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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2012}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2012}}
{{for|the American scientist|George H. Markstein}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name = George Markstein
| name = George Markstein
| image = George Markstein 1984.jpg
| image = George Markstein 1984.jpg
| caption = Markstein, interviewed in 1984 for the Channel 4 documentary "Six Into One"
| caption = Markstein, interviewed in 1984 for the Channel 4 documentary "Six into One"
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1926|08|29|df=y}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1926|08|29|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Berlin]], Germany
| birth_place = [[Berlin]], [[Weimar Republic|Germany]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1987|01|15|1926|08|29|df=y}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1987|01|15|1926|08|29|df=y}}
| death_place = [[England]], United Kingdom
| death_place = England, United Kingdom
| occupation = Screenwriter and television producer.
| occupation = Screenwriter and television producer.
| period = 1966–1986
| period = 1966–1986
Line 16: Line 17:
| alma-mater =
| alma-mater =
}}
}}
'''George Markstein''' (29 August 1926 – 15 January 1987) was a British [[journalist]] and subsequent writer of [[thriller (genre)|thriller]]s and [[teleplay]]s. He was the script editor of the British series ''[[The Prisoner]]'' for the first thirteen episodes, and appeared briefly in its [[Opening and closing sequences of The Prisoner|title sequence]]. Markstein also wrote for or story-edited other television series, specialising in espionage stories, and jointly ran a successful [[literary agent|literary agency]] for screenwriters.
'''George Markstein''' (29 August 1926 – 15 January 1987) was a British [[journalist]] and writer of [[thriller (genre)|thriller]]s and [[teleplay]]s. He was the script editor of the British series ''[[The Prisoner]]'' for the first thirteen episodes, and appeared briefly in its [[Opening and closing sequences of The Prisoner|title sequence]]. Markstein also wrote for or story-edited other television series, specialising in espionage stories, and jointly ran a successful [[literary agent|literary agency]] for screenwriters.


== Life and work ==
== Life and work ==
In 1926, according to his friend Sidney Allinson, writing in 'George Markstein and The Prisoner', Markstein was born in [[Berlin]], Germany,<ref name="allmovie">Bruce Edler, [http://www.allmovie.com/artist/george-markstein-176289/bio George Markstein], [[All Movie Guide]],</ref> but emigrated with his family to England with the rise of [[Nazism]]. It is likely that he lived in the United States during his youth, then moved to Britain. Markstein worked as a newspaper reporter for the ''[[Southport Guardian]]'' of [[Southport]] England in 1947. Markstein later became a journalist for the American military tabloid, the ''[[Overseas Weekly]]''. Due to its scandal-driven content, the paper's U.S. G.I. readership referred to the paper as the ''Over Sexed Weekly''.<ref>This was noted by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine.</ref> The masthead of the newspaper lists Markstein as head of the [[London]] desk.<ref name="allmovie" />
In 1926, according to his friend Sidney Allinson, writing in "George Markstein and The Prisoner", Markstein was born in [[Berlin]], Germany,<ref name="allmovie">Bruce Edler, [http://www.allmovie.com/artist/george-markstein-176289/bio George Markstein], [[All Movie Guide]],</ref> but emigrated with his Jewish family to England with the rise of [[Nazism]]. It is likely that he lived in the United States during his youth, then moved to Britain. Markstein worked as a newspaper reporter for the ''[[Southport Guardian]]'' of [[Southport]] England in 1947.


