Category: Golden Age Article

Golden Age Article

Perry Mason’s Final TV Cases

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With the impending departure of Starz programming including the 1980s and 1990s Perry Mason Telefilms, I’ve been watching all 26 of these last films with the aging Raymond Burr. My thoughts on the first 9 films (i.e. the Paul Drake, Jr. era) are here.

After the 1988  Movie, “The Lady in the Lake,” William Katt departed the cast and Paul Drake, Jr. was replaced by lawyer Ken Malansky, played by William Moses. The Ken Malansky era was the one I grew up watching, but Malansky wasn’t all these other films had to offer.

Ken MalanskyKen Malansky: The change from Drake to Malansky seemed to recapture some of the old Perry Mason Magic. The way that Perry Mason had worked in the 1950s was in establishing a family atmosphere on the team between Perry, Della, and Paul Drake. With Raymond Burr and Della Street much older, they needed a dutiful son-type rather than a brother-type as the original Paul Drake had been  For me, Ken Malansky gelled better in that capacity.  This, despite the fact that Katt was actually Barbara Hale’s real life son.

Unlike Drake, Malansky wasn’t a detective. He was a fully licensed member of the bar (after his first appearance when he was a law student accused of murder) who did the work of a private investigator. While he struggled with cases, and finding his man he was far more competent than Drake, Jr.

It did take them a while to get the Malansky character just right. The first three movies with Malansky in 1989 featured Alexandra Paul as his eccentric on-again/off-again fiancee’. They took the quirky character and tried to make her into a detective in training. It didn’t work and by the next season she’d disappeared into the memory hole that had swallowed TV characters such as Chuck Cunningham. From then on, Malansky was paired with a different (usually female) sidekick each movie, often against his will.

Over the course of the seventeen films, Moses grew increasingly comfortable in the role and his role in Perry’s office grew. In early episodes, Perry declined to have the green young attorney as co-counsel, but later he was introduced as Perry’s associate and in one of the final movies as his partner.

Overall, the family dynamic had gelled very well by the time the last few Mason films would air.

Lt. Brock: The latter films featured a lot more of James McEachin as Lieutenant Brock. McEachin had appeared in the second Perry Mason film as Sergeant Brock in The Case of the Notorious Nun. McEachin returned in another role, In the Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel in 1987, before finding his way back for 13 more episodes as Sergeant and later Lieutenant Brock including 12 of the Malansky era Masons.  McEachin had a folksy and convicing manner that almost sold you on whatever slim circumstantial case he’d gotten against Perry’s clients. As I watched a lot of these movies in a row, one thing that did begin unbelievable is his extreme confidence that there was just no way, Perry Mason was going to get his client out of this one. “Unlike the last eleven times I said this, Mr. Mason, there’s no way your client will ever be acquitted.”

Yeah, right. See you in court.

The Prosecutors: After the departure of David Ogden Stiers in 1988, the prosecution table became a smorgasboard of forgettable performances. The prosecution was so inconsequential that in one episode, the writers didn’t bother to name her, having the judge address her only as, “Madam prosecutor.”

One exception to this was, “Perry Mason and the Case of the Fatal Fashion” which featured Scott Baio as the opposing counsel. This was actually Baio’s first role since the end of Charles in Charge and he acquitted himself well as a hotshot young attorney who admires Perry Mason and dreams of besting the great man in court.  While he doesn’t end up doing it, he probably came closer than anyone else, and made a nice bright spot in these bleak catalog of unworthy prosecutors.

A Little Padding: Some of the Perry Mason films came off as padded to fit timeslots. Perhaps, the worst example of this is the obligatory scene where the prosecutor asks the arresting officer about finding the murder weapon. When Mason cross-examines, this makes sense. When he says, “No questions,” as he does a few times, it seems like a waste of the audience’s time as it reveals no new information.

Exit Raymond Burr: Of course, these are minor points. Whatever flaws or logical inconsistencies can be found in Perry Mason’s TV movies, over the course of 26 films, the highlight is still the opportunity to see Raymond Burr in his most memorable role just one more time. While some other parts of the show disappointed in terms of acting, writing, or pacing, Burr remained the consumate professional and delivered solid performances to the end, including his last performance before his 1993 deat in, “Perry Mason and the Case of the Killer Kiss.” Lawyers had long been a joke and despised, but Burr succeeded in creating an attorney who was beloved for his pursit of justice.

