It Takes a Thief(TV show/series, 1968-1970)

It Takes a Thief is an American action-adventure television series that aired on ABC for three seasons between 1968 and 1970. It stars Robert Wagner in his television debut as sophisticated thief Alexander Mundy, who works for the U.S. government in return for his release from prison. For most of the series, Malachi Throne played Noah Bain, Mundy's boss. It was among the last of the series in the 1960s spy television genre, although Mission: Impossible continued for several more years. It Takes a Thief was inspired by, though not based upon, the 1955 motion picture To Catch a Thief, directed by Alfred Hitchcock; both of their titles stem from the English proverb "Set a thief to catch a thief" (or as it is more often phrased, "It takes a thief to catch a thief"). According to Wagner's autobiography, Pieces of My Heart (2008) Wagner consulted with Cary Grant, who starred in To Catch a Thief, on how to play Alexander Mundy. ()