Category Archives: David Callan

Callan is back … on audio

Posted on 17 December 2017 by Cavershamragu

Callan, the classic spy drama television series from the Sixties, returns with a star-studded cast in brand new audio adaptations from Big Finish Productions. Ben Miles stars as the titular Callan, with Frank Skinner joining him as small-time thief Lonely.

Posted in Audio Review, Big Finish, David Callan, James Mitchell, Nicholas Briggs, Ostara Publishing | 10 Comments

2016 Vintage Mystery Scavenger Hunt

Posted on 20 December 2016 by Cavershamragu

For as long as I’ve been hosting this blog, I’ve participated in Bev Hankins’ irresistible vintage mystery reading challenges. The rules have been amended over the years, but the basic criteria is the same – review a mystery from two … Continue reading →

Posted in 2016 Golden Age Vintage Mystery Scavenger Hunt, 2016 Silver Vintage Scavenger Hunt, 87th Precinct, Albert Campion, Bill Pronzini, California, Canada, Catherine Aird, Chicago, Cosy Cozy, David Callan, Don DeLillo, Dorothy L. Sayers, Edgar Wallace, Ellery Queen, England, Fletcher Fliora, Florida, Germany, Gideon Fell, Inspector Wexford, Italy, James Hadley Chase, James Mitchell, John Dickson Carr, John le Carre, Kansas City, London, Louisiana, Margery Allingham, Middle East, Montana, New York, Noir, Ostara Publishing, Patricia Moyes, Police procedural, Private Eye, Radio, Ruth Rendell, San Francisco, Stark House Press, Vintage Mystery Cover Scavenger Hunt 2016 | 18 Comments

SMEAR JOB (1975) by James Mitchell

Posted on 15 April 2016 by Cavershamragu

David Callan is a dyspeptic working-class spy employed by a spartan MI6 black ops unit known only as ‘The Section.’ An exceptional marksman with a deep-rooted (and usually well-founded) distrust of authority, his nasty assignments do little to assuage his sense … Continue reading →

Posted in 2016 Silver Vintage Scavenger Hunt, Cold War, David Callan, Espionage, Friday's Forgotten Book, Germany, Italy, James Mitchell, Las Vegas, London, Mexico, Ostara Publishing | Tagged | 18 Comments

Callan complete!

Posted on 10 March 2016 by Cavershamragu

The following comes courtesy of Mike Ripley: Ostara Publishing’s Top Notch Thrillers imprint has now completed its republication of the five-volume series of novels by the late James Mitchell which feature his iconic secret agent hero David Callan. Originally created … Continue reading →

Posted in David Callan, James Mitchell, Ostara Publishing | Tagged , | 18 Comments

CALLAN UNCOVERED 2 by James Mitchell

Posted on 7 June 2015 by Cavershamragu

Following on from the success of the first collection of James Mitchell’s long-thought lost short stories about his classic Cold War secret agent David Callan, here’s comes a very welcome and unexpected surprise – a sequel! The diffident protagonist was … Continue reading →

Posted in Cold War, David Callan, Espionage, James Mitchell, Mike Ripley, Ostara Publishing | Tagged | 19 Comments

CALLAN: UNDER THE RED FILE by Andrew Pixley

Posted on 19 April 2015 by Cavershamragu

Regular readers of this blog will know what big fans we are of anti-establishment hero David Callan, the dyspeptic secret agent created for television by James Mitchell and played to perfection by Edward Woodward. I have previously posted about the … Continue reading →

Posted in David Callan, James Mitchell | Tagged | 14 Comments

2014 Book to Movie Challenge – completed

Posted on 29 December 2014 by Cavershamragu

Well, we all like a good sequel and when Katie over at her Doing Dewey blog asked me to co-host this challenge, I just couldn’t resist (hubris is a terrible thing)! I selected the Movie Auteur level (24 books to be reviewed and … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 Book to Movie Challenge, 87th Precinct, Agatha Christie, Audrey Erskine Lindop, Barry England, Bill Pronzini, Billy Wilder, Blake Edwards, Brian de Palma, Charles Williams, Charlotte Armstrong, Claude Chabrol, Columbo, Cornell Woolrich, Dashiell Hammett, David Callan, Desmond Cory, Ed McBain, Erle Stanley Gardner, Evelyn Anthony, Georges Simenon, Graham Greene, Isaac Asimov, James Hadley Chase, James M. Cain, James Mitchell, Maigret, Miss Marple, Nero Wolfe, Orson Welles, PD James, Perry Mason, Philip Marlowe, Philo Vance, Poirot, Raymond Chandler, Rex Stout, Robert Siodmak, Roy Baker, Shirley Jackson, Somerset Maugham, SS Van Dine, Stanley Ellin, The Thin Man, William Goldman | 16 Comments

