A Very British Film Called The Italian Job (1969)

(This post is part of the 11th Annual Rule, Britannia Blogathon hosted by A Shroud of Thoughts)

If ever there was a Golden Age for caper movies, it had to be the Sixties. The decade saw the release of such classic caper films as Topkapi (1964), Gambi (1966), and How to Steal a Million (1966). Among the greatest of the caper movies of the Sixties was The Italian Job (1969). And while the United Kingdom produced a number of caper films during the Sixties, arguably The Italian Job was the most British of them all.

The Italian Job centres on professional thief Charlie Croker (Michael Caine). Newly released from prison, Charlie goes to meet fellow thief Roger Beckerman (Rosano Brazzi) about a job Beckerman had planned in Italy. Charlie instead finds himself meeting with Beckerman's widow (Lelia Goldoni), Beckerman having been killed by the Mafia. Beckerman's widow insists that Charlie go forward with Beckerman's plan, which involves stealing $4 million in gold bullion from a convoy as a payment to Fiat by the Chinese for a car factory. Charlie has to go for financial backing of the heist to crime lord Mr. Bridger (Noël Coward), as well as gather a crew to pull off the heist. Of course, as might be expected, not everything goes off as planned.

The origins of The Italian Job go back to a teleplay that Ian Kennedy Martin had submitted to the BBC. The play centred on a heist that would be pulled off in central London during a traffic jam. The BBC never turned Ian Kennedy Martin's teleplay into a television movie, his brother Troy Kennedy Martin thinks because the BBC thought it would be too expensive to do. Troy Kennedy Martin then bought the teleplay from his brother and changed the location of the heist from central London to Turin, Italy. As to the Martins, Ian Kennedy Martin had been the story editor on the police drama Redcap and had written for such British TV shows as The Saint, The Protectors, and The Troubleshooters. Troy Kennedy Martin was then best known as the creator of the TV Show Z-Cars and written for such shows as Redcap and ITV Play of the Week, and did some uncredited rewriting on the feature film Darling (1965).

From the beginning Troy Kennedy Martin wanted Michael Caine for the role of Charlie Croker. It was after several attempts that he finally caught up with Mr. Caine when dense fog had resulted in all flights being diverted from Los Angeles International Airport to a small airstrip near San Diego. Troy Kennedy Martin was able to interest Paramount in the project, but then head of Paramount Robert Evans wanted Robert Redford for the lead. Troy Kennedy Martin stood his ground and Robert Evans accepted Michael Caine in the role of Charlie Croker.

As to the rest of the cast, the all-important role of Mr. Bridger was offered to Noël Coward almost immediately. Several well-known British actors filled many of the roles, including comedian Benny Hill as Professor Peach, character actress Irene Hnadl as his sister, Fred Emney as Birkinshaw, and actor and author John Clive as a garage owner. Charlie's crew included such actors as Tony Beckley (who had done a good deal of work with director Peter Collinson), George Innes (who had appeared in Billy Liar), Harry Baird (who had already appeared in many films and would appear in The Oblong Box, also from 1969), and Robert Powell (who would go onto appear in Jesus of Nazareth), among others. One notable member of the cast is Stanley Caine, who was the brother of Michael Caine and had also appeared in his brother's movie Billion Dollar Brain (1967).

Four endings were written for The Italian Job, but producer Michael Deeley was not satisfied with any of them. He then came up with the idea of the movie's now famous cliffhanger ending. Over the years many have guessed at how the cliffhanger would have been resolved.

The Italian Job was shot a t a number of different locations. The prison where Charlie had stayed was actually a combination of two different prisons. The interior was Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin, Ireland. The exterior was sHM Prison Wormwood Scrubs in west London. The famous chase scene was shot mostly in Turin, with the portion  through a sewer shot in the Sowe Valley Sewer Duplication system in the Stoke Aldermoor district of Coventry. Other locations included the Royal Lancaster Hotel  in London, the Crystal Palace race track, and the Dover Ferry Terminal on the Easter Docks in Dover, Kent. Filming was also done at Isleworth studios in Isleworth, Middlesexand  Twickenham Film Studios in Twickenham, Middlesex.

