The Four Just Men
Encyclopedia
The Four Just Men was a 1959 Sapphire Films
production for ITC Entertainment
. It ran for one season of 39 half-hour monochrome episodes.
"Throughout time there have been men to whom justice has been more important than life itself. From these ranks come four men prepared
to fight valiantly on the side of justice, wherever the need may be. Joined together in this cause they are - THE FOUR JUST MEN."
during World War II
. The men later reassemble and decide to fight for justice and against tyranny, using money set aside for the purpose by their late commanding officer. They operate from different countries, Jeff Ryder is a Professor of law at Columbia University
in New York
, Tim collier is an American foreign correspondent based in Paris
, Ben Manfred, a crusading British independent MP
who works from London, and Ricco Poccari is a colourful Italian
hotellier based in Rome
. Their reputation as The Four Just Men is well known in the wider world.
The series is unusual at the time in that the four lead actors appear in turn, rather than together, and are rarely seen together other than in the first episode but make brief appearances in most episodes usually on the telephone.
The series was loosely based on a novel by Edgar Wallace
.
Each character had an assistant:
and on locations in Britain, France, and Italy starring four top-ranking international stars in the first TV film series any had made.
Filming commenced in January 1959 to shoot 39, 25 minute, films in five months using up to seven units in the studio or on location producing two or three episodes simultaneously.
Set against widely differing backgrounds with stories covering a wide variety of situations ranging from human interest to complex international plots.
John Schlesinger
was credited with an exterior unit or second unit director on a number of episodes.
regions varied date and order.
Each story featured one star and often brief appearances of the others.
DH = Dan Dailey
JH = Jack Hawkins
RC = Richard Conte
VS = Vittorio de Sica.
Sapphire Films
Sapphire Films was a British television production company, active in the 1950s. Amongst their best-known series are The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, The Buccaners, and The Four Just Men produced for ITC Entertainment and screened on ITV in the UK, as well as being...
production for ITC Entertainment
ITC Entertainment
The Incorporated Television Company was a British television company largely involved in production and distribution. It was founded by Lew Grade.-History:...
. It ran for one season of 39 half-hour monochrome episodes.
Series outline
Opening titles voiceover:"Throughout time there have been men to whom justice has been more important than life itself. From these ranks come four men prepared
to fight valiantly on the side of justice, wherever the need may be. Joined together in this cause they are - THE FOUR JUST MEN."
Plot
The series features four men who first met whilst fighting in ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The men later reassemble and decide to fight for justice and against tyranny, using money set aside for the purpose by their late commanding officer. They operate from different countries, Jeff Ryder is a Professor of law at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Tim collier is an American foreign correspondent based in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Ben Manfred, a crusading British independent MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
who works from London, and Ricco Poccari is a colourful Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
hotellier based in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. Their reputation as The Four Just Men is well known in the wider world.
The series is unusual at the time in that the four lead actors appear in turn, rather than together, and are rarely seen together other than in the first episode but make brief appearances in most episodes usually on the telephone.
The series was loosely based on a novel by Edgar Wallace
Edgar Wallace
Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was an English crime writer, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright, who wrote 175 novels, 24 plays, and numerous articles in newspapers and journals....
.
Cast and characters
- Richard ConteRichard ConteRichard Conte was an American actor. He appeared in numerous films from the 1940s through 1970s, including I'll Cry Tomorrow and The Godfather.-Life and career:...
as Jeff Ryder - Dan DaileyDan DaileyDaniel James Dailey Jr. was an American dancer and actor.-Early life and career:Born in New York City on December 14, 1915, to James J. and Helen Dailey, both born in New York City. He appeared in a minstrel show when very young, and appeared in vaudeville before his Broadway debut in 1937 in...
as Tim Collier - Jack HawkinsJack HawkinsColonel John Edward "Jack" Hawkins CBE was an English actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman. The youngest of four children in a close-knit family,...
as Ben Manfred - Vittorio de SicaVittorio de SicaVittorio De Sica was an Italian director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement....
as Ricco Poccari
Each character had an assistant:
- June ThorburnJune ThorburnJune Thorburn was a popular English actress whose career was cut short by her death in an air crash.-Early life:Thorburn was born in Karachi when the city was still in a non-independent India...
as Vicky, Jeff Ryder's law student assistant. - Honor BlackmanHonor BlackmanHonor Blackman is an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in The Avengers and Bond girl Pussy Galore in Goldfinger .-Early life:...
