Month: September 2011

EP0495: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Maynard Collins Matter

Edmond O'Brien

Johnny flies to Colorado Springs to investigate a murder that was made to look like an accident.

Original Air Date: December 22, 1951

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EP0494: Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Dog Who Changed His Mind

A rich woman dies after her 89th birthday after her drinking her last bottle of birthday wine.

Original Air Date: September 28, 1947

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EP0493: Let George Do It: Sudden Storm

Bob Bailey

George receives a letter confessing to the quotation marks killing. George arrives in an isolated area and discovers another body.

Original Air Date: May 29, 1950

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EP0492: Rogue’s Gallery: Blue Eyes

Dick Powell

A drop dead beautiful woman hires Rogue to protect her after several attempts on her life.

Original Air Date: May 30, 1946

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Perry Mason and the Case of the Disappearing Netflix Streams

Starz recently announced that it would be ending its relationship with Netflix in order for Starz to maintain its premium band and avoid losing subscribers who just watch movies on Netflix. This doesn’t have a big impact on me as I use Netflix mostly for old movies rather than new ones, but there’s one big change mystery fans should be aware of. The 1980s and 1990s Perry Mason TV movies are currently available on Netflix, but they’re being made available by Starz, so by February, they’ll be gone along with the rest of the Starz content.

Nearly twenty years after the last Perry Mason episode with Raymond Burr left the air, Burr reprised the role in the 1985 Made for TV Movie, Perry Mason Returns which features Perry Mason resigning from the Court of Appeals to defend Della Street from the charge of murdering her boss.  With the death of William Hopper (who played Paul Drake from 1957-66), Perry was aided by Paul Drake, Jr. (William Katt), a free spirited young detective that clashed gently with Perry.In 1989, Paul Drake, Jr. was replaced by Ken Molansky (William Moses) a young attorney who did Perry Mason’s investigations.

Additional movies were greenlighted. From 1986-93, Raymond Burr and the cast turned out between 2 and 4 Perry Mason movies per year.  Most of the Mason films were shot in Colorado which meant some great and notable scenic shots. The scenery, along with well-written mysteries and the iconic acting of Raymond Burr made these latter day Mason mysteries a pleasure for fans of legal detective dramas. 

 In addition, show producers Fred Silverman and Dean Hargrove began production of another similarly formatted program in 1986 when they produced Matlock.  Matlock starred another golden age legend (Andy Griffith) as Attorney Ben Matlock, who like Mason was a brilliant lawyer with competent supporting colleagues who investigated his cases.

These two shows were my introduction  to the mystery genre. They represented a dying genre of heroic superlawyers who won 99% of their cases and the interests of their clients almost always run parallel to the interest of justice.

A new breed of more realistic and cynical lawyer dramas were already on the rise. Programs like LA Law, Law and Order, The Practice, and Boston Legal took an entirely different slant with their lawyer heroes sometimes helping guilty clients escape, sometimes failing to get innocent clients acquitted, and fighting over ripped-from-the headline controversial issues, while living deeply flawing personal and professional lives.

The death of Raymond Burr in 1993 and the cancelation of Matlock in 1995 forever ended the super lawyer genre, at least when it came to recurring television drama.  Yet while most fans know it may not be realistic, the stories remain fascinating and compelling escapism, starring beloved actors.

Outside of Netflix, the Perry Mason Movies are hard to come by. Like Seasons 7-9 of the original Perry Mason and Matlock, the 26 Perry Mason TV Movies are not available on commercial DVD. Once they’re gone from Netflix, the only legal way of catching them will be to find  an occassional cable TV rerun. I hope to watch as many of these great movies in the meanwhile.

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EP0491: Barrie Craig: The Deadly Fight

William Gargan

Barrie is paid $500 to bid on a boxer’s trophy. Lieutenant Trav Rogers hires him to find out what happened to the boxer and vindicate the department’s honor.

Original Air Date: January 23, 1952

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Audio Drama Review: King Solomon’s Mines

 

Before there was Indiana Jones, there was Allan Quartermain. King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard introduced readers to that intrepid adventurer in 1885.

Hollywood has never quite gotten the story right, as the temptation to add a romantic subplot and change details is irresistable. However, the Colonial Radio Theatre’s production of the story starring Jerry Robbins was fantastic and faithful to the original story.

The plot begins when Quartermain is approached on a boat by a Captain Good and Sir Henry Curtis to engage in a search for Sir Henry’s lost brother, who was last seen years before searching for King Solomon’s mine. Quartermain agrees to go provided that a stipend is guaranteed for his son should anything happen to him and a share of the treasure in the unlikely event he survives.

