Tag: Basil Rathbone

EP1768: Tales of Fatima: Time to Kill

Basil Rathbone

Basil Rathbone is shot at and then finds a blonde in his car who claims Rathbone wrote letters that convinced her to leave her husband and come to New York, and then learns of his own brutal murder from a radio broadcast.

Original Air Date: May 28, 1949

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EP1762: Tales of Fatima: A Much Expected Murder

Basil Rathbone

A woman calls Basil Rathbone in to prevent the death of her husband.

Original Air Date: May 21, 1949

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Radio Most Essential People Countdown: #70-#66

Previous Posts: 71-75, 76-80, 81-85, 86-90, 91-95, 96-100

70) Groucho Marx

Groucho MarxGroucho Marx’s greatest claim to fame was as the ringleader of the Marx Brothers. In his zany character, he has delighted millions. His radio story was more complex. In the early ’30s, he and Chico starred in Five Star Theater as two characters right out of their films. Though all but one episode and two excerpts have been lost, the series was recreated brilliantly by the BBC as Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel. After this though, Groucho struggled to find his place as a solo performer. In 1943, he headed up a typical comedy variety program called Blue Ribbon Town, similar to programs hosted by Jack Benny, Bob Hope, and Eddie Cantor, but it didn’t really fit Groucho who left one season. In 1947, he found his place as host of You Bet Your Life, one of radio’s most beloved and collected radio game shows. Ostensibly, it was a quiz show, but really the highlight was Groucho questioning each week’s guests. It showed a different side of Groucho than his earlier movies. He was still wise-cracking, but he was more mature and calmer than his big screen archetype. Groucho’s program easily made the leap to television but continued to be simulcast over the radio until its end in 1961.

69) Martha Wilkerson (G.I. Jill)

During World War II, many fought the morale war and none did better than Wilkerson. When the war launched, many programs were made for soldiers often featuring celebrity hosts. One such program was G.I. Jive with its selection of hot much. Early episodes feature such professionals as Frank Nelson and Donna Reed. However, they would be replaced by an unknown who would quickly become known to forces overseas as G.I. Jill. Recorded in Los Angeles, Jill’s warm and friendly voice was a big slice of home to war-weary soldiers. She was the ultimate girl next door. She made the perfect counter to Japanese efforts to undermine morale in the person of Tokyo Rose. With superior records and a winning personality and her recordings of fifteen minute daily GI Jive show and her half hour Jill’s All-Time Jukebox, Wilkerson helped to win the morale war and her recordings are much beloved by golden age radio fans today.

68) Basil Rathbone

Basil Rathbone is intrinsically linked with the character of Sherlock Holmes. He starred in two movies for Fox in 1939 after which there were to be no more Holmes films. The film series ended and in 1939 the show was taken to the radio for a 24 week series over the Blue Network. That series proved so popular, that 2 more seasons followed over radio with the 1941-42 series landing a solid 14.6 on the Hooper rating. Without the radio series, it’s doubtful that Rathbone and Bruce would have made the next twelve movies in the series for Universal from 1942-46. But they did. With the war on, Sherlock Holmes was even more important as a symbol to the American people, so after more than a year’s absence the series returned and ran for 108 weeks straight from May 3 1943-May 28, 1945 without a break. The series got to be too much for Rathbone who, despite an offer of more money, was getting tired of Holmes and insisted that if he continued in the role, the series move to New York after the 1945-46 season. The producers refused and did one more season in Hollywood with Tom Conway before moving to New York for two seasons with John Stanley. Rathbone’s definitive performance as Holmes led to soundalike successors that had audiences believing he was still on Sherlock Holmes three seasons after he left. In addition to Sherlock Holmes, Rathbone starred in Scotland Yard and then played himself in a comedy mystery series, Tales of Fatima. Outside of the Holmes character, Rathbone remained a presence as a true dramatic actor with several appearance on Theater Guild on the Air. He made ten appearances on Cavalcade of America starring as such noted Americans as John Jay, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and Oliver Wendell Holmes.

