The Man from UNCLE - Pilot w/Robert Vaughn & Patricia Crowley

Update: November 11, 2016 - Robert Vaughn,  Napoleon Solo in the iconic NBC television series 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E', passed away today.  We remember him in tribute - may he rest in peace.  We will always remember him fondly, and he will always be 'the ultimate 11.'

This video clip is posted here at Television Vanguard for not-for-profit fan tribute, viewer enjoyment only.  No copyright infringement is intended.   Thank you and enjoy.  

The Man From UNCLE pilot episode, 'The Vulcan Affair', filmed in late November into mid December 1963, was first broadcast in black-and-white (as was the entire first season) on NBC on September 22, 1964.  The famous steam-pipe room scene is most remembered in this pilot, and can be seen here on YouTube on other channels.  However, this clip is my personal favorite - Napoleon Solo [Robert Vaughn] and housewife-turned-spy Elaine May Donaldson [the wonderful Patricia Crowley] parting ways after a daring and successful mission.

The pilot [with the working title 'Solo'] also introduced Solo's sidekick, Illya Kuryakin [David McCallum] as well as boss Alexander Waverly [Leo G. Carroll], but the episode belonged to Vaughn and Crowley and their chemistry.   They were terrific together, as this scene shows. It is worth noting, that although the UNCLE series was famous for featuring high-tech gadgets, sophisticated weapons, pretty women [plural] and fast exotic cars, this pilot is very much a two character study of a spy agent who works 'solo', and the lovely housewife he recruits to help him track down an enemy agent.  The dynamic between the two lead characters, Solo and Elaine, was critical to the believability of this high-concept storyline.

Television pilots are the mechanism that help networks decide which shows to 'green-light' for series development, and had it not been for the work of Vaughn and Crowley in this pilot, it is possible NBC would not have given the series go-ahead into production.

Series creator Norman Felton had worked with Robert Vaughn a year earlier [1963] in a TV series for MGM-TV called 'The Lieutenant', and had remembered Vaughn's comedic and romantic leading man potential when it came time to casting Solo.   As fate would have it, working with Felton and Vaughn on 'The Lieutenant' was Pat Crowley. Felton wanted someone who could help define what the role of the innocent person swept up into spy intrigue (an ongoing theme in the series) would be, and Crowley provided that blueprint.

The Man from UNCLE series became a worldwide sensation in the mid-60s, following closely behind the phenomenal cultural impact of the James Bond franchise.  So much so, that The Man from UNCLE series spun-off a series of MGM feature films that were constructed from individual episodes of the TV series.  The very first and highly successful feature film from the UNCLE franchise was 'To Trap a Spy', which was expanded from this pilot episode [The Vulcan Affair].  The film was released internationally in the spring of 1965.

Norman Felton had wanted to film the series in color, but his suggestion was rejected [by the network or production company, not sure which/both?], and the first season of the series was filmed and broadcast in black and white [that changed in season 2/1965-66].  However, Felton (and co-creator Sam Rolfe) had the great insight to film the pilot in color.  Hence, when it came time to expand the pilot into the first feature film of the series in 1965, they were ready with the color negatives.  This clip is indeed from that feature film movie, not the Vulcan Affair pilot for the TV series broadcast by NBC in black and white.

A great reference book on the making of The Man from UNCLE was published back in 1987 - "The Man From UNCLE Book - The Behind-the-Scenes Story of a Television Classic by Jon Heitland (special introduction by Robert Vaughn).  If you can find this book online or at a local used-bookstore, I highly recommend it.

To own your own DVD collection of The Man from Uncle series [produced by MGM-Television and Arena Productions - now owned by Warner/TWC], visit Amazon or B&N.  Also available is a relatively new DVD collection of the eight Man from UNCLE feature films (from 1965-1968), including:

To Trap a Spy
One of Our Spies is Missing
One Spy Too Many
The Spy With My Face
The Spy in the Green Hat
The Karate Killers
The Helicopter Spies
How To Steal The World

This collection of movies is outstanding and I highly recommend this DVD collection to any UNCLE fan. The guest starring list in these movies includes a who's-who of 1960s era talent.  This DVD set is a must for any UNCLE memorabilia collector.