Ihr Auftritt, Al Mundy

It Takes a Thief was the coolest show ever. Wagner was suave, sophisticated, and always well dressed. Inventive stories, great dialogue, and watching Robert Wagner and Fred Astaire plot to knock over the casino in Monte Carlo is just irresistible. This would be a perfect candidate for a big-screen remake, but there's nobody cool enough to fill Alexander Mundy's shoes--maybe Travolta?

I remember that line as if it were said yesterday!! Robert Wagner as Al Mundy had a big influence on me as a 13 year old looking for a "style" of his own. I combed my hair like him and even tried to dress like him. This show had it all; beautiful women, exotic locations and a real cool theme song. I remember being quite devastated when this show was cancelled. Thought the folks at ABC were nuts!! We all know that Mr. Wagner went on to star in "Switch", "Hart to Hart" and the underrated "Lime Street". But I must admit that this was and still is my favorite. What a Gem!!

Alexander Mundy was the coolest of the cool, a career thief who had been given a get out of jail free card. Even though he had choosen to do burglaries for the government, there was still a hint that Mundy might go back to his old ways if he could figure out how to get away with it. The show even became more cool when they added the character of Mundy's father (Fred Astaire) who was also a career criminal.

One of the oddest episodes I remember was one that featured singing group, The Fifth Dimension. Marilyn McCoo's (lead singer) character had died in the first few minutes, but then she returned, stating, "I died, but now I'm back". They did a great acoustic version of "One Less Bell To Answer" in that episode.

Cool was a word that was used for many things back in the day when this series aired. 1968 was a very serious year yet here was something that wasn't serious yet I thought it was very cool, this despite the fact I was an antiwar peace love hippie. I was 18 and Alexander Mundy was my fantasy life alter ego. It wasn't about the plots, although the twist of the government turning to a convicted felon for help was novel. Nothing really groundbreaking about this series, nothing that sticks out in my memory all these years later about particular episodes, although I do remember the addition of Fred Astaire to the cast being a great way do show where Mundy got his mojo. It was all about Robert Wagner in his prime being the coolest of cool guys. The looks, the confidence, the overall attitude, Women wanted him; men wanted to be like him. I loved it and I recommend it.

Someone do a DVD boxed set with commentaries on this quickly before Malachi Throne, Susan St. James and R.J. leave us!!!! Much like the Man From UNCLE, Mission: Impossible and other shows "filmed" all over the world, the Universal backlot was Paris, Istanbul, Rome, etc. But the one thing this show did have that none other would was R.J., AKA Robert Wagner. The first season was great and when joined by his Dad (Fred Astaire) the scripts became a little more tortured, but still, you wanted to move and talk like R.J. When Bette Davis was a co-star as an ailing female thief that was going to hold a formal party, R. J. commented on the class she exuded by saying, "White Tie - First Cabin". He is what Austin Powers attempted to be, he is what a less brutal version of Connery's Bond could have been. No matter where he went, he could be the playboy who knew the best Bistro in Cannes, the grooviest bar in Picadilly, the best casino in Monaco. He had the women: Susan St. James before Rock Hudson, an early interracial fling with one of the Fifth Dimension-ettes. Studios are making a fortune on DVD releases. I am stunned with slack-jawed amazement that they can come up with the first season of the Brady Bunch but not a unique cultural event like "It Takes a Thief". Trust me, we'll buy it.