Month: May 2014

EP1274: Police Headquarters: KO’D and Infiltrating the Mob

A boxer died after the fight of an apparent heart attack in KO’D. 

The police try to recover $100,000 in stolen jewelry in Infiltrating the Mob.

Episodes 18 and 20

Original Air Date: 1932

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Book Review: The Saint v. Scotland Yard

The Saint, a character who remained popular for decades and has been portrayed by everyone from George Sanders and Vincent Price to Roger Moore and Val Kilmer, got his start in literature.

The Saint v. Scotland Yard  is a book published in 1932 and it collects three novellas, each featuring the Saint working outside or even against Scotland Yard, near the start of the character’s literary career . . “The Inland Revenue” sees Simon trying to shut down a blackmailer. “The Million Pound Day” pits the Saint against a ruthless gang of kidnappers who have a plan to force the printing of a million pounds in fake Italian currency. The final story, “The Melancholy Journey of Mr Teal” finds the Saint trying to steal a jewel thief’s loot before the thief’s caught by Scotland Yard.

Overall, the stories are decent for the period. They’re much more adventures than they are mysteries. The cases are well-written and fun to read.

Those who know the Saint from golden age mediums like radio or the Sanders movies may not recognize much about this early version. While the Saint’s billed as the “Robin Hood” of modern crime, the Saint robs from the rich but seems more self-centered. Of course, as this was the 1930s, many people resented the rich and believed the police were corrupt or incompetent, so there was some catharsis in his antics for the common man of the day.

The brilliance of Charteris is that despite the Saint’s less than sterling conduct, he makes it really hard not to like him. The Robin Hood analogy seems inapt. The Saint in this book is really reminiscent of a romantic pirate. The Saint is a swashbuckler who laughs in the face of danger and death, and writes poetry in perilous situations. He and his girlfriend Pat are pure adrenaline junkies who get their kicks out of exposing themselves to danger which is kind of fun for people who live more tame lives.

While the Saint is no paragon in this book, he doesn’t hurt innocent people. Indeed, the book works because whoever the Saint crosses, we have a sense that they somehow deserve it.

The only other negative to this book are some unfortunate racial language which may make the book less accessible to some readers. Overall though, this was a decent early Saint novella collection.

Book Rating: 3.75 out of 5.0

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Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Rasmussen Matter (EP1273)

Bob Bailey

Johnny searches for the wife of a murdered man to give her her insurance check.

Original Air Date: December 16, 1956

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EP1272: Nick Carter: The Witch of Dondenberg Mountain

Lon Clark
Nick is hired by an archaeologist who believes a witch killed his assistant.

Original Air Date: April 22, 1945

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EP1271: Lux Radio Theater: The Lady in the Lake

Robert Montgomery
Philip Marlowe looks for a missing wife  at the behest of the missing woman’s husband’s secretary who wants to break up the marriage to marry her boss.

Original Air Date: February 9, 1948

 

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EP1270: Pat Novak for Hire: Rory Malone

Jack Webb

 

Pat Novak gets an offer for $300 from a beautiful woman to stay away from boxer Rory Malone, and $300 from Malone’s manager. Whichever side he ends up on, it’s going to be trouble.

Original Air Date: March 20, 1949

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She was as safe as a tap dancer on a floor full of dynamite caps.

EP1269: The Hunters: You Take Ballistics

Victor Jory

A Scotland Yard inspector tries to get a confession out of a clever criminal.

Recorded: November 30, 1948

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Audio Drama Review: 12 Angry Men

12 Angry Men was first written as an episode of the Anthology Show, Studio One and then turned into the classic 1957 film starring Henry Fonda and Lee Cobb. It’s the culturally iconic story of twelve men in jury room in the Capital case of a young man accused of killing his father and how these very different people interact and how their biases and perceptions shape the way they vote. The film became a classic which was parodied and copied more times than anyone could count. In 1997, it was made into a HBO telefilm but updated to modern times. Rose also made a stage version which was performed by LA Theatre Works in 2005 and released as an audio drama.

Of course, the script is solid with great tension. The weakest part of the play is at the beginning. The judge reads the jury instructions in monotone and every line of dialogue seems to be delivered just a tad too fast. This might have been the director’s attempt to show the rush to judgment but it doesn’t work all that well.