2014 Vintage Mystery Challenges – completed

Posted on 28 December 2014 by Cavershamragu

12 months and 72 book reviews later and the Vintage Mystery Challenge bingos, both Golden (pre-1960) and Silver (1960 to 1989) varieties, are complete! The indefatigable Bev of My Reader’s Block gives structure and meaning to the reading habits of us mystery … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 Vintage Mystery Challenge Bingo, 87th Precinct, Agatha Christie, Bill Pronzini, Carter Dickson, Charlotte Armstrong, Cornell Woolrich, Dashiell Hammett, David Callan, Dorothy Dunnett, Ed McBain, Edward D. Hoch, Erle Stanley Gardner, Evelyn Anthony, Georges Simenon, Gideon Fell, Gil Brewer, Gillian Freeman, Graham Greene, Harold Q. Masur, Helen Nielsen, James Hadley Chase, James M. Cain, James Mitchell, John Blackburn, John Dickson Carr, John Sladek, L. Ron Hubbard, Lange Lewis, Lawrence Sanders, Leslie Charteris, LP Davies, Maigret, Marcia Muller, Miss Marple, Nero Wolfe, Ngaio Marsh, Noir, Orson Welles, Parker, PD James, Perry Mason, Peter Corris, Philip Marlowe, Philo Vance, Poirot, Police procedural, Private Eye, Raymond Chandler, Rex Stout, Richard Stark, Robert B. Parker, Robert Bloch, Roderick Alleyn, Science Fiction, Shirley Jackson, Somerset Maugham, SS Van Dine, Stanley Ellin, Stark House Press, The Shadow, Thomas M. Disch, Walter B Gibson, William Goldman | 24 Comments

CALLAN UNCOVERED by James Mitchell

Posted on 23 November 2014 by Cavershamragu

David Callan is an agent for British Intelligence and his great skill is marksmanship – but he is tortured by ethical and moral dilemmas. For every double agent uncovered or paid assassin eliminated, there is always a cost, usually borne … Continue reading →

Posted in Cold War, David Callan, Espionage, James Mitchell, Mike Ripley, Ostara Publishing | Tagged | 27 Comments

Callan is back!

Posted on 23 October 2014 by Cavershamragu

More great news from Mike Ripley and those great people at Ostara Publishing. Almost half a century after he first electrified British television screens in the “one-off” drama  A Magnum for Schneider, the enigmatic, ruthless and tragic hero David Callan … Continue reading →

Posted in David Callan, James Mitchell, Mike Ripley, Ostara Publishing | 30 Comments

Callan (1974) – Tuesday’s Overlooked Film

Posted on 10 December 2013 by Cavershamragu

In the 1970s British cinema was at a particularly low ebb following the departure of the American majors. The number of productions fell precipitously and confidence ebbed away. As a result, for the next few years British cinemas seemed to … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 Book to Movie Challenge, Cold War, David Callan, Espionage, James Mitchell, Tuesday's Overlooked Film, TV Spinoff | 24 Comments

A MAGNUM FOR SCHNEIDER (1969) by James Mitchell

Posted on 22 November 2013 by Cavershamragu

David Callan is a very reluctant spy who undertakes nasty jobs for a black ops unit of MI6 known only as ‘The Section.’ An exceptional marksman with a deep-rooted (and usually well-founded) distrust of authority, his often lethal assignments do little to … Continue reading →

Posted in Cold War, David Callan, Espionage, James Mitchell, Novelisation, Ostara Publishing | Tagged | 32 Comments

Callan is back … in print

Posted on 23 October 2013 by Cavershamragu

Next month will see the return – in print – of that tough, downbeat icon of 60s British espionage, Callan. Created by James Mitchell for a television play in 1967, the character of David Callan – personified by actor Edward Woodward –  was … Continue reading →

Posted in David Callan, James Mitchell, Ostara Publishing | 10 Comments