your assignment mr phelps

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Mission: Impossible II 2000

Mission Commander Swanbeck: Good morning, Mr. Hunt. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, involves the recovery of a stolen item designated "Chimera." You may select any two team members, but it is essential that the third member of your team be Nyah Nordoff-Hall. She is a civilian, and a highly capable professional thief. You have forty-eight hours to recruit Miss Hall and meet me in Seville to receive your assignment. As always, should any member of your team be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow all knowledge of your actions. And Mr. Hunt, the next time you go on holiday, please be good enough to let us know where you're going. This message will self-destruct in five seconds.

Ethan Hunt: If I let you know where I'm going, I won't be on holiday.

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• Mission: Impossible

The television show Mission: Impossible is one of the most widely recognized in broadcast history. The theme music, the burning fuse used to open the credits, the convoluted plots, and the self-destructing tape machine have all become widely recognized icons of popular culture, satirized and mimicked on a routine basis. Although the show never reached the top of the television ratings, it had a profound impact on both the television industry and its viewers. Catch phrases from the show, including "Good morning, Mr. Phelps" and "Your mission, should you choose to accept it," have become an accepted part of American popular vocabulary. Despite the fact that the original Mission: Impossible has been off the air for more than 25 years, it remains one of the most ground-breaking and innovative series in television history.

Mission: Impossible debuted in 1966. Although it fared poorly in the ratings, critics were impressed with the complicated stories, excellent acting, and constant air of suspense. The basic plot of virtually all of the episodes, however, was the same: the Impossible Missions Force (IMF) had to fool the enemy into destroying itself. Using a variety of disguises and deceptions, the IMF would turn the enemy on itself. They would often frame one member of the opposition, or attempt to convince the enemy that the information they held was false when it was not. The idea was to create the "perfect con" so that the enemy would never even realize they had been deceived.

The group of IMF agents were intentionally anonymous. The viewer knew very little about the personal backgrounds of any of the agents, and this allowed the writers and producers to introduce new characters with little disruption in the flow of the show. Over the course of the show, several agents came and went, including the replacement of the IMF team leader after the first season.

At the beginning of most of the episodes, the group leader (played by Steven Hill in the opening season and Peter Graves until the show's cancellation) would receive his instructions through a self-destructing tape. The leader would then plan an elaborate deception with his team of agents. The excitement of watching the show was not to see what would happen; the plan was outlined by the team at the beginning of the episode. Rather, the excitement of watching Mission: Impossible was to see how the elaborate plan was carried out and what pitfalls might occur during the course of the mission.

One of the most memorable parts of Mission: Impossible was the wonderful theme song composed by Lalo Schifrin . When Schifrin was asked to compose the theme, he knew nothing about the show except its title. Despite this lack of knowledge, he created a theme that fit the show using a hard-swinging jazz band in 5/4 time. The music Schifrin wrote remains one of the most recognized television themes of all time.

The popularity of Mission: Impossible has waned very little since its cancellation in 1973. The show won four Emmy awards, including best dramatic series, two Golden Globes, and two Grammy awards for Lalo Schifrin . Over the life of the series, it would be nominated for dozens of awards and gain international respect as one of the best shows on television. It has remained in near-constant syndication since 1974, and dozens of new shows utilizing the Mission: Impossible formula have come and gone. In 1996, Mission: Impossible was finally brought to the silver screen by Tom Cruise and director Brian De Palma. The film version of Mission: Impossible earned more than $400 million worldwide and generated millions more in video rentals and sales. The success of the movie only serves to re-affirm the strong affinity the public has for the members of the IMF force.

—Geoff Peterson

—Julie Peterson

Further Reading:

White, P. The Complete Mission: Impossible Dossier. New York , Avon Books, 1991.

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Mission: Impossible (film)

Mission: Impossible is a 1996 film about an American agent, under false suspicion of disloyalty, who must discover and expose the real spy without the help of his organization.