Of course, as mentioned earlier, The Italian Job is a very British film, despite the fact that much of its action is set in Italy. Indeed, it is hard to get more British than a cast including Michael Caine, Noël Coward, Benny Hill, and Irene Handl, among others. Much of the Britishness of the film comes in the form of Mr. Bridger, who is openly nationalistic. His room is filled with pictures of the Queen and magazines about the Queen, and "Rule, Britannia" or "God Save the Queen" is often playing when he is on screen. In addition to Mr. Bridger, there is also the fact that the heist itself unfolds towards the end of a football match between England and Italy. The escape vehicles of much of Charlie's crew are also very British. They are Mini Coopes in the national colours of the United Kingdom: red, white, and blue. Of course, in many ways the British iconography of The Italian Job should not prove surprising, given to a large degree the movie plays out as the British versus the Mafia.

The Italian Job opened at the Plaza Cinema on June 5 1969. Given its status as a classic today, it might come as a surprise that some critics were not impressed by the film upon its release. In Today's Cinema, Marjorie Bilbow wrote, "Without the super car chase that forms the thrilling climax, this would be little more than a run-of-the-mill comedy thriller...."  In The New York Times, Vincent Canby who reviewed the Spaghetti Western Ace High (1968) and The Italian Job as a double feature, commented, "Both Giuseppe Colizzi's Ace High, an Italian Western, and Peter Collinson's The Italian Job, a British caper comedy set mostly in Italy, are types of movies that have been made before—very often and much better—by other people."

While some critics might not have been impressed by The Italian Job, British audiences loved the film, and it did well at the box office in the United Kingdom. It also performed well in Europe. For whatever reason it did not perform as well in the United States, although it would achieve cult status in the Colonies.  It made its American television debut on June 9 1974 on ABC, and has been gathering American fans ever since.

While critics may have been unimpressed with The Italian Job in 1969 and it may have had an underwhelming box office performance in the United States, it has since become very highly regarded. In 1999 the British Film Institute ranked The Italian Job at no. 35 in its list of  the BFI Top 100 British films. In 2004 Total Film listed it as the 27th greatest British film of all time. In 2011 movie fans voted The Italian Job the greatest British film of all time in a poll conducted by Sky Movies HD. The film currently boasts a rating of 82% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The Italian Job has also permeated popular culture throughout the Anglosphere, with Michael Caine's line,  "You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!" often quoted. Indeed, Michael Caine even titled his memoir, Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: And Other Life Lessons. Critics in 1969 and American audiences in 1969 may not have been impressed by this very British film, but The Italian Job has become an undisputed classic.

The 11th Annual Rule, Britannia Blogathon

The 11th Annual Rule, Britannia Blogathon has arrived! The Rule, Britannia Blogathon is a celebration of classic, British films. While many think of Hollywood when they think of movies, the fact is that many classic films originated in the United Kingdom. From the Gainsborough melodramas to the Ealing comedies to the Hammer Horrors, the United Kingdom has made many contributions to classic film. The Rule, Britannia Blogathon will run from Friday, September 20 to Sunday, September 23 2024.

Without further ado, here are this year's entries.

Realweegiemidget Reviews: "FILMS: Nicholas and Alexandra (1971)

Nitrateglow: "Corridor of Mirrors (dir. Terence Young, 1948)"

The Spirochaete Trail: "Under the Skin (The Other from Another Planet)"

John V's Eclectic Avenue: "Moore Is Haunted"

Smoke in the Library: Get Carter

Liberal England: "Last Resort (2000) Paddy Considine, Margate, and magic"

A Shroud of Thoughts: "A Very British Film Called The Italian Job (1969)"

Crítica Retrô: "O Marido (1947)/An Ideal Husband (1947)"

Moon in Gemini: "Shallow Grave (1994): A British Twist on Neo-Noir"

Taking Up Room: "My British Buddy"

The ER Theme

It was thirty years ago today, on September 19 1994, that ER debuted. While I loved the pilot episode, "24 Hours," at the time I did not realize how significant the show would be in my life. I didn't even realize how significant the show would be after I had watched it for some time and it had become one of my favourite shows then on the air. I certainly did not realize that one day I would get to know the pretty Mexican American nurse on the show and she would become both my dearest friend and a woman I deeply loved. My dearest Vanessa Marquez was on the first three seasons of ER. Even back then, Nurse Wendy Goldman was my favourite character on ER, and I would miss her when she was no longer on the show. Anyway, for those of you interested in a history of the show, I wrote one on the occasion of its 25th anniversary. You can read it here.

