Five Fingers (American TV series)

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Five Fingers
Based onOperation Cicero
by Ludwig Carl Moyzisch
Written by Ludwig Carl Moyzisch
William Templeton
Teleplay byRichard Berg
Directed byAndrew McCullough
Montgomery Pittman
Lamont Johnson
Starring David Hedison
Luciana Paluzzi
Paul Burke
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes16
Production
Producers Martin Manulis
Herbert B. Swope, Jr.
Production location Europe
Running time60 minutes
Production companies 20th Century Fox Television
Martin Manulis Productions
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseOctober 3, 1959 (1959-10-03) 
January 8, 1960 (1960-01-08)

Five Fingers is an NBC adventure/drama series set in Europe during the Cold War. [1] It was based on L. C. Moyzich's story "Operation Cicero". [2] It ran from October 3, 1959, to January 9, 1960. [1]

Contents

Premise

David Hedison starred as Victor Sebastian, a counter-intelligence agent for the United States. His mission was to infiltrate a Soviet espionage ring; Five Fingers was his code name. Luciana Paluzzi co-starred as Simone Genet, a fashion model. [2] Paul Burke portrayed Robertson, who was the contact person for Sebastian. [1]

Representing the Wembly and Sebastian Ltd. theatrical agency, [3] Sebastian posed as a booking agent who sought musical talent to place in clubs across continental Europe. Genet hoped to become a singer. As they traveled together, a romantic relationship developed, while she knew nothing about his secret spy activities. [4]

Episodes and guest stars

Episodes and notable guest stars include:

Two additional episodes, "A Shot in the Dark" (Neile Adams and Joanna Cook Moore) and "Counterfeit" (Cesar Romero), were unaired.[ citation needed ]

UK theatrical runs

In 1960/61 in the UK, 20th Century Fox used nine episodes as supporting films for circuit releases, all but one of their own main features:-

The Rank release played at the prime Odeon and Gaumont cinemas. The National release played at Rank's secondary outlets, although at this time it still was allocated the odd decent booking.

Production

Herbert Bayard Swope Jr. was the producer of the show, which was based on the film 5 Fingers (1952). [1] Robert Stevens was the director, and Richard Berg was the writer. [6] The program was broadcast on Saturdays from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time. [4] Its competition included The Lawrence Welk Show and Ozark Jubilee on ABC and Have Gun – Will Travel and Gunsmoke on CBS. [6]

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References

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  2. 1 2 "New Shows Appear On Fall TeeVee Lineup". The Daily Herald. Utah, Provo. September 28, 1959. p. 16. Retrieved November 2, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
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  4. 1 2 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. 479. ISBN   978-0-307-48320-1 . Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  5. Youngkin, Stephen (September 30, 2005). The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre. University Press of Kentucky. p. 490. ISBN   978-0-8131-7185-2 . Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  6. 1 2 Hyatt, Wesley (October 6, 2015). Short-Lived Television Series, 1948-1978: Thirty Years of More Than 1,000 Flops. McFarland. pp. 100–101. ISBN   978-1-4766-0515-9 . Retrieved February 10, 2024.