Exciting Credit Theme and Visuals; Great Stars
When I was a kid, my parents would watch Checkmate and though I didn't have much understanding of the plots, I was mesmerized by the opening credit sequence, which had a rather exciting eerieness to it, as if the Peter Gunn theme had been crossed with Bernard Herrmann. As that muscular yet creepy music played, the visuals were weird, too: swirling liquid patterns (paint? blood in milk?) that created an aura of mystery. Along with the opening for "The Twilight Zone" and "The Outer Limits" this was perhaps the spookiest thriller show credit sequence of those years.
I've had the pleasure of renting one of the DVDs recently, and it was fun to see that credit sequence again. It seemed a little more "pedestrian," what with the Universal credit titles and a certain more literal look than I remembered from my childhood..but that music was still exciting.
And it was composed by...John Williams! I haven't checked his imdb credits (and have you noticed, now you have to PAY to see certain information; uh oh), but I can only figure this was near the very beginning of Williams' career. Back when he was called "Johnny Williams," which I believe was his name for his "Lost in Space" music of '65.
But his "Checkmate" theme is spectacular. It really could have opened a movie.
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"Checkmate" was a detective show, with the fictional San Francisco detective firm specializing in "stopping crimes before they occur." (Hence, Checkmate.)
From my purusal of the Checkmate episodes, it looks like they managed to land a fairly notable Old-School guest star most weeks. Only ONE guest star of that rank per week. I watched episodes with Walter Pidgeon and George Sanders. If not "old-school," they used somebody "hot right now": Susan Kohner from "Imitation of Life" one week; Japanese actress Nobu McCarthy the next.
From my childhood, I remember Jack Benny guesting in one episode, and my research reveals he played a fictional version of himself --- "Jack Bowen" -- who was dodging murder attempts.
Also from my childhood, I rememeber an episode with Lee Marvin as the guest star, and the memorable memory was of a character drowning (or almost drowning) in quicksand...that old reliable bugaboo of early film and TV jungle jeopardy. I remember it well.
A skim of the credits reveal that Charles Laughton and Anne Baxter were also guest stars.
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As for the show itself? Well, though created by Eric Ambler, it is rather 1960-era cookie-cutter mystery television. The actors are generally better than the plots or direction, though sometimes the lines are well-written.
The three leads were interesting: Anthony George, a rather nervous and reptilian-looking man for a detective-show lead, I don't know where he came from or where he went; Doug McClure, a "Universal ingenue" with a rather strange face, as if a child's face had grown to young adulthood simply by growing BIGGER (Doug McClure was beloved by MCA-Universal head Lew Wasserman's wife Edie, so McClure got "The Virginian," a lot of TV guest shots, and even a few theatericla movies because Mrs. Wasserman ordered it so.)
...and above all, Sebastian Cabot. What a great look (owlish and bearded and plump, but always well tailored in hat and vest). What a great voice (Winnie the Pooh comes to mind.) Cabot anchors every "Checkmate" episode I saw with a certain nifty ambiance and authority, perfect for a mystery series.
Some TV critic a few years back marvelled at Sebastian Cabot in reruns of "Family Affair" and gave him a "cool guy" nickname:
SebCab.
So, in honor of a great musical credits theme, spooky credits visuals, great weekly Golden Era guest stars, and, not to forget..."SebCab," I raise a toast to "Checkmate."