For a time ER was one of the best shows on the air. It was a fast -paced, realistic medical drama that did not shy away from using medical jargon without any explanation and the show could be graphic. Among other things, ER introduced the now common TV trope of episodes centred around a mass casualty event. The show was also not afraid to take risks. It was one of the first shows to include a regular character who was infected with HIV. It was also not afraid to tackle difficult subjects and to even kill off major characters. Sadly, ER would eventually drift away from being a fast-paced, realistic medical drama into a much more more typical medical soap opera. With several years of its debut, it was no longer the show it once was. I stopped watching it after about the fifth or sixth season.

Even as ER was on its way down, it still had one of the best ever theme songs. The theme was written by James Newton Howard, who had scored such films as Dune (1984) and The Prince of Tides (1992). It would be used until 2006-2009, when a new theme was introduced. Perhaps because of the continued popularity of the original theme, it returned for the final season of ER.

The 60th Anniversary of Jonny Quest

In the early Sixties there was a cycle of animated shows in prime time on American television. The vast majority of these shows were situation comedies, such as The Flintstones, Top Cat, and The Jetsons. One notable exception was Jonny Quest, an adventure series that had a strong dose of science fiction Jonny Quest would only ran one season, but it would be shown on Saturday morning for years and in syndication for many years more. It was sixty years ago tonight, on Friday, September 18 1964 that Jonny Quest debuted on ABC.

Jonny Quest centred on the character of that name (Tim Matheson), an eleven year old boy who travelled around the world with his father having adventures. Jonny's father was Dr. Benton Quest (John Stephenson/Don Messick), a scientific genius who worked for the U.S. government. Jonny's mother had been killed some time before the series began, apparently by enemy agents. Travelling with the Quests was Race Bannon (Mike Road), an intelligence agent who was assigned to protect Jonny and serve as his tutor as well. In addition to Jonny, Dr. Quest also had an adopted son, Hadji Singh, who was an eleven year-old Indian orphan. Rounding out the group was Jonny's dog, Bandit. The adventures of Jonny and his father took them around the world, and owed a great deal to such classic adventure books as Treasure Island, the comic strip Terry and the Pirates, and even the concurrent James Bond movies.

In fact, the origins of Jonny Quest can be traced back to an old radio show. Hanna-Barbera approached comic book artist Doug Wildey about designing an animated television series based on the old radio show Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy. Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy followed the adventures of the character of that name, which took him around the world. As to Doug Wildey, he had worked as a freelance comic book artist for such companies as Street & Smith in the late Forties and later what would become Marvel Comics in the Fifties. Still later he was the artist on The Saint newspaper strip. For television Doug Wildey worked under fellow comic book artist Alex Toth on the syndicated animated show Space Angel.

For the prospective animated series based on Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy, Doug Wildey researched such magazines as Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, and Science Digest to get an idea of what things would be like ten years in the future. To this end Doug Wildey either devised or updated such advanced technology as hydrofoils and hovercraft. He wrote and drew a presentation for the prospective Jack Armstrong series, some of which would find its way into the closing credits of Jonny Quest. The presentation film would also be used to sell Jonny Quest to ABC

Ultimately Hanna-Barbera decided against doing a show based on Jack Armstrong, All-American Boy and requested that Doug Wildey created an original animated series instead. The working title for this original series was The Saga of Chip Baloo, although Doug Wildey wasn't serious about that name. The name "Chip" came from a newspaper strip that he had tried selling titled Stretch Bannon, Chip being Stretch's teenage sidekick. The name "Quest" came from the phone book. Race Bannon's name was drawn from two unsold newspaper comic strips Doug Wildey had created. The surname Bannon came from the aforementioned Stretch Bannon. The forename Race came from another unsold comic strip Doug Wildey had created called Race Dunhill. Doug Wildey designed most of the characters on Jonny Quest, as well as the advanced technology seen on the show. The one character he did not design was the bulldog Bandit, who was designed by animator Richard Bickenbach. As it was, Doug Wildey had wanted Jonny's pet to be a monkey, but was overruled by Hanna-Barbera. For whatever reason, Hanna-Barbera would not give Doug Wildey a "created by" credit on the show. He and Hanna-Barbera finally compromised on a credit that read, "based on idea created by."

