Fusing the heist and espionage genres, IT TAKES A THIEF was an action-adventure series that aired on ABC for two-and-a-half seasons between January 9, 1968, and March 24, 1970. Marking the TV debut of six-time Golden Globe Nominee Robert Wagner (Austin Powers, “Hart to Hart”), the cult classic series was inspired by Hitchcock’s 1955 Cary Grant film, To Catch a Thief, and was among the last of the 1960s spy television genre. Never-before-available on ANY format, Entertainment One presents IT TAKES A THIEF: THE COMPLETE SERIES in a collectible 18-disc set containing all 66 digitally remastered episodes and a host of bonus featurettes and extras.
Stealing to finance his life as a playboy and sophisticate, Alexander Mundy (Wagner) was the world’s greatest cat burglar… until the day he got caught. But thievery skills are an asset in the world of espionage, so Mundy is pardoned when he agrees to use his wily ways to help steal for the SIA, an American espionage agency. Technically under house arrest, Mundy then travels the world over, performing daring acts of thievery in the name of Uncle Sam. He also works closely with SIA department head, Noah Bain (‘70s TV mainstay, Malachi Throne), his boss, aide, friend and watchdog. It was Throne who also lent his deep distinctive voice to the split-screen credit sequence set to Dave Grusin’s memorable theme, saying: “Oh, look, Al, I’m not asking you to spy, just asking you to steal.”
The series was created by Emmy® Award winning television writer Roland Kibbee – who had written for “The Virginian” and “The Bob Newhart Show” and would go on to write for “Columbo” and “Barney Miller”. And, along with Fred Astaire, who became a semi-regular as Alexander’s retired burglar dad, Alister, IT TAKES A THIEF also boasted a who’s who of A-list guest stars including Season One’s Raymond Burr (“Perry Mason”, Rear Window), Susan Saint James (“Kate & Allie”, “McMillan and Wife”), Gavin MacLeod (“The Love Boat”, “Mary Tyler Moore”), Tina Louise (“Gilligan’s Island”, The Stepford Wives), Bill Bixby (“The Incredible Hulk”, “The Magician”) and Eve Plumb (“The Brady Bunch”, Little Women), Season Two’s Ricardo Montalbon (“Fantasy Island”, The Naked Gun), Joseph Cotton (Citizen Kane, The Third Man), Richard Kiel (The Spy Who Loved Me, Happy Gilmore), George Takei (“Star Trek”, “Heroes”), Teri Garr (Young Frankenstein, Tootsie), Roddy McDowall (Planet of the Apes, Cleopatra) and Julie Newmar (“Batman”, Seven Brides of Seven Brothers) and Season Three’s Peter Sellers (The Pink Panther, Dr. Strangelove), Frankie Avalon (Grease, The Alamo), Elsa Lanchester (Mary Poppins, The Bride of Frankenstein), and Bette Davis (All About Eve, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?) and Cesar Romero (“Batman”, “Falcon Crest”)
FEATURES
- All 66 Episodes Digitally Re-Mastered
- Extended Feature-Length Version of the Pilot Episode
- The King of Thieves: Interview with Robert Wagner
- A Matter of Larceny: Interview with Glen A. Larson
- Limited Edition Senitype (reproduced 35mm film frame)
- It Takes a Thief Exclusive 4-Piece Coaster Set
- Collectible Booklet with retrospective essay
