M Squad

30min

Crime

Drama

Mystery

Lt. Frank Ballinger is a no-nonsense plain clothes cop in the elite M Squad Division. The Squad's task is to root out organised crime and corruption in America's Second City, Chicago.

Production Companies

Revue Studios

Latimer Productions

Episodes

Cast

The Golden Look

1. The Golden Look

30min

20th Sep 1957

The Squad is on the lookout for a bank robbery suspect with a unique feature, witnesses say he has gold teeth.

The Watchdog

2. The Watchdog

30min

27th Sep 1957

Ballinger and the Squad are out to catch a burglar who may have rabies.

Neighborhood Killer

3. Neighborhood Killer

30min

4th Oct 1957

The squad hunts down a cop killer.

Pete Loves Mary

4. Pete Loves Mary

30min

11th Oct 1957

The squad goes after a jail inmate who's just escaped.

Face of Evil

5. Face of Evil

30min

18th Oct 1957

Ballinger investigates the murders of four women. The victims were all connected to the same church and lived within two miles of each other.

Street of Fear

6. Street of Fear

30min

1st Nov 1957

Chicago cop Frank Ballinger stages a rescue in order to gain the confidence of Alice, a young woman who works for suspected jewelry fence Louis Prince. Pretending to be furniture salesman Bob Steele, Ballinger romances Alice and gets friendly with her boss. But Alice falls for "Bob" and Ballinger must weigh her feelings and safety against his duty as a police officer.

The Matinee Trade

7. The Matinee Trade

30min

8th Nov 1957

Lt. Frank Ballinger investigates the case of a gambling ring and its connection to an unidentified police officer. The deeper into the investigation he gets, the more Ballinger becomes concerned that the crooked cop may be an old friend.

The Hard Case

8. The Hard Case

30min

15th Nov 1957

A jewelry store robbery sends the thief to prison, but his claim that the night watchman, a former big-league ballplayer named Lightnin' Joe Adams, was in on the heist costs Adams his job. Lt. Frank Ballinger goes undercover in prison to find out from the robber whether Adams was involved in the crime and what happened to the loot.

Killer in Town

9. Killer in Town

30min

22nd Nov 1957

Frank Ballinger and his colleagues on the M Squad have to find a needle in a haystack: a cop killer somewhere in the city of Chicago. Their only clues are an old magazine and the killer's habit of saying "You bet."

Diamond Hard

10. Diamond Hard

30min

29th Nov 1957

Lt. Frank Ballinger keeps an eye on Hazel, a bar girl with a record who nonetheless wants to go straight. He discovers she is involved with Joe Mazzerin, a safecracker. Ballinger goes undercover to get the goods on Mazzerin and to learn who his mysterious partner is.

The Alibi Witness

11. The Alibi Witness

30min

6th Dec 1957

When perennial loser Wally Gardner is identified as the perpetrator of a robbery-murder, he tells police unique details of a stranger he met miles away at the time of the crime. But when that stranger is found, he says he can prove that HE was miles from where Gardner says they met at the time of the crime. Lt. Frank Ballinger must determine who's lying.

The Specialists

12. The Specialists

30min

13th Dec 1957

When a hired gunman gets himself tossed in jail following a fistfight, Lt. Frank Ballinger takes his place undercover as protection for a group of three businessmen who meet once a year to commit a specialized crime.

Family Portrait

13. Family Portrait

30min

20th Dec 1957

When his partner in an investigation is killed, Lt. Frank Ballinger makes it a personal business to pin the crime on narcotics lord Sam Hinder. But, as Ballinger discovers, Hinder has an unusual reason for wanting to keep the police out of his own personal business.

The Palace Guard

14. The Palace Guard

30min

27th Dec 1957

Gangster Tommy Hatch is wanted for murder, but the police have to keep him safe from other gangsters who want him dead before he can testify against them. Lt. Frank Ballinger is assigned to protect Hatch even though he despises him.

The Slow Trap

15. The Slow Trap

30min

3rd Jan 1958

Ballinger investigates the case of a security courier who is charged with robbing himself of $75,000.

The Cover Up

16. The Cover Up

30min

10th Jan 1958

District Attorney Grover calls for Ballinger to help him sort out a potentially embarrassing situation involving the murder of a former business associate.

