Manhunt (1969 TV series)

Manhunt
Genre	Drama
Created by	Rex Firkin
Starring	Alfred Lynch Peter Barkworth Cyd Hayman
Theme music composer	Ludwig van Beethoven
Opening theme	Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)
Ending theme	Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	26
Production
Executive producer(s)	Rex Firkin
Producer(s)	Andrew Brown
Running time	26 x 50 minute episodes
Production company(s)	London Weekend Television
Broadcast
Original channel	ITV
Audio format	Mono
Original run	2 January 1970 (1970-01-02) – 26 June 1970 (1970-06-26)

Manhunt was a World War II drama series consisting of 26 episodes, produced by London Weekend Television in 1969 and broadcast nationwide^[1].

1 Synopsis
2 Cast
3 Notes
4 References
5 External links

Synopsis

British pilot Jimmy Porter (Alfred Lynch) crashes his aeroplane in occupied France and immediately finds himself on the run from the Nazis. He meets a young girl, Nina (Cyd Hayman), a part-Jewish agent with important information, and vows to get her back to Britain. He is helped by another agent, code-named Vincent, (Peter Barkworth) and pursued across France by S.S. Officer Lutzig (Philip Madoc), and the ambivalent Abwehr Sgt. Gratz (Robert Hardy), a complex psychological character who is implied to fall in love with Nina. Unlike most previous war dramas, the Nazis were presented as more than just fanatical thugs. While Lutzig was close to the stereotype, although given great depth by Philip Madoc, Gratz could not have been more different.

In the end, both Nina and Porter return to Britain, at the cost of several lives. Having been forced together while fleeing, they find they have nothing in common back home and cease their budding relationship. According to Gratz, he had managed to get most of the information he required from Nina as "pillow talk". One is left feeling that the whole effort, and by implication the war itself, was a futile exercise.

Cast

Character	Actor
Jimmy Porter	Alfred Lynch
Vincent	Peter Barkworth
Nina	Cyd Hayman
Adelaide	Maggie Fitzgibbon
Abwehr Sgt Gratz	Robert Hardy
Lutzig	Philip Madoc

Notes

The name Jimmy Porter is a clear reference to the main character in the play Look Back in Anger. Coincidentally Alfred Lynch acted in the film version of the play.
The Allied agents identify themselves to each other throughout the story with the challenge "What is war ?" to which the answer is "War is love". This may be an intentional reference to Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell (Party slogan "War is Peace" and war prosecuted by a "Ministry of Love") as well as an ironic comment on the dramatic subplots. If the Orwell reference is real, there is a slight anachronism, as the book was written in 1948, after the war was over.
The musical theme was taken from Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, which features the famous rhythm used to introduce radio broadcasts to Nazi occupied territories, and also signifies the letter "V", for Victory, in Morse Code.
With the exception of the episode "One More River" which was shot on film, the programme was shot on colour videotape.
The episode "Intent To Steal" is most uncharacteristic of the series and features very little dialogue.

References

^ Brockman, David (2002-11-01). "Watching London". Transdiffusion Broadcasting System. http://www.transdiffusion.org/emc/insidetv/history/london.php. Retrieved 2007-10-09. "Early programmes from LWT included a 26-part drama series set among the French resistance in World War II called “Manhunt”"

Evans, Jeff (2001). The Penguin TV Companion. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Books. ISBN 0 140 51467 8.

External links

Manhunt at the Internet Movie Database