Month: December 2013

EP1144: Mr. Chameleon: The Perfect Maid Murder Case

Karl Swenson

A maid announces she’ll marry the master of the house and is then murdered.

Original Air Date: December 29, 1948

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EP1143: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Pearling Matter, Parts One and Two

Bob Bailey

A news report of an influential man causes concern on the stock exchange. What’s the truth behind the report.

Original Air Dates: June 18 and 19, 1956

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Radio Drama Review: Gregory Keen: Deadly Nightshade

The character of  Gregory Keen was introduced in the Australian radio serial Dossier on Dumetrius. In that serial, Keen, a MI-5 Major played by New Zealand Actor Bruce Stewart, hunted down an international war criminal named Dumetrius through the streets of London. (see review here). The second Keen serial turns to more familiar territory for the writer and original audience: the streets of Sidney, Australia.

In Deadly Nightshade,  Stewart returns as Keen. Also returning was the actor who played the villain from Dossier. The character of Felix Huberman is the half brother of the Keen’s archenemy. (Yes, it’s contrived but work with us.) Huberman is an official with Australian federal law enforcement who is also the chief lieutenant of Carla Mingione who is trying to get organized crime established in Sidney. Keen is sent by MI-5 because of the disappearance of scientist Bruno Kesselring who is feared to have defected to the Russians, though this is largely forgotten through most of the serial as Keen finds himself trying to find the truth behind the Nightshade ring, believing it will lead to Kesselring.

Deadly Nightshade has its strong points. Like its predecessor, it is a  highly addictive and is a fairly complex 104-part story.  In many ways, it’s a better  Keen story.  Dossier featured our hero, Major Keen as a somewhat dense character who did majorly stupid things for a huge number of episodes including his 40+ episode manhunt for innocent bystander Peter Ridgeway and believing the treacherous Heddy Bergner innocent for nearly 70 episodes because he was in love with her. Here Keen is not gulled for that length of time. To be sure, there are some stupid moments. Early on, Keen concludes that Huberman’s up to no good but decides he has no choice but to play along with him which involves not introducing himself to the police and not meeting up with the contact that’d been designated for him by London. This stupidity ends after less than ten episodes and other lapses of sanity and reasonable judgment are short.

Keen in Deadly Nightshade  is a man to be feared in a story that’s far darker than Dossier. Keen is clearly a much more ruthless character than in the previous serial.  Keen is driven and at times, seems almost mentally disturbed in his pursuit of the Nightshade Ring, even being willing to kill unarmed men to achieve his ends. He’s still haunted by his memory of Heddy Bergner, much to the chagrin of Sherry Reed, a party girl who fell for Keen and became involved in his adventures, only to find Keen constantly spurning her.

The story is darker but not necessarily better in places. While Deadly Nightshade is a far more logical tale with a minimal number of plotholes, it was also a little less fun than Dossier.  The story is interesting due the concerns with organized crime making its way to Australia and the wide variety of plot twists that can fit into a story of this length.

This makes a decent listen, but definitely not for kids under 13.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5.0

EP1142: The Line Up: The Green Cap Case

William Johnstone
Guthrie investigates a murder at a gas station where a singular piece of headwear is the only clue.

Original Air Date: October 22, 1952

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EP1141: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Laughing Matter, Part Five and The Lady Was Lethal, PT. 3

Bob Bailey

A young rising star has been murdered but the man Johnny was sent to protect is still alive.

Original Air Date: June 15, 1955

The truth begins to come together in the murder of a private eye’s partner.

Original Air Date: 1958

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EP1140: Nick Carter: Murder by Magic

Lon Clark
Scubby is wanted by the police and tells Nick he switched bodies with a notorious criminal.

Original Air Date: April 8, 1944

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EP1139: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Laughing Matter, Parts Three and Four

Bob Bailey

A TV comedian is taking the threats on his life more seriously after he was shot at it.

Original Air Date: June 13 and 14, 1956

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EP1138: Amazing Mr. Malone: They All Confessed

A female con artist is killed and all the suspects are confessing.

Original Air Date: April 1, 1954

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EP1137: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Laughing Matter, Parts One and Two

Bob Bailey
Johnny travels to Mexico to investigate threats against a comedian who is hated by everyone who knows him.

Original Air Dates: June 11 and 12, 1956

 

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EP1136: The Line Up: The Pitiful Patricide Case

William Johnstone

A man is found murdered with a shotgun.

Original Air Date: June 17, 1952

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Book Review: The Doorbell Rang

In The Doorbell Rang, Nero Wolfe is hired by a wealthy woman to get the FBI to stop annoying her. She apparently gained the attention of the FBI after purchasing and distributing 10,000 copies of Fred Cook’s expose of the FBI called, “The FBI Nobody Knows.”

Wolfe is reluctant to take on the case, and Archie is too. But Wolfe’s pride won’t allow him to refuse to take on a case for fear of the FBI. Wolfe’s decision leads to them coming under surveillance, and Archie learns from their nemesis Inspector Cramer that the FBI is trying to get their licenses lifted. However, Cramer resents the attempt and actually saves their licenses and tips Archie off to a murder where the FBI may be covering up.

Archie and Wolfe seek to solve convuluted murder and find how the FBI is involved.

The book is pretty solid and includes one of Wolfe’s greatest schemes and one of the most memorable moments when Wolfe refuses to speak to the unnamed but implied visitor at the door at the end of the book.

The Doorbell Rang  does drag a bit in the middle, with all of Wolfe and Archie’s efforts to dodge potential FBI surveillance of the house by not speaking or speaking in certain ways despite. The problem is that while I could understand how the FBI could tap their phones, I have no clue how they could get in the Brownstone to actually bug anything. For me, their paranoia goes quickly from being slightly humorous to somewhat tedious.

This does further the book’s propaganda ends with a clear message: Our (mostly) law abiding pals Wolfe and Archie shouldn’t have to live like they’re in a police state and neither should any other American as many did thanks to the FBI. It works as far as it goes, but I think the degree to which Stout played this hurt the narrative a bit.

Still, I give this a:

Rating: Satisfactory

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EP1135: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Nick Shurn Matter, Part Five and The Lady Was Lethal (Pt. 2)

Bob Bailey

Johnny has found his witness, but will she testify.

Original Air Date: December 23, 1955

A private detective investigates his partner’s death while hitting on his dead partner’s bereaved sister.

Original Air Date: 1958

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EP1134: Nick Carter: Nick Carter’s Christmas Adventure

Lon Clark

Nick Carter investigates why a rich man has soured on Christmas.

Original Air Date: December 25, 1943

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EP1133: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar Matter: The Nick Shurn Matter, Parts Three and Four

Bob Bailey

A hired killing is gunning for the witness Johnny is look for in her small Michigan town, while townspeople are reluctant to cooperate or tell Johnny where she is.

Original Air Dates: December 21 and 22, 1955

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EP1132: Amazing Mr. Malone: The Dude

Malone is hired by a crime who has been framed for murder by a rival boss.

Original Air Date: March 25, 1954

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