Month: March 2018

EP2474: Dragnet: The Big Compulsion

Jack Webb

Friday and Smith investigate a series of false alarms being called in.

Original Air Date: April 12, 1953

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The Too Rare Detectives

Lost episodes are the bane of old time radio fans. There are few series where you can be entirely sure you’ve heard everything there is to hear. There’s always hope a new episode of Barrie Craig, the Saint, or Philip Marlowe, or Dragnet will emerge.

With those series, we have a lot of episodes in circulation that we can enjoy. However, some series have few episodes in circulation and what we have leaves us wanting more.

We’ll discuss seven rare, tantalizing programs.

1. The Big Guy-3 Episodes circulating (23 missing)

Henry Calvin stars as Joshua Sharp, a widowed private detective raising two precocious kids alone. Sharp was a different protagonist in a world of often interchangeable hard-boiled detectives He had to be as tough as any hard-boiled private eye but he also had a fatherly gentleness to him. The existing episodes vary quite a bit, but I really wanted to see more of this character. It lasted only a season.

2. Easy Money-5 Episodes (21 missing);

Larry Haines stars as Mike Burnett, a magician turned racket buster. This aired at a time when the TV series, “Racket Squad” was a big hit on television. Truth be told, this radio series was far better than it’s TV counterpart. Haines is pitch perfect and the rackets are interesting, plus the stories are well-written. It lasted only a season.

3. Leonidas Witherall-7 Episodes (38 missing):

Based on the novels by Phoebe Atwood Taylor, this was one of the most fun detective comedy series I’ve heard. It features Leonidas Witherall, a boys school principal with a beard like Shakespeare. Witherall goes around solving crimes. The series stars Walter Hampden, one of the finest actors in New York at the time and also features the great Agnes Moorhead. It lasted only a season.

4. The Thin Man-8 Episodes (361 missing):

The Thin Man aired for nine years yet we only have eight episodes. Claudia Morgan played Nora Charles opposite five different actors who played the detective. Most of the episodes are light mysteries. Unfortunately, two were dumbed down, didn’t include mysteries, and the humor was hit and miss. However, the other six episodes point to a great series which deserve to be remembered more.

5. The Fat Man-10 Episodes (279 Missing):

J Scott Smart was iconic in his role as Brad Runyon, the Fat Man. In the opening, he steps on the scale, a moment remembered for decades by people who listened to the overweight hard-boiled detective with a heart of gold. He solved mysteries with his uncanny pronunciation of “murrder.” The episodes that exist are a delight, yet we only have an average of two episodes for every season Smart was on the air.

6. Hercule Poirot-11 episodes (425 missing)

Harold Huber starred as Hercule Poirot in a series of original stories broadcast over the Mutual Network. Nine episodes of Poirot’s fifty-one half-hour performances survived. This is not the worst of it. Huber and Poirot went to CBS where Poirot’s adventures were serialized daily for seventy-seven weeks, all but two of these episodes are lost.

Poirot is one of the greatest detective fiction characters of all time, and Huber was a solid Poirot. The radio series captured the spirit of the character as it chronicled his new “American” adventures. Though some of the mysteries were a bit off. The same could be said of the new Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Yet on occasion, that series produced a great, new story worthy of the original Great Detective. It’s a shame we don’t have the same number of extended mysteries for Poirot.

7. Candy Matson-14 Episodes (79 missing):

Candy has the most episodes of anyone on this list and we get her first and last episodes. Still, this series leaves me wanting a lot more. She changes throughout the series as she’s taken more seriously, but the points at which the character changes are hard to identify due to so many lost episodes. The biggest string of consecutive episodes available is three and there are as many as twenty lost episodes between available episodes.

Are there any rare old time radio programs that make you wish you could hear the whole series (or at least a lot more of it?) Let us know in the comments.

EP2473: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Well of Trouble Matter

Mandel Kramer

Johnny notices a suspicious cash payment from an insured and goes to investigate.

Original Air Date: July 2, 1961

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

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EP2472: Boston Blackie: The Aggie Rogers Murder

Richard Kollmar

A wealthy eccentric woman who lived in a clutter-filled house, is murdered.

Original Air Date: April 8, 1947

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EP2471: Richard Diamond: The Kidnapped Policeman

Dick Powell

Lieutenant Levinson is kidnapped. A warning is given that if a man Levinson sent to death row dies…Levinson dies.

