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Ghost Squad poster
📺 Series

Ghost Squad

📅 1961 ⭐ 5.0 🕐 1h 0m GB GB

Ghost Squad, known as G.S.5 for its third series, was a crime drama series about an elite division of Scotland Yard that ran between 1961 and 1964. Each episode the Ghost Squad would investigate cases that fell outside the scope of normal police work. Despite the show and characters being fictional, an actual division did exist within the Metropolitan Police Service at the time. Inspiration for the series was taken from a book of the same name, written by John Gosling — a retired police officer and former member of the team. Although the real-life squad only operated in London, the fictionalised team travelled internationally; however — as was typical of the time — most foreign locations were actually a combination of stock footage and sets at Independent Artists Studio at Beaconsfield and Elstree Studios. Music was by Philip Green. The show was produced by ITC Entertainment, along with Rank Organisation TV and ATV. It was the first ITC show filmed to fit the one hour time-slot — setting the trend for the majority of ITC's future output. Another common ITC trait was to feature an American, in this case Michael Quinn, in a leading role so as to increase the chances of international sales. At 6' 3", Quinn often towered over his co-workers. This was especially noticeable in the first series title sequence showing him walking through a crowd walking in the opposite direction. He frequently smoked in the show as did many others. The second series had a different title sequence and Neil Hallett sometimes replaced Quinn. Hallett looked more like a spy while Quinn looked a bit like a playboy. Quinn was replaced by Australian actor, Ray Barrett in the third series. Ray Austin played Billy Clay in and was also Stunt Director on all series bringing the action to life. Austin went on to become a renowned TV director in Hollywood and the UK.

Seasons & Episodes
Season 1 10 episodes
E1
Ticket for Blackmail 1961-09-09
E2
Bullet with My Name on It 1961-09-16
E3
Hong Kong Story 1961-09-23
E4
High Wire 1961-09-30
E5
The Broken Doll 1961-10-07
E6
The Eyes of the Bat 1961-10-14
E7
Still Waters 1961-10-21
E8
Assassin 1961-10-28
E9
Death from a Distance 1961-11-04
E10
Million Dollar Ransom 1961-11-11
Season 2 29 episodes
E1
The Green Shoes 1962-12-29
E2
Catspaw 1963-01-05
E3
The Princess 1963-01-12
E4
The Big Time 1963-01-19
E5
Death of a Sportsman 1963-01-26
E6
Interrupted Requiem 1963-02-02
E7
East of Mandalay 1963-02-09
E8
Escape Route 1963-02-16
E9
The Last Jump 1963-02-23
E10
Polsky 1963-03-02
E11
The Heir Apparent 1963-03-09
E12
The Magic Bullet 1963-03-16
E13
The Menacing Mazurka 1963-03-23
E14
The Retirement of the Gentle Dove 1963-03-30
E15
Mr. Five Percent 1963-04-06
E16
Gertrude 1963-04-13
E17
Sabotage 1963-04-20
E18
The 13th Girl 1963-04-27
E19
Sentences of Death 1963-05-04
E20
The Grand Duchess 1963-05-11
E21
The Desperate Diplomat 1963-05-18
E22
Hot Money 1963-05-25
E23
Quarantine at Kavar 1963-06-01
E24
The Golden Silence 1963-06-08
E25
Lost in Transit 1963-06-15
E26
The Man With the Delicate Hands 1963-06-22
E27
The Missing People 1963-06-29
E28
PG7 1963-07-06
E29
A First Class Way to Die 1963-07-13
Season 3 13 episodes
E1
An Eye for an Eye 1964-02-22
E2
A Cast of Thousands 1964-02-29
E3
Death of a Cop 1964-03-07
E4
Party for Murder 1964-03-14
E5
Dead Men Don't Drive 1964-03-21
E6
Pay Up or Else 1964-03-28
E7
Dr.Ayre 1964-04-04
E8
Scorpion Rock 1964-04-11
E9
The Goldfish Bowl 1964-04-18
E10
Seven Sisters of Wong 1964-04-25
E11
Rich Ruby Wine 1964-05-02
E12
Hideout 1964-05-09
E13
It Won't Be a Stylish Marriage 1964-05-16
Cast
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