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Callan #1
A Red File for Callan
Callan is washed up. The most efficient killer in Europe is working as a book-keeper for a small, dusty merchant. But Circumstances force Hunter to employ him for one last operation.
Schneider. Cheerful, friendly, affluent Schneider with his innocent passion for model soldiers. Callan hunts again And again his tool is Lonely, the most frightened little man in the underworld.
It is Lonely who gets him the gun, a Noguchi Magnum 38 calibre. A magnum for Schneider. The operation is studded with leathal booby-traps, but Callan's own inhibitions are the most dangerous.
Schneider. Cheerful, friendly, affluent Schneider with his innocent passion for model soldiers. Callan hunts again And again his tool is Lonely, the most frightened little man in the underworld.
It is Lonely who gets him the gun, a Noguchi Magnum 38 calibre. A magnum for Schneider. The operation is studded with leathal booby-traps, but Callan's own inhibitions are the most dangerous.
173 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
26 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
James Mitchell
34 books9 followersJames William Mitchell (12 March 1926, South Shields - 15 September 2002, Newcastle-upon-Tyne) was a British writer of crime fiction and spy thrillers. Mr. Mitchell also wrote under the pseudonyms James Munro and Patrick O. McGuire. He received bachelor's and master's degrees from Oxford.
Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
January 21, 2020
Callan was one of my favourite TV shows when I was a kid, and having recently watched all the surviving episodes (British TV companies in the 60s and early 70s had a habit of recording over shows in their archives due to the high costs of the tapes, hence the loss of certain episodes of Callan, Doctor Who, et al) is one of the few shows that not only is as good as I remember, but is actually better now that I better understand its themes.
Callan was a reaction to, and against, the prevailing glossy image of the spy depicted in the James Bond films and TV shows like The Man from UNCLE. David Callan is decidedly down-at-heel, living in a shabby flat and, having been forcibly retired from his job as executioner for 'The Section', working as an accounts clerk for an unpleasant wholesale grocer. Although one of their most efficient operatives, Callan had started to question his orders and had developed a guilty conscience about some his assassination jobs.
Inevitably, Callan is drawn back into the murky world of national security, but is he prepared to embrace that life again? If he does, can he live with his conscience? If he doesn't, will the Section chief, Hunter, allow him to live?
Given my love of the TV programme and that this novelisation of the pilot episode is written by the original screenwriter, it was unlikely that I would find much wrong with this book. Indeed, my only gripe is that it sticks too closely to the TV show and I would have liked to have had some more background on Callan and his smelly sidekick, Lonely. A minor complaint though. My obvious bias aside, this is a superior thriller, the more so for being a realistic and earthy depiction of the works of the security and intelligence services (at least, as far as I can tell, not being a spy myself).
Callan was a reaction to, and against, the prevailing glossy image of the spy depicted in the James Bond films and TV shows like The Man from UNCLE. David Callan is decidedly down-at-heel, living in a shabby flat and, having been forcibly retired from his job as executioner for 'The Section', working as an accounts clerk for an unpleasant wholesale grocer. Although one of their most efficient operatives, Callan had started to question his orders and had developed a guilty conscience about some his assassination jobs.
Inevitably, Callan is drawn back into the murky world of national security, but is he prepared to embrace that life again? If he does, can he live with his conscience? If he doesn't, will the Section chief, Hunter, allow him to live?
Given my love of the TV programme and that this novelisation of the pilot episode is written by the original screenwriter, it was unlikely that I would find much wrong with this book. Indeed, my only gripe is that it sticks too closely to the TV show and I would have liked to have had some more background on Callan and his smelly sidekick, Lonely. A minor complaint though. My obvious bias aside, this is a superior thriller, the more so for being a realistic and earthy depiction of the works of the security and intelligence services (at least, as far as I can tell, not being a spy myself).
April 11, 2015
I was surprised by the high quality of the writing (not sure why, but I wasn't expecting it to be as well written as it is - some built in prejudice against the quality of many 'spy' books maybe? I should know better!). I knew the basic story (had seen the TV version) but the book takes us much deeper into the personality of Callan. I was expecting to like the book because I liked the TV series, but I enjoyed it even more than I expected. Easily stands alone without needing the TV series. Some of the language might be a little dated now, but that's true of many books and should not be held against it. Books are very much influenced by the times they're written in (which is one of the things that makes older books fascinating). Very very good.