Markstein later became a journalist for the American military tabloid, the ''[[Overseas Weekly]]''. Due to its scandal-driven content, the paper's U.S. G.I. readership referred to the paper as the ''Over Sexed Weekly''.<ref>This was noted by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine.</ref> The masthead of the newspaper lists Markstein as head of the [[London]] desk.<ref name="allmovie" />
⚫
He moved into television, first on the factual series ''[[This Week (ITV TV series)|This Week]]'',<ref name="wtva">''Six Into One: The Prisoner File'', WTVA/Illuminations for [[Channel 4]], 1984; {{YouTube|id=VsOCM_krN_8#t=7m00s|title=chunk 2}}</ref> before acting as story consultant and contributing to multiple episodes of [[ITC Entertainment|ITC]]'s ''[[Court Martial (TV series)|Court Martial]]'' (1966), and then joining ''[[Danger Man]]'' as story consultant for the last black-and-white episode (1966), then story editor for the two episodes which were made in colour (1967). Around this time he also wrote four episodes for [[Associated Rediffusion|Rediffusion]]'s children's drama series ''[[Send Foster]]'' (1967), and worked on the script for [[Peter Yates]]'s ''[[Robbery (1967 film)|Robbery]]'' (1967), a fictionalised feature film based on the 1963 [[Great Train Robbery (1963)|Great Train Robbery]].


⚫
He moved into television, first on the factual series ''[[This Week (ITV TV series)|This Week]]'',<ref name="wtva">''Six into One: The Prisoner File'', WTVA/Illuminations for [[Channel 4]], 1984; {{YouTube|id=VsOCM_krN_8#t=7m00s|title=chunk 2}}</ref> before acting as story consultant and contributing to multiple episodes of [[ITC Entertainment|ITC]]'s ''[[Court Martial (TV series)|Court Martial]]'' (1966), and then joining ''[[Danger Man]]'' as story consultant for the last black-and-white episode (1966), then story editor for the two episodes which were made in colour (1967). Around this time he also wrote four episodes for [[Associated Rediffusion|Rediffusion]]'s children's drama series ''[[Send Foster]]'' (1967), and worked on the script for [[Peter Yates]]'s ''[[Robbery (1967 film)|Robbery]]'' (1967), a fictionalised feature film based on the 1963 [[Great Train Robbery (1963)|Great Train Robbery]].
'George Markstein and The Prisoner', published by pandqmedia in June 2014, ISBN 978-0-9929054-0-8, contains a detailed biography of Markstein and reproduction of his letters, interviews, photographs, even Christmas cards.


=== ''The Prisoner'' ===
=== ''The Prisoner'' ===
[[File:Prisoner man behind the desk.jpg|thumb|right|The man behind the desk (Markstein) in the [[Opening and closing sequences of The Prisoner|opening title sequence]] of ''The Prisoner'']]
[[File:Prisoner man behind the desk.jpg|thumb|right|The man behind the desk (Markstein) in the [[Opening and closing sequences of The Prisoner|opening title sequence]] of ''The Prisoner'']]
When [[Patrick McGoohan]] announced his decision to leave ''Danger Man'', Markstein edited the basic ideas that McGoohan had worked on since 1962 that became ''The Prisoner'' series,<ref name="Rodley">[http://www.the-prisoner-6.freeserve.co.uk/markstein.htm An interview with George Markstein], conducted by Chris Rodley in 1984.</ref><ref>See also e.g. the introduction to {{YouTube|xx57rNZafuE|this interview}} with [[Terence Feely]]</ref> co-created and starring McGoohan. Together with producer [[David Tomblin]] and the star McGoohan (uncredited), Markstein co-wrote the first story "Arrival," and then settled in as script editor for the series. He later described the job of story editor as "the key man in any series, he is the man in whose hands is the ethos of the series, the spirit of the series, and it is his job to cast the writers and the authors the way a director casts the actors and the stars".<ref name="Rodley" />
When [[Patrick McGoohan]] announced his decision to leave ''Danger Man'', Markstein edited the basic ideas that McGoohan had worked on since 1962 that became ''The Prisoner'' series,.<ref name="Rodley">[http://www.the-prisoner-6.freeserve.co.uk/markstein.htm An interview with George Markstein] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325215529/http://www.the-prisoner-6.freeserve.co.uk/markstein.htm |date=25 March 2009 }}, conducted by Chris Rodley in 1984.</ref><ref>See also e.g. the introduction to {{YouTube|xx57rNZafuE|this interview}} with [[Terence Feely]]</ref> Together with producer [[David Tomblin]] and the star McGoohan (uncredited), Markstein co-wrote the first story "Arrival," and then settled in as script editor for the series. He later described the job of story editor as "the key man in any series, he is the man in whose hands is the ethos of the series, the spirit of the series, and it is his job to cast the writers and the authors the way a director casts the actors and the stars".<ref name="Rodley" />


