Patrick
Allen stars as Richard Crane in this adventure series made by
Associated-Rediffusion (1963 to 1964) and later by the re-branded
Rediffusion-London (1964 to 1965). Crane, which is set in
the
city of Casablanca in Morocco was originally intended as a single
summer season 'filler' only. However, the series proved so
popular with viewers in the UK, that its run was extended to 39
episodes over three seasons, from 1963 until 1965.
Patrick Allen was offered the lead role in Crane
whilst he was playing Achilles in Troilus and Cressida
in 1962 with the Royal Shakespeare Memorial Company. As soon as Patrick had
finished in Troilus and Cressida, he travelled
to Morocco to begin the location filming for the Crane
series.
Crane's
father had been an officer in the British Army and as Crane's
old school friend Austin Crispin (Peter Reynolds) put it in the
episode The Cannabi Syndicate, Crane himself had been a
"Big
Noise" in the City, until that is he decides to give it all up and
move to Casablanca in Morocco. After arriving in Morocco, Crane
buys a small beach-side cafe/wine bar and also a boat. He
establishes
himself (ostensibly) in the
import/export business; some minor smuggling activities are also
involved, but nothing too serious, contraband whisky etc., but
absolutely no drugs!
Crane's
friend and confidant is Orlando O'Connor (Sam Kydd), a former
French Foreign Legionnaire. Laya Raki plays Halima,
manager of
Crane's wine bar and cafe, which is quite small with a bar and just a few
tables. The
local police chief Colonel Mahmoud (Gerald Flood) and his
assistant Inspector Larbi (Bruce Montague) always keep a
suspicious eye on Crane's activities, but can never prove
anything against him. The duo always
seem to be one step behind, and Crane invariably manages to
out-wit them. Although there is no 'love lost' between Crane
and Mahmoud,
but perhaps a mutual respect, they do occasionally 'join forces' to fight
any serious crime in the area.
The theme tune used for the Crane
series entitled 'Casablanca'
was
recorded in a London studio by Kenny
Ball and
his Jazzmen on
March 17 1963, although it was not commissioned specifically for the
'Crane series. 'Casablanca', or giving it its full title '(The
Dancing Queen of) Casablanca' composed by A.C. Sakelariou and released on the 'Pye' record label stayed in
the UK record charts for eleven weeks and
reached number twenty-one. (view
sheet music). It is
believed that the series was also exported to other countries,
including Australia. There are no details of television stations,
dates shown
etc. available at present.
In
one episode of Crane, Inspector Larbi (Bruce Montague)
takes a file from a cabinet and proceeds to read aloud the details of a
character from an earlier episode he and Colonel Mahmoud were
supposed to be hunting! At the end of the recording, a re-take
was
allotted so that Bruce Montague's character could correct the mistake;
the studio allowed just 8 minutes for the re-shoot!
A total of 39 x
50-minute monochrome episodes were produced by
Associated-Rediffusion Television/Rediffusion-London,
between 1963 and 1965. It
is believed that only two episodes of the series now exist in the UK: Cargo
of Cornflower and The Cannabi Syndicate, these two
remaining episodes are held on U-Matic low-band video tape at the
British Film Institute. Crane
was exported to to other countries including Australia, so it is
possible that further episodes could be found in the future, if you can
help find the 'lost' episodes on any format, even audio only, please contact us. The 37 missing
episodes are listed
here
