Mon 6 Sep 2021
JAMES MITCHELL – Smear Job. David Callan #4. (Character based on the TV series.) Hamish Hamilton, UK, hardcover, 1975. Putnam, US, hardcover, 1975. Berkley, US, paperback, 1978.
The last of the four novels about reluctant intelligence agent David Callan — in this one dragged back out of what he had hoped was permanent retirement.
As always the plot, concerning the location and kidnapping of an East German girl, rattles along at a gallop, the writing is taut yet imaginative, and Callan as convincing an anti-hero as you could hope to find.
The action scenes are once again of the highest standard. and the only wonder is why Callan doesn’t command more attention than he does.
The David Callan series —
A Magnum for Schneider. Jenkins, 1969. Novelization of the TV movie.
Russian Roulette. H. Hamilton, 1973.
Death and the Bright Water. H. Hamilton 1974.
Smear Job. H. Hamilton.
Bonfire Night, 2002.
Short story collections:
Callan Uncovered (2014) Features 25 short stories (24 were written for the Sunday Express, and 1 for the TV Times), as well as a story treatment and the full script of an unfilmed episode, “Goodbye Mary Lee”.
Callan Uncovered 2 (2015) Features 15 short stories (all were written for the Sunday Express), as well as the full script of a ‘lost’ episode, “Goodness Burns Too Bright”.
EDITORIAL UPDATE: Quoting from Wikipedia: “Callan is a British action-drama television series created by James Mitchell, first airing between 1967 and 1972. It starred Edward Woodward as David Callan, an agent of a state secret service dealing with internal security threats to the United Kingdom. Though portrayed as having responsibilities similar to those of the real-life MI5, Callan’s fictional “Section” has carte blanche to use the most ruthless of methods.
“Produced by ABC Weekend Television and Thames Television, the programme proved extremely popular; as well as four series between 1967 and 1972, followed by a feature-length film in 1974 and a TV movie in 1981.”
September 7th, 2021 at 7:31 pm
The TV series was excellent, and holds up well to this day, despite the low production values. But Mitchell’s books seem less convincing. Maybe he needed Edward Woodward to make the character believable.
September 7th, 2021 at 7:54 pm
I have not read any of the books, nor have I seen any of the TV episodes, although I own the first two seasons on DVD. Just haven’t gotten to either yet. But while putting this post together, I was surprised to learn that the film and TV series came first. Perhaps that helps explain why you prefer the TV shows to the books. (But you’re right. Having Edward Woodward play Callan has got to help.)
Incidentally Mitchell also wrote four books in another spy series as James Munro. Those I’ve read and I recommend them highly.
September 7th, 2021 at 9:03 pm
Mitchell is underrated as both Mitchell and Munro, though most of the Callan books can be found in Digital editions and at least two of the Munro’s — the first and the last.
One critic described his John Craig as giving Bond “half a soul and a gigantic brain”, and its not a bad description. Callan is more downbeat, but still one of the toughest and most believable operatives in the genre, much less how good the Edward Woodward series is.