Month: October 2018

EP2657: Rocky Jordan: Journey to Nashier

Jack Moyles

Rocky takes a sample of his favorite brand of bottled water while visiting a bottling importer. He collapses and wakes up fifty miles away in the desert.

Original Air Date: June 26, 1949

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EP2656: Stand by for Crime: Luke Larson’s Murder

Glenn Langan

A prizefighter is in a fight that Chuck thinks is rigged.

Original Air Date: Sometime in 1952
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EP2655: Mister Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons: The Eccentric Millionaire Murder Case

So lost, I'm fading

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

Mister Keen investigates the murder of a reclusive millionaire.

Original Air Date: April 13, 1950

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Video Theater 0142: Boston Blackie: The Heist Job

A cabbie ex-con who Blackie sent to prison is implicated in a robbery.

Season 2, Episode 17
 

Original Air Date: February 6, 1953

EP2654s: The Crime Club: Mister Smith’s Hat

An alcoholic who was an embarrassment to his well-to-do family is murdered.

Original Air Date: January 23, 1947

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Video Theater 0142: Boston Blackie: The Heist Job

A cabbie ex-con who Blackie sent to prison is implicated in a robbery.

Season 2, Episode 17

Original Air Date: February 6, 1953

EP2654: Dragnet: The Big Switch

Jack Webb

Friday and Smith investigate an apparent suicide with signs of foul play.

Original Air Date: January 12, 1954

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Audio Drama: The Collected Bowdrie Dramatizations: Volume 2 (Dramatized)

The second volume of dramatizations of Louis L’Amour’s Chick Bowdrie stories features six stories featuring L’Amour’s fast-shooting Texas Ranger. The stories are all as strong as in the previous collection. In addition to being Westerns, most are also mysteries as Bowdrie rides into town and has to solve a murder or theft, often as the only legitimate law for hundreds of miles around. The mysteries are bad. If you know L’Amour stories, you often have a very early idea who the guilty party will be.

My favorite story in this collection is the one that isn’t a mystery. “South of Deadwood” found Bowdrie charged with delivering a desperado back to Texas for trial where he faces hanging. A woman insists the criminal can tell the truth that can clear her brother and save him from the gallows. Bowdrie is inclined to believe her, but the criminal refuses to cooperate as he has no motive to do the right thing. At the same time, Bowdrie is being stalked by the criminal’s old gang. As they travel, Bowdrie and the criminal practically become friends or as much of friends as they could be. It’s really properly a complex plot for a short story that works with great characters and a few surprises.

The dramas are all well-acted and fairly well scored. On top of the audio dramas, some of the shorter dramas are proceeded with a few clips from L’Amour himself, sharing his keen insights into the life and times of the old West. Overall, this is a delightful collection of well-written audio dramas by one of the masters of the Western genre and definitely worth a listen.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5

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EP2653: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Ike and Mike Matter

Mandel Kramer

Johnny arrives too late to help a local insurance agent determine whether to cancel the policy of a shady customer as the insured died in the fire of an apparent accident, but Johnny’s not too sure.

Original Air Date: March 18, 1962

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

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EP2652: Boston Blackie: The Mysterious Old Shoe

Richard Kollmar

Blackie receives a shoe, $1,000, and instructions to deliver the shoe to the police.

Original Air Date: November 5, 1947

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EP2651: Rocky Jordan: The Big Ditch

Jack Moyles

An old friend of Rocky’s has a plan to get rich quick–buy the Suez Canal and wants Rocky to loan him money to do it.

Original Air Date: June 19, 1949

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EP2650: Stand by For Crime: The Communist Menace

Glenn Langan

At the request of the station owner and the FBI, radio crime reporter Chuck Morgan reads a pro-Communist script on his broadcast and is fired so he can infilitrate the Communist Party and find out who’s leading the Los Angeles branch of the Party.

Original Air Date: 1953

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EP2649: Mister Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons: The Case of Murdered Detective

So lost, I'm fading

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

A police detective friend of Keen and Clancy is murdered while investigating a charity theft.

Original Air Date: April 6, 1950

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DVD Review: A Bone to Pick


A Bone to Pick is the first of the Aurora Teagarden Hallmark mysteries starring Candace Cameron-Bure. Aurora is a librarian and an active member in a local group for readers of true stories of unsolved crimes that likes to speculate on whodunit. A childless group member dies of old age and names Aurora as her sole heir. While going through her late friend’s effects at her friend’s home, Aurora discovers a hidden human skull. This leads her to try and prove her worth as an amateur detective and solve the case.

This TV movie checks some of the most important genre boxes. Aurora is a likable protagonist and the mystery is well thought-out. The mystery is two-fold as Aurora has to figure out who the victim was as well as who the murderer while refusing to report it to the police while she plays detective. The story is given an added sense of realism by having a best friend (Lexa Doig) who warns Aurora this is not a good idea. When the police do get involved, they don’t at all appreciate the amateur’s interference and threaten to arrest her. To make matters worse for Aurora, the police detective on the case is her ex-boyfriend’s new wife (Miranda Frigon) who is about nine months pregnant.

Several minutes are taken up with Aurora meeting and dating the Episcopal Priest Father Scott Aubrey (Stephen Huszar) The relationship goes nowhere, has nothing to do with the mystery, and he never appears in the series again. I also found the attempt to add peril to the denoument to be a bit silly and over-the-top.

But if I really had a “bone to pick” (ha) with the movies it is that there’s a missing sense of place. I’ve heard the books are set in Georgia. This makes sense. Aurora Teagarden the most Southern Belle name you’ll ever find. However, the movie is set in a generic small town and is filmed in Canada. This works fine most of the time, but a few details of the film would make a lot more sense if this story were set in Georgia, such as Aurora’s name and her mother’s attitude. Devoid of her cultural context, the proper patrician Southern lady becomes plain snooty.

Despite that, this was a fun movie. It’s a family-friendly mystery. with a likable actress playing the amateur detective. It’ll never win an Edgar but if you want to watch a cozy mystery with an amateur sleuth, this will do nicely.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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EP2648: Dragnet: The Big Listen

Jack Webb

Friday and Smith get a tip on a couple criminals planning something big.

Original Air Date: January 5, 1954

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