To follow the trail of Sir Henry’s Brother, the trio must trek across treacherous terrain through unknown parts of Africa. A native African named Umbopa goes along for the journey, but it’s obvious he’s hiding something from the rest of the group.

Once again, Colonial Radio Theatre shows the power of radio, as you’re transported back to Victorian Africa and the extremes of weather on the journey to King Solomon’s Mine. CRT successfully captures the mystery, wonder, and excitement of this unforgetable story that features epic battles, legendary treasures, and political intrigue.   This is a fantastic production for fans of Men’s Adventure.

Rating: 5.0 out of 5.0

Note: If you are an Audible Member, the digital download of these programs are only $2.95 each which is a fantastic price for these great productions.

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Book Review: If Death Ever Slept

In If Death Ever Slept what Nero Wolfe later describes as a joint act of “mulishness” leads Wolfe to  undertake a case he would have never taken otherwise as Archie goes undercover as Alan Green, the secretary to an eccentric millionaire named Otis Jarrell who believes his daughter-in-law is “a snake” who obtained information from his in-home office and shared it with a competitor who beat him out of a business arrangement.

The client is aware of both Archie and Wolfe by reputation, and Archie quickly learns that Wolfe was only hired to gain Archie’s help. Jarrell offers Archie a personal fee in addition to Wolfe’s fee for finding or fabricating evidence that leads his son to divorce his daughter-in-law. Archie doesn’t want any part of that arrangement, but decides to stay on to earn a fee for Wolfe by finding out how and if information was leaked from the office.

In the midst of this, a gun disappears from the client’s office and the client ignores Archie’s advice to report the theft to the police as required by law. When, a man is murdered with the same caliber bullet as the missing gun, Wolfe and Archie are left in a real pickle. Their goal is no longer to earn a fee, but to extricate themselves from this mess with their licenses and reputations intact.

Rex Stout outdid himself in creating the Jarrell household as fully formed and interesting characters. The women are particularly fun including the wealthy secretary, the eccentric daughter, and the flirty stepmother. In addition, Stout builds a complete family culture that is no less real than the culture of Wolfe’s house on 35th street. The Jarrell home  also has a very unique and interesting character. 

A highlight were the scenes in Wolfe’s office where Archie remained undercover and Orrie Cather impersonated Archie Goodwin.

The mystery is good enough. The solution is achieved in a very workmanlike fashion that involves an itenary for each suspect. The one downside of the audiobook version is that it takes about half an hour to read through the 4-day itenaries. Still, with great characters and Dol Bonner appearing to discover the vital clue, I’ll give, If Death Ever Slept:

Rating: Very Satisfactory

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EP0490: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Youngstown Credit Group Matter

Edmond O'Brien

A vehicle containing two men carrying cash for payroll checks is robbed and one of the owners killed. Johnny goes to Ohio to find the truth.

Original Air Date: December 8. 1951

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Coming Attraction

The Lux Radio Theatre version of, “To the Ends of the Earth” will be our 500th Episode Special. I listened to the program today and it’s fantastic. I look forward to bring it to you on September 24th. Below is a video clip from the movie the radio show is based upon:

EP0489: Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Iron Maiden

Tom Conway

While visiting Nuremburg, the curator of a black museum asks Holmes to investigate anonymous letters attacking him. While touring the museum, a body is found in the iron maiden.

Original Air Date: July 7, 1947

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EP0488: Let George Do It: Portuguese Cove

Bob Bailey

A sea captain punching a mailman leads George to look into a family tuna fishing business and the death of a mutineer.

Original Air Date: May 22, 1950

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EP0487: Rogue’s Gallery: The Latin Type

Dick Powell

A woman enters Rogue’s compartment and leaves her briefcase with him. A man comes to collect the briefcase.

Original Air Date: May 23, 1946

Quote of the Show: “I was in more trouble than a jitterbug at a square dance.”

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EP0486: Barrie Craig: Fatal Appointment

William Gargan

Barrie Craig is hired by a jealous wife to verify that her husband went to a meeting with his mistress. When Barrie arrives, he finds the mistress shot and his client confesses, but neither Barrie or the DA buy the confession.

Original Air Date: January 16, 1952

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Book Review: Too Many Cooks

In the first three Nero Wolfe books, Rex Stout firmly established that Wolfe rarely leaves the house. From 1937-46, Wolfe was routinely pushed out of the Brownstone by Stout with only two stories in this period allowing him to stay homebound:

  • The Red Box (1937) sent Wolfe to a clothing store to question witnesses at the behest of a client and peers in the orchid community.
  • Some Buried Caesar (1939) had Wolfe head upstate to put his orchids on display at an exposition.
  • Where There’s a Will (1940): had Wolfe visit a client’s house.
  • Black Orchids (1942) was the first novella collection and  saw Wolfe heading out to another flower show where a murder occurred in the first of two stories.
  • Not Quite Dead Enough (1944) featured Wolfe leaving the Brownstone in both novellas.
  • The Silent Speaker (1946): Wolfe goes to police headquarters to report to an inspector who replaced Cramer on a case.

