''Man with a Camera'' is an American television crime drama starring

Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and war ...

as a war veteran turned photographer and investigator. Throughout the 1950s, Bronson spent most of his early acting career performing in TV shows as well as small parts in

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

s, until he landed the lead in this ABC series. This is the only TV series in which he played the lead role.

Plot

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 ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...

, 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.

Main cast

as Mike Kovac * James Flavin as Lieutenant Donovan * Ludwig Stössel as Anton Kovac

Selected guest stars

Mario Alcalde Mario Alcalde (September 6, 1926 – April 22, 1971) was an American film and television actor. Alcalde was born in Key West, Florida, the son of Armando Alcalde. Alcalde attended the American Theatre Wing. He began his screen career in 1954, ...

* Rachel Ames * Roscoe Ates * Phyllis Avery * Baynes Barron * Arthur Batanides * Nesdon Booth * Steve Brodie * Sebastian Cabot *

King Calder Albert King Calder (April 21, 1898 – June 28, 1964) was an American film, television and theatre actor. Early life Calder was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He began his acting career in 1929 in the Broadway play ''The Humbug'', playing D ...

* Anthony Caruso *

John Cliff John Cliff (7 March 1883 – 18 October 1977) was the first Assistant General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union and later a prominent London Transport board member. Cliff was born in Leeds in 1883, the son of John Cliff an ...

* Marian Collier * Booth Colman * Russ Conway * Yvonne Craig * Norma Crane * Audrey Dalton * Alan Dexter * Angie Dickinson * Dolores Donlon * Don Durant * Robert Ellenstein * Bill Erwin * Frank Faylen * Virginia Field * Don Gordon *

Rodolfo Hoyos Jr. Rodolfo Hoyos Jr. (March 14, 1916 – April 15, 1983) was a Mexican-American film and television actor. He was known for playing the role of "Rafael Rosillo" in the 1956 film '' The Brave One''. Hoyos died in April 1983 from a stroke in Los Ang ...

I. Stanford Jolley Isaac Stanford Jolley (October 24, 1900 – December 7, 1978) was an American film and television actor. He starred in the 1946 film serial ''The Crimson Ghost'', in which he played the role of Doctor Blackton and also voiced the title cha ...

* William Kendis * Don Kennedy * Jess Kirkpatrick * Berry Kroeger * Fred Krone * Ethan Laidlaw * Tom Laughlin * Nolan Leary * Norman Leavitt * Ruta Lee *

Karl Lukas Karl Lukas, born Karol Louis Lukasiak (August 21, 1919 – January 16, 1995) was an American film and television actor. He was best known for playing Pvt. Stash Kadowski in '' The Phil Silvers Show''. Lukas guest-starred in numerous television ...

* Gavin MacLeod *

Howard McNear Howard Terbell McNear (January 27, 1905 – January 3, 1969) was an American stage, screen, and radio character actor. McNear is best remembered as the original voice of Doc Adams in the radio version of ''Gunsmoke'' and as Floyd Lawson, the ba ...

* Jimmy Lydon * Theodore Marcuse * Walter Maslow * Dennis Patrick * John M. Pickard * Phillip Pine * Joe Ploski *

Bert Remsen Herbert Birchell "Bert" Remsen (February 25, 1925 – April 22, 1999) was an American actor and casting director. He appeared in numerous films and television series. Biography Remsen was born in Glen Cove, New York, on Long Island, the son o ...

* Lee Roberts * Penny Santon * Simon Scott * Johnny Seven * Doris Singleton * Harry Dean Stanton * Ludwig Stössel * Lawrence Tierney * Peter Walker *

Casey Walters Casey Walters (June 25, 1916 – December 3, 1991) was an American film, television and theatre actor. He was known for playing the role of Sgt. Jim Warren in the American police procedural television series ''Harbor Command''. Born in Boston, ...

* Dick Wessel * Jesse White * Grant Williams Casey Walters in Man with a Camera (Eyewitness)

Episodes

Baynes Barron in Man with a Camera (The Man Below)

Season 1: 1958–59

Season 2: 1959–60

Production

''Man with a Camera'' was filmed on locations in Hollywood (doubling for New York City) at Desilu Studios. The series had two abbreviated seasons in 1958-59 and 1959–60 and 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 Alpha Video (also known as Alpha Home Entertainment) is an entertainment company, based near Philadelphia, that specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of public domain movies and TV shows on DVD. Alpha Video releases approximately 30 ne ...

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

Sources

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Man With A Camera 1950s American crime drama television series 1960s American crime drama television series 1958 American television series debuts 1960 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming Black-and-white American television shows Television series by CBS Studios Works about photography Television shows set in New York City Television shows filmed in Los Angeles