By Dean Brierly
Alexander Mundy: “Let me get this straight…I can catch
complete episodes of the entire first season of It Takes a Thief on
hulu.com?â€
Noah Bain: “Not quite, Al. But how does 14 out of the
first 16 grab you?â€
Alexander Mundy: “Terrific!â€
Nobody could lay as hip an inflection on the word “terrificâ€
as Robert Wagner when he starred as Alexander Mundy in the coolest
adventure/espionage series of the late sixties, It Takes a Thief. During
the show’s three-year run from 1968 to 1970, the suave and sophisticated Wagner
was the hottest thing going, even edging James Coburn (temporarily, at least)
in the hippest actor sweepstakes. As anyone among the Cinema Retro generation
knows, Mundy was a world-class thief whose one mistake landed him in San Jobel
Prison. The man who put him there? Noah Bain, head of a shadowy government spy
agency known as the SIA. In the show’s pilot episode, Bain offered Mundy an
expedient if unconventional way out: steal for the government in exchange for a
full pardon. Along with the gig came a cover identity that appealed to every
man’s inner hedonist: Mundy would pose as an international playboy replete with
swank estate and a succession of beautiful SIA operatives to assist him. The
catch was a Big Brother surveillance system inside the mansion and strict
orders to keep hands off the girls. Needless to say, Mundy routinely
circumvented the SIA cameras and subverted whatever scruples the ladies
possessed.
When he wasn’t macking on Bain’s private reserve, Mundy kept
busy pulling off a string of high wire capers in the world’s hottest jet set
locations—all without breaking a sweat. Unlike the preening poseurs currently
afflicting Hollywood,
Wagner’s cool was organic and understated. As Alexander Mundy, he projected a
breezy self-assurance untainted by arrogance or condescension, and maintained
his sangfroid in the face of the most dangerous assignments Noah Bain threw his
way, thanks to an unparalleled and seemingly inexhaustible skill set. Mundy
could neutralize any security system, crack any safe, outwit any adversary and,
not least, talk his way into the arms of just about any woman in sight. Little
wonder he was the envy of every kid who came of age during the show’s original
run.
As an actor, Wagner had been building up to this breakout
role throughout the 1960s. The first intimation of his Al Mundy persona can be
glimpsed in The Pink Panther (1963), in which he plays the smooth,
womanizing nephew of jewel thief David Niven. When he discovers his uncle’s cat
burglar kit midway through the film, one can almost sense the actor’s dawning
realization of his future career path. Wagner followed up with strong
performances in Harper (1966), How I Spent My Summer Vacation
(1967) and Banning (1967), each role adding further gloss to his
onscreen charisma. By the time Wagner did the pilot episode (titled Magnificent
Thief), his combination of physical grace and urbane demeanor was smoother
than a shaken-not-stirred vodka martini.
As great as Wagner was, however, It Takes a Thief
wouldn’t have been half as effective without the powerful presence of Malachi
Throne as Noah Bain. Who can forget Noah's immortal line during the
scintillating split-screen credit sequence set to Dave Grusin’s badass theme
tune: “Oh, look, Al, I’m not asking you to spy, just asking you to steal.†The
stage-trained actor with the deep, distinctive voice was all over the cult TV
map during the 1960s and ’70s. With his burly physique and stolid, slab-like
face, Throne excelled at playing gruff authority figures, yet his keen
intelligence and surprisingly wide emotional range added fascinating layers to
his performances. The potent onscreen chemistry he and Wagner displayed gave a
real edge to their characters' adversarial relationship. Bain was a hard ass
with a ruthless streak and frequently threatened to ship Mundy back to prison
if he stepped out line. Yet he also maintained a healthy respect for Mundy’s
criminal talents, as well as a grudging affection for the master crook himself.
