The era of DVDs has brought many great films and television shows to people’s home viewing. Yet there are many efforts that have not been given their due with a DVD release so they can be enjoyed by audiences. Instead they’re not shown at all or show only occasionally on certain TV channels.
The good news in recent years is that most studios have continued a slow roll out of material. Some material that’s been considered to be of commercially questionable value have been released on DVR through Archives collections which have given viewers access to such treasures as the George Sanders Saint Collection and Red Skelton’s Whistling Trilogy without committing studios to spending large amounts of money on a big run of DVDs.
However, there remain plenty of TV programs and movies that have not gotten their due with a DVD release and have thus remained obscure and hard to come by except from the sellers of bootleg DVDs.
So, in this series of posts we’ll be taking a look at some movies and television shows that deserve to be available on retail DVDs. Our focus is on detectives and there are quite a few detective films from the golden era that are not available. The biggest contingent is the detective movie series. In the pre-Television era, these film detectives starred in “movies” that were usually between 60 and 75 minutes. The most famous of these are the Charlie Chan and the Rathbone-Bruce Sherlock Holmes films. In addition to this, Peter Lorre’s Mr. Moto films and Bonita Granville’s Nancy Drew films, have been released as well as the public domain adventures of Mr. Wong and Bulldog Drummond. The Michael Shayne films have scored partial releases have the Falcon and the Saint. However, the mystery film series goes beyond that and there’s much missing that ought to be there.
5) Philo Vance
Series run: 1929-40, 1947
Stars: William Powell (5 films), Warren William (2 Films), Alan Curtis (2 Films), Basil Rathbone, Paul Lucas, Edmund Lowe, Grant Richards, Wilfrid Hyde-Wright, James Stephenson, William Wright
Total Films: 16
“Philo Vance needs a kick in the pants.” So concluded Ogden Nash. Many a literary critic has wondered why the arrogant and unlikable literary Vance become so popular. The answer may be that America loved the great British detectives and longed for one of stature they could call their own and Vance was the first American-based detective to be at that level.
The movies are another matter and ought to be a fun opportunity for fans, especially the Rathbone film as well as five featuring a pre-Thin Man William Powell. This series was a big step in Powell’s career, so much so that in the Thin Man Trailer, “Philo Vance” helps to introduce the new movie series. Sadly, only one film from this series is readily available and that one escaped into the public domain.
5) Hildegard Withers
Series Run: 1932-37
Stars: Edna May Oliver (3 Films), Zasu Pitts (2 Films), Helen Broderick
Total Films: 6
A classic series of Comedy mysteries, the first three films with Oliver are acclaimed as solid comedy mysteries featuring Boston-based spinster who finds herself involved in murder mysteries.
4) Ellery Queen
Series Run: 1940-42
Stars: Ralph Bellamy (4 films) and William Gargan (3 Films):
Total Films: 7
Ellery Queen remains one of the most recognized characters in detective fiction and the 1975 TV series is on DVD but this classic series featuring the master detective played by not one but two great actors is completely absent.
3) The Lone Wolf
Series Run: 1935, 1938-43, 1946-47, 1940
Stars: Warren William (9 films), Gerald Mohr (3 films), Melvyn Douglas, Francis Lederer, Ron Randelll
Total Films: 15
Michael Lanyard (aka The Lone Wolf), like Boston Blackie was a jewel thief turned detective. He was the lead character in several novels by Joseph Vance as well as a series of silent films.
Two isolated films in 1935 and ’38 were made before Warren William made The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt in 1939. The turn to espionage was timely and Williams would make 8 more Lone Wolf Films before 1943. Also of interest are the three films starring Gerald Mohr (better known as the star of radio’s Philip Marlowe) released in 1946 and ’47.
In addition, I would also put a plug in here for giving a full DVD release to the 1954-55 TV series starring Louis Heyward. The 39-episode syndicated series was top notch with Heyward turning in an action-packed performance as Michael Lanyard.
2) Perry Mason
Series Run: 1934-37
Stars: Warren William (4 Films), Ricardo Cortez, Donald Woods
Before there was Raymond Burr, there was Warren William as Perry Mason hit theaters in the mid-30s. The release of these films would make a nice contrast to the more recent takes on Perry Mason.