June 22, 2015
Read in 1980 and really liked this book.
August 29, 2016
I watched the tv show before reading the book so was familiar with the characters and theme . Good read , Mitchell writes this and the tv episodes .
June 15, 2017
An efficient, ruthless killer with a conscious comes out of retirement
If you're of a certain age and British, you'll remember the Callan TV series. It starred Edward Woodward as David Callan. He is an agent of a state secret service dealing with internal UK security threats. Portrayed as having responsibilities like those of the real-life MI5, Callan's fictional "Section" has carte blanche to use the most ruthless of methods. In the story lines interrogation is by means of torture. Extrajudicial killings are so routine they have a colour-coded filing system. Callan is an assassin who stays in his isolating job because it is the only thing he is good at. But he also comes across as a sympathetic character. As compared to to his sadistic upper-class colleagues and implacable superior.
This book has had several incarnations. As 'A Red File for Callan', in the UK. As 'A Magnum for Schneider', in the US and as 'Callan' in a Corgi Books imprint in the UK. It was also re-tooled into the Callan movie.
The plot sees David Callan, an intelligence agent/assassin who comes out of retirement. His mission is to handle the assassination of Schneider, a German businessman. Colonel Hunter, his former employer, promises Callan that he'll be returned to active status as long as he follows his orders. But Callan refuses to act until he knows exactly why Schneider has been marked for death.
As with all Callan novels there are twists and turns. One of them being his conscience which gives the interweaving plot a dramatic tension. Who are the good guys? What are the characters true intentions?. It's a real page-turner
Some of the language is a little dated and its not great literature. But it is a page-turning thriller that gives the reader pause for thought.
Recommended.
If you're of a certain age and British, you'll remember the Callan TV series. It starred Edward Woodward as David Callan. He is an agent of a state secret service dealing with internal UK security threats. Portrayed as having responsibilities like those of the real-life MI5, Callan's fictional "Section" has carte blanche to use the most ruthless of methods. In the story lines interrogation is by means of torture. Extrajudicial killings are so routine they have a colour-coded filing system. Callan is an assassin who stays in his isolating job because it is the only thing he is good at. But he also comes across as a sympathetic character. As compared to to his sadistic upper-class colleagues and implacable superior.
This book has had several incarnations. As 'A Red File for Callan', in the UK. As 'A Magnum for Schneider', in the US and as 'Callan' in a Corgi Books imprint in the UK. It was also re-tooled into the Callan movie.
The plot sees David Callan, an intelligence agent/assassin who comes out of retirement. His mission is to handle the assassination of Schneider, a German businessman. Colonel Hunter, his former employer, promises Callan that he'll be returned to active status as long as he follows his orders. But Callan refuses to act until he knows exactly why Schneider has been marked for death.
As with all Callan novels there are twists and turns. One of them being his conscience which gives the interweaving plot a dramatic tension. Who are the good guys? What are the characters true intentions?. It's a real page-turner
Some of the language is a little dated and its not great literature. But it is a page-turning thriller that gives the reader pause for thought.
Recommended.
January 6, 2019
Callan thinks he's done with espionage, with being a blunt instrument for his old boss Hunter and is living a life of uncomfortable, but uncomplicated, mediocrity. But Hunter needs him for one last job and won't take no for an answer.
David Callan and James Bond would have worked well together, I think. Both are very good at their jobs but Bond is much better at compartmentalising his work and rationalising what he did. Callan is just as capable but finds his conscience is a stumbling block. And, of course, M would never have thought about hanging Bond out to dry the way that Hunter does about Callan.
What's different about the two spies is that while they have similar capabilities and temperaments, Callan is from the working classes and has barely had a taste of the life that Bond (from a far more privileged and comfortable lifestyle) enjoys when not on assignment. He's just as intelligent and has a more formidable intellect because he's earned everything he learned through the sweat of his brow rather than Bond's. And he gets much closer to his assignments than Bond usually does.
This is a very long-winded way of saying that I bloody love this book. It's from the genre that doesn't have a very sharp line between the protagonists and the antagonists but it doesn't overplay it.
It's also filled with some fantastic characters: Callan and Hunter are the major characters but Meares and Lonely are superbly drawn as well. And it's literate, referring to parts of history and literature that don't make you feel stupid but do make you want to look some stuff up.