Blue Indigo

17. Blue Indigo

30min

17th Jan 1958

The room mate of the third murder victim of the Blue Indigo serial killer may be the only link Ballinger has to catching him.

The Long Ride

18. The Long Ride

30min

24th Jan 1958

When a convicted murderer gets the upper hand on Lieutenant Ballinger during a train ride back to Chicago, his last best hope for recapturing the felon is the persistence of an alert young boy.

The Shakedown

19. The Shakedown

30min

31st Jan 1958

Ballinger suspects an inside job when a dry cleaning company refuses to knuckle under to a shakedown mob.

Dolly's Bear

20. Dolly's Bear

30min

7th Feb 1958

Kathy Bane, an old flame of Ballinger's, needs his help when a blackmailer trying to extort money turns up dead-- in her apartment.

Lover's Lane Killing

21. Lover's Lane Killing

30min

14th Feb 1958

Ballinger investigates a murder with multiple motives.

The Frightened Wife

22. The Frightened Wife

30min

21st Feb 1958

A man's aunt reports her nephew is missing. Ballinger investigates.

The Black Mermaid

23. The Black Mermaid

30min

28th Feb 1958

Ballinger goes undercover to capture a robbery suspect.

The Man in Hiding

24. The Man in Hiding

30min

7th Mar 1958

Ballinger investigates after a bank robber leaves a pencil at the scene.

Chicago Bluebeard

25. Chicago Bluebeard

30min

14th Mar 1958

A woman dies. Ballinger investigates.

Girl Lost

26. Girl Lost

30min

21st Mar 1958

A woman loses her memory. Bellinger investigates.

Hideout

27. Hideout

30min

28th Mar 1958

Bank robbers hide in a suburban house.

Shot in the Dark

28. Shot in the Dark

30min

4th Apr 1958

A sniper is terrorizing Chicago. Ballinger joins the hunt.

The Twenty-Six Girl

29. The Twenty-Six Girl

30min

11th Apr 1958

A young wife is shot by an unknown assailant when she drives with her ex-con husband to an isolated woods in search of their dream home. No one even reports the couple missing until after the police find them dead in the snow. The wife's sister is a wealthy spinster, who takes her time even coming to Chicago, claiming her brother-in-law was threatened with death by a blackmailer. Det. Ballinger suspects the sister knows more than she reveals.

Fight

30. Fight

30min

18th Apr 1958

A boxer's (Lancaster) life is being threatened soon after another fighter dies after fighting with Lancaster. Suspicion falls on the other fighter's trainer who feels Lancaster is responsible for the death of the other fighter.

Guilty Alibi

31. Guilty Alibi

30min

25th Apr 1958

A man confesses to a crime he may not have committed. Meanwhile the president of the company where the man works has been shot to death.

The Healer

32. The Healer

30min

2nd May 1958

Lieutenant Ballinger searches for a mentally ill young woman who shot a psychiatrist, hoping all the while that he can also find sufficient evidence to obtain a felony conviction against the charlatan who was "treating" her.

Day of Terror

33. Day of Terror

30min

9th May 1958

Frank Ballinger investigates a illegal adoption racket.

The $20 Plates

34. The $20 Plates

30min

16th May 1958

Ballinger investigates a rash of counterfeit $20 bills.

The Double Face

35. The Double Face

30min

23rd May 1958

A professional man is identified as a jewelry-store robber, threatening his freedom, not to mention his wife's reputation "from being married unknowingly to such a character". Ballinger investigates.

The System

36. The System

30min

30th May 1958

An illegal roving casino eludes the police and cheats players with crooked games. When Ballinger investigates, he encounters additional, unforeseen threats.

Woman from Paris

37. Woman from Paris

30min

6th Jun 1958

Accusation

38. Accusation

30min

13th Jun 1958

A millionaire is found dead in a locked room. His young pretty wife (Fay Spain), and the big hansom driver (Ken Clark), are suspected of the crime. Lee Marvin figures out how the crime was committed.

First air date

20th Sep 1957

Last air date

21st Jun 1960

Status

Ended

Type

Scripted

Original language

en

Networks