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James William Mitchell (12 March 1926, in South Shields – 15 September 2002, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne) was a British writer, principally of crime fiction and spy thrillers. He is best known for creating Callan (1967–1972) and When the Boat Comes In (1976–1981).

Biography

The son of a shipyard worker, Mitchell also wrote under the pseudonyms James Munro and Patrick O. McGuire. He received BA and MA degrees from Oxford. After graduating he tried numerous jobs, including shipyard worker and civil servant before taking up teaching, in his own words he taught, "for some 15 years in almost every kind of institution from secondary modern school to college of art". In 1968 Mitchell moved to London to concentrate on writing.

Mitchell created the ITV spy thriller Callan, starring Edward Woodward as a remorseful secret service assassin, and the BBC period drama When the Boat Comes In, starring James Bolam as a World War I veteran returning to his Tyneside hometown. These programmes proved to be his most notable, and acclaimed work.

He also wrote many other television scripts, including episodes of The Troubleshooters, the legal drama Justice and The Avengers.

Personal life and death

He married twice and had two children. Mitchell died in Newcastle upon Tyne on 15 September 2002. He was 76.

Bibliography

Novels

• Here's a Villain! (1957), US Title: The Lady is Waiting
• A Way Back (1959), also published as: The Way Back
• Steady, Boys, Steady (1960)
• Among Arabian Sands (1963)
• Ilion Like a Mist (1969), also published as: Venus in Plastic
• The Winners (1970)
• The Evil Ones (1982)
• KGB Kill (1987)
• A Woman to Be Loved (1990)
• An Impossible Woman (1992)
• Leading Lady (1993)
• So Far from Home (1995)
• Indian Summer (1996)
• Dance for Joy (1997)

Callan

• A Magnum for Schneider (1969), US Title: A Red File for Callan
• Russian Roulette (1973)
• Death and Bright Water (1974)
• Smear Job (1975)
• Bonfire Night (2002)
• Callan Uncovered (2014) and Callan Uncovered 2 (2015) - short story collections edited by Mike Ripley

When the Boat Comes In

• When the Boat Comes In
• When the Boat Comes In: The Hungry Years
• When the Boat Comes In: Upwards and Onwards

Ron Hogget

• Sometimes You Could Die (1985)
• Dead Ernest (1986)
• Dying Day (1988)

as Patrick O. McGuire

• A Time for Murder (1955)
• Fiesta for Murder (1962)

as James Munro

• The Man Who Sold Death (1964)
• Die Rich, Die Happy (1965)
• The Money That Money Can't Buy (1967)
• The Innocent Bystanders (1969)

The hero in his Munro books is a British agent named John Craig, who works, mostly reluctantly, for Department K. Mitchell wrote the screenplay for the 1971 film version of The Innocent Bystanders under his real name.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

1. "Obituary: James Mitchell". The Guardian. 19 September 2002.
2. "Biography". Retrieved 20 February 2022.
3. "Obituary: James Mitchell". The Guardian. 19 September 2002.
4. "The British Theatre Guide: Writer James Mitchell Dies". Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
5. "Obituary". The Telegraph. 20 September 2002. Retrieved 1 January 2016.

External links

• Platzer, David, 'The Man From Department K', Slightly Foxed, Autumn 2008
• James Mitchell at IMDb

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• v
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• 1926 births
• 2002 deaths
• British male screenwriters
• British television writers
• British thriller writers
• British spy fiction writers
• British crime fiction writers
• Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford
• People from South Shields
• Writers from Tyne and Wear
• 20th-century British novelists
• British novelist stubs