Rebroadcast Date: August 2, 1950

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AWR0042: Les Miserables: The Grave

Amazing World of Radio

Val Jean has gotten away from Javert, but has to find a place to raise Cossette and avoid being recaptured.

Original Air Date: August 20, 1937

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EP2470: Rocky Fortune: Psychological Murder

Frank Sinatra

Rocky helps a woman who’s afraid she’ll murder her husband.

Original Air Date: March 16, 1954

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EP2469: Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons: The Case of the Missing Witness

So lost, I'm fading

photo credit: Greyframe So lost, I’m fading viaphotopin (license)

Mr. Keen investigates the murder of a fashion queen’s daughter.

Original Air Date: January 13, 1944

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Video Theater 0128: Boston Blackie: 101 Blonde

Blackie tries to help a lawyer clear a client accused of a hit and run.

Original Air Date: December 12, 1952

Season 2, Episode 9

EP2468: Dragnet: The Big Chet

Jack Webb

An ex-con gives Friday and Smith a tip in a series of robberies.

Original Air Date: April 5, 1953

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The Top Ten Best Episodes of Night Beat

The recently completed Night Beat series was one of
the best-written and best-acted series we’ve ever played. There were so many great episodes. Narrowing it to a top 10 is a challenge, but here is my best shot.

10) The Man with Red Hair
Original Air Date: August 21, 1952

Randy is picked up in a bar by an intriguing woman who has an unusual itinerary for their date. Along the way, they’re stalked by a man with red hair. Good mystery with an emotional conclusion.

9) The Slasher
Original Air Date: November 10, 1950

A slasher has been terrifying women in the city. Randy thinks he’s discovered who’s behind it and the next victim. Some great twists in this one.

8) Mr. and Mrs. Carothers

Original Air Date: October 26, 1951

A cute, elderly couple ask for Randy’s advice on how to have a good time in the Windy City. All is charming until Randy gets a hint the husband is planning the unthinkable. The story builds up suspense and mystery while giving characters very believable motives.

7) Tong Water
Original Air Date: April 17, 1950

Randy goes to Chinatown to prevent a breakout of a Tong war that could spread across the country.

6) Jukebox Romance

Original Air Date: May 18, 1951

A man with dwarfism is ready to kill after a bully decides to arrange a meeting between him and the lady jukebox operator. In this special episode,a beautiful performance by William Conrad comes out of nowhere and steals the show.

5) I Know Your Secret

Original Air Date: April 10, 1950

Randy comes across a woman ready to commit suicide based on a simple message: “I know your secret.”

4) Einar Pearce and Family

Original Air Date: October 13, 1950

Randy is vacationing in Minnesota and is put on the trail of wanted criminal Einar Pearce, but is captured by the criminal’s family to stop him from going to the police…until they’re done with him. This is a very different Night Beat in a quaint rural setting with unforgettable characters.

3) Fear
Original Air Date: May 25, 1951

Randy receives a letter from a man threatening to kill him sometime during the night.

2) Sanctuary
Original Air Date: June 22, 1951

The set up is brilliant. A madman holds a boy hostage in a church belltower. Can police get the lunatic out without harming the boy? A suspenseful story with a surprise conclusion.

1) Expectant Father

Original Air Date: December 28, 1951

William Conrad’s best single performance on the series as he plays a carousing colleague of Randy’s about to become a father. The vast majority of the episode is Conrad and Frank Lovejoy playing off each other. The script has some dated elements, but it connects to common feelings and conflicts that men deal with. A great piece of writing, brilliantly acted.

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EP2467: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Imperfect Crime Matter

Mandel Kramer

The young wife of a mystery writer is afraid her husband is going to kill her.

Original Air Date: June 25, 1961

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

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EP2466: Boston Blackie: The Cy Gardner Murder

Richard Kollmar

A man calls Blackie for help and tells him to take a bus to the country. On the bus, a woman with a gun forces Blackie off the bus.

Original Air Date: April 1, 1946

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EP2465: Richard Diamond: The Rifle Case

Dick Powell

A gunmaker has received threats and asks Diamond to protect him until he can deliver his designs to the government.

Rebroadcast Date: June 21, 1953

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Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715

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AWR0041: Les Miserables: Cossette

Amazing World of Radio

Val Jean has been assumed dead after being sent back to the galley and apparently drowning, but Javert doesn’t believe it. Meanwhile, eight year Cossette lives in misery with the inn keeping couple her month left her with.

Original Air Date: August 13, 1937

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