• 1 Ethan Hunt
• 2 Eugene Kittridge
• 7 External links

Ethan Hunt [ edit ]

• Relax, Luther, it's much worse than you think.
• [referring to CIA headquarters] This is the Mount Everest of hacks.
• [testing decibel meter on his wrist] One. Two. Three. TOAST. TOAST. [ Luther: [through radio] Check.] Good. Okay, Luther, I'm goin' in. Everest, man, you ready to plant the flag? [Krieger sneezes loudly and the meter fills up.] [ Luther: Damn!] Krieger, from here on in, absolute silence.
• [to Claire] WAKE UP, CLAIRE! JIM'S DEAD! THEY'RE DEAD! THEY'RE ALL DEAD!
• If you're dealing with someone who's crushed, shot, stabbed, and detonated five members of his own IMF team, how devastated do you really think you're gonna make him by hauling Mom and Uncle Donald down to the county courthouse?
• [Holding the wad of explosive chewing gum before jumping off a chopper in the Chunnel] RED LIGHT! GREEN LIGHT!

Eugene Kittridge [ edit ]

• I want him manning a radar tower in Alaska by the end of the day. Just mail him his clothes.
• What can we do, Barnes? Put a guy at the airport? How many identities do you think Hunt has? How many times has he slipped past customs, in how many countries? These guys are trained to be ghosts. We taught them to do it for Christ's sake.
• Let's not waste time chasing after him; let's make him come to us . Everyone has pressure points, Barnes. You find something that's personally important to someone and... you squeeze.
• Good morning, Mr. Phelps.

Others [ edit ]

• Franz Krieger : Try any sleight of hand with my money and I'll cut your throat.
• Jack Harmen : [ referring to a stick of exploding gum ] Stick of gum, right? No. Red light, green light. Come up against a lock you can't pick, you mash them together... [imitates an explosion] Hasta lasagna , don't get any on ya. You'll have about five seconds. Just don't chew it.
• Max : I don't have to tell you what a comfort anonymity can be in my profession. It's like a warm blanket.
• Senator John Waltzer : I want to know who these people are and how they're spending our taxpayers' money. We were living in a democracy the last time I checked.
• Tape Recorder : This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim.

Dialogue [ edit ]

Cast [ edit ].

• Tom Cruise - Ethan Hunt
• Jon Voight - Jim Phelps
• Emmanuelle Béart - Claire Phelps
• Henry Czerny - Eugene Kittridge
• Jean Reno - Franz Krieger
• Ving Rhames - Luther Stickell
• Kristin Scott Thomas - Sarah Davies
• Vanessa Redgrave - Max

See also [ edit ]

• Mission: Impossible II
• Mission: Impossible III
• Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
• Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

External links [ edit ]

• Mission: Impossible quotes at the Internet Movie Database
• Mission: Impossible at Rotten Tomatoes

• Adventure films
• American films
• Films based on television series
• Films about the Central Intelligence Agency
• Films set in London
• Films set in Virginia
• Heist films
• Screenplays by Robert Towne
• Action thriller films
• Films directed by Brian De Palma
• Mission: Impossible

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Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series)

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This article is about the first television series. For other meanings, see Mission: Impossible .

Mission: Impossible is an American television series that chronicles the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force (IMF) . In the first season, the IMF leader is Dan Briggs , played by Steven Hill , then in the second season, the team gets a new leader: Jim Phelps , played by Peter Graves . He remains the IMF leader until the end of the series.

The series aired on the CBS network from September 1966 to March 1973, with seven seasons and 171 episodes. After another 15 years, though, the series would return with two additional seasons and then later would inspire a popular trio of movies in the 1990s and 2000s. Each episode deals with the IMF performing a mission, usually with world leaders, rogue figures, and--most often in later episodes--the mob underworld or, as the IMF tended to call it, "the syndicate," specifically the organized-crime syndicate. (This could be presumed to be partially due to J. (for "John") Edgar Hoover's iron-fisted hold on the FBI, a hostilely competing government agency, slipping as the 1970s began; Hoover died in 1972.) In most cases, the object of the mission was to eliminate the target by means of deception or elaborate means to convince the target that he is at another location or time has passed (either forward or backward), or to recover a valuable item which if fallen to the wrong hands of the target, would alter the government of a country. Sometimes the target would be a subordinate of a leader and the IMF must convince the leader that his subordinate is not on his/her side. The ultimate result of the missions are usually the target's disgrace among his associates, a secretly taped confession of the target, the target being shot by his own people, the target arrested by the police, or the recovery of the valuable item while trapping the target in a locked chamber. As this end result would happen, the IMF team members would stealthily leave the area, usually in a vehicle--though on at least one occasion, two IMF agents left in a boat, and one agent left in a helicopter. Some episodes might show the team members leaving the building or meeting together for one final summary of their successfully-accomplished missions.

