Month: April 2017

Top Ten Greatest American Radio Detective Performances, Part One

Around the time I first started the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio, I did a series of articles ranking radio detectives by network, listing the top five detectives from ABC, CBS, NBC, Mutual, Multi-network shows, and Syndicated shows.

After more than seven years, and a great deal more exposure to all radio detectives, we’re ready to do this in a way that’s less complicated. So, over the course of the next three weeks, we’ll take a look at my lists of the top 10 best performances in American-made radio detective programs. I’m limiting this list to American programs because that’s what I have the most experience with:

10) William Gargan as Barrie Craig in Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator (1951-55)

After the first half of 1950, it was hard to get a radio detective show off the ground. NBC tried several and all but one were cancelled after less than a year. That one was Barrie Craig. Barrie Craig lasted four years and it’s all chalked up to Gargan’s performance. Gargan had been a real-life private operative and had been born in New York City (where the series was set) and that authenticity helped as well as his natural charisma. Craig was easy going with a wry sense of humor that often poked fun at genre tropes. However, he was not a man you wanted to cross, though violence was not his usual means of resolving conflict. Craig was driven by a strong moral code and was one of the best and noblest characters we’ve ever featured on the show.

9) Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes (1939-46):

For nearly half a century, Rathbone’s portrayal of Holmes was the definitive one until Jeremy Brett’s performance in the 1980s and early 1990s Grenada television version emerged as a challenger. Even then, Rathbone’s performance influences Sherlock Holmes producers to this day. There are a number of reasons for this and it makes Holmes a treat whether on film or on radio.

Rathbone had a superb range and was not only able to play Holmes as the genius detective, but also was able to play some moving and emotional moments like in “The Guileless Gypsy,” as well as for comedy such as he did in, “The Second Generation.” Rathbone had great chemistry with his Watson (Nigel Bruce) which made the duo a delight to listen to despite Dr. Watson being occasionally written as a bit daft. Rathbone succeeded in making Holmes a truly likable character and handling all challenges with unmatched professionalism even as he began to tire of being typecast as Holmes.

8) Natalie Masters as Candy Matson (1949-51)

The series was broadcast from San Francisco and only heard on the West Coast, which was a shame. The series focused on Candy, who was a former model and a hard-boiled private detective. This was a very unusual series and an unusual role for a woman at a time. Masters plays it to perfection, creating a characterization of Candy that’s competent, smart, and tough, while still being very likable and compassionate. The series didn’t take itself too seriously, but it never turned Candy into a joke. Masters’ performance was both slightly ahead of its time, and also immensely entertaining.

7) Bob Bailey as George Valentine in Let George Do It (1946-53(?)

Bob Bailey is best remembered for playing Johnny Dollar for five years. That’s so well-remembered, his work on this series is often forgotten, and it shouldn’t be. While Let George Do It began as a somewhat weak detective sitcom, it quickly took off to become one of the smartest and best written detective/mystery shows of the Golden Age of Radio, with Bailey’s detective at the center of the action. As the show changed co-stars and styles, Bailey continued to turn in solid performances whether they required kindness and profundity, action, or humor, Bailey’s performance as George Valentine could always be relied upon to get the job done.

To be continued next week…

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EP2186: Dragnet: The Big Safe

Jack Webb

Friday investigates a series of safe burglaries.

Original Air Date: May 1, 1952

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EP2185: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Red Rock Matter

Bob Bailey

A body missing for eight years is found and the evidence suggests that the man was murdered by his prospective partner/beneficiary.

Original AIr Date: May 29, 1960
When making your travel plans, remember http://johnnydollarair.com

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EP2184: Boston Blackie: The Merry-Go-Round Murder

Richard Kollmar

Blackie and Mary find the dead body of a wealthy horseman riding on a wooden horse on a Merry-Go-Round at 2 a.m. in the morning.

Original Air Date: May 14, 1946

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EP2183: Richard Diamond: The Mary Bellman Case

Dick Powell

Diamond is paid $100 to meet with a female client. He’s knocked out and wakes up next to her corpse with Walt and Sergeant Otis ready to break down the door.

Original Air Date: June 28, 1950

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EP2182: Jeff Regan: If I Knew You Were Coming, I’d Have Wrecked a Train

Regan is hired by the twelve-year-old son of a wealthy family to investigate his mother’s fiance in hopes of stopping the marriage.

Original Air Date: July 2, 1950

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EP2181: Night Beat: A City at Your Fingertips

Frank Lovejoy

Randy randomly dials a phone number and reaches a woman in danger of being killed by her husband.

Original Air Date: July 31, 1950

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Video Theater 107: Dragnet: The Big Frank

Friday and Smith investigate when a man is ripped from his car and beaten.

Original Air Date: May 7, 1953

Season 2, Episode 26

Watch in on YouTube

DVD Review: The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady


Joan Bradley (Jean Muir), a secretary about to meet her boss’ son is confronted by a husband she’d believed dead who shows up at her apartment to blackmail her. He is murdered while she’s in the other room. She runs into the Lone Wolf (Warren William) and his butler sidekick Jamison (Eric Blore). The two try to help the secretary by chivalrously altering the crime scene in a way that makes her look innocent. However, the police catch a mistake and it’s up to the Lone Wolf to find the real murderer or else he and the secretary could go to jail.

Overall, the film is decently executed. The mystery and the supporting characters are adequate. Warren William has a decent turn as the detective, but was not a standout for the era. He lacked the energy he had in some of his earlier films and was not up to the standard of Chester Morris and George Sanders who played similar roles in the Saint and Boston Blackie films. The saving grace of the film was Eric Blore, who made a great comic sidekick. Blore steals every scene he’s in and provides just the right amount of comic relief to the film without becoming annoying as so many comic sidekicks of the era did.

The DVD is the definition of no frills: no DVD menu, let alone any extras. As a result, when you put the DVD in, it starts playing automatically. For me, this was a minor annoyance.

Overall, this isn’t a bad mystery, but I only recommend it if you want to see an example of the Lone Wolf in action.

Rating: 3.25 out of 5.0

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EP2180: Dragnet: The Big Elevator

Jack Webb

A woman’s body is sent up to the third floor of a hospital. Friday and Lockwood investigate her death.

Original Air Date: April 24, 1952

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Update/program announcement on the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio

EP2179: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Man Who Waits Matter

Bob Bailey

A thief Johnny caught early in his days as an investigator is out and ready to claim the loot Johnny could never find.

Original Air Date: May 22, 1960

When making your travel plans, remember http://johnnydollarair.com

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EP2178: Boston Blackie: The Winthrop Jewelry Company Thefts

Richard Kollmar

Three men work as diamond cutters. One is stealing a diamond each day, but how are they doing it? They’re searched everyday and not allowed to leave the premises with a diamond on them. Blackie sets out to find out.

Original Air Date: May 7, 1946

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EP2177: Richard Diamond: Mrs. X Can’t Find Mr. X

Dick Powell

A woman who looks awfully familiar asks Diamond’s help to find her husband while refusing to reveal either of their names.

Original Air Date: June 21, 1950

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EP2176: Jeff Regan: The Man Behind the Rod

Staats Cotsworth

Regan and the Lyon are hired to check up on the son of a wealthy man whose hot rod racing has turned dangerous when a romantic rivalry was added in.

Original Air Date: April 12, 1950

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