67) Ozzie and Harriet

Ozzie and HarrietOzzie and Harriet would define an era in American life and they began over radio. Ozzie Nelson was a band leader for Red Skelton and his wife Harriet was a single. When Skelton was drafted, the couple got their own program, the Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. The program would be a sensation. It would be emblematic of everything right or everything wrong with traditional values depending on your viewpoint. The series began over radio and continued on television until 1966, some 22 years after it started. The talented couple also lent their combined efforts to programs like Suspense and Family Theater, providing an interesting contrast to their work on Ozzie and Harriet.

66) Frederick ZIv

As network radio and television grabbed hold, Frederick Ziv became the king of first run syndication. Ziv’s productions are beloved by fans for their high quality and star power. He produced nearly every type of program that you could imagine: Detective shows like Boston Blackie, Manhunt, and Philo Vance, an anthology series with Favorite Story, a Western in The Cisco Kid, a Horror program caled Weird Circle, adventure programs like Bold Venture and I Was a Communist for the FBI, and even a political drama called Freedom USA. In addition to this, Ziv’s programs attracted some of Hollywood’s best and brightest including Bogart and Becall in Bold Venture, Tyrone Power in Freedom USA, and Fred Macmurray in Bright Stars. Ziv’s programs have delighted listeners and the fact that the shows were intended for rebroadcast has made transcription disc abundant and made them easy to collect. The other big winners in Ziv’s production were local businesses who couldn’t sponsor a show like Suspense but could sponsor Weird Circle. Thanks to Frederick Ziv, local companies could bring people quality programming to promote their business and be able to compete for listener loyalty with large national chains as well as playing their own unique part in the golden age of radio.

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EP0289: Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Uneasy Chair

Basil Rathbone

Scotland Yard has a suspect in the murder of a wealthy man, but no murder weapon, and the case begins to look think when another murder done in the same way takes place while the alleged murder is in jail.

Original Air Date: May 13, 1946

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EP0264: Sherlock Holmes: The Disappearing Scientists

Basil Rathbone

Holmes wants to retire, but is in demand to solve one last case before taking up bee farming.

Original Air Date: April 8, 1946

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EP0234: Sherlock Holmes: The Terrifying Cats

Basil Rathbone

An opera singer with a deadly fear of cats turns to Holmes for help.

Original Air Date: February 25, 1946

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EP0204: Sherlock Holmes: Murder Beyond the Mountains

Basil Rathbone

*During a time when Sherlock Holmes was believed to be dead, he confronts a murder mystery at a Tibetan monastery.

Original Air Date: January 14, 1946

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EP0169: Sherlock Holmes: The Double Zero

While in the South of France at a Casino, death comes to two local gamblers and it’s up to Holmes to find the truth.

Original Air Date: November 19, 1945

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EP0164: Sherlock Holmes: The Speckled Band

A young woman whose sister died from a mysterious poisoning asks Holmes and Watson to help, fearing her step father may kill her next.

Original Air Date: November 12, 1945

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EP0159: Sherlock Holmes: The Fifth of November

Holmes and Watson are off on a Guy Fawkes Day Adventure when a Mr. James Stuart comes in on November 5 and retains Holmes to protect him from his cousin, Guy Falkenberry, who Stuart says is planning to blow him up.

Original Air Date: November 5, 1945

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EP0149: Sherlock Holmes: The Great Gandolfo

*On a challenge from his brother, Mycroft, Sherlock Holmes comes out of retirement to help a young spy catcher find a spy working in a magic act.

Original Air Date: October 22, 1945

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EP0139: Sherlock Holmes: The Vanishing Elephant

*Holmes is called to India regarding the security of a White elephant whose death signals the coming death of a Maharaja.

Original Air Date: October 8, 1945

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EP0134: Sherlock Holmes: The Problem of Thor Bridge

Holmes is called in to investigate the death of the wife of a wealthy man,  who is in loved with the alleged murderess.

Original Air Date: October 1, 1945

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EP0119: Sherlock Holmes: The Story of Colonel Warburton’s Madness

 

Dr. Watson is on vacation and runs into an old army man with a guest visiting from Africa. The Colonel hears whistles no one else does, and his niece insists he’s going mad.

Original Air Date: September 10, 1945

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EP0114: Sherlock Holmes: The Limping Ghost

Holmes is off to a Scottish castle to investigate the legend of a ghost whose appearance announces death.

Original Air Date: September 3, 1945

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