With a few exceptions, the formula for each Mission: Impossible episode was the same, every week, for the first 4 seasons. Beginning with Season 5, a prologue was added to each episode.

• 1 Tape Scene
• 2 Dossier Sequence
• 3 Apartment Sequence
• 4 The Mission
• 5 Conclusion
• 7.1 THE IMPOSSIBLE MISSION FORCE

Tape Scene [ ]

Considered to be among the most iconic moments of television, the tape scene is the first sequence of Mission: Impossible. Briggs/Phelps is shown accessing a tape recorder with a manila envelope which contains pictures of the target(s) and other individuals who are affected by the target's actions. Usually the tape and envelope are in a store, where Briggs/Phelps exchange codes by casual conversation with the store owner--thus the owner leaves so Briggs/Phelps can access the tape. Other times the tape is located in a parked car, telephone booth (where certain coins must be deposited in sequence to unlock the phone), a photo booth, fire alarm box, boat, darkroom, place of worship, toll booth, movie theater (indoor theaters and outdoor drive-ins alike), skating rink, zoo, beach, warehouse, or cigarette machine. Sometimes a phonograph, film reel, drive-in speaker, or telescope was used instead of the tape; in one instance, the Season 1 episode " Memory ," Briggs received the instructions of his mission on a business card which a street photographer handed him, which card he read and promptly destroyed. Some tape sequences from Season 2 onward were reused more than once as stock footage for different episodes. From Season 5 onward, the tape scene in the prologue was usually shown after a brief introduction to the evening's episode though a situation encountered by the target or his staff which initiates the mission. When the mission instructions are to infiltrate the "syndicate" and put the target out of business (who usually extorts legitimate businesses or controls a specific operation), it is because "conventional law-enforcement methods" are currently unable to obtain any incriminating evidence to arrest and prosecute the target. The tape instructions make no mention of any law enforcement agency (e.g. FBI) by name.

The recorded voice for all episodes was done by Robert Cleveland "Bob" Johnson , and it generally transcribed as follows:

"Good morning Mr. Briggs/Phelps. The man you are looking at is ... Your mission, should you decide/choose to accept it, is to ... As always, should you or any of your IM Force be caught or killed, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape will self destruct in 5/10 seconds. (Alternatively, it might instruct, "Please dispose of/destroy this tape in the usual manner/by the usual means/as usual.") Good luck, Dan/Jim."

The tape itself is played backwards as the mission instructions are disseminated to Briggs/Phelps. At the end of the tape sequence when the tape "self-destructs," smoke emits from the recording so as to render it useless to anyone who may find it. When the instructions are simply to dispose the tape, Briggs/Phelps would throw it into an incinerator, or use other means to render the recording useless.

Exceptions to the tape sequence were usually "off-book" missions--unsanctioned personal missions initiated by the IMF, usually to save a fellow team member or to save a personal friend--such as Briggs saving the daughter of his friend who was about to testify against a mobster during his criminal trial. Sometimes an ongoing mission suddenly becomes "off-book" when an IMF member is captured or shot by the target, such as Cinnamon Carter ( Barbara Bain ) or Jim Phelps in the respective Season 3 episodes "The Exchange" and "Nicole." In the Season 1 episode "Action!", it was Cinnamon Carter who retrieved the tape and its instructions at a women's spa instead of Briggs (who was played by Steven Hill ). This was because Hill, an Orthodox Jew, was getting more and more uncooperative with the crew during filming, he slowly was written out of the series in the final 5 episodes. (In background information that was never actually employed on the series itself, Briggs was described as a former US Army lieutenant colonel, presumably for the Army's G-2 (Intelligence) Section, whose duties and assignments could be described as causing his face and name to be known to a dangerously high number of enemies of the United States. This unused background information also described him as having acquired a Ph.D. in analytical psychology on "The G.I. Bill" and being a highly-paid behavioral analyst, making him an expert in human beings and among Earth's greatest guessers.) Hill had to leave early Friday afternoons (and the day before major Jewish holidays) to observe the Sabbath; this constricted the filming schedule because the film crew had to work around Hill's religious obligations. Hill was replaced by Peter Graves at the start of Season 2, who remained the IMF leader for the rest of the MI series.