as Nicole, Tim Collier's French girlfriend and secretary. - Andrew KeirAndrew KeirAndrew Keir was a Scottish actor, who rose to prominence featuring in a number of films from Hammer Film Productions in the 1960s. He was also active in television, and particularly in the theatre, in a professional career that lasted from the 1940s to the 1990s...
as Jock, Ben Manfred's manservant and best friend. - Lisa GastoniLisa GastoniLisa Gastoni is an Italian film actress. She has appeared in 60 films since 1954. She also co-starred as Giulia, Ricco Poccari's girlfriend in the Sapphire Films TV series The Four Just Men for ITV.-Selected filmography:* Doctor in the House * The Baby and the Battleship * Three Men...
as Giulia, Ricco Poccari's secretary.
- Guest stars included Judi DenchJudi DenchDame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
, Alan BatesAlan BatesSir Alan Arthur Bates CBE was an English actor, who came to prominence in the 1960s, a time of high creativity in British cinema, when he demonstrated his versatility in films ranging from the popular children’s story Whistle Down the Wind to the "kitchen sink" drama A Kind of Loving...
, Leonard SachsLeonard SachsLeonard Sachs was a British actor.-Early life and career:Sachs was born in South Africa in the town of Roodepoort, Transvaal...
, Patrick TroughtonPatrick TroughtonPatrick George Troughton was an English actor most widely known for his roles in fantasy, science fiction and horror films, particularly in his role as the second incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running British science-fiction television series Doctor Who, which he played from 1966 to 1969,...
, Donald PleasenceDonald PleasenceSir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
, Richard JohnsonRichard Johnson (actor)Richard Johnson is an English actor, writer and producer, who starred in several British films of the 1960s and has also had a distinguished stage career. He most recently appeared in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.-Life and career:...
, Ronald HowardRonald Howard (British actor)Ronald Howard was an English actor and writer best known in the U.S. for starring in a weekly Sherlock Holmes television series in 1954. He was the son of actor Leslie Howard.- Life and work :...
, Basil DignamBasil DignamBasil Dignam was an English character actor.Basil Dignam, a native of Sheffield, acted on film and television between 1951 and 1975. He often appeared as an authority figure, such as a police officer, army general or peer....
, Roger DelgadoRoger DelgadoRoger Caesar Marius Bernard de Delgado Torres Castillo Roberto was an English actor, best known for his role as the first Master in Doctor Who....
, Charles GrayCharles Gray (actor)Charles Gray was an English actor who was well-known for roles including the arch-villain Blofeld in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever, Sherlock Holmes' brother Mycroft Holmes in the Granada television series, and as The Criminologist in the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show in...
, and Frank ThorntonFrank ThorntonFrank Thornton is an English actor who is best known for playing Captain Peacock in Are You Being Served? and its sequel Grace & Favour and as Truly in Last of the Summer Wine.-Early life:...
who appeared in more roles than anyone else.
Production
At the time the most ambitious TV film series yet made in Britain produced by Sapphire Films at Walton StudiosNettlefold Studios
Nettlefold Studios were located in what is now Hepworth Way, Walton-on-Thames. Cecil Hepworth began film making there in 1899, but the name derives from the subsequent owner, Archibald Nettlefold, who rebuilt the studios on the original site. During the late fifties the studio changed its name to...
and on locations in Britain, France, and Italy starring four top-ranking international stars in the first TV film series any had made.
Filming commenced in January 1959 to shoot 39, 25 minute, films in five months using up to seven units in the studio or on location producing two or three episodes simultaneously.
Set against widely differing backgrounds with stories covering a wide variety of situations ranging from human interest to complex international plots.
John Schlesinger
John Schlesinger
John Richard Schlesinger, CBE was an English film and stage director and actor.-Early life:Schlesinger was born in London into a middle-class Jewish family, the son of Winifred Henrietta and Bernard Edward Schlesinger, a physician...
was credited with an exterior unit or second unit director on a number of episodes.
Episode list
Airdate is for ATV Midlands ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
regions varied date and order.
Each story featured one star and often brief appearances of the others.
DH = Dan Dailey
JH = Jack Hawkins
RC = Richard Conte
VS = Vittorio de Sica.
| Ep # | Star | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate |
|---|