Deal Alert: The complete It Takes a Thief series is on sale at Amazon Canada today for a low US $56.91. The collection was finally released in 2011 and often hovers around $135, so this is a good time to add it to your spy library. It's listed as "temporarily out of stock" already, but I believe you can still order to lock in the sale price and they will ship when new stock arrives. The set includes all 66 episodes, the feature-length pilot, interviews with star Robert Wagner and producer Glen Larson, a 35mm film senitype, coaster set, and booklet. Details here. It Takes a Thief (1968-1970) "Alexander Mundy - smooth, suave, sophisticated - is the
world's greatest cat burglar. After he is arrested, he strikes a deal with
American agent Noah Bain which will grant Mundy a full pardon if Mundy agrees
to use his skills to steal for the SIA, an American espionage agency.
Technically under house arrest, Mundy travels all over the world performing
daring acts of thievery in the name of Uncle Sam."
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A special transmission just in from Dean Brierly to all Spy Vibers- the first season of It Takes a Thief is now available for order! This classic spy series has been conspicuously absent during the DVD release of cult TV shows over the last fifteen years. I had hopes of seeing it during the wave of Austin Powers mania, when Mike Meyers hosted a week of fave shows that inspired him. Two titles that were included were The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. and It Takes a Thief, still unavailable as official releases- until now! It Takes a Thief is being released by Polyband in Germany, but don't panic- the discs will include English language tracks. If you don't have a region-free player, here's another reason to finally make the leap.
From Dean at Cinema Retro: Besides being must-see TV in the States, the series also proved a hit in Germany, where it debuted on November 18, 1969 under the title Ihr Auftritt, Al Mundy! (Rough translation: Your Appearance, Al Mundy!) One of the reasons for its popularity there was due to the dubbing, which made the lines funnier than they were actually written. This lighter approach was also reflected in some of the episode titles. “A Thief is a Thief” was Germanized to “A Chance for the Playboy,” and “A Spot of Trouble” became “More Champagne for the Ladies.” Read Dean's announcement with full details on Cinema Retro here.
MALACHI THRONE
Spy Vibers in the San Francisco area have a last chance today to meet up with actor Malachi Throne at Wondercon. Throne appeared in many cult TV shows, including Batman, Six-Million Dollar Man, Kojak, Hogan's Heroes, Hawaii Five-O, Mission Impossible, Land of the Giants, Mannix, Time Tunnel, Wild Wild West, Lost in Space, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and incarnations of Star Trek. The role I recall most clearly is that of Robert Wagner's controller in It Takes a Thief ("I'm not asking you to spy, I'm asking you to steal"). I had a nice, albeit brief, chat with Malachi on Saturday. The 82-year old actor reported that everything is going well, adding with a smile, "Anything after 75 is gravy!" Wondercon runs from 11:00-5:00 today.
