Open channel D . . . Errr, channel TCM.
Last month we recommended hunting down the most recent issue of CinemaRetro magazine, in part due to its first installment of a multi-part series on The Man From UNCLE series of theatrical features made from episodes of the classic 60s spy series.
Well tomorrow Turner Classic Movies is running all eight of the Man From UNCLE compilations between 6 am and 7:30 pm, starting with 1964’s To Trap A Spy, a 92-minute re-edit of the television series’ original hour long pilot.
One change that fans will notice right away is the absence of UNCLE mastermind Mr. Waverly, played by Leo G. Carroll. When the pilot was originally produced, the head of the spy organization was named Mr. Allison and was played by Will Kuluva. However, when Kuluva was unable to commit to the series, his scenes were re-shot with Carroll for the broadcast version of the pilot, but they were left intact in the expanded film version. Also, there was a legal question surrounding the use of the name THRUSH for the villainous organization that Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, as personified by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, would be up against, so the name WASP was overdubbed instead.
You can check out the complete day’s schedule here.
Tomorrow is just one day in a monthly long salute on TCM to classic movie series. We’ll continue to post reminders for some of the more interesting selections as the month progresses.