As mentioned earlier, Jonny Quest debuted on September 18 1964. Unfortunately, it found itself airing opposite the still somewhat popular Western Rawhide on CBS on Friday night until December. Jonny Quest was then moved to Thursday night where it aired opposite even stronger competition in the form of the hit sitcom The Munsters on CBS and Daniel Boone on NBC. Jonny Quest then ended its original network run after only one season.

While ABC had cancelled Jonny Quest, the show was hardly gone, much less forgotten. Like other primtetime cartoons, it would eventually find its way to Saturday morning. Reruns of Jonny Quest began airing as part of CBS's Saturday morning line-up in the 1967-1968 season. It continued as part of CBS's Saturday morning schedule until the end of the 1969-1970 season, well after many adventure cartoons from the Sixties had been driven off network television by the moral panic over television violence. Jonny Quest would return to Saturday mornings one last time during the 1980-1981 season when it aired on NBC.

Jonny Quest would prove to be popular as a syndicated rerun and aired on local stations for years. By the mid-Eighties it would air as part of the syndication package The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera, which included everything from episodes of The Jetsons to Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines. The episodes of Jonny Quest were edited for both time and content for the syndication package. Jonny Quest would later air on such cable channels as the USA Network, TBS, Cartoon Network, and Boomerang.

The continued popularity of Jonny Quest would result in revivals. In 1993 a TV movie, Jonny's Golden Quest, aired on the USA Network. A second TV movie Jonny Quest vs. The Cyber Insects, aired on TNT in 1995. It was on August 26 1996 that The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest debuted simultaneously on Cartoon Network, TBS, and TNT. It aired for two seasons on Cartoon Network . The show was not well-received by many fans of the original Jonny Quest.

Over the years episodes of Jonny Quest have been released on home media. Various episodes were released on VHS  tapes from the Eighties to the Nineties. In 2004 Warner Home Video released the DVD set Jonny Quest: The Complete First Season, which included all 26 episodes, although they were edited for content. In 2019 the entire series was released on Blu-ray. This time they were released uncensored and remastered.

Jonny Quest would be adapted as comic books. In 1964 Gold Key published a single issue of a Johnny Quest comic book, which adapted the TV episode "The Mystery of the Lizard Men." In Britain in the Sixties Jonny Quest fared better in comic books, with Jonny Quest stories being included Huckleberry Hound Weekly from 1965 to 1967. It was in 1986 that Comico began publishing a long-running Jonny Quest title. The first issue featured artwork by Jonny Quest creator Doug Wildey. In Scooby-Doo Team-Up no. 10, published by DC Comics in May 2015, Jonny teamed up with  Scooby-Doo and his gang. Jonny Quest also appeared in DC Comics' limited series Future Quest, published from 2016 to 2017. Future Quest was a crossover between many of Hanna-Barbera's adventure characters, and also included Space Ghost, Birdman, The Herculoids, and so on. Last month Dynamite Entertainment began publishing a new Jonny Quest title.

As might be expected, there are aspects of Jonny Quest that do not hold up today. While Hadji was Jonny's adopted brother and accepted as one of the team, in many respects he was something of a stereotype. He wore a turban with a jewel in it. He knew various mystic arts, such as snake charming, hypnotism, and levitation. While Hadji did have some positive, even progressive traits (he was often smarter than Jonny), the same cannot be said for Dr. Quest's archenemy Dr. Zin, who was a typical, racist Yellow Peril type villain in the mould of Fu Manchu. Sadly, Jonny Quest could be yet more racist with regards to native peoples, who were often portrayed as primitives and even referred to by Race Bannon as "savages" and 'devils." Of course, this was par for the course with regards to the portrayals of many people of colour in the Sixties. It was an era when such stereotypes as Mexican bandidos, East Asian criminal masterminds, superstitious natives, and yet others appeared in everything from cartoons to sitcoms.