Markstein makes a fleeting appearance at the start of almost every episode of ''The Prisoner'' - as the balding, bespectacled 'man behind the desk', to whom McGoohan's character is seen angrily handing his letter of resignation; and played the same, non-speaking character in the episode "[[Many Happy Returns (The Prisoner)|Many Happy Returns]]".
Markstein makes a fleeting appearance at the start of almost every episode of ''The Prisoner'' – as the balding, bespectacled 'man behind the desk', to whom McGoohan's character is seen angrily handing his letter of resignation; and played the same, non-speaking character in the episode "[[Many Happy Returns (The Prisoner)|Many Happy Returns]]".


Markstein's view of the series was for a more-or-less conventional action/espionage story. However as McGoohan controlled the series as Executive Producer and owner of Everyman Films, Markstein became increasingly dissatisfied as an employee and ultimately left the series after the conclusion of the initial block of thirteen episodes. A glimpse of Markstein's face remained in the opening credits, but it was without him that McGoohan took the series to its most surreal and existential levels in the final four episodes, and its bizarre conclusion.
Markstein's view of the series was for a more-or-less conventional action/espionage story. However, since McGoohan controlled the series as Executive Producer and owner of Everyman Films, Markstein became increasingly dissatisfied as an employee and ultimately left the series after the conclusion of the initial block of thirteen episodes. A glimpse of Markstein's face remained in the opening credits, but it was without him that McGoohan took the series to its most surreal and existential levels in the final four episodes, and to its [[Fall Out (The Prisoner)|bizarre conclusion]].


=== Later work ===
=== Later work ===
After ''The Prisoner'', Markstein joined the new [[Thames Television]], initially as an in-house script editor, then as story editor for the first series of a counter-espionage drama ''[[Special Branch (TV series)|Special Branch]]'' (1969); the third and final fourth series of spy drama ''[[Callan (TV series)|Callan]]'' (1970, 1972); several episodes of ''[[Armchair Theatre]]'' (1969, 1971); and the first series of ''[[The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (television series)|The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes]]'' (1971). He also acted as [[television producer|producer]] for the first series of ''Man at the Top'' (1970–71), a continuation of the story begun with [[John Braine]]'s 1957 ''[[Room at the Top (novel)|Room at the Top]]''. Markstein became Thames's Head of Script Development, where he had input into the development of the 1974 ''[[Armchair Cinema]]'' season made by Thames's film subsidiary [[Euston Films]], including one-off drama ''Regan'' and its celebrated successor series ''[[The Sweeney]]''.
After ''The Prisoner'', Markstein joined the new [[Thames Television]], initially as an in-house script editor, then as story editor for the first series of a counter-espionage drama ''[[Special Branch (TV series)|Special Branch]]'' (1969); the third and final fourth series of spy drama ''[[Callan (TV series)|Callan]]'' (1970, 1972); several episodes of ''[[Armchair Theatre]]'' (1969, 1971); and the first series of ''[[The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (television series)|The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes]]'' (1971). He also acted as [[television producer|producer]] for the first series of ''Man at the Top'' (1970–71), a continuation of the story begun with [[John Braine]]'s 1957 ''[[Room at the Top (novel)|Room at the Top]]''. Markstein became Thames's Head of Script Development, where he had input into the development of the 1974 ''[[Armchair Cinema]]'' season made by Thames's film subsidiary [[Euston Films]], including one-off drama ''Regan'' and its celebrated successor series ''[[The Sweeney]]''.


In 1974 Markstein again went freelance, and co-wrote the screenplay for ''[[The Odessa File (film)|The Odessa File]]'', based on the novel by [[Frederick Forsyth]]. In the same year, together with Jacqui Lyons, he co-founded the literary agency, Marjacq Scripts Ltd, initially to represent screenwriters, later also thriller writers and computer game authors. The name is a derived from Markstein's surname and Lyon's forename.
Markstein again went freelance, and co-wrote the screenplay for ''[[The Odessa File (film)|The Odessa File]]'' (1974), based on the novel by [[Frederick Forsyth]]. In the same year, together with Jacqui Lyons, he co-founded the literary agency, Marjacq Scripts Ltd, initially to represent screenwriters, later also thriller writers and computer game authors. The name is a derived from Markstein's surname and Lyon's forename.