I'm going to ask you to get off my lawn and say, "Does anyone else remember when we had loads of clever, popular books like this?"
David Callan and James Bond would have worked well together, I think. Both are very good at their jobs but Bond is much better at compartmentalising his work and rationalising what he did. Callan is just as capable but finds his conscience is a stumbling block. And, of course, M would never have thought about hanging Bond out to dry the way that Hunter does about Callan.
What's different about the two spies is that while they have similar capabilities and temperaments, Callan is from the working classes and has barely had a taste of the life that Bond (from a far more privileged and comfortable lifestyle) enjoys when not on assignment. He's just as intelligent and has a more formidable intellect because he's earned everything he learned through the sweat of his brow rather than Bond's. And he gets much closer to his assignments than Bond usually does.
This is a very long-winded way of saying that I bloody love this book. It's from the genre that doesn't have a very sharp line between the protagonists and the antagonists but it doesn't overplay it.
It's also filled with some fantastic characters: Callan and Hunter are the major characters but Meares and Lonely are superbly drawn as well. And it's literate, referring to parts of history and literature that don't make you feel stupid but do make you want to look some stuff up.
I'm going to ask you to get off my lawn and say, "Does anyone else remember when we had loads of clever, popular books like this?"
February 4, 2021
A story so good he told it thrice.
This was originally a TV play that served as the pilot for the Callan series. The same story was also expanded into this novel (also known as A Magnum for Schneider). Years later the story was re-written again to be a feature film.
Mitchell's writing is functional but it drags you in. Mitchell's characterisations, world building and story are, however, just amazing.
If Bond is too glamorous for you to take seriously and Le Carré is too technical and ponderous then welcome to the world of Callan. Dark, dirty, amoral and vicious.
It is fiction but you just know that this must surely be what the real world of espionage and assassination looks like. No jet setting lifestyles here, the most luxurious thing you'll find is a bag of chips with a pint.
Gadgets? Yeah we got them, they're called lock picks and guns.
This is a world that recognises that not even an expert assassin can just pick up a gun and use it, a new weapon needs to be practiced with. An expert in hand to hand combat still needs to retoughen their hands. A killer doesn't get a sports car and an expense account, they get a job that traps them on the poverty line and keeps them in their place.
Callan is a killer. He is brutal, he is nasty and he has been wronged by those he works for but he is our good guy. Callan is also the best at what he does, his humanity somehow makes him better than his rival Meres, a psychopath.
I love all of the Callan books but this one is by far the best.
Oh and let's not forget Lonely.
He stinks.
By God he stinks.
This was originally a TV play that served as the pilot for the Callan series. The same story was also expanded into this novel (also known as A Magnum for Schneider). Years later the story was re-written again to be a feature film.
Mitchell's writing is functional but it drags you in. Mitchell's characterisations, world building and story are, however, just amazing.
If Bond is too glamorous for you to take seriously and Le Carré is too technical and ponderous then welcome to the world of Callan. Dark, dirty, amoral and vicious.
It is fiction but you just know that this must surely be what the real world of espionage and assassination looks like. No jet setting lifestyles here, the most luxurious thing you'll find is a bag of chips with a pint.
Gadgets? Yeah we got them, they're called lock picks and guns.
This is a world that recognises that not even an expert assassin can just pick up a gun and use it, a new weapon needs to be practiced with. An expert in hand to hand combat still needs to retoughen their hands. A killer doesn't get a sports car and an expense account, they get a job that traps them on the poverty line and keeps them in their place.
Callan is a killer. He is brutal, he is nasty and he has been wronged by those he works for but he is our good guy. Callan is also the best at what he does, his humanity somehow makes him better than his rival Meres, a psychopath.
I love all of the Callan books but this one is by far the best.
Oh and let's not forget Lonely.
He stinks.
By God he stinks.
May 7, 2023
A Magnum For Schneider was a play written for ITV in the Armchair Theatre series, by James Mitchell in 1967. It was so successful it launched a series called Callan, a killer with a conscience, brilliantly played by Edward Woodward.
This novelisation was written in 1969 and adds more depth to the characters and situation and adds extra scenes not in the original play. This book was used as the basis for a Callan movie in 1974.
Very entertaining read even though I was extremely familiar with the source material. Would be a great read if you have never seen the series.