Regardless, Jonny Quest was in many ways a pioneering show. It was the first adventure series ever produced by Hanna-Barbera, who had previously focused only on comedy. It was also the first ever adventure cartoon to air on American broadcast network television in prime time. It paved the way for other adventure cartoons from Hanna-Barbera, from Space Ghost to Samon & Goliath, as well as adventure cartoons from other studios, such as Filmation's The New Adventures of Superman.

The fact that Jonny Quest was the first adventure cartoon to air on broadcast network television probably accounts for much of its continued popularity. Indeed, its blend of adventure and science fiction still remains unique to this day. What is more, it had a very distinctive look. Jonny Quest had the look of an adventure comic book or such comic strips as Milton Caniff's Terry and the Pirates. The futuristic technology of the time, such as hovercraft and jet-packs, also set it apart from other cartoons of the time. To this day Jonny Quest remains Doug Wildey's best known work and one of Hanna-Barbera's most popular shows.

Chico and the Man Turns 50

It was a little over fifty years ago, on Friday, September 13 1974, that Chico and the Man debuted. The show proved to be a hit in its first season, ranking no. 3 for the year behind All in the Family and Sanford and Son. It would not be as successful in its second and third seasons, although it still did well in the ratings. Ultimately, its success would come to an end with the suicide of one of its stars, Freddie Prinze. While Chico and the Man was successful, it was also controversial, drawing the ire of various Mexican American civil rights groups. Regardless, the show was pioneering. It was the first American sitcom to ever centre on a Chicano. 

Chico and the Man centred on Ed Brown (Jack Albertson), the cantankerous and initially racist owner of a garage in a barrio in East Los Angeles. Chico Rodriguez (Freddie Prinze) was a young Chicano and veteran of the Vietnam War who came to Ed looking for work and ultimately came to work for Ed, staying in an old van parked in the garage. Louie (Scatman Crothers) was Ed's best friend and the local garbageman. Della Reese joined the cast in its second season as Della Rogers, Ed's landlady and neighbour. Isaac Ruiz played Chico's friend Mando.

Chico and the Man was created by James Komack, James Komack As an actor he had a recurring role as dentist Lt. Harvey Spencer Blair III on the sitcom Hennessey. He also wrote episodes of Hennesey, as well as Ensign O'Toole and My Favorite Martian, among other shows. He developed the sitcom The Courtship of Eddie's Father, based on the 1963 movie of the same name, for television and also produced it.

The beginnings of Chico and the Man were complicated. After a trip to Mexico, James Komack had taken an interest in the Mexican heritage of Los Angeles (it had been founded in 1781 in what was then New Spain as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles). It was in the summer of 1973 that James Komack was reading a short story written by Ray Andrade and David Garcia, which was based on Ray Andrade's real-life friendship with Howard Steinler, the owner of Main Street Gym in Los Angeles. Ray Andrade had been homeless at the time and one night snuck inside the gym so he wouldn't have to sleep on the streets., After a confrontation between Ray Andrade and Howard Steinler,  Mr. Steinler allowed Ray Andrade to work for him cleaning up the gym. The two of them became close friends. Ray Andrade had the nickname "Chico," which was short for "Francisco." Ray Andrade was well-known as the founder of Justicia, a civil rights organization devoted to improving the images of Latinos in film and on television. Ray Andrade would serve as an associate producer on Chico Man.

James Komack thought Ray Andrade's story would make for a good sitcom through which they could explore inner-city poverty and racism. He considered centring his prospective show around a young Chicano and an older Nisei. He also considered developing a show featuring the comedy team of Cheech & Chong. To a degree Chico and the Man resembles their sketches The Old Man in the Park" and "Pedro and Man."A collaboration between James Komack and Cheech & Chong would not take place, although the parties involved disagree as to why. Cheech & Chong have said they wanted to concentrate on their film career. James Komack said they "couldn't get it together."