Dossier Sequence [ ]

The second sequence is the shortest and simply shows Briggs/Phelps in their respective apartments using a black leather binder with the words "Impossible Missions Force" engraved on it. Briggs/Phelps would look over photos of IMF team members, selecting only those suited for the mission (usually the regular cast) and putting aside the rejected photos. Briggs/Phelps would also select one to three additional IMF members (as guest stars) in a specific mission, usually an expert in the type of work needed to carry out the mission, such as a circus performer to stage an eye-opening show as to create a distraction to break out someone in prison nearby or a doctor to carry out an non-lethal injection to temporarily disable the target. Once done, Briggs/Phelps would leave the binder on the table. In later seasons, Phelps selected IMF quasi-mode organizations, such as The Hartford and Globe Repertory Companies--a team of up to twenty workers dedicated to a specific part of the mission, such as fake prison guards or acting as a crew of a submarine or caterers of a "party." Again, as in the tape sequence, the footage of some dossier sequences may appear in more than one episode. In Season 1, Martin Landau was credited as "Special Guest Star" as his dossier picture was shown (and, of course selected), however he was made permanent cast member for Seasons 2 and 3. In "Action!" (when she recovered the tape), Carter is not shown selecting the IMF members, however her usual picture was already laid out anyway--thus she would technically be the first and only IMF team member to "select" herself in the dossier sequence. Beginning with Season 3, the dossier sequence was used less often, only to select a special IMF "guest," the repertory companies or a special animal, until this segment was eliminated by the end of Season 4, though the IMF continued to receive support in later seasons when needed. (An example was when people dressed up in a falsified 1930s city in the Season 6 episode "Encore.")

Apartment Sequence [ ]

The third sequence involved what was called "The Plan;" the selected IMF agents would meet in Briggs's/Phelps's apartment (most likely not technically theirs but rather inside what could be described as an IMF "safe-house," either in New York City for Briggs or in San Francisco for Phelps) to discuss the logistics of their mission. Each member would be assigned to a specific task as they ironed out any loose ends to their mission. The apartment's wallpaper or paint, and its various sticks of furniture, were all in shades of black and white, giving the initial appearance that these scenes were shot in black and white. (The actual footage itself, however, was always shot in color.) Briggs/Phelps would confer with each member as to how their part of the mission would be carried out, often with a demonstration of their gadgets to be used--from simple devices, like a cigarette lighter which would send a signal to a pair of radio-controlled heaters to melt the ink in counterfeited currency when activated (in " The Money Machine ," Episode 8 of Season 2) or a rigged deck of cards to more complex settings, such as a staged film or special wheelchair which secretly holds a person inside; all this was a nod to the Q Branch of the British Secret Service (MI.6) showing gadgets to 007 in the James Bond films.

The team agents whose services Briggs/Phelps usually accepted included two engineers-technologists; these were Barnard "Barney" Collier ( Greg Morris ) and William "Willy" Armitage ( Peter Lupus ), the latter of whom was also a muscular heavy laborer. Usually, either of these would tell Briggs/Phelps that the equipment needed would be "already ready" or that there would be little or no difficulty in carrying out a specific event. It was implied that the IMF, being a United States government agency, had nearly unlimited resources at its disposal, in addition to the members of "The Director's Own" mission team all being independently wealthy; often these were obtained almost immediately, given the urgency and timeliness of their missions. Each IMF member was informed on what their responsibilities were, as well as being advised of the other team members’s responsibilities. Any possible setbacks the mission-team members might encounter in executing their plans were addressed in this sequence.

