Maigret (1960 TV series)
| Maigret | |
|---|---|
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|
| Genre | Crime drama |
| Created by | Georges Simenon |
| Written by |
Giles Cooper (19 episodes) and 9 others |
| Starring |
Rupert Davies Ewen Solon Neville Jason Helen Shingler |
| Theme music composer | Ron Grainer |
| Opening theme | The Maigret Theme |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 52 (plus a pilot episode in 1959) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Andrew Osborn |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Production company(s) | BBC |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One |
| Picture format | 1.33 : 1 Black & white |
| First shown in | 1960 |
| Original release | 1960 – 1963 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Maigret is a British television series made by the BBC and which – following a pilot episode broadcast in 1959 – ran for 52 episodes from 1960 to 1963.
Based on the Maigret stories of Georges Simenon, the series starred Rupert Davies in the title role.
The series starred Rupert Davies as the Sûreté detective Commissaire Jules Maigret, who took up the role in 1960 after Basil Sydney, who had played Maigret in the pilot episode, was unable to continue.
The main cast were:-
Episodes included such well-known faces as Stratford Johns, Terence Alexander, Roger Delgado, William Franklyn, Michael Goodliffe, and Barry Foster, among others.
Although staying largely true to the storyline of the books, the series featured only three of Maigret's team of detectives (the “faithful four”, omitting any casting for Janvier.
The choice of Davies to play Maigret was enthusiastically approved by Simenon himself. Remembering the role in a 1964 interview Davies said "When Andrew Osborn, the producer of the show, offered me the part on Good Friday in 1960, I knew very little about Maigret. I knew he was a famous French fictional detective, but that was all." Rather than read the books to get the feel for the character, Davies thought it would be better to meet Maigret's creator and hear from him how he saw the character. The BBC agreed and a meeting was arranged between Davies and Simenon in Lausanne.
"The moment Simenon saw me he shouted: "C'est Maigret, c'est Maigret. You are the flesh and bones of Maigret!" Davies later remembered. "That was a wonderful beginning. Then he drove us to his lovely château in the village of Enchandens, where I met his wife. Later he began to coach me in Maigret's idiosyncrasies."
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Wikipedia