However, once the cast gets going, they’re true professionals. Some of the voices in here include Hector Elizondo as Juror #10, Dan Castellaneta (Homer Simpson) as Juror #5, and Armin Shimerman (Quark from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as Juror #4. The story unfolds beautifully with a lot of high tension scenes and most of them come off brilliantly on stage and on audio.

The relatively weak performance of the play had to be Jeffrey Donovan as Juror #8, the story’s protagonist. It’s a tough role to be sure particularly when giants like Henry Fonda and Jack Lemon have played the role on screen, but Donovan’s performance was just weak. Given the caliber of the rest of the case, it’s surprising they didn’t get a stronger performer for this role.

Also, this is not a true audiodrama but rather a recording of a play. This really only hurts in one scene where Juror #3 delivers a racist tirade and the entire jury, those who vote guilty and not guilty turn their backs on him. On stage, the audience could see it, but the audio audience had to rely on memories of the film and just hope that was what was going on.

The way Rose wrote the play or the way the Director adapted Rose’s play (I’m not sure which) also hurt the quality of the story. In the scene where Juror #9 analyzes why an elderly witness may have pretended to see more than he actually saw due to his feeling insignificant, another juror challenged this and a single look at the camera told us that the elderly juror was just like witness. Here, it has actually be said and in a way that’s a little clumsy.

Discussion of a piece of psychological testimony is added to the play but that actually detracts from the story, and in the same scene from the movie that’s so powerful, Rose seems unable to resist the temptation to overwrite in the play.

In the ’57 film, After Juror #3 goes on a racist tirade and tells people to listen, Juror #4 says, “I have. Now sit down and open your mouth again.” The change is slight and perhaps in the 1997 version where Juror #4 says, “Sit down! And don’t open your filthy mouth again.” These are powerful moments. In the play version, Juror #4 gives a much longer less crisp response.

In some ways, this might be nitpicking, but when a radio play in based on such a famous and profoundly brilliant drama, it invites it. The original 12 Angry Men is nearly perfect for what it is, this stage play recording falls short.

That doesn’t mean the audio version is without merit. It’s $6.95 on Audible or $4.86 if you’re an Audible member and at 1 hour and 50 minutes (which includes a 17 minute interview with Rose’s widow) it’s great for a long drive and manages to do a good job with most of the key moments and performances.

Overall I’d rate it 3.5 out of 5.0.

12 Angry Men is available at audible.

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EP1268: Police Headquarters: The Tommy Gun Murders and The Perfect Murder

The police search for a vicious murderer who uses a Tommy Gun.

Episodes 16 and 17

Original Air Date: 1932

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The Burning Carr Matter (EP1267)

Bob Bailey
Johnny goes to Florida in search of an arsonist who is destroying lumber yards.

Original Air Date: December 9, 1956

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EP1266: Nick Carter: Death Behind the Scenes

Lon Clark

Nick Carter is called in when an actor has faced a series of perilous accidents.

Original Air Date: March 25, 1945

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EP1265: Philip Marlowe: Trouble is My Business

Van Heflin

 

Philip Marlowe is hired to look into the wedding of a wealthy young man to a woman with dubious motives.

Original Air Date: August 5, 1947

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EP1264: Pat Novak: Rubin Calloway

Jack Webb

Pat Novak comes across a man tossed in the bay, who gives him the key to a bus locker. A woman pays him $200 to bring her the contents of the locker.

 Original Air Date: March 13, 1949

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EP1263: Manhunt: The Clue of the Widowed Bride and Police Headquarters: Man Steals Food

Larry haines

A man is murdered at his wedding.

Original Air Date: Unknown (sometime between 1943-46)

The Police arrest a man for stealing bread and try to help.

Episode 15

Original Air Date: 1932

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EP1262: Police Headquarters: Isaac Nathan Death and the McKenzie Death

The owner of a rich estate is killed in The Isaac Nathan Death. 

A wealthy man is killed and a rival for his wife’s affections is the prime suspect in The McKenzie death.

Original Air Date: 1932

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