In addition to his interests in Marjacq, Markstein also wrote a number of thrillers, including ''The Cooler'' (1974), ''The Man From Yesterday'' (1976), ''Chance Awakening'' (1977, basis of the screenplay ''[[Espion, lève-toi]]'' by [[Yves Boisset]]), the historical epic ''Tara Kane'' (1978), ''Goering Testament'' (1978), ''Traitor for a Cause'' (1979), ''Ultimate Issue'' (1981), ''Ferret'' (1983), and ''Soul Hunters'' (1987).
In addition to his interests in Marjacq, Markstein also wrote several thrillers, including ''The Cooler'' (1974), ''The Man From Yesterday'' (1976), ''Chance Awakening'' (1977, basis of the screenplay ''[[Espion, lève-toi]]'' by [[Yves Boisset]]), the historical epic ''Tara Kane'' (1978), ''Goering Testament'' (1978), ''Traitor for a Cause'' (1979), ''Ultimate Issue'' (1981), ''Ferret'' (1983), and ''Soul Hunters'' (1987).


He continued to write for television, including working on two series of ''[[Shades of Greene]]'' (1975–76) for Thames, a series of adaptations of short stories by [[Graham Greene]], for which Markstein acted as script consultant jointly with Greene's brother, former director-general of the BBC, Sir [[Hugh Carleton Greene]]. Other series he wrote episodes for included ''[[Return of the Saint]]'' (1978), the pilot (''Storyboard: The Traitor'') and two further episodes of ''[[Mr. Palfrey of Westminster]]'' (Thames, 1983, 1984, 1985), and one episode of ''[[Philip Marlowe, Private Eye]]'' (Thames, 1986). His final television work was as story editor on the six part series ''[[London Embassy]]'' (Thames, 1987), based on a book of short stories by [[Paul Theroux]] about the unusual experiences of an American diplomat based in London.
He continued to write for television, including working on two series of ''[[Shades of Greene]]'' (1975–76) for Thames, a series of adaptations of short stories by [[Graham Greene]], for which Markstein acted as script consultant jointly with Greene's brother, former director-general of the BBC, Sir [[Hugh Greene]]. Other series he wrote episodes for included ''[[Return of the Saint]]'' (1978), the pilot (''Storyboard: The Traitor'') and two further episodes of ''[[Mr. Palfrey of Westminster]]'' (Thames, 1983, 1984, 1985), and one episode of ''[[Philip Marlowe, Private Eye]]'' (Thames, 1986). His final television work was as story editor on the six part series ''[[London Embassy]]'' (Thames, 1987), based on a book of short stories by [[Paul Theroux]] about the unusual experiences of an American diplomat based in London.


For the cinema he wrote the initial synopsis for the 1982 [[Special Air Service|SAS]] embassy-storming film ''[[Who Dares Wins (film)|Who Dares Wins]]'', which was then turned into a novel ''The Tiptoe Boys'' in thirty days flat by author [[James Follett]] and then into a screenplay by veteran screenwriter [[Reginald Rose]].<ref>[[James Follett]], ''The Tiptoe Boys'', [http://www.jamesfollett.dswilliams.co.uk/fiction%20sample%20tiptoe%20boys.htm foreword to the revised edition], 1999.</ref> James Follett, who began writing professionally in 1973, has described George Markstein as his "guru", and is still represented by Markstein's company Marjacq.
For the cinema he wrote the initial synopsis for the 1982 [[Special Air Service|SAS]] embassy-storming film ''[[Who Dares Wins (film)|Who Dares Wins]]'', which was then turned into a novel ''The Tiptoe Boys'' in thirty days flat by author [[James Follett]] and then into a screenplay by screenwriter [[Reginald Rose]].<ref>[[James Follett]], ''The Tiptoe Boys'', [http://www.jamesfollett.dswilliams.co.uk/fiction%20sample%20tiptoe%20boys.htm foreword to the revised edition] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326003322/http://www.jamesfollett.dswilliams.co.uk/fiction%20sample%20tiptoe%20boys.htm |date=26 March 2009 }}, 1999.</ref> James Follett, who began writing professionally in 1973, has described George Markstein as his "guru", and is still represented by Markstein's company Marjacq.