1) Boston Blackie
Series Run: 1940-49
Star: Chester Morris (14 Films)
Morris played the character of reformed thief Boston Blackie in one of the more popular 1940s Detective film franchises that was a huge moneymaker for Columbia. Over the course of the films which ranged from 60-68 minutes in length, Boston Blackie became one of the more interesting golden era characters. We pick up the result of some of this evolution in the Boston Blackie series. That this most beloved series hasn’t been given its due on DVD is a shame and hopefully, it will be corrected.
If you enjoyed this post, you can have new posts about Detective stories and the golden age of radio and television delivered automatically to your Kindle.
Frances Langford had a long association with radio that began in the mid-1930s and lasted for more than a decade and a half. She appeared on musical programs with Rudy Vallee and Dick Powell, but she was best known for her association with Bob Hope. During World War II, she toured with Hope overseas. She also played Blanche on the iconic radio sitcom, The Bickersons.
Brad Runyon had little in common with Gutman because not only wasn’t he a villain, but unlike Gutman, Runyon was a man of action. This also separated him from Nero Wolfe, who relied on others to do his legwork. Runyon, however was solidly in the hard-boiled school of private detection, taking and giving his own lumps. Runyon was tough, intelligent, and attractive to the ladies despite his girth, but also was a little sensitive about the subject. At the end of an episode he bemoaned, “Nobody loves a Fat Man.” Radio audiences begged to differ.
However, the Fat Man wasn’t the only large radio detective. In 1950, NBC brought the Big Guy to radio. In the lead was Henry Calvin who definitely had the build for the part. In the latter half of the 1950s, he would play his most memorable role as Sergeant Garcia on Disney’s Zorro and in the 1960s would appear in a variety episode of the Dick Van Dyke Show as Oliver Hardy with Van Dyke as Stan Laurel.
However, there the similarities end. We find that Lucius Crane investigates his own cases with only a little help from the sidekick. The mystery is well-written. Middleton does fairly well as Crane. There was a little stiffness early on, but this was not unlike trying on and getting comfortable in a new set of clothes. Overall, the show worked quite well and could have been an interesting program.
Sixteen years after Gunsmoke came to television, he got a crack at a starring dramatic role as the title character in Cannon. Frank Cannon was an ex-cop who was a private detective and freelance troubleshooter. Cannon was a gourmet chef, but also a martial arts and weapons expert who could more than hold his own in a fight and was a great driver when a chase scene was called for.
Vic Perrin’s first radio appearance was in 1943 for Free World Theater. He’d quickly become one of radio’s most vital character actors. He was a regular stock player for Jack Webb who was used constantly. He also appeared on programs such as Family Theater and Suspense. He continued to make radio appearances as the Golden Age headed to the twilight of its existence appearing regularly on Gunsmoke, Yours Truly Johnny Dollar, and Have Gun Will Travel. He also took on a rare recurring role as Sgt. Goerss on Fort Laramie. He also played a key role in Radio Revival attempts in the 1970s appearing on Rod Serling’s Zero Hour and the Sears Radio Theater. His voice work was also prominent in cartoons. He served a whole new generation of fans with his performance as Sinesto in the Super Friends, along with voicework for the 1978 Fantastic Four and 1983 Incredible Hulk animated programs
Bogart was first and foremost, a movie star.and one of the greatest of his or any other time. However, he showed time and time again that he was able to perform with the best of them on radio when his busy film schedule allowed. He adapted several of his movies to radio including The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The African Queen, and To Have or Have Not as well as many of his Gangster roles such as Petrified Forest and Bullets or Ballots. These radio films are a rare treat for fans. Beyond these appearances, Bogart also starred in Bold Venture. Bold Venture was far from the best written radio drama with the oft-recurring plot of Bogart’s character Slade Shannon being played for a royal sucker by the underworld guest star of the week. That the show is so well-loved sixty years later is a testament to the sheer power of Bogart and Becall to overcome all odds, including those imposed by the writers.