The Mission [ ]

The IMF members now set off to perform the mission, which involves various degrees of complexity: uniforms needed (usually guard uniforms), type of equipment needed (vehicles, machines, etc), forged documents (ID cards, passports, letters, etc.) and in many instances, makeup and disguises. Part or all of the IMF team members arrive at the target's residence or work location in a nondescript vehicle or car, with the rest of the group joining them within the location, albeit somewhere else nearby. Electronic equipment was primarily supplied by Collier, with Armitage (an engineer-technologist in his own right, as stated above) usually helping Barney with heavy lifting. Rollin Hand (and later the Great Paris) supplied the makeup to instantly change their faces to look like the target themselves or someone else. In one instance, that of the two-part mission " The Council ," Rollin Hand was disguised as a mobster (who had already been captured and drugged by other IMF members) then convinced the mobster's subordinates to perform plastic surgery to make him look like someone else to avoid detection by police after the mob had "killed" Graves. (Actually, the makeup was peeled off to show Rollin while Graves survives the attack by hiding in an underground bunker.) Phone calls were usually rerouted to IMF team members for either wiretap purposes or to "send" a crew over to fix a problem encountered by the target (intentionally done by Barney or Willy) while in other instances a secretly taped recording of the target's (or his subordinates) confession was obtained. The IMF also used phony TV and radio broadcasts to "convince" the target that something happened already, a ruse by the IMF in tricking the target. Complex jobs were even handled by the IMF, such as a warehouse to stage a simulated train ride, ensuring train "derailments" and "hospitals." Other complex methods were a machine (the "money box" used in " The Money Machine ") which supposedly made counterfeit currency, a large "jail" complete with a simulated execution chamber, a submarine (in " Submarine ") complete with fake crew members, and even a nuclear testing site which duplicates the actual site needed. The IMF usually sets up their complex jobs inside a warehouse or airport hangar to create "rooms" and machines that simulate the actual setting the target (or subordinates) use. For example, to obtain the codes for diffusing a nuclear bomb inside a testing facility, the IMF drugs the target unconscious and transports him to the warehouse where an identical setting has been created after the falsification of a nuclear attack. Unaware of this, the target walks around the "rooms" then tries to diffuse the dummy bomb planted by the IMF--all while recording the events so Phelps can transmit this information to Barney Collier who is working to remove the real bomb. Animals used to complete their missions were a cat, dog, bats, and even a falcon in the Season 4 mission " The Falcon ," the only three-part mission in the "declssified archives." Areas were "set up" as a means to expose the target's intented actions, such as allowing the target to kill someone he knows--only disguised by the IMF as another person whom the target had not intended to kill. They also set up "rooms" to allow the target in conducting a private search, often leaving an "object," such as fake ID, large amounts of currency or a valuable item--all which influences the target in knowing more about who he is dealing with.

Usually many IMF Targets (or their underlings) were sometimes captured by the IMF and quickly replaced by Hand/Paris with their likeness, including their voices dubbed to make other people appear that they look real. In early episodes, the painstakingly detail of applying makeup was shown, however as the series progressed, most viewers were accustomed to see the disguises anyway so the detail was left off. Other mechanisms such as elevators and cars were usually placed under the IMF's control while many missions involve crawling under tunnels. Sometimes two IMF members played "husband and wife", or "father and daughter", usually with Cinnamon Carter playing the femme fatale to distract the target. The visual instructions on what each member (in most cases with Collier because of his electronics experience) does (such as setting up equipment, splicing a reel, etc) take up most of the episode's time, while the viewer does not know the outcome or result until towards the end when the IMF completes the set-up and executes their final moves on the target. Most of the IMF crew has impersonated the following: government agents from other agencies than their own, police officers, doctors, bank guards, truck drivers, weapons dealers, jail guards, inmates (on purpose to get closer to the target or to free someone else from jail), chess players, gamblers, mobsters, food service workers, investors, electricians, repairmen, actors, film crew, wardens, sheiks, museum curators, Nazi members, news reporters, taxi drivers, and protesters.

