Hong Kong (TV series)

Hong Kong is a 26-episode adventure/drama series (plus an initial pilot episode) which aired on ABC television during the 1960–1961 season and helped to catapult Australian actor Rod Taylor into a major film star, primarily in the 1960s, beginning with his role in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. The series was a production of 20th Century Fox Television, and the final credit of each episode stated: "Filmed by Twentieth Century Fox Television Inc. at its Hollywood studios and in the Crown Colony of Hong Kong".

Hong Kong
Rod Taylor as Glenn Evans and Lloyd Bochner as Inspector Neil Campbell.
GenreAdventure/Drama
Created byRobert Buckner
StarringRod Taylor
Lloyd Bochner
Theme music composerLionel Newman
Country of originUSA
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes27 (26 + pilot)
Production
Producer(s)Herbert Hirschman
Fletcher Markle
Art Wallace
Running time60 mins.
Release
Original networkABC
Picture formatBlack-and-white
Audio formatMonaural
Original releaseSeptember 28, 1960 –
March 29, 1961

Synopsis

Hong Kong was set in the then British Crown Colony of Hong Kong. Taylor portrayed Glenn Evans, a U.S. journalist who worked in the exotic Far Eastern city. His search for stories led him into encounters with smugglers, murderers, drug peddlers, and mysterious women who would disappear behind beaded curtains. Taylor’s principal costars were Lloyd Bochner, who portrayed Chief Inspector Neil Campbell, and Jack Kruschen as Tully the bartender.

In the television series, Evans' residential address is often given as the fictitious 24 Peak Rd. As shown in various episodes, the interior of Evans' bachelor apartment (actually a Hollywood set constructed on a sound stage at 20th Century Fox Studios) includes a large, sliding-glass door which opens to a small patio with a sweeping vista that overlooks the harbor and distant peaks. Evans' regular drive was a white Series 1 Sunbeam Alpine.

Hong Kong was loosely based on the film Soldier of Fortune, which had Michael Rennie in a police inspector role similar to Lloyd Bochner's. Kruschen appeared in the film as well, in a role different from the one he played in the series. The series premiered on Wednesday, September 28, 1960, and ceased new episodes on March 29, 1961; repeats continued until September 27. Hong Kong ran opposite NBC’s Wagon Train, when midway in the season Ward Bond died in Dallas, and his trail boss character, Seth Adams, was succeeded without explanation by John McIntire as Chris Hale. CBS at the hour offered the short-lived The Aquanauts, renamed at mid-season as Malibu Run.[1]

Reception

The show struggled in the ratings against Wagon Train and was cancelled after one season. However it proved popular in syndication and was the third most popular drama series on TV in Australia in 1961.[2]

Cast
  • Rod Taylor....Glenn Evans
  • Lloyd Bochner....Neil Campbell
  • Harold Fong....Ahting
  • Gerald Jann....Ling
  • Jack Kruschen....Tully
  • Mai Tai Sing....Ching Mei

Notable guest stars

Main crew

Writers

Directors

Episode list
No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
TBA"Blind Justice"TBATBATBA
unaired 30-min Pilot; later reworked and aired as regular episode "Blind Bargain"
1"Clear for Action"Ida LupinoRobert BucknerSeptember 28, 1960 (1960-09-28)
2"Murder Royal"TBATBAOctober 5, 1960 (1960-10-05)
3"Pearl Flower"TBATBAOctober 12, 1960 (1960-10-12)
4"Freebooter"TBATBAOctober 19, 1960 (1960-10-19)
5"The Jade Empress"Don TaylorJonathan LatimerOctober 26, 1960 (1960-10-26)
6"The Jumping Dragon"TBATBANovember 2, 1960 (1960-11-02)
7"Blind Bargain"Christian NybyRobert BucknerNovember 9, 1960 (1960-11-09)
8"Colonel Cat"TBATBANovember 16, 1960 (1960-11-16)
9"The Turncoat"Ida LupinoJohn T. KelleyNovember 23, 1960 (1960-11-23)
10"To Catch a Star"John PeyserTeleplay by: Sidney Ellis & Art Wallace
Story by: Louis Vittes		November 30, 1960 (1960-11-30)
11"Nine Lives"TBATBADecember 7, 1960 (1960-12-07)
12"The Dragon Cup"Walter DonigerJonathan LatimerDecember 14, 1960 (1960-12-14)
13TBATBATBADecember 7, 1960 (1960-12-07)
14"Suitable for Framing"TBATBAJanuary 4, 1961 (1961-01-04)
15"Lesson in Fear"TBATBAJanuary 11, 1961 (1961-01-11)
16TBATBATBADecember 7, 1960 (1960-12-07)
17TBATBATBADecember 7, 1960 (1960-12-07)
18TBATBATBADecember 7, 1960 (1960-12-07)
19TBATBATBADecember 7, 1960 (1960-12-07)
20"The Hunted"TBATBAFebruary 15, 1961 (1961-02-15)
21"With Deadly Sorrow"TBATBAFebruary 22, 1961 (1961-02-22)
22"Murder by Proxy"TBATBAMarch 1, 1961 (1961-03-01)

|- | 13 || 4113 || "When Strangers Meet" || December 21, 1960 |- | 16 || 4116 || "The Survivor" || January 18, 1961 |- | 17 || 4117 || "Night Cry"[3] || January 25, 1961 |- | 18 || 4118 || "Double Jeopardy" || February 1, 1961 |- | 19 || 4119 || "Lady Godiva" || February 8, 1961 |- | 23 || 4120 || "The Woman In Gray" || March 8, 1961 |- | 24 || 4124 || "Love, Honor, and Perish" || March 15, 1961 |- | 25 || 4125 || "The Innocent Exile" || March 22, 1961 |- | 26 || 4126 || "The Runaway" || March 29, 1961 |}

References
  1. 1960–1961 American network television schedule, Wednesdays.
  2. Stephen Vagg, Rod Taylor: An Aussie in Hollywood, Bear Manor Media 2010 p 77
  3. This episode is a remake of the 1950 Otto Preminger noir Where the Sidewalk Ends
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