Introduction

Man with a Camera is an American television crime drama starring Charles Bronson as a war veteran turned photographer and investigator.

Outline

Bronson portrayed Mike Kovac, a former Korean war combat photographer freelancing in New York City who specialized in getting the photographs that other lensmen could not. He usually assists newspapers, insurance companies, the police and private individuals, all of whom want a filmed record of an event.

By often acting as a private eye, Kovac gets himself into plenty of trouble involving criminals of every kind, helping with cases the police could not handle.

Besides an array of cameras for normal use, for surreptitious work Kovac employs cameras hidden in a radio, cigarette lighter and even his necktie. He also has a phone in his car, and a portable darkroom in the trunk where he could develop his negatives on the spot.

Kovac’s police liaison is Lieutenant Donovan (James Flavin), though he frequently seeks advice from Anton Kovac (Ludwig Stössel), his immigrant father.

Cast

• Charles Bronson as Mike Kovac.
• James Flavin as Lieutenant Donovan.
• Ludwig Stössel as Anton Kovac.

Production

The series was filmed on locations in Hollywood (doubling for New York City) at Desilu Studios. It was aired on the ABC-TV network, Friday nights at 9:00 pm.

Home Media

The entire run of the series’ 29 episodes was released in 2007 by the Infinity Entertainment Group, in collaboration with the Falcon Picture Group and the UCLA Film & Television Archive, from which the source prints were obtained.

Alpha Video has released three individual volumes on DVD, each containing four episodes from the series. A fourth volume was released on 25 February 2014. On 17 October 2017, Mill Creek Entertainment released the complete series on DVD + Digital.

Trivia

• Throughout the 1950s, Bronson spent most of his early acting career performing in TV shows as well as small parts in films, until he landed the lead in this ABC series.
• This is the only TV series in which he played the lead role.

Man with a Camera Series

• Series 01 (1958-1959):
  • Episode 01: Second Avenue Assassin.
  • Episode 02: The Warning.
  • Episode 03: Profile of a Killer.
  • Episode 04: Closeup on Violence.
  • Episode 05: Turntable.
  • Episode 06: Double Negative.
  • Episode 07: Another Barrier.
  • Episode 08: Blind Spot.
  • Episode 09: Two Strings of Pearls.
  • Episode 10: Six Faces of Satan.
  • Episode 11: Lady on the Loose.
  • Episode 12: The Last Portrait.
  • Episode 13: The Face of Murder.
  • Episode 14: Mute Evidence.
  • Episode 15: The Big Squeeze.

• Series (1959-1960):
  • Episode 01: The Killer.
  • Episode 02: Eyewitness.
  • Episode 03: The Man Below.
  • Episode 04: Black Light.
  • Episode 05: The Positive Negative.
  • Episode 06: Missing.
  • Episode 07: Live Target.
  • Episode 08: Girl in the Dark.
  • Episode 09: The Bride.
  • Episode 10: The Picture War.
  • Episode 11: Touch Off.
  • Episode 12: Hot Ice Cream.
  • Episode 13: Fragment of a Murder.
  • Episode 14: Kangaroo Court.

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s):
  • Gerald Mayer … (11 episodes, 1958-1959).
  • Paul Landres … (9 episodes, 1959-1960).
  • Gilbert Kay … (3 episodes, 1959-1960).
  • Gene Fowler Jr. … (3 episodes, 1959).
  • William Castle … (1 episode, 1958).
  • Boris Sagal … (1 episode, 1958).
  • Harold D. Schuster … (1 episode, 1959).
• Producer(s):
  • Jason H. Bernie … associate producer (29 episodes, 1958-1960).
  • Buck Houghton … producer (15 episodes, 1958-1959).
• Writer(s):
  • Lowell Barrington … (written by) (1 episode, 1958).
  • Richard M. Bluel … (story) (1 episode, 1958).
  • Richard M. Bluel … (written by) (1 episode, 1958).
  • Oliver Crawford … (written by) (3 episodes, 1958-1960).
  • Paul David … (written by) (2 episodes, 1959).
  • Paul David … (teleplay) (1 episode, 1960).
  • James Edmiston … (teleplay) (2 episodes, 1958).
  • James Edmiston … (written by) (1 episode, 1959).
  • Hal G. Evarts … (story) (1 episode, 1959).
  • William Fay … (written by) (1 episode, 1958).
  • Dallas Gaultois … (written by) (1 episode, 1959).
  • Berne Giler … (written by) (1 episode, 1959).
  • David P. Harmon … (written by) (4 episodes, 1958-1960).
  • Howard Koppelman … (story) (1 episode, 1960).
  • Howard Koppelman … (teleplay) (1 episode, 1960).
  • Jack Laird … (written by) (2 episodes, 1958-1959).
  • Lee Loeb … (teleplay) (1 episode, 1959).
  • Donn Mullally … (written by) (1 episode, 1958).
  • E. Jack Neuman … (written by) (1 episode, 1959).
  • Stanley Niss … (written by) (1 episode, 1958).
  • Ken Pettus … (story) (1 episode, 1958).
  • Wilton Schiller … (written by) (5 episodes, 1958-1960).
  • Robert J. Shaw … (written by) (1 episode, 1958).
  • Robert E. Thompson … (teleplay) (1 episode, 1959).
  • Barry Trivers … (written by) (2 episodes, 1959).
• Music:
  • Leon Klatzkin … (13 episodes, 1959-1960).
• Cinematography:
  • Robert B. Hauser … (12 episodes, 1958-1959).
  • Charles Burke … (8 episodes, 1959-1960).
  • Paul Ivano … (6 episodes, 1959).
  • Joe Novak … (1 episode, 1958).
  • Howard Schwartz … (1 episode, 1958).
  • Charles Straumer … (1 episode, 1958).
• Editor(s):
  • Irving Berlin … (14 episodes, 1958-1960).
  • J.R. Whittredge … (6 episodes, 1958-1959).
  • Sherman A. Rose … (4 episodes, 1959-1960).
  • Elmo Veron … (3 episodes, 1958).
  • Irving M. Schoenberg … (1 episode, 1958).
  • Arthur H. Bell … (1 episode, 1959).
• Production:
  • MWC.
• Distributor:
  • American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1958-1960) (USA) (all media).
  • Laserlight Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD).
  • Mill Creek Entertainment (2017) (USA) (DVD) (complete series).
• Release Date:
  • Series 01: 10 October 1958 to 23 January 1959.
  • Series 02: 19 October 1959 to 08 February 1960.
• Rating: 15.
• Running Time: 30 minutes (per episode).
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

Video Link(s)