All team members are trained to confront every variable in their missions; especially when one or more IMF members are about to be exposed. They can "talk their way" out of anything to convince the target (usually before and after commercial breaks). While at the target's location, they are also trained to be aware about the target recording their phone calls or being videotaped--often with a slow and deliberate manner in their voice so that the other IMF member receiving the telephone call will adjust their identity at a moment's notice. Such case of adjusting identity is the Season 3 episode "The Town" when Rollin Hand calls "Mrs. Phelps" (Carter) to let her and "Little Willy" to come over to save Jim Phelps who was temporarily paralyzed by a rogue doctor working with the entire town on an assassination attempt in Los Angeles. The critical part of every mission is psychology, how to use it against the target and to ensure that the IMF members remain calm--assessing every situation with the possible outcome(s). In some cases, the IMF must be aware what the target may do as a trap. In Season 3, Mission 16, " The Glass Cage ," Carter impersonates a high level prison official who calls the target's bluff when he hires two prison guards to make it look like the real prison official enters the office which Carter and the target are engaged in a conversation. As the target "claims" that the real prison official enters the office with her escort, Carter identifies them as impostors, eliminating a potential situation if handled the wrong way. Every move the IMF team makes must be played with perfect timing and the right words to use against the target. Because the IMF is an independent governmental agency operating outside the scope of any other law-enforcement or federal agency, killing anyone is strongly discouraged except in self-defense. Most confrontations between IMF members and their enemies often result instead in knocking the enemy out.

Conclusion [ ]

As the mission winds down, the IMF members slowly gather themselves together to exit quietly from the target's location(s), while other people discover the target's true intentions or the trap has been skillfully executed by the IMF. When the members watch the target being exposed by others, they conjure any excuse to leave the area, such as "I have a plane to catch" or "He is all yours" then run off to meet the rest of the IMF group in their getaway vehicle. Usually when the last IMF member(s) leave the area, they do so while the target is about to be shot or arrested--often hearing a gunshot in the background in the case of the target being killed off-screen by those who disbelieve him/her. The final scene usually consists of the IMF members getting into a car, truck, bus or any other vehicle then making their exit--often undetected by anyone and without any dialogue. However in the last 2 seasons, the obligatory IMF "exit" was shown less frequently and relied more of tying up loose ends in the story arc. More frequently shown in these 2 seasons was the IMF and law enforcement capturing the target red handed at the very end of each episode.

Seasons [ ]

• Season 1 (1966 - 1967)
• Season 2 (1967 - 1968)
• Season 3 (1968 - 1969)
• Season 4 (1969 - 1970)
• Season 5 (1970 - 1971)
• Season 6 (1971 - 1972)
• Season 7 (1972 - 1973)

THE IMPOSSIBLE MISSION FORCE [ ]

• Steven Hill as Dan Briggs (Season 1)
• Peter Lupus as Willy Armitage (Seasons 1 to 7)
• Greg Morris as Barney Collier (Seasons 1 to 7)
• Bob Johnson as Voice on Tape (Seasons 1 to 7)
• Barbara Bain as Cinnamon Carter (Seasons 1 to 3)
• Martin Landau as Rollin Hand (Seasons 1 to 3)
• Peter Graves as Jim Phelps (Seasons 2 to 7)
• Leonard Nimoy as The Great Paris (Seasons 4 to 5)
• Lee Meriwether as Tracy (Season 4)
• Lesley Warren as Dana Lambert (Season 5)
• Sam Elliott as Doug Robert (Season 5)
• Lynda Day George as Lisa Casey (Seasons 6 to 7)
• Barbara Anderson as Mimi Davis (Season 7)
• 1 Ilsa Faust
• 2 Ethan Hunt
• 3 Julia Meade-Hunt

Good morning, Classical Music Lover. Your mission, should you decide to accept it …

