Other reviewers have done an excellent job on the big picture of this fine series. I want to comment on a particular aspect, Al Mundy as a suave secret agent and a champion ladies' man. A big part of the appeal of the 1960's Bond films was that Bond had a hearty appreciation for attractive women. "Thief," with the handsome and charismatic Robert Wagner in the title role, emphasized this aspect of his secret agent adventures.Each week, there would be a beautiful woman as guest star, and usually there would be some romantic sparks with Al. Some women did more than one guest appearance. It was a fun aspect of the show.Now, jump ahead about a decade, to Wagner in "Hart to Hart." In that show, he's married to Stefanie Powers. Casanova is safely domesticated. I think the network people thought this change was more sensitive, or something. The result, to me, was a dull show. Thank goodness that there was no Mrs. Mundy to squelch the great Al!

Back in the day there were three shows that I had to see every week , or , the world might stop spinning or some strange like that would happen.They were "It takes a thief " , " Mission Impossible " , and, " Star Trek",In that order, and in case you didn't know Al Munday was the coolest guy on TV. And then make Fred Astaire his dad was just to much, they were the perfect match. The chemistry between characters, the writing,the locations. This I think was one of the perfect shows far ahead of it's time, I wouldn't be surprised if it ran today that it would get better ratings then some of stuff on the major networks.I was so overjoyed to see the entire saris, and look forward to sharing it with everyone.

"Let me get this straight,........you want me to steal?"That line was from one of the coolest espionage shows to ever come out of the 1960's. The series "It Takes A Thief" premiered in a era that was lined with espionage shows that included "The Man From U.N.C.L.E", "The Avengers","The Saint","Secret Agent Man","The Wild,Wild West","I Spy","Mission:Impossible","Man With A Suitcase",and "Get Smart" to name a few. "It Takes A Thief",which came in as a mid-season replacement for the 1967-1968 season,premiered on ABC-TV on January 9,1968 for the three seasons it was on the air until March 24,1970 producing 66 episodes all in color. It was among the last of the 1960's spy television genre,although it was be clipped by "Mission:Impossible" which continued onward into the early-1970's. "It Takes A Thief" which was created by television writer Roland Kibbee(who was the writer and producer for a lot of Universal produced TV-series including "Leave It To Beaver","The Munsters","McHale's Navy")who also served as executive producer of this series along with Frank Price,Glen A. Larson,and Jack Arnold. The first two seasons of the show were filmed on the lot at Hollywood's Universal Studios,but the third and final season of the series were filmed on location in Europe within Greece and Italy and locations in France."It Takes A Thief" stars Robert Wagner(his first role in a television series) was the debonair jewel thief Alexander Mundy turned international man of espionage and mystery who was hired by the U.S. Government's S.I.A. agency(secret intelligence agency)(his boss was Malachi Throne who was in Seasons 1 and 2 of the series,and was replaced in the show's third and final season by Edward Binns) for a range of dangerous,yet sometimes various assignments,but in some of the episodes he did his job with such grace and style. The series also had Fred Astaire(who appeared in Season 3 of the series) as his dad who was also a jewel thief,but also worked for the government as well. There was one of the episodes where(and one of the oddest and weirdest episodes ever produced)he would be in a tight jam and somewhere would have to risk his neck to save the damsel in distress like The Fifth Dimension's Marilyn McCoo,or other broads like Petula Clark,Nancy Sinatra and so forth. Others included Susan Saint James, Bette Davis, Ida Lupino, Fernando Lamas, Paul Heinreid, and Joesph Cotten made guest appearances. Susan Saint James appeared in five episodes of the series.One of the underrated and better episodes from Season 2 featured the one and only Peter Sellers in a dual role;in which he would played an informant in one,and a cold blooded killer out to get our hero in another! Great ending if you get the chance to see it. The series originally ran on ABC-TV from 1968-70,and when the show ended I thought why destroy a good thing that was very good since this show was a spy show,and a good hearted well-produced crime drama/action-adventure spectacle which after this show ended Robert Wagner went on to star in other crime/action shows like "Switch" with Eddie Albert(aka from Green Acres),and Sharon Gless(from Cagney & Lacey) ,and "Hart to Hart"(with Stephanie Powers),and to the LOST Wagner series from the early 1980's(I forgot the title of it,but it ran on NBC)"It Takes A Thief" did very well in the ratings since ABC moved the series to different nights during its run. Season 1 was on Tuesday nights at 8:30e/7:30c opposite Diahann Carroll's "Julia",and the long-running "The Red Skelton Show". For Seasons 2 and 3,the show moved from Tuesday nights to Thursday nights at the 10:00e/9:00c time slot opposite "The CBS Thursday Night Movie",and "The Dean Martin Show" which got it canceled on March 14,1970 to bad ratings. On September 14,1970,the show that ABC replaced "It Takes A Thief" was the short-lived science-fiction thriller "The Immortal".

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