Following a long illness, Markstein died of kidney failure in 1987.<ref name="allmovie" />
Following a long illness, Markstein died of kidney failure in 1987.<ref name="allmovie" />
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|ITV
|ITV
|-
|-
|''[[Storyboard (TV series)|Storyboard]]''
|''[[Storyboard (1983 TV series)|Storyboard]]''
|
|
*"The Traitor" (1983)
*"The Traitor" (1983)
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|1968
|1968
|[[Writers' Guild of Great Britain|Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award]]
|[[Writers' Guild of Great Britain|Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award]]
|''[[Robbery (1967 film)|Robbery]]''<small>
|''[[Robbery (1967 film)|Robbery]]''
⚫
<small>(shared with Edward Boyd and Peter Yates)</small>

⚫
(shared with Edward Boyd and Peter Yates)</small>
|Best British Original Screenplay
|Best British Original Screenplay
|{{won}}
|{{won}}
|
|
|}
|}

== Further reading ==

* Oldham, Joseph (2023). "[[doi:10.1080/02684527.2022.2159659|'What goes on behind the cloaks and daggers': George Markstein and the dramatization of counterintelligence on British television]]". ''Intelligence and National Security''.


== References ==
== References ==
Line 165: Line 169:


== External links ==
== External links ==

* {{IMDb name|id=0548999|name=George Markstein}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0548999|name=George Markstein}}
* [http://www.the-prisoner-6.freeserve.co.uk/markstein.htm An interview with George Markstein], conducted by Chris Rodley in 1984.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090325215529/http://www.jamesfollett.dswilliams.co.uk/George%20markstein.html An interview with George Markstein], conducted by Chris Rodley in 1984.
* {{YouTube|HCCQKA7dizw|Clip}} from the 1984 documentary ''Six Into One: The Prisoner File'', which includes edited parts of the above interview
* {{YouTube|HCCQKA7dizw|Clip}} from the 1984 documentary ''Six into One: The Prisoner File'', which includes edited parts of the above interview
* {{Wayback |date=20090325215529 |url=http://www.jamesfollett.dswilliams.co.uk/George%20markstein.html |title=George Markstein: Guru to James Follett }}
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325215529/http://www.jamesfollett.dswilliams.co.uk/George%20markstein.html |date=25 March 2009 |title=George Markstein: Guru to James Follett }}
* [http://www.james-follett.co.uk/george.html Tribute to George Markstein] - James Follett website
* [http://www.james-follett.co.uk/george.html Tribute to George Markstein] – James Follett website
* [http://www.marjacq.com/home/home.htm Marjacq]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080224235625/http://www.marjacq.com/home/home.htm Marjacq]


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{Persondata
| NAME = Markstein, George
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = British writer
| DATE OF BIRTH = 29 August 1926
| PLACE OF BIRTH =[[Berlin]], Germany
| DATE OF DEATH = 15 January 1987
| PLACE OF DEATH =[[London Borough of Camden|Camden]], [[London]], England
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Markstein, George}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Markstein, George}}
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:1926 births]]
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[[Category:British spy fiction writers]]
[[Category:British spy fiction writers]]
[[Category:British television producers]]
[[Category:British television producers]]
[[Category:Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom]]
⚫
[[Category:British writers]]
[[Category:English Jews]]
[[Category:Deaths from kidney failure in the United Kingdom]]
⚫
[[Category:The Prisoner]]
[[Category:Deaths from renal failure]]
[[Category:20th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century British novelists]]
⚫
[[Category:Writers from Berlin]]
⚫
[[Category: British Jews]]