James Komack then based the show around a younger Chicano and an older WASP. Rather than a gym, it would be an old filling station that Ed Brown owned. Chico would be a mechanic. Burgess Meredith was approached about playing Ed, but he was unavailable. Veteran character actor Jack Albertson was then cast in the role. The casting of Chico proved much more difficult. Ultimately, the role of Chico came down to a few actors. James Komack wanted New York-born Freddie Prinze, who was Puerto Rican in descent, in the role. A friend had recommended Mr. Prinze to James Komack after seeing the young comedian on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. NBC was considering the actors Lazaro Perez, an actor born in Cuba, and Isaac Ruiz, a Mexican American native of East Los Angeles, Screen tests for Freddie Prinze, Lazaro Perez, and Isaac Ruiz acting opposite Jack Alberston were shot. It was then that Freddie Prinz was cast as Chico. Isaac Ruiz would later be cast as Chico's friend Mando.

The pilot for Chico and the Man was written by Don Nicholl, Mickey Ross, and Bernie West, who would later develop the hit sitcom Three's Company. It was directed by Peter Baldwin, who had appeared in the film Stalag 17 (1953) and guest starred on shows such as Perry Mason and Ben Casey. He had directed episodes of such shows as The Dick Van Dyke Show; Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., The Andy Griffith Show, and The Partridge Family

Chico and the Man proved to be a smash hit upon its debut on September 13 1974. It ranked no. 3 in the ratings for the week. In its second week, Chico and the Man jumped to no. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the week. The show ultimately came in at no. 3 in the ratings for the 1974-1975 season.

While Chico and the Man was successful in the ratings, the show drew protests from Chicano civil rights groups such as the Teatro Nacional de Aztlán protested the casting of Freddie Prinze, who was Puerto Rican and German in descent, as a Chicano. It was pointed out that Mr. Prinze's Spanish sounded like New York Puerto Rican, and even the movements of his body and gestures were not Chicano. In the  Lowrider Magazine editorial "What It Is, Que Onda or Lowriders vs. Chico and the Man" in its January 1977 issue, it was commented, "From the get-go, Chicanos knew the program was a phony. Chicanos did not act like that around Chicano barrios. NBC started getting protests from the Chicano community. The Chicano community said that first, this was a wrong picture of how Chicanos live, and second, that wasn't a Chicano playing the role of a Chicano." Even the theme song, by Puerto Rican José Feliciano, was a point of contention for Chicano civil rights activists, as it sounded nothing like Chicano music and had too much of a Caribbean sound.

Beyond the casting of Freddie Prinze and a theme song by José Feliciano, many took umbrage with the fact that "chico" literally means "boy" in Spanish. In other words, the title of the show is pretty much Boy and the Man, putting the Mexican American Chico Rodriguez in a subservient position to the white Ed Brown. There was further anger at the very nature of the humour in the early episodes of Chico and the Man. Ed Brown not only ridiculed Chico's language and habits based on stereotypes about Mexicans and Chicanos but even used racist slurs at times.

It should come as no surprise that much of the anger was directed against the show's producer and creator James Komack, who had grown up in New York City. Cuban-born director and writer Migda Varela in a letter sent to the Complaints and Compliance Department of the FCC, wrote, "Komack probably knew as much about Mexican American culture as I know about the culture of Lithuanian Aborigines." Indeed, there were no Mexican American writers on the staff of Chico and the Man.

Ray Andrade, whose life had partially inspired Chico and the Man and whose life had partially inspired it, expressed his own concerns. Ray Andrade admitted in a newspaper article published in November 1974 that his fellow Chicanos had some reason to complain.  He stated, "I don't object to Freddie because he's not a real Chicano. He's Puerto Rican, you know. But I don't mind that. In fact, I helped select him for the part. I object to Freddie because he's lazy. He won't take the time to go down into the community and find out what the people are really like. Also, he's very, very New York with characteristics not indicative of the true Chicano." Ray Andrade would receive his share of attacks for his involvement with the show from civil rights groups.

NBC would make changes to the show in response to the complaints. The racial humour of the early episodes was done away with, with shows already in the can, but not yet aired,  being pulled and then touched up. Chico and Ed's relationship between less of an adversarial one and more of a father-son relationship. Isaac Ruiz, who was very nearly cast as Chico, joined the show as Mando, Chico's Chicano friend. Even the fact that Chico did not act or sound like a Chicano was addressed. In one episode Mando observes that Chico's Spanish does not sound like anyone else's in the barrio. Chico replied that his mother was Puerto Rican, his grandmother was Hungarian, and he had lived in New York City for five years. For the show's second season, Chicanos were hired as stagehands, technicians, production assistants, property managers, and so on.

