Month: December 2023

Philip Marlowe: The Old Acquaintance (Encore) (EP4274e)

Gerald Mohr
Marlowe is hired on New Year’s Eve to a locate a missing fiancée, who disappeared on the same day that a dangerous convict broke out of prison.

Original Air Date: December 26, 1948

Originating in Hollywood

Starring: Gerald Mohor as Philip Marlowe

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Heartbeat Theatre: The Land of Beginning Again (AWR0238)

Amazing World of Radio

Today’s story:

In Strausburg, a Salvation Army Major tries to help a Jewish shop owner who believes his landlord is trying to drive him out.

Original Radio Broadcast: January 1, 1961

Originating in Hollywood

Starring: Jack Kruschen

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Book Review: The Labours of Hercules

A version of this review as posted in 2011

One of my favorite Agatha Christie works is a short story collection called The Labours of Hercules, which was published in 1947.

So I decided to take a listen to this classic with not one, but twelve great Poirot mysteries as read by Hugh Fraser (Captain Hastings from the ITV Series).

Poirot’s quest is begun due to an obnoxious guest who mocks Poirot’s name, and the amazing fact that Poirot knows little of the Greek classics given that he was named Hercules and his brother Achilles. Egged on by the professor, Poriot decides to read the classics, and is shocked by the lack of morality of the Greek gods and that his namesake was all muscle and no brain. Right then and there, Poirot vows to give the modern world something that’s truly admirable: his own labours of Hercules.  Poirot resolves to take 12 cases and no more, with each case corresponding to a labour of Hercules.

What follows is twelve well-crafted and fun thrillers.  Christie works elements of the Greek classics in a charming but unobtrusive way. One of the most amusing is in “The Apples of Hesperides.” In the original tale, Hercules received the help of Atlas; in Poirot’s version, he received the help of Harry Atlas, a local gambler. “The Capture of Cerberus” in Hercules’ story featured Hercules going to the underworld; in Poirot’s version, he goes to a Hell-themed nightclub.

My favoritie stories in the collection were:

  • “The Erymanthian Boar”: Poirot is retained by the Swiss to find a killer in a Swiss hotel which has an unusually high number of occupants for that time of year.
  • “The Horses of Diomedes”: At the request of a doctor friend, Poirot looks into the distribution of heroin that is apparently corrupting the daughters of an Indian Army veteran. A very solid and early story on the drug trade.
  • “The Arcadian Deer”: This story finds the great Hercules Poirot undertaking a commission for a garage mechanic to find a lost love. A very beautiful and sweet story.
  • “The Apples of Hesperides”: Poirot undertakes to find a golden goblet that was stolen from a rich man before he could take possession after winning it at an auction. Some great twists, including the character of Harry Atlas.
  • “The Capture of Cerebus”:  The last and probably best story in the collection, as Poirot renews an old acquaintance with a supposedly reformed female jewel thief who is running a nightclub called Hell. But the police suspect the den (in addition to being somewhat tacky) is also the center of the drug trade.

I could go on. There were so many great stories to love in this book. The character of Miss Carnaby, who appears in two stories, is a real treat.

All the stories were enjoyable in their own way, but if I had to pick two lesser ones, I’d choose “The Augean Stables” and “The Stymphalean Birds.”

Poirot’s analog to the “Augean Stables” is to clean up a political scandal that threatens to bring down the Prime Minister, whom Poirot admires because a respected friend told him the Prime Minister was a “sound man.”  What makes this story particularly odd is how Poirot cleans up the problem. The plot could very well have been the inspiration for the novel American Hero and the movie Wag the Dog.  It suggests that the world is fortunate that Poriot didn’t take up political consulting instead of detection.

The solution to “The Stymphalean Birds” seems a little too simple. Poirot becomes involved in this case when a young English politician approaches him with his problem while visiting Europe.  The truth is, I could have told the poor unfortunate guy what was going on.

However, even the weaker stories were fun. While Agatha Christie began to tire of Poirot by the 1930s, that fatigue doesn’t show in this great collection. This really has the feel of something the author enjoyed writing which gives the readers great joy as well.

When I first reviewed this book, I didn’t think the book would ever be adapted. It was adapted, sort of, although not faithfully. The telefilm version (review here) was a darker, more compressed mystery with dark undertones that foreshadow Poirot’s dark turn in Curtain. If you were put off by that, be assured the book is a much lighter and fun read.

On the positive side, Hugh Fraser does a great job narrating the audiobook version, with a wide variety of voices for different characters, so it’s close to a one-man dramatization. I heartily recommend the audiobook version for that reason. It’s probably the closest we’ll get to an adaptation. The odds of getting a faithful adaptation of these stories are small given the trends in entertainment today.

However you choose to read it, The Labours of Hercules is a wonderful collection of mysteries that will be no labor at all to read.

Rating: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars.

 

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Studio One: Anthony Adverse (Encore) (EP4274)

Bud Collyer
A young adventurer is sent to the New World to find out why his guardian’s debtors haven’t been paying. He discovers that they’ve been missing for a year.

Original Air Date: October 14, 1947

Originating from New York

Starring: Bud Collyer; Mercedes McCambridge; Fletcher Markle

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Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The McCormack Matter Omnibus Edition (Encore) (EP4273)

Bob Bailey

A dying prisoner sends Johnny searching for $100,000 in stolen jewels that were never recovered; murder follows.

