Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The most realistic and gritty of all the 1960's ITC thriller series and one of the best. If The Saint did it with suavity, The Champions with super-powers, Jason King and his Department S colleagues with camp panache and Randall and Hopkirk with supernatural powers, McGill, a CIA outcast trying to make a living as a private eye in mid-60's England, just did it. With no fuss or flashiness, Richard Bradford's anti-hero and his "have gun will travel" policy took him into adventures more believable and down to earth than those of his stable-mates.In this pilot episode for example, McGill gets waylaid by a deposed white African leader who wants him to reveal how back in his CIA days he assisted with that country's revolution with the ultimate aim of deposing the present government and re-establishing white government over the locals. Given that the British government of the time was having well-publicised disputes with former colonies in the African continent, there's a strong whiff of topicality about the narrative, only bolstered further by the use of forced interrogation techniques redolent of "The Manchurian Candidate" and "The Ipcress Files" to name but two. It's pretty obvious to say also that both these themes are still very much in the news today.The silver-haired Bradford is excellent as the laconic, friendless, endlessly cynical McGill. This episode was crisply directed by celebrated Ealing director Charles Crichton (later to direct "A Fish Called Wanda"). Yes, you will see various guest stars from the supporting cast of most of the afore-mentioned shows not to mention sets, cars and now and again variations on the same story too. Indeed McGill's anti-Establishment stance is not too far away from the daddy of all 60's TV rebels, Patrick McGoohan's "The Prisoner"."Man In A Suitcase" (which incidentally boasts another great Ron Grainer theme) may not have aimed quite as high as McGoohan's tormented odyssey but this was solid entertainment and very good quality stuff of its kind, one of the best adventure series of the 60's I'd say.

Man in a Suitcase is a gem of a series. One series is all you get. Only thirty episodes. You will be wishing that somehow it had lasted longer. There can never be enough praise for the actor or the character he created. He gave it all he could, all he had, shackled by the constraints of an unprepared and inflexible British studio that did not know what they were dealing with. One feature is that McGill himself is so watchable in all his small actions and so few words. He is the guy who can make boredom look interesting. The recent DVD box set has an interview with Richard Bradford that is illuminating, especially to the fight scenes. I also recommend the GZR track, Man In A Suitcase, the Man in a Suitcase isn't like me and you. You can also hear plenty of that strange jazz music that often passed for the Swinging 60s in TV shows of the time.

Richard Bradford in the 60s was the Steve McQueen of TV, laced with a healthy dose of Marlon Brando. It's a real pity we only got to see him in one series of this excellent series before he disappeared into limbo land for nearly 20yrs, re-emerging to appear in films like 'The Untouchables' and the under-rated 'Mean Season'. Bradford's performance as McGill carries this series from start to finish and is the reason it is the least dated of the ITC stable. McGill is a real person ... vulnerable, prone to mistakes but never giving less than 100 per cent for the right cause. No super heroic 'Champion' - like exploits for him. The stories vary in quality but Bradford is the core to all of them and his on screen persona carries them off with credibility intact. It is good to see that an excellent 8 disc DVD set (inc extras) is available worldwide with a UK edition coming in August 2005. Dip deep into your pockets (the distribution companies know the value of this series and have raised the price considerably) and enjoy the best PI series ever made.

Only one actor is listed as a regular cast member and that is Richard Bradford who starred as the man and his suitcase, McGill. That, and his wits, were all that were left to him after the CIA kicked him out to fend for himself. McGill had a rougher ride in this series than any other spy or investigator before or since and, to his credit, Richard Bradford made sure it showed. The effort he put into his characterisation, the generally high level of the supporting cast, writers and crew which backed him up, was well worth it as, over thirty years, later this series is still as fresh as the day it first aired. I am glad I found it, and I can't stop watching it.Richard Bradford is mesmerising to watch as McGill and throughout the series he is consistently good, never giving less than his best so a lot of the credit for the success of this series must surely go to him. He has made many appearances in films and on t.v. in character roles since which shows his scope as an actor, but I believe his talents deserved better. The star of Man In A Suitcase is surely the one that got away.