If you like it seek out the series. The performances by Edward Woodward, Anthony Valentine as Meres, (played by Peter Bowles in the pilot) and Russell Hunter playing the odoriferous Lonely. The book was subsequently renamed Red File For Callan and was released to coincide with the release of the movie.
This novelisation was written in 1969 and adds more depth to the characters and situation and adds extra scenes not in the original play. This book was used as the basis for a Callan movie in 1974.
Very entertaining read even though I was extremely familiar with the source material. Would be a great read if you have never seen the series.
If you like it seek out the series. The performances by Edward Woodward, Anthony Valentine as Meres, (played by Peter Bowles in the pilot) and Russell Hunter playing the odoriferous Lonely. The book was subsequently renamed Red File For Callan and was released to coincide with the release of the movie.
April 17, 2018
This was a fun little read. Another find from my local thrift store, 'A Red File For Callan' (US title) is the first in a series of books based on the Callan TV series from the 60s and 70s. It starred Edward Woodward. I have never watched 'Callan' but I think I will have to give the series a go.
I had read one other of this series before, 'Russian Roulette'. Callan is a former military man who works for a shady operative service as an assassin. He's a dark, complex character, a loner full of self loathing and contempt for his masters. In this book he is ordered to kill a man who he quite likes.
If you like spy-fi, especially from this era, give it a crack. It's an easy read, it only took me a day to finish it. 3 and a half stars.
I had read one other of this series before, 'Russian Roulette'. Callan is a former military man who works for a shady operative service as an assassin. He's a dark, complex character, a loner full of self loathing and contempt for his masters. In this book he is ordered to kill a man who he quite likes.
If you like spy-fi, especially from this era, give it a crack. It's an easy read, it only took me a day to finish it. 3 and a half stars.
May 26, 2020
Callan is a killer. It's the only thing he's good at. Fortunately (maybe) for us, he's a killer for the shadowy side of the British Government. Or he was, before his conscience caught up with him and he quit. Now he wants his old job back, but he has to earn it by killing Schneider - a man he likes. Can he justify this? Will he go through with it? Will his enemies get him first?
Or - will his friends?
Absolutely riveting adventure, James Mitchell created an iconic British TV character in this story. It's one of those books that you can't put down and the plot twists and turns keep you hooked to the very last line...
Or - will his friends?
Absolutely riveting adventure, James Mitchell created an iconic British TV character in this story. It's one of those books that you can't put down and the plot twists and turns keep you hooked to the very last line...
February 14, 2022
Short, spiky and superb!
Really enjoyed this. I know the story from both filmed versions, so was reading for the prose and the observations of the writer.
An England of my very early childhood. It’s alive both in Hampstead & the more grubby parts of the city now thankfully lost.
It really is a shame this is not known as a book. It’s easily the equal of Greene’s spies, more authentic than ‘Palmer’. The use of Meres to illustrate the Bond type is inspired.
Also, it’s not bogged down. Get in, get on, get out. All a good thriller should be!
Really enjoyed this. I know the story from both filmed versions, so was reading for the prose and the observations of the writer.
An England of my very early childhood. It’s alive both in Hampstead & the more grubby parts of the city now thankfully lost.
It really is a shame this is not known as a book. It’s easily the equal of Greene’s spies, more authentic than ‘Palmer’. The use of Meres to illustrate the Bond type is inspired.
Also, it’s not bogged down. Get in, get on, get out. All a good thriller should be!
February 9, 2025
I was hoping for an engaging Cold War thriller. I was also aware of the television origins of the character. I did not expect The Day of the Jackal or Tinker, Tailer, Soldier Spy, but I was disappointed by the lack of depth.
All of the principals are too implacable. Ambiguity became a hallmark of British spy thrillers in the 1970s—moving away from Ian Fleming—but unlike Desmond Bagley and Alistair MacLean this novel is lacking in motivation. It also lacks any suspense or thinking. Still, I will probably try Callan again.
All of the principals are too implacable. Ambiguity became a hallmark of British spy thrillers in the 1970s—moving away from Ian Fleming—but unlike Desmond Bagley and Alistair MacLean this novel is lacking in motivation. It also lacks any suspense or thinking. Still, I will probably try Callan again.
January 5, 2024
Bought this one secondhand in Camden markets years ago. I had watched the TV show so I knew the character and had seen the 1974 movie so I knew the plot of the book but that didn't matter, it was cool coz it is written by the character's creator. I'd recommend this to any fan of the spy genre, and even though my parents described this author as a sort of lowbrow Le Carré, so what, I'll happily embrace my lowbrow-ness.
