Review for Callan - This Man Alone

‘Callan – This Man Alone’ is a lot more than just a tribute to a well-loved British TV series;  it’s a veritable treasure trove for any fan of the series. Following on from their releases of all the surviving black and white and colour episodes (as well as an all new transfer the ‘pilot’ on this set, an Armchair Theatre single called ‘A Magnum for Schneider’) the ten-years later TV movie, ‘Wet Job’, and TV historian Andrew Pixley’s in-depth book about the series, ‘Callan –Under the Red File’, this set will fill in all the missing pieces. For fans of Callan it is the perfect Christmas gift.


Whilst the two-hour documentary is the set’s focal point, the truth is it is just one of a series of features that make this set so good to have. In truth, the ‘Callan – This Man Alone’ documentary (which Network claim was ten years in the making) is little more than a series of interviews with cast and crew, as well as fans and TV historians. If they had all been available in the same few weeks, I suspect the project could have been done and dusted in ten weeks. It’s all reasonably shot and edited, with occasional series cutaways and graphic captions, but it’s very much like an extended extra feature rather than a high production-value documentary (like Stephen Le Riviere’s recent ‘Supermarionation’ documentary for Network for example).


Which is not to suggest that fans will find it any the less interesting as a result. But you’d really have to be a fan of the series to get the most from it. All the interviews are excellent and much effort has been made to cut them into a cohesive sequence by chapter. It’s also a good mix of production staff, actors, ,historians and commentators, all of whom know their ‘Callan’, and as a result is a fascinating watch but probably doubly-so for fans.


Featuring a remarkable central performance by Edward Woodward, Callan grew from a cult favourite into one of Britain's favourite shows. The documentary tells the story of its creation and development, its success on television and extended life in film and books. Narrated by Peter Woodward (Edward’s son), it starts by focusing on the character’s creator, Geordie writer James Mitchell (who went on to pen comedy-drama, ‘When the Boat Come In’). Through his son’s (Peter Mitchell’s) recollections, we learn that ‘Callan’ was originally a one-off, penned for an episode of ‘Armchair Theatre’ (and included in a re-mastered transfer on this set); the incredibly bleak ‘A Magnum for Schneider’ which set the template for the series that followed.


It starred Edward Woodward as Callan, a secret service agent who, unquestioningly, eradicates any threats to national UK security. Working for ‘Section’, a fictional organisation rather like MI5, he often has to work outside the law to achieve his aims, which naturally puts him in contact with the criminal fraternity. In short, Callan is effectively a state assassin who understands that anyone who has been ‘filed red’ will need to be despatched.


After the runaway success of the Armchair Theatre episode, and Woodward’s rising popularity at the time, a full series was swiftly commissioned, pretty much picking up from where the ‘one off’ ended.
The show was a surprise success, its musical theme (actually a piece of library music picked for the one off) soon became instantly recognisable, and its bleak lone swinging light-bulb opener a weekly staple for many of the British public for some five years (from 1967 to 1972).


The documentary captured some of the last recordings with the now aged cast and crew, some of whom passed away since contributing, like Producer Reginald Collin and Director Jim Goddard.

Peter Mitchell, son of James Mitchell, talks about growing up with a relatively famous Dad in the North East, recalling the day his Dad came home with a Jaguar; an unusual sight in the area. Most poignant are his recollections of his Dad’s final years where Peter encouraged his Dad to write two final ‘Callan’ spin-off books which were both published shortly before he died, and which he enjoyed writing.



Piers Haggard, who went on to have considerable success as a Cult Horror director (The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu; Blood on Satan’s Claw) and fellow-director Mike Vardy recall the series with fondness, as well giving insight into how TV series were recorded virtually live at the time due to the expense of tape and the difficulties of editing in that medium at the time; all fascinating stuff.


Then there are the writers who adapted Mitchell’s work so effectively, Robert Banks Stewart and Trevor Preston and actors Clifford Rose, the pompous Snell, and the ever youthful Patrick Mower who played a young upstart in later series, both of whom hold Woodward in great esteem and seem genuinely proud of their work on the series.

There are also quite a number of audio only interviews (set against graphics) to fill in the gaps from those no longer alive, like Woodward himself and Russell Hunter who played ‘Lonely’, a significant character in earlier series who Callan treated atrociously, often referring to his body-odour and halitosis, whilst relying on him for guns and information, as well as the odd bit of safe cracking. Due to quality issues (some of these were recorded telephone interviews only) some are supported with subtitles. I think including them in so specialist a programme was a good call.


Apart from all the production and acting talent, BFI TV expert and commentator Dick Fiddy adds some fascinating contextual insight – there doesn’t seem to be much he doesn’t know about the series and its production and it’s clear he’s a big fan. There are even some additional interviews with him available as an extra feature on Disc one if the two hour-documentary isn’t enough.



Disc Two has a brand new transfer of the live video-taped Armchair Theatre episode ‘A Magnum for Schneider’ which looks and sounds like you might expect for such an episode. As I haven’t seen any previous recordings I can’t really judge how good the clean-up is. Also included is a cleaned up ‘The Good Ones are All Dead’, another early black and white episode which is a great watch. Finally, and fascinatingly, you get the complete recording block of ‘The Worst Soldier I Ever Saw’, replete with cue cards, clocks and multiple-scene records before it was finally edited.
Disc Three holds some real unexpected treasures, not least some 96 PDF documents (which are accessible by opening the disc in your PC) which feature most the scripts as well as publicity material. Normally when a disc is advertised as having ‘PDF documents’ I expect just a couple of publicity pieces but in this case, for fans of Callan, this really is the mother lode.


You also get a highly entertaining, one hour episode of ‘The Edward Woodward Hour’ which sees our man singing, dancing and joking his way through an elaborate variety show. The highlight is a surreal mash-up where we see ‘Callan’ arrive on the set of ‘Father, Dear Father’ – priceless stuff.


There’s a brief archive Flashback documentary about James Mitchell whilst ‘A World of My Own’ includes grainy old footage and the occasional voice of Mitchell himself describing Callan’s world – one for real fans only!

Fans of Callan will definitely want to add this fantastic set to their collection; the ultimate present for any self-respecting archive TV fan.