Friday, June 21, 2019

The most iconic television and film music stars with this: “Good morning, Mr. Phelps. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to [insert ridiculously difficult mission here]. As always, should you or any member of your IM Force be caught or killed, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds.” Cue Mission Impossible’s music. Those words seared themselves permanently on the brain of this kid sister of a brother who loved (and still does) TV shows with car chases, explosions, and missions, not to mention going “where no man has gone before” (isn’t it great that Leonard Nimoy joined the M:I series?). I also recall that every time my mom, #TheMatriarch, wandered by the TV set during the recorded message, she would sputter in contempt, “Bad grammar. Everybody KNOWS it should be ‘self-destroy.’” Not bad for whom English is a second language.

My brother Jamie was all over the re-runs of Mission Impossible, and since I had no say in what to watch when he was around (and still don’t, if we’ve ever near a TV together), I learned to like cop shows and crime dramas, along with science fiction. The series eventually lead to a re-boot in the 80’s, and then the films in the 90’s starring Tom Cruise.

Schifrin has some amazing classical and jazz connections; he studied piano with Enrique Barenboim, father of pianist and conductor Daniel, and with Andreas Karalis, former head of the Kiev Conservatory. While a student at the Paris Conservatoire, he played jazz in the clubs at night, and performed with bandoneon legend Astor Piazzolla. He also joined Dizzy Gillespie’s quintet as pianist.

The music that defined television of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s: the original “Mission: Impossible”. I love the lit match graphic throughout. If you let it run, it’ll go on to “Mannix” and other television shows scored by Schifrin.

Boris Claudio “Lalo” Schifrin was born June 21, 1932, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

#ComposerBirthday963

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• User reviews
• Episode aired Sep 30, 1972

Mobsters Larson, and Rogan have made a deal to support Gen. Oliver Hammond in his bid to take over the island nation of Camagua. The IMF capture the mobsters en route, and force them to reve... Read all Mobsters Larson, and Rogan have made a deal to support Gen. Oliver Hammond in his bid to take over the island nation of Camagua. The IMF capture the mobsters en route, and force them to reveal the location of the safe deposit key before Hammond can apprehend the group. Mobsters Larson, and Rogan have made a deal to support Gen. Oliver Hammond in his bid to take over the island nation of Camagua. The IMF capture the mobsters en route, and force them to reveal the location of the safe deposit key before Hammond can apprehend the group.

• Leslie H. Martinson
• Bruce Geller
• George F. Slavin
• Stephen Kandel
• Peter Graves
• Greg Morris
• Lynda Day George
• 1 User review
• 1 Critic review

• James Phelps

• Barney Collier

• (credit only)

• Willy Armitage

• Charles Rogan

• Arnold Sanders

• Marcy Carpenter

• Gen. Oliver Hammond

• Lawrence Chalmers

• John Larson

• Lieutenant Blair
• First contact
• (uncredited)

• Person on Tape
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia Instead of saying, "your mission", the voice says, "your assignment".
• Goofs When Willy (Peter Lupus) dives off the yacht and is apparently abandoned in the ocean, a shot of him being left in the yacht's wake shows a corner of the boat from which the camera is shooting the scene.

Person on Tape : [voice on tape] Good afternoon, Mr. Phelps. General Oliver Hammond, British soldier of fortune who heads the armed forces of the Republic of Camagua, is about to take over the government, aided by Syndicate money. In return, Syndicate leader John Larson and his Lieutenant, Charles Rogan, will control all gambling and prostitution in Camagua. Rogan is bringing Hammond a five million dollar payoff in the form of a key to a safe-deposit box. We have not been able to locate that bank. Your assignment, should you accept it, is to get that key, which will identify the bank and lead to the bank access card, signed by both Rogan and Hammond himself. Publication of the Syndicate deal, backed by the proof in that safe-deposit box, will discredit Hammond and prevent Syndicate takeover of an entire nation. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim.

User reviews 1

• September 30, 1972 (United States)
• United States
• Memorable Entertainment TV
• Bank of America - 850 N Broadway, Chinatown, Los Angeles, California, USA (Exterior)
• Paramount Television
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 50 minutes

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