Man in a Suitcase: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Man in a Suitcase: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 7, 2024

"Man in a Suitcase" (1967-1968) and "To Chase a Million" (1967) arrive on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentaries; archival interviews; trailers; archival publicity materials; and a lot more. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles. Reigon-Free.

Mac

Not a lot of people remember Richard Bradford now, but back in the 1960s he was one of the coolest tough guys to step before the camera. Oddly, it took a single TV show to cement his image. The show was Man in a Suitcase.

Bradford is Mac, a former CIA agent living in London who makes ends meet as a private eye. He still has connections to the agency, but his reputation is such that virtually everyone there sees him as a disgraced professional who ought to be kept as far away from internal business as possible. It is why Mac has not seen his home country in years.

The secret behind Mac’s banishment from the agency is revealed in the pilot, Man From the Dead, which chronicles a failed operation to prevent a prominent Western scientist from defecting to the U.S.S.R. While overseeing the operation, Mac apparently followed the orders of his superior, but he died in an accident which later on made it impossible for him to convince top brass at the agency that he wasn’t responsible for the gaffe. Many years later, on a clear day in London the ‘dead man’ that destroyed Mac’s career reappears, and soon after evidence emerges that the defector may in fact be an active double agent planted deep into enemy territory.

After the stain on Mac’s reputation is explained, the show switches gears and all kinds of unusual characters begin contacting him with requests to help them solve equally unusual cases. Mac frequently travels abroad as well. For example, in No Friend of Mine, he boards a plane and lands in an unnamed African country to foil a dangerous plan that could ruin its chances of rebuilding itself. Then in Variation on a Million Bucks Mac becomes involved with some seriously, and equally, unfriendly Soviet and American characters that are trying to ‘recover’ a million dollars that a former KGB agent has stolen and deposited in a bank in Lisbon. In Find the Lady, Mac is in Rome and forced to improvise after some stolen jewels inspire a local mafioso to abduct one of his closest friends. And in The Boston Square, Mac finds himself right smack in the middle of a massive conspiracy involving a Greek oceanographer, an Albanian agent, and CIA agent with big plans to cripple a Soviet submarine station.

Created by Richard Harris and Dennis Spooner, Man in a Suitcase offers very diverse and often quite bold for its time genre material. International espionage and period crime drama, for instance, are wonderfully intertwined and in a number of episodes used to provide exotic entertainment of the type that the early James Bond films would legitimize. The routine use of classy jazz tunes also infuses the suspense and action with a very authentic ‘60s cool vibe that now makes the entire show look chic without actually trying. The icing on the cake is Mac’s refreshing cynicism, which is raw enough to impress but never even remotely degrading. One of the decade’s best show, indeed.

BOX SET CONTENT

DISC ONE

1. Man from the Dead
2. All That Glitters
3. Sweet Sue
4. The Bridge

DISC TWO

5. Find the Lady
6. Brainwash
7. The Girl Who Never Was
8. Variation on a Million Bucks: Part One
9. Variation on a Million Bucks: Part Two

DISC THREE

10. Day of Execution
11. Web With Four Spiders
12. Blind Spot
13. The Boston Square

DISC FOUR

14. Jigsaw Man
15. The Sitting Pigeon
16. The Man Who Stood Still
17. Somebody Loses, Somebody... Wins?

DISC FIVE

18. Dead Man's Shoes
19. The Whisper
20. Essay in Evil
21. Why They Killed Nolan
22. Burden of Proof

DISC SIX

23. Who's Mad Now?
24. Property of a Gentleman
25. No Friend of Mine
26. Which Way Did He Go, McGill?

DISC SEVEN

27. The Revolutionaries
28. Three Blinks of the Eyes
29. Castle in the Clouds
30. Night Flight to Andorra

DISC EIGHT

To Chase a Million - the feature film version of the TV show, presented in two aspect ratios.

Man in a Suitcase: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Man in a Suitcase arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films.

This excellent TV show was fully restored by British label Network and released on Blu-ray in 2019. This release introduces the same restoration. It also presents the restored feature-film version of the TV show, To Chase a Million, in two aspect ratios, 1.33:1 and 1.66:1.

I have gone through the entire TV show and To Chase a Million and still think that both look wonderful in high-definition. On this release, the former's thirty episodes and spread over seven discs, not six, but I could not see any meaningful improvements in quality. Delineation, clarity, and depth are very pleasing, and if the TV show is upscaled to 4K, the overall quality of the visuals becomes very easy to describe as outstanding. Color reproduction is fantastic, too. All primaries and supporting nuances are very healthy and wonderfully balanced. In a few areas, small ranges of dark nuances could be a tiny bit more convincing, but I think that darker areas still look wonderful. Image stability is excellent. All episodes look incredibly healthy as well. All in all, there is no doubt in my mind that Network's restoration will remain the final presentation of the TV show. (Note: The TV show and To Chase a Million are Region-Free).

