. Tag line in a Swedish accent, "It's Mountain Grown."

[@kathleenking47]

She played on Perry mason, a few times

[@kellystoner277]

Police Squad, Naked Gun completely stole everything from 'M Squad'! Music, everything, especially bad acting and ridiculous script writing! This is a comedy.