Original Air Dates: October 3-7, 1955

Originating in Hollywood

Starring: Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar; Mary Jane Croft; Virginia Gregg; Marvin Miller; Forrest Lewis; Frank Gerstle; Herb Butterfield; Herb Ellis; Tony Barrett; Ken Christy; Jack Kruschen; Junius Matthews

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Mercury Theatre: The Man Who Was Thursday (Encore) (EP4272)

Orson Welles

In G.K. Chesterton’s classic, Gabriel Syme (Orson Welles) is a police detective infiltrating the anarchist council of Europe.

Original Air Date: September 5, 1938

Originating in New York

Starring: Orson Welles; Eustace Wyatt; Edgar Barrier; Joseph Cotten; George Coulouris; Ray Collins

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Screen Director’s Playhouse: Spellbound (Encore) (EP4271)

Mercedes McCambridge
Today’s Mystery: A psychiatrist tries to unravel the mystery of a man who believes he murdered another psychiatrist. Will she find out the truth or become his next victim?

Original Air Date: January 25, 1951

Originating in Hollytwood

Starring: Mercedes McCambridge; Joseph Cotten; Herb Butterfield; Howard McNear; William Tracy; James Nusser; John Blyforce

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The Ford Theatre: The Adventure of a Bad Boy (Encore) (EP4270)

Hugh Marlowe

Today’s Mystery: Ellery Queen investigates the attempted poisoning of a cantankerous woman. The most obvious suspect is her eight-year-old nephew.

Original Air Date: January 4, 1948

Originating in New York

Starring: Hugh Marlowe as Ellery Queen; Santos Ortega; Ted de Corsia; Sarah Fussell; Anne Seymour; John Gibson

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The Saint: Santa Claus is No Saint (Encore) (EP4269)

Vincent Prince
Today’s Mystery: While dressed as Santa, Simon is mistaken for a man who made off with an expensive necklace. Simon spends Christmas Eve trying to catch a thief and a murderer.

Original Air Date: December 24, 1950

Originating in Hollywood

Starring: Simon Templar

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Christmas Carols for Christmas Seals (AWR0237)

Amazing World of Radio

John Charles Thomas and the Chaffey College Symphonic Choir perform traditional Christmas carols in support of Christmas Seals.

Original Air Date: Decenver 5, 1949

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Dragnet: The Big Little Jesus (Video Theater 262)

Friday and Smith try to recover a stolen statue of the child Jesus for a church before the Christmas Mass.

Original Air Date: December 24, 1953

Season 3, Episode 17

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Campbell’s Playhouse: There’s Always A Woman (Encore) (EP4268e)

 

Orson Welles

A private detective (Orson Welles) decides to give up on his one-man agency and go back to his job with the DA, but his wife is determined to make the agency work and finds herself investigating a murder case that makes life difficult for her husband.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: December 17, 1939

Originating from Hollywood

Starring: Orson Welles; Marie Wilson; Richard Wilson; Everett Sloane; Mary Taylor; Frank Readick

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Audio Drama Review: Jimmy and the Star Angel

A version of this review was posted in 2017

In Family Time Audio Theatre’s musical Jimmy and the Star Angel, Jimmy and Samantha, a young brother and sister, are dealing with their first Christmas without their dad. On Christmas Eve, Jimmy destroys one of his father’s Christmas tree ornaments, which leads to them being shrunk to the size of ornaments. All the ornaments on the tree come alive. Jimmy and Samantha need their help to reach the top of the tree by dawn to ask the Star Angel for help, or risk being turned into Christmas ornaments forever.

If you like Babes in Toyland or the Wizard of Oz, Jimmy and the Star Angel is that type of journey, so you’re sure to enjoy it. This magical quest up a Christmas tree is full of imaginative and fun characters. It’s also an emotional journey for Samantha and especially Jimmy.

The music in this is great. The songs alone are worth the price of the purchase. They vary in tone, mood, and purpose, but they’re all fun. I loved the swinging “Snowman Spectacular” and the penultimate song “Star Angel” is still bouncing around in my head more than a week and a half after I listened to it.

While the plot is a fantasy, there’s an emotional throughline for  Jimmy and Samantha that’s moving. I also found the use of the Christmas trees to be interesting. Jimmy’s family has passed down ornaments for years. The idea that these ornaments serve as a family connection through the generations is well-presented, and it helps to serve as a solution to the problem.

The plot has minor issues that adult listeners will pick up on. The villain, the pirate Scrimshaw (Jerry Robbins), feels like he’s been written because these stories need a villain, which leads to the less-than-satisfactory way in which he’s dispatched, as well as the strained way he’s brought in. That said, though Scrimshaw is not necessary to the plot, Robbins (who wrote the play) is a lot of fun in the role. I like the idea of a Christmas Tree ornament seeking revenge against the boy who broke him.

Overall, this is a great production for the whole family. I recommend you try it out and see if it becomes a tradition like your favorite Christmas tree ornaments.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Disclosure: I received a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Dragnet: The Big Little Jesus (EP4268)

Today’s Mystery:

Friday and Smith search for a statue of the child Jesus stolen from a church on Christmas Eve.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: December 22, 1953

Originating from Hollywood

Starring: Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday; Ben Alexander as Officer Frank Smith; Herb Vigran; Ralph Moody

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Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Nick Shurn Matter, Episodes Three, Four, and Five (EP4267)

Bob Bailey

Today’s Mystery:

Johnny is in a quaint Michigan town on Christmas Eve and has to find a witness to a murder before a hired killer does.

Original Radio Broadcast Dates: December 21, 22, and 23, 1955

Originating from Hollywood

Starring: Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar; Virginia Gregg; Peggy Webber; Don Diamond; Ben Wright; Jack Kruschen; Barney Phillips; Sam Edwards; Ken Christy

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