May 28, 2017
A thoroughly enjoyable little page turner with enough mystery, twists and turns to keep you going right until the end. Like Ian Fleming set among the shadier parts of town, this is a great little diversion if you don't mind fisticuffs and gun play.
March 31, 2021
This is the book of the Callum movie (If anyone remembers Callum). You do not need to have seen the movie or have any prior knowledge of the characters.
Great story, interesting characters. Gritty and realistic spy story.
Great story, interesting characters. Gritty and realistic spy story.
March 15, 2022
Cosy, less complicated version of the Len Deighton Harry Palmers. Can't believe I've never discovered them before.
May 26, 2023
Thoroughly enjoyed that. Very twisty turny and tense, fast-paced action thriller.
October 2, 2023
Dark, gritty, outstanding!
December 23, 2023
A revisit to this book from my past
Still excellent
Still excellent
July 27, 2025
So, for me, this book took a long time to get started.
I found Callan's insistent killer with a conscience to be overwhelming- it could have benefited from a lighter touch
I found Callan's insistent killer with a conscience to be overwhelming- it could have benefited from a lighter touch
October 9, 2012
I have just finished reading this. This book has had several incarnations. Firstly as 'A Red File for Callan', in the UK; secondly as 'A Magnum for Schneider', in the US; and thirdly, simply as 'Callan' in a Corgi Books imprint in the UK. It was in its 'Callan' incarnation that I read it.
A little background to this book might be required for those living outwith the UK and those within it under the age of 45. 'Callan' was a very successful television thriller series broadcast in the UK in the late sixties and early seventies. It starred Edward Woodward as David Callan an assassin in the pay of the British government.
Callan is the ultimate 'hard man'. Trained to be a killer by HMG forces during the Malaya Emergency he has never lost his ability to terminate life cleanly, quickly, efficiently and without trace. He is skilled with weapons, can kill with his hands, is an expert burglar and safe-breaker.
He is also a loner - self-sufficient, closed off to the society around him. No close family, no close friends. Therefore easily expendable, should he perish in the line of duty there will be no-one to ask awkward questions. He is the perfect weapon to point at perceived 'enemies of the state'.
Except in actuality he isn't for Callan has a major flaw as far as hit-men and hard-men go - he has a conscience, and his conscience troubles him greatly. It is David Callan's conscience that gave the TV series, and gives this book, its real dramatic tension. He doesn't like hurting people and he he hates killing them unless he has a very good reason for doing so.
In this book Callan struggles with his conscience, he struggles with his controllers, he struggles with the police and with members of London's criminal underworld before he can make his attempt at the murder that HMG wants him to commit. Whether he does the deed or not would be a 'spoiler' so I make no comment!
It is a fine read. A little like 'The Day of The Jackal' in its intricate planning and preparation for an assassination ( but the protagonist in 'Jackal' never shows an ounce of conscience - he is a stone-cold killer). Also a little reminiscent of John le Carre's tortured, conscience-ridden government agents as they carry out their duty.
This is not great literature. It is a page-turning thriller but one that just gives you, now and again, a pause for thought.
A little background to this book might be required for those living outwith the UK and those within it under the age of 45. 'Callan' was a very successful television thriller series broadcast in the UK in the late sixties and early seventies. It starred Edward Woodward as David Callan an assassin in the pay of the British government.
Callan is the ultimate 'hard man'. Trained to be a killer by HMG forces during the Malaya Emergency he has never lost his ability to terminate life cleanly, quickly, efficiently and without trace. He is skilled with weapons, can kill with his hands, is an expert burglar and safe-breaker.
He is also a loner - self-sufficient, closed off to the society around him. No close family, no close friends. Therefore easily expendable, should he perish in the line of duty there will be no-one to ask awkward questions. He is the perfect weapon to point at perceived 'enemies of the state'.
Except in actuality he isn't for Callan has a major flaw as far as hit-men and hard-men go - he has a conscience, and his conscience troubles him greatly. It is David Callan's conscience that gave the TV series, and gives this book, its real dramatic tension. He doesn't like hurting people and he he hates killing them unless he has a very good reason for doing so.
In this book Callan struggles with his conscience, he struggles with his controllers, he struggles with the police and with members of London's criminal underworld before he can make his attempt at the murder that HMG wants him to commit. Whether he does the deed or not would be a 'spoiler' so I make no comment!