Latest revision as of 15:54, 27 July 2024

For the American scientist, see George H. Markstein.
George Markstein
Markstein, interviewed in 1984 for the Channel 4 documentary "Six into One"
Markstein, interviewed in 1984 for the Channel 4 documentary "Six into One"
Born(1926-08-29)29 August 1926
Berlin, Germany
Died15 January 1987(1987-01-15) (aged 60)
England, United Kingdom
OccupationScreenwriter and television producer.
Period1966–1986
GenreDrama, adventure, science fiction

George Markstein (29 August 1926 – 15 January 1987) was a British journalist and writer of thrillers and teleplays. He was the script editor of the British series The Prisoner for the first thirteen episodes, and appeared briefly in its title sequence. Markstein also wrote for or story-edited other television series, specialising in espionage stories, and jointly ran a successful literary agency for screenwriters.

Life and work

[edit]

In 1926, according to his friend Sidney Allinson, writing in "George Markstein and The Prisoner", Markstein was born in Berlin, Germany,[1] but emigrated with his Jewish family to England with the rise of Nazism. It is likely that he lived in the United States during his youth, then moved to Britain. Markstein worked as a newspaper reporter for the Southport Guardian of Southport England in 1947.

Markstein later became a journalist for the American military tabloid, the Overseas Weekly. Due to its scandal-driven content, the paper's U.S. G.I. readership referred to the paper as the Over Sexed Weekly.[2] The masthead of the newspaper lists Markstein as head of the London desk.[1]

He moved into television, first on the factual series This Week,[3] before acting as story consultant and contributing to multiple episodes of ITC's Court Martial (1966), and then joining Danger Man as story consultant for the last black-and-white episode (1966), then story editor for the two episodes which were made in colour (1967). Around this time he also wrote four episodes for Rediffusion's children's drama series Send Foster (1967), and worked on the script for Peter Yates's Robbery (1967), a fictionalised feature film based on the 1963 Great Train Robbery.

The Prisoner

[edit]
The man behind the desk (Markstein) in the opening title sequence of The Prisoner

When Patrick McGoohan announced his decision to leave Danger Man, Markstein edited the basic ideas that McGoohan had worked on since 1962 that became The Prisoner series,.[4][5] Together with producer David Tomblin and the star McGoohan (uncredited), Markstein co-wrote the first story "Arrival," and then settled in as script editor for the series. He later described the job of story editor as "the key man in any series, he is the man in whose hands is the ethos of the series, the spirit of the series, and it is his job to cast the writers and the authors the way a director casts the actors and the stars".[4]

Markstein makes a fleeting appearance at the start of almost every episode of The Prisoner – as the balding, bespectacled 'man behind the desk', to whom McGoohan's character is seen angrily handing his letter of resignation; and played the same, non-speaking character in the episode "Many Happy Returns".

Markstein's view of the series was for a more-or-less conventional action/espionage story. However, since McGoohan controlled the series as Executive Producer and owner of Everyman Films, Markstein became increasingly dissatisfied as an employee and ultimately left the series after the conclusion of the initial block of thirteen episodes. A glimpse of Markstein's face remained in the opening credits, but it was without him that McGoohan took the series to its most surreal and existential levels in the final four episodes, and to its bizarre conclusion.

Later work

[edit]

After The Prisoner, Markstein joined the new Thames Television, initially as an in-house script editor, then as story editor for the first series of a counter-espionage drama Special Branch (1969); the third and final fourth series of spy drama Callan (1970, 1972); several episodes of Armchair Theatre (1969, 1971); and the first series of The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (1971). He also acted as producer for the first series of Man at the Top (1970–71), a continuation of the story begun with John Braine's 1957 Room at the Top. Markstein became Thames's Head of Script Development, where he had input into the development of the 1974 Armchair Cinema season made by Thames's film subsidiary Euston Films, including one-off drama Regan and its celebrated successor series The Sweeney.

Markstein again went freelance, and co-wrote the screenplay for The Odessa File (1974), based on the novel by Frederick Forsyth. In the same year, together with Jacqui Lyons, he co-founded the literary agency, Marjacq Scripts Ltd, initially to represent screenwriters, later also thriller writers and computer game authors. The name is a derived from Markstein's surname and Lyon's forename.