Man in a Suitcase: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio option for the TV show and To Chase a Million, which is an English LPCM 2.0 track. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided.

The quality of the audio on the TV show and To Chase a Million is excellent. As a result, all exchanges are very easy to follow. The jazzy score sounds great and in some areas the dynamic contrasts are surprisingly strong. These areas typically have action material, but I still think that for a 1960s TV production the quality of the audio is very good. Optional English SDH subtitles should have been provided for folks that may need them.

Man in a Suitcase: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

DISC ONE

• Commentary - recorded for "Man From the Dead" by actor Richard Bradford in 2004.

• Isolated Music Score - available for "Man From the Dead".

• Introduction - guest star Jane Werrow introduces "The Bridge". Filmed in 2004.

• Richard Bradford on "The Bridge" - Filmed in 2004.

• Photo Galleries -
  
  1. Man from the Dead
  2. All That Glitters
  3. Sweet Sue
  4. The Bridge
  5. Richard Bradford Gallery

DISC TWO

• Commentary - recorded for "Brainwash" by actor Richard Bradford in 2004.

• Photo Galleries -
  
  1. Find the Lady
  2. Brainwash
  3. The Girl Who Never Was
  4. Variation on a Million Bucks: Part One
  5. Variation on a Million Bucks: Part Two

DISC THREE

• Commentary - recorded for "Day of Execution" by writer Philip Broadley in 2004.

• Richard Bradford: In Conversation - produced in 2004.

• Photo Galleries -
  
  1. Day of Execution
  2. Web With Four Spiders
  3. Blind Spot
  4. The Boston Square

DISC FOUR

• Introduction - guest star George Sewell introduces "The Sitting Pigeon". Filmed in 2004.

• Isolated Music Score - available for "The Sitting Pigeon".

• Isolated Music & Effects Track - available for "Somebody Loses, Somebody... Wins?".

• Who Supplies the Whiskey? - audio interview with director John Glen.

• Commercial Break Bumper Suite -

• Sponsorship Tags -

• Opening with Sponsorship Tags -

• Photo Galleries -
  
  1. Jigsaw Man
  2. The Sitting Pigeon
  3. The Man Who Stood Still
  4. Somebody Loses, Somebody... Wins?

DISC FIVE

• Commentary - recorded for "Burden of Proof" by writer/BFI TV consultant Dick Fiddy and television historian Henry Holland in 2024.

• Textless Material - presented mute.

• Photo Galleries -
  
  1. Dead Man's Shoes
  2. The Whisper
  3. Essay in Evil
  4. Why They Killed Nolan
  5. Burden of Proof
  6. Memorabilia Gallery

DISC SIX

• Commentary - recorded for "Which Way Did He Go, McGill?" by restorer Jonathan Wood and ITC historian Rick Davy in 2024.

• Richard Bradford: Making it Real - produced in 2005.

• Foreign Titles -

• Photo Galleries -
  
  1. Who's Mad Now?
  2. Property of a Gentleman
  3. No Friend of Mine
  4. Which Way Did He Go, McGill?

DISC SEVEN

• Commentary - recorded for "The Revolutionaries" by director Peter Duffell in 2004.

• Richard Bradford: In Character - an extended interview conducted in 2005.

• Trailer One - ITC Home Video trailer

• Trailer Two - Carlton Video ITC trailer

• Photo Galleries -
  
  1. The Revolutionaries
  2. Three Blinks of the Eyes
  3. Castle in the Clouds
  4. Night Flight to Andora

DISC EIGHT

• To Chase a Million - The feature film version of the TV show, presented in two aspect ratios.

• Discussion - recorded by the "ITC Entertained the World" podcast.

ADDITIONAL CONTENT

• Booklet - a 120-page fully illustrated collectable booklet.

Man in a Suitcase: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Richard Bradford spent his best years trying his luck in the TV industry. It was probably a mistake. He is very good in Man in a Suitcase and in the 1960s had the same impressive appearance and charisma that transformed Jeff Chandler into a big Hollywood star. After Chandler's tragic death, and following the success of Man in a Suitcase, Bradford should have worked with a top Hollywood agent. He would have been terrific in many great genre films, like the ones George Peppard and David Janssen made, and they would have ensured a very different progression of his career. This lavish box set from Australian label Imprint Films presents British label Network's wonderful restorations of Man in a Suitcase and To Chase a Million with a large section of exclusive new and archival bonus features. All discs in it are Region-Free. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.