It is a fine read. A little like 'The Day of The Jackal' in its intricate planning and preparation for an assassination ( but the protagonist in 'Jackal' never shows an ounce of conscience - he is a stone-cold killer). Also a little reminiscent of John le Carre's tortured, conscience-ridden government agents as they carry out their duty.
This is not great literature. It is a page-turning thriller but one that just gives you, now and again, a pause for thought.
February 3, 2024
This is the first in the ‘David Callan’ series and I didn’t realise until I read about the book that it was written in the seventies and then it clicked with me, after a reference to Edward Woodward that this was the Callan from the TV series of the time, a series that I loved as a young man in my twenties, so I set about it with relish having not read the books before, reading was not one of my hobbies in those days.
The book is well written, the author has a very to the point and easy to read writing style and David Callan is not one of your modern day protagonists, there were no mobile phones or modern technology to help him out, he had to rely purely on his training and intuition.
He has been kicked out of the Secret Service and is now working as a low paid bookkeeper for a man whom he has no respect for whatsoever. However he is offered one last mission, which apart from a decent payout, offers him the chance redeem his services to the powers that be. He is is to kill a German businessman named Schneider who just happens to work in the office just opposite to where he does his bookkeeping. He is given a timeline but has no weapon and so the odds are not in his favour.
The book is quite short and I read it in no time at all but found a very pleasurable and enjoyable read. I obtained the whole series on Kindle and so I think that I have a bargain there. 4/5
The book is well written, the author has a very to the point and easy to read writing style and David Callan is not one of your modern day protagonists, there were no mobile phones or modern technology to help him out, he had to rely purely on his training and intuition.
He has been kicked out of the Secret Service and is now working as a low paid bookkeeper for a man whom he has no respect for whatsoever. However he is offered one last mission, which apart from a decent payout, offers him the chance redeem his services to the powers that be. He is is to kill a German businessman named Schneider who just happens to work in the office just opposite to where he does his bookkeeping. He is given a timeline but has no weapon and so the odds are not in his favour.
The book is quite short and I read it in no time at all but found a very pleasurable and enjoyable read. I obtained the whole series on Kindle and so I think that I have a bargain there. 4/5
February 18, 2017
One of the many things I like about Mike Ripley's Getting Away With Murder column at www.shotsmag.co.uk is his frequent reference to old classics.
A few months ago, he wrote a short piece about David Callan, the government assassin with a conscience. I remember the television programme with Edward Woodward being one of my father's favourites and I also remember being sent to bed when it came on (I was about 10 at the time) and so, with those fond memories, I thought I'd give one of the books a go.
I'm so pleased I did - it was brilliant, and it was great to read an old fashioned spy thriller with no internet, no mobile telephones, no state of the art technology, just a mysterious government section, an old Etonion head of section, Colonel Hunter, a necessary killing, and a reluctant assassin. And all very British.
There are some great clips from the TV series on YouTube.
Highly recommended.
A few months ago, he wrote a short piece about David Callan, the government assassin with a conscience. I remember the television programme with Edward Woodward being one of my father's favourites and I also remember being sent to bed when it came on (I was about 10 at the time) and so, with those fond memories, I thought I'd give one of the books a go.
I'm so pleased I did - it was brilliant, and it was great to read an old fashioned spy thriller with no internet, no mobile telephones, no state of the art technology, just a mysterious government section, an old Etonion head of section, Colonel Hunter, a necessary killing, and a reluctant assassin. And all very British.
There are some great clips from the TV series on YouTube.
Highly recommended.
March 30, 2025
A novel with a mildly complicated history, as it started as a play, became a TV series, turned into a novel, and then became a movie. Sadly, none of the other books made it into film -- Edward Woodward played Callan, and was brilliant in the role. The novel's well worth a read, as Mitchell does an excellent job of adapting and expanding on his original material -- this is genuinely a novel, rather than a straight novelization.
Read
May 5, 2009A Red File for Callan by James Mitchell (1974)
January 29, 2015
Great fun takes me back.
July 15, 2015
Got to know more about Callan
After seeing the tv series and then the movie this book adds to the back story that is only eluded to on screen. It was enjoyable to read.
After seeing the tv series and then the movie this book adds to the back story that is only eluded to on screen. It was enjoyable to read.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews