Dial 999

Dial 999

1958 - United Kingdom, United States

Billed as the British equivalent to Highway Patrol, Dial 999 was an above standard cops n' robbers thriller starring Canadian actor Robert Beatty as Detective Inspector Michael McGuire. What set this show aside from the standard police series format was that it was made with the cooperation of Scotland Yard, and threw a spotlight on real police methods of the time. Advisor to the series was an ex-Superintendent by the name of Tom Fallon -in fact the very man who had been responsible for setting up the 999 emergency call service for the London area. The series centred around McGuire, a "Mountie" who had been seconded on temporary assignment to "The Yard" to study advanced crime detection techniques. He was assisted by Detective Inspector Winter (Duncan Lamont) and Detective Sergeant West (John Witty). 

This Anglo/American venture was co-produced by ATV and Ziv Television Programmes in America, where it received its first airing. A number of scenes were shot at Elstree Studios, but the show's large budget ($1.2 million) allowed for extensive location scenes in the streets of London and of many provincial cities.

Published on December 7th, 2018. Written by Laurence Marcus for Television Heaven.

Read Next...

Colonel March of Scotland Yard

Hollywood screen legend Boris Karloff as a determined police officer heads Scotland Yard's department for seemingly unsolvable cases.

Also tagged Police Series

Dalgliesh

"More Morse than Regan, Dalgliesh is an intensely cerebral and private person who writes poetry, lives in an expensive flat above the Thames at Queenhithe and drives a Jaguar."

Also tagged Police Series

The Jack Jackson Show

Music, quick-fire comedy and soundbites that influenced a generation of DJs

Also released in 1958

Cannonball TV series

Fun, free-wheeling, undemanding early adventure series, Cannonball was a series of half-hour family dramas chronicling the adventures of two truckers who hauled freight on the highways of Canada and the U.S.A.

Also released in 1958

Cluff

Any no-gooder underestimating the tweed-suited detective would do so at their own cost because Cluff's slow methodology belied a skilfully perceptive insight into human nature and behaviour, particularly in the criminal mind.

Also tagged Police Series

Dixon of Dock Green

George Dixon was a policeman of the old school. A dependable officer who would help old ladies cross the street and whose idea of treating juvenile delinquents was with a 'clip' round the ear. George Dixon was a 'Community Copper' before the term had even been invented.

Also tagged Police Series

Fabian of Scotland Yard

The first ever British made filmed series, shot by Trinity Productions for the BBC and consisting of 39 black and white episodes, Fabian of Scotland Yard has been described as Britain's first generation of the TV detective.

Also tagged Police Series

The Fall TV series

Hard hitting and somewhat bleak drama series about a cold but passionate policewoman who goes head to head with a cold serial killer in Belfast.

Also tagged Police Series

Bat Masterson

Based on the real-life exploits of William Bartholomew Masterson, a Dodge City lawman who preferred to use his wits instead of his fists and his cane instead of his Colt.

Also released in 1958