However, it wouldn’t be until the 1950s that  Wolfe was pulled as far from his home as in Too Many Cooks which sees Wolfe boarding a train to attend a convention of famous cooks in a West Virginia resort town where Wolfe had been invited as a guest of honor to speak about American contributions to fine dining. One of the great cooks, Philip Laszio is despised by his fellows for stealing recipes and for a Machivellian rise through the culinary world, and is killed with suspicion falling on the other cooks.

A wet behind the ears prosecutor asks for Wolfe’s help in the case. When one of Wolfe’s suggestions leads to the imprisonment of  a prestigious chef , Wolfe has to set to work to find out what happened.

This book introduced Wolfe’s lifelong friend, Marco Vukcic, the owner of Rosterman’s as a character. Vukcic served as a humanizing force on the Wolfe character. Vukcic was one of the few people to call Wolfe by his first name. Wolfe’s sentiment for Vukcic is in full force when he’s confronted by the widow of the murdered man (who was Vukcic’s ex-wife) and Wolfe delivers a classic smackdown for  her ruthlessness.

Even involved in the stereotypically genteel world of cooks, there are risks. At one point in the course of his investigation, Wolfe ends up getting shot.

One controversey that surrounds the book is the use of racial epithets. This  is, after all, the South in the 1930s, and it sounds it. There are about a dozen or so uses of the “N-word” and Archie uses a only slightly less offensive term a couple of times. So, it’s hardly at the Huckleberry Finn level of racial language, but like Mark Twain, Stout had a point.

Of course, this is a detective book, so the points couldn’t be too fine or too preachy, and whatever point he’d have to make would have to tie in to the story. On these points, Stout succeeded. Wolfe has reason to believe that the staff know who committed the crime after hearing from a relucant witness that the killer was black.

Wolfe decides to bring the staff up into his suite for questioning. Archie thinks the entire excercise will be a waste of time, as they cops hadn’t gotten anything out of them and that Wolfe wouldn’t know how to communicate with blacks.

Wolfe begins his session by humbly expressing his gratitude to the men for the privilege of being able to come to America. He then learns the men’s names and refers to them by their proper names unless otherwise requested. In other words, Wolfe treated them with the same courtesy and respect that he initially gives to everyone he questions. And through that, Wolfe is eventually able to get their help.

What Stout communicates to a segregated America is that the way to live together in harmony is to treat every person with equal dignity, and judge them on their character.  As Wolfe says, ” … the ideal human agreement is one in which distinctions of race and color and religion are totally disregarded.” It’s very powerfully done and not disruptive to the story.

Too Many Cooks is not without its flaws. The first few chapters drag a bit. However, the biggest weakness of the story is that Wolfe dominates the story line to such an extent that there’s really not a whole lot for Archie to do.

Outside of a couple scenes on the train to and from New York, the action is confined to the resort, probably within a couple hundred yards of Wolfe’s room. Archie is usually the focal point of the investigation with a lot of action and runing errand. Here Archie is more reactive and doesn’t even get off many good lines of dialogue. Archie is about as useful and important to the plot as Captain Hastings in a Poirot book. Wolfe’s next novel also took Wolfe away from the Brownstone in, Some Buried Caesar, but in that one, Stout wisely gave Archie a lot more play.

While I can’t say it’s a criticism, the story points to an inconsistency in the Wolfe universe. In Too Many Cooks, Wolfe prepares and delivers a lengthy speech (not fully included) on American contributions to fine dining, and at the final banquet, an all American gourmet dinner is served. Twenty years later in The Next Wintess, Wolfe commends chili as  “One of the few contributions America has to world cuisine.”   One wonders why Stout changed Wolfe’s mind on this point, or if Stout simply forgot Wolfe had delivered a stirring defense of American contributions to cooking.

The book also includes the recipes for the All-American gourmet meal, the preparation  of which is beyond my simple talents. (If you have cookied the recipes in this book, please share your experience in the comments.)

Overall, Stout prepared a very good recipe in Too Many Cooks, although it could have used a dash or two more of Archie Goodwin action.

Overall, I’ll give it a:

Rating: Satisfactory

You can find all the Nero Wolfe books in Kindle, Audiobook, and book form on our Nero Wolfe page.

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