And in his own conservative way, Noah Bain was kind of hip too, matching Mundy
in glib repartee and delightedly quashing his amorous aspirations at every
opportunity. In the episode “When Thieves Fall In,†Bain surprises Mundy and a
female SIA operative in a forbidden clinch. “We were just playing chess,†the
flustered agent explains. “You’re lucky I arrived in time,†Bain retorts. “One
more move and he’d have had you mated.â€
Throne’s complexity and grit
were sorely missed when he left the series after the first two seasons. Edward
Binns did a competent job as Mundy’s new boss Wally Powers, but he just
couldn't match the Malachi Man. Ironically, it was Throne’s own rebellious
streak that resulted in his leaving the show. “They had this idea of shooting
the whole season in Italy,
but they wanted me to stay behind and give Wagner’s character…orders over the
phone. I told them if I didn’t go I’d quit, and I did. The show didn’t last
another half a season.â€
Unlike some programs that take time to dial in their
formula, It Takes a Thief was perfect right out of the box. The show’s
basic premise, fusing the heist and espionage genres, was a stroke of mad
genius. Watching Mundy conduct his felonious pursuit of secret documents,
jewels, missing scientists and whatever else the SIA needed stolen was
fascinating in itself, but the spy tropes worked into the mix made things even
more intriguing, giving the writers greater creative latitude to explore fresh
narrative directions. As a result, Mundy could channel the larcenous vibe of
Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief while simultaneously tapping into the
Cold War dramatics of such contemporaneous shows as I Spy and Mission:
Impossible. But no matter which way the scenarios swung, they were all
invested with the kind of light touch that seems impossible to reproduce today.
All three seasons maintained a nicely judged balance of humor and drama, never
veering into camp (like The Man From U.N.C.L.E. did during its third
season) or becoming overly serious.
Despite its iconic status and the respect it commands from
legions of faithful fans, It Takes a Thief, for reasons known only to
the Home Entertainment Gods, has yet to appear on DVD. When one considers that
seemingly every other television show from that era has made it to DVD
(including the most mindless retro rubbish imaginable), one has to wonder what
license holder Universal Studios is waiting for. Fans looking to get their fill
of Mundy’s adventures have had to make do with videotapes or gray market DVD-Rs
of dubious quality—until now. The good folks at www.hulu.com,
a free video streaming site founded by NBC Universal and News Corp., have
stepped into the breach by making available 14 season one episodes in their
entirety, with limited commercial interruptions.
Many fans consider the first season the best of the three.
The stories were more inventive, the suspense was wound a little tighter, and
the humor shaded a bit darker. (Here’s Mundy’s sardonic take on an East
European security official: “The cat with the ball-bearing eyes is the man
currently starring in the Baltic police department’s theater of cruelty.â€) The
Mundy-Bain interplay was also at its most contentious and compelling (although
this aspect became slightly diluted when Mundy became a freelance operative in
the second season). Even the faux European locales, courtesy of Universal’s
back lot, don’t detract from the show’s sophisticated, escapist allure.
Watching episodes like “Turnabout,†“The Radomir Miniature†and “Locked in the
Cradle of the Keep†is to be reminded of a vanished entertainment era that
privileged intelligence, wit and style.
The program’s celebrated guest stars also made memorable
impressions during the 1968 season. In “To Steal a Battleship,†Bill Bixby
plays a rival thief who muscles in on Al’s assignment, mistakenly believing
they’re both after a priceless necklace, when in fact Mundy is interested only
in recovering NATO defense documents. Bixby is excellent as the conniving
competitor, adding some darker colors to his standard nice-guy persona. Season
one also featured two of Susan Saint James’ five guest appearances as Charlene
“Charlie†Brown, another fellow thief and Al’s occasional love interest. In the
aforementioned “When Thieves Fall In,†Mundy must steal a sable coat with a map
of I.C.B.M. missile sites sewn into the lining, and so enlists Charlie’s help
to pull a double switch. St. James and Wagner spark off one another like erotic
electrons in this episode while trading one-liners with the timing of a
seasoned comedy team. Mundy: “What happened?†Charlene Brown: “Chloroform with a
vodka chaser.†Mundy: “You’re not supposed to spray that stuff on yourself!â€
Such exchanges are typical of the series’ unbeatable mix of
action, suspense, humor and that elusive and seemingly out of fashion quality
known as style. Short of Robert Wagner once again donning his cat burglar garb
and breaking into Universal’s corporate black tower to liberate the original
copies of It Takes a Thief, Hulu will likely remain the best place to
indulge your fix of this television classic. Here’s hoping that seasons two and
three will soon follow, so that Alexander Mundy fans everywhere will have
further occasion to say, “Terrific!â€