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| Gangsters | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Written by | Philip Martin |
| Directed by | Alastair Reid Roger Tucker Kenneth Ives |
| Starring | (See article) |
| Composer | Dave Greenslade |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Producer | David Rose |
| Production locations | Birmingham,West Midlands, England, United Kingdom |
| Editor | Oliver White |
| Running time | 50 min. |
| Production company | Pebble Mill Studios |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC1 |
| Release | 9 September 1976 (1976-09-09) – 10 February 1978 (1978-02-10) |
Gangsters is aBritish television programme made byBBC television drama and shown in two series from 1976 to 1978. It was created byPhilip Martin and starredMaurice Colbourne as John Kline, a formerSAS officer recruited by law enforcement to become an undercover agent inBirmingham.[1]
Produced at the BBC'sPebble Mill Studios in Birmingham byDavid Rose,Gangsters began its television life as an edition ofPlay for Today in 1975, followed by two series transmitted in 1976 and 1978. The series, set in the multi-cultural criminal community ofBirmingham, has remained a cult favourite, memorable for its strong violence, multi-ethnic cast (and realistic – and now rather shocking – depiction of the racism of the time) and highly stylised,post-modern approach to storytelling.[citation needed]
Gangsters featured references tofilm noir, gangster films, westerns,Bollywood andkung fu movies, as well as increasingly surreal end-of-episode cliffhangers and a bizarre final scene where the characters not only "break thefourth wall" but walk off the set.
The two series had quite different tones. The first was a gritty thriller whilst the second was more surreal, with more emphasis on the post-modern elements although it wasn't well received at the time.[citation needed]
All episodes written byPhilip Martin.
Series Overview
| Series | Episodes | First Aired | Last Aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 9 September 1976 | 21 October 1976 |
| 2 | 6 January 1978 | 10 February 1978 |
Series One (1976)
Incident One
Incident Two
Incident Three
Incident Four
Incident Five
Incident Six
The Dictates of Shen Tang
The Red Executioner
While Beauty Sleeps
Double Peril
Enter the White Devil
East of the Equator
Thetheme music was an instrumental composed and performed byDave Greenslade. It was released as a single with a character theme from the series, "Rubber Face, Lonely Eyes", on theB-side; the single was credited to Dave Greenslade's bandGreenslade, even though the only performers on both tracks are Dave Greenslade and asession drummer. Greenslade recorded their own version of the song for their albumTime and Tide. At David Rose's request, for the last series Dave Greenslade adapted it into a version with lyrics sung byChris Farlowe.[2]
The complete series ofGangsters was released on DVD (Region 2, UK) through 2 Entertain/Cinema Club in April 2006. According to Philip Martin,[3] the box set became a collectors' item after the company went bust. The series has to date not been re-issued and goes for high prices.
Philip Martin novelised the series several times: