M Squad
The Big Kill
TV Flash files “The Big Kill” as hour 47 of 117 in the TV Flash guide — M Squad (1957–1960) on NBC, season 2, episode 9, aired 1958-11-21, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S02E09: listed hour 47 of 117 in the M Squad guide, hour 9 of 40 in season 2. It aired 1958-11-21 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “The Merits of the Case” (S02E08). Next is “The Sitters” (S02E10).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Ballinger, lacking evidence for arrest, pursues a man he suspects is the bank robbers' leader.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Big Kill sit in the M Squad guide?
S02E09 is listed hour 47 of 117 — hour 9 of 40 in season 2, season 2 episode 9.
When did M Squad S02E09 air?
The Big Kill aired 1958-11-21 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Where should I start?
Start with Marvin's Ballinger on the Chicago squad. Minimal smiles, noir half-hours; the jazz bite is the extra.
In the series
Why this series still plays
M Squad is Lee Marvin's hard cop in a hard Chicago: noir procedural with a jazz bite, later meaner when Count Basie got a theme. Tough urban police drama before Marvin's film cool peaked. Watch it now as badge television with bruise — jazz, alleys, and a star practicing lethality in half-hour form.
The bruise is already on the badge. Lee Marvin as Detective Lieutenant Frank Ballinger, NBC 1957–1960, a special plainclothes squad cleaning up Chicago crime with minimal smiles: M Squad, noir procedural with a jazz bite, 117 episodes, three seasons, Latimer Productions and Revue Studios. Paul Newlan as Capt. Grey holding the office while Marvin walked the alleys. Tougher than earlier badge shows. Later meaner in memory when Count Basie recorded a well-known version of the theme. Marvin practicing lethality in…
Filed against
- Lee Marvin as Det. Lt. Frank Ballinger
Lee Marvin's Det. Lt. Frank Ballinger made M Squad a hard cop in a hard Chicago — noir procedural with a jazz bite, later meaner when Count Basie got a theme, badge television with bruise. Tough urban police drama before film cool peaked.…
- Paul Newlan as Capt. Grey
Paul Newlan played Capt. Grey on M Squad, Lee Marvin’s 1950s hard cop in a hard Chicago — noir procedural with a jazz bite, later meaner when Count Basie got a theme. Tough urban police drama before Marvin’s film cool peaked. TV Flash…