In addition to his interests in Marjacq, Markstein also wrote several thrillers, including The Cooler (1974), The Man From Yesterday (1976), Chance Awakening (1977, basis of the screenplay Espion, lève-toi by Yves Boisset), the historical epic Tara Kane (1978), Goering Testament (1978), Traitor for a Cause (1979), Ultimate Issue (1981), Ferret (1983), and Soul Hunters (1987).

He continued to write for television, including working on two series of Shades of Greene (1975–76) for Thames, a series of adaptations of short stories by Graham Greene, for which Markstein acted as script consultant jointly with Greene's brother, former director-general of the BBC, Sir Hugh Greene. Other series he wrote episodes for included Return of the Saint (1978), the pilot (Storyboard: The Traitor) and two further episodes of Mr. Palfrey of Westminster (Thames, 1983, 1984, 1985), and one episode of Philip Marlowe, Private Eye (Thames, 1986). His final television work was as story editor on the six part series London Embassy (Thames, 1987), based on a book of short stories by Paul Theroux about the unusual experiences of an American diplomat based in London.

For the cinema he wrote the initial synopsis for the 1982 SAS embassy-storming film Who Dares Wins, which was then turned into a novel The Tiptoe Boys in thirty days flat by author James Follett and then into a screenplay by screenwriter Reginald Rose.[6] James Follett, who began writing professionally in 1973, has described George Markstein as his "guru", and is still represented by Markstein's company Marjacq.

Following a long illness, Markstein died of kidney failure in 1987.[1]

Works

[edit]

Novels

[edit]
  • The Cooler (1974)
  • The Man From Yesterday (1976)
  • Chance Awakening (1977)
  • Tara Kane (1978)
  • The Goering Testament (1978)
  • Traitor for a Cause (1979)
  • Ultimate Issue (1981)
  • Ferret (1983)
  • Soul Hunters (1987)

Writing credits

[edit]
Production Notes Broadcaster
Court Martial
  • "All Roads Lead to Callaghan" (1966)
 ITV
Danger Man
  • "Not So Jolly Roger" (1966)
 ITV
The Prisoner ITV
Send Foster
  • "Hole in the Road" (1967)
  • "The Peg" (1967)
  • "Off the Record" (1967)
 ITV
Robbery
  • Feature film (co-written with Edward Boyd and Peter Yates, 1967)
 N/A
Special Branch
  • "Troika" (1969)
  • "Smokescreen" (1969)
  • "Short Change" (1969)
  • "Dinner Date" (1970)
  • "The Pleasure of Your Company" (1970)
  • "Not to Be Trusted" (1970)
  • "Fool's Mate" (1970)
 ITV
Callan
  • "The Richmond File: Call Me Enemy" (1972)
 ITV
The Odessa File N/A
Return of the Saint
  • "The Debt Collectors" (1978)
 ITV
Storyboard
  • "The Traitor" (1983)
 BBC1
Dramarama
  • "Snoop!" (co-written with James Doran, 1984)
 ITV
Mr. Palfrey of Westminster
  • "Once Your Card Is Marked" (1984)
  • "Official Secret" (1985)
 ITV
Philip Marlowe, Private Eye
  • "Spanish Blood" (1986)
 ITV

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Award Work Category Result Reference
1968 Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award Robbery

(shared with Edward Boyd and Peter Yates)

Best British Original Screenplay Won

Further reading

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Bruce Edler, George Markstein, All Movie Guide,
  2. ^ This was noted by Time magazine.
  3. ^ Six into One: The Prisoner File, WTVA/Illuminations for Channel 4, 1984; chunk 2 on YouTube
  4. ^ a b An interview with George Markstein Archived 25 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine, conducted by Chris Rodley in 1984.
  5. ^ See also e.g. the introduction to this interview on YouTube with Terence Feely
  6. ^ James Follett, The Tiptoe Boys, foreword to the revised edition Archived 26 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine, 1999.
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