While the controversy would subside, even if it never completely went away, Chico and the Man continued to be a success. Its ratings dropped in its second season, although it seems likely that this was due to NBC moving the show from its Friday night spot following Sanford and Son to a Wednesday night time slot following Little House on the Prairie at mid-season. It would return to Friday night for its third season, but a tragedy would occur that would spell the end of the show.

It was on the night of January 28 1977 that Freddie Prinze shot himself following a phone conversation with his estranged wife during a visit from his business manager. He was rushed to UCLA Medical Centre for emergency surgery and then placed on life support. His family requested he be removed from life support and Freddie Prinze died at 1:00 PM on January 29 1977.

In the wake of Freddie Prinze's suicide, Chico would be missing from the last three episodes of the third season of Chico and the Man.  It was explained that Chico had gone to Mexico to visit his father. There was some debate as to whether to end the show, but ultimately The producers decided to go ahead with the show by introducing a new character. It was then in the first episode that Ed and Louie returned from a fishing trip in Tijuana only to find 12-year-old Raul (Gabriel Melgar) had stowed away in their trunk. It was when Raul was going to bed that Ed accidentally called him "Chico" and then explained, "You're all Chico to me."It was later in the season that it was explained that Chico had died.

Despite the introduction of new characters, such as Raul's Aunt Charo (played by singer Charo) and Monica (Julie Hill), Ed's niece, the show never recovered following Freddie Prinze's death. It was cancelled with its fourth season.

Chico and the Man did not prove to be a success in syndication, most likely because Freddie Prinze's death made the show unpalatable for many. The show would later air on the cable channels TV Land and AmericanLife TV Network, as well as the broadcast network Ion and the superstation WGN. Six episodes of Chico and the Man would be released on DVD as part of Warner Bros. series of compilations called "Television Favourites." As of yet, there has been no official DVD release. Currently, the entire series is available on the streaming service Tubi and for rent on Fandango at Home and Prime Video.

The legacy of Chico and the Man remains complicated. The fact remains that the show was written by people who were not Chicano and its star Freddie Prinze was not Chicano either. The show is then hardly representative of Chicano culture or life in the barrio in the Seventies. It is then understandable why so many in the Mexican American community were unhappy with the show upon its debut. Of course, casting the Puerto Rican Freddie Prinze as the Chicano Chico was not unusual at the time. In the 1950 movie The Lawless the white Gail Russell played a Chicana. In the 1952 movie The Ring Puerto Rico born Rita Moreno played a Mexican American girl. On the Western TV series The High Chaparral, series leads Henry Darrow was Puerto Rican and  Linda Cristal was Argentinian. Sadly, at the time it was not unusual that Mexicans or Mexican Americans were often played by people with no Mexican descent whatsoever.

While Chico and the Man remains controversial to some degree, even at the time it was pioneering. Latinos had been somewhat visible on American television in the Fifties with Desi Arnaz on I Love Lucy, Tony Martinez on The Real McCoys, and Robert Cabal on Rawhide. By the Sixties, they had largely disappeared. It would not be until The High Chapparal, with its Mexican characters, that Latinos would play a large role on a show. It was followed by The Man and the City in 1971, with Mexico-born Anthony Quinn playing the Latino mayor of a Southwestern city. Chico and the Man was the first sitcom with a Latino lead in years. 

Of course, not only did Chico and the Man feature a Latino lead, but Chico was Mexican American. It was the first time that a lead character on an American television show was a Chicano. Indeed, it had not been since The Real McCoys had been cancelled in 1963 that a sitcom featured any Mexican characters as regulars. In this way, Chico and the Man paved the way for other shows featuring Mexican Americans, including the short-lived Viva Valdez in 1976, a.k.a. Pablo in 1984, and George Lopez in 2002, among others. While Chicanos are still underrepresented on American television, they are not quite as invisible as they were before 1974 with the debut of Chico and Man.

(Credit where credit is due department: For much of this post I drew upon Luis Alvarez's excellent book Chicanx Utopias: Pop Culture and the Politics of the Possible. I also drew upon newspaper articles from 1974 to 1976)