Ghost Squad 63 years old
Ghost Squad, known as G.S.5 for its third series, was a crime drama series about an elite division of Scotland Yard that ran between 1961 and 1964. Each episode the Ghost Squad would investigate cases that fell outside the scope of normal police work. Despite the show and characters being fictional, an actual division did exist within the Metropolitan Police Service at the time. Inspiration for the series was taken from a book of the same name, written by John Gosling — a retired police officer and former member of the team. Although the real-life squad only operated in London, the fictionalised team travelled internationally; however — as was typical of the time — most foreign locations were actually a combination of stock footage and sets at Independent Artists Studio at Beaconsfield and Elstree Studios. Music was by Philip Green. The show was produced by ITC Entertainment, along with Rank Organisation TV and ATV. It was the first ITC show filmed to fit the one hour time-slot — setting the trend for the majority of ITC's future output. Another common ITC trait was to feature an American, in this case Michael Quinn, in a leading role so as to increase the chances of international sales. At 6' 3", Quinn often towered over his co-workers. This was especially noticeable in the first series title sequence showing him walking through a crowd walking in the opposite direction. He frequently smoked in the show as did many others. The second series had a different title sequence and Neil Hallett sometimes replaced Quinn. Hallett looked more like a spy while Quinn looked a bit like a playboy. Quinn was replaced by Australian actor, Ray Barrett in the third series. Ray Austin played Billy Clay in and was also Stunt Director on all series bringing the action to life. Austin went on to become a renowned TV director in Hollywood and the UK.
Credits
Cast
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Ballard Berkeley He was 57 , 83 years old when he died | |
| Tom Adams He was 29 , 88 years old when he died | |
| Olaf Pooley He was 47 , 101 years old when he died | |
| Geoffrey Bayldon He was 37 , 93 years old when he died | |
| William Hartnell He was 53 , 67 years old when he died | |
| John Woodvine He was 32 , now 95 years old | |
| Ray Barrett He was 34 , 82 years old when he died | |
| Harry Towb He was 36 , 83 years old when he died | |
| George Coulouris He was 57 , 85 years old when he died | |
| Edina Ronay She was 17 , now 80 years old | as Bodil Anderson |
| Arnold Diamond He was 46 , 76 years old when he died | |
| Erik Chitty He was 54 , 70 years old when he died | |
| Edwin Richfield He was 39 , 68 years old when he died | |
| George Pravda He was 43 , 66 years old when he died | |
| André Maranne He was 35 , 66 years old when he died | |
| Donald Wolfit He was 59 , 65 years old when he died |
Crew
| Name | Job title |
|---|---|
| Louis Marks Writing He was 33 , 82 years old when he died | Writer |
| Robert Lynn Directing He was 43 , 63 years old when he died | Director |
| Peter Sasdy Directing He was 26 , now 89 years old | Director |
| Don Sharp Directing He was 40 , 90 years old when he died | Director |
Ghost Squad (63 years)
Ended
- First Air Date: 1961-09-09
- Runtime: [60,50] minutes
- Number of Episodes: 52