Burr’s death left the network on the hook to produce 4 new Perry Mason films, but without the definitive Perry Mason. Rather than trying to cast another actor as Mason, the Network opted to bring in Paul Sorvino and then Hal Holbrooke as friends of Perry filling in. I may watch those films before they disappear from Netflix. I barely remember them from when they aired. The main thing I remember about Sorvino and Holbrooke is that they were no Raymond Burr.

Then again who was?

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Golden Age Article

Radio Review: The Shell Chateau and the Shell Show

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The 60 minute variety show became a standard on radio up through the mid-1940s with programs such as the Kraft Music Hall and Fred Allen’s Town Hall program. In the mid-to-late 1940s the format gave way to half hour variety shows, but the Big Show brought the longer-format back with its 90 minute programs and then television offered 60 minutes, 90 minutes, and 2 hour programs.

One of the pioneers in this longer-format shows was the Shell Corporation with its presentation of The Shell Chateau and later The Shell Show.

The Hosts:

Al JolsonThe Shell Chateau was first hosted by Al Jolson in 1935 he returned later on in 1936. Today, Jolson today is best remembered. for starring in the first feature length-talkie, The Jazz Singer. Jolson was in the midst of a four decade run as America’s best-known and most popular entertainer which no doubt buoyed Shell’s program In the programs where Jolson hosts, listeners were treated to several distinctive tunes from Jolson’s golden voice. Jolson was, in my opinion, not nearly as good a comedian, his jokes often seeming to be first grade vaudeville corn.

Famed newsman Walter Winchell took over for a few episodes, but he didn’t last long and none of his episodes are in existence. Several episodes were hosted by Wallace Beery, a dramatic actor who provided friendly and professional hosting, but less personality than Jolson.

Smith Ballew took over the show in 1936 before he left to become a singing cowboy and none of his programs survive. The show returned in 1937 with Broadway Comedian Joe Cook, who served up his silly humor with all-comers.

The Guests

The guests on the program are mostly ghostly echoes. There are quite a few singers who were cited as stars or up and comers and are now completely forgotten by the general public. The same goes for most of the sports stars. These appearances provide an interesting look back into the music, comedy, and sports of the era. Perhaps, the most interesting aspect of the show was that it featured a rare look at many great vaudeville performers. Vaudeville may have been dead by the mid-1930s, but Shell Chateau didn’t act like it. In addition, their interviews of sports stars of the era usually provide a nice slice of life.

However, the program also features some fascinating appearances by better known actors and actresses. Among those appearing were both Lionel and John Barrymore in seperate episodes, along with Chester Morris, Effrem Zimbalist Sr, Henry Fonda, and Judy Garland among others.

I have two favorite appearances. One was an episode featuring a young Mickey Rooney playing Jim Hawkins on November 23, 1935.  How long and successful Rooney career has been was brought home to me when a few weeks later,  I saw him in The Muppets, which went into theaters 76 years after this radio appearance.

Connie MackThe other was the last Shell episode in circulation from May 29, 1937. The sports interviews are fantastic. Black Olympic legend Jesse Owens was interviewed about running and provides reports on a recent running event.  Appearing towards the end of the show was another legend, Philadelphia Athletics Manager/Owner Connie Mack and the wife of another baseball great recently deceased John McGraw. McGraw set the Major League managerial record with 10 pennants, and Mack was one behind with nine. Mack expressed the hope that he would tie the record. McGraw’s wife, while gracious, expressed hope that McGraw’s record would stand, but wished Mack well. While Mack had 13 more seasons with the Athletics, the Athletics came nowhere close to the Pennant. The falling attendance that would eventually send the team to Kansas City and then to Oakland assured that John McGraw’s record would be safe until Casey Stengel tied it.

While the Shell programs may not be as great as the hour long programs that succeeded it, they are definitely worth a listen for fans of Jolson or those who’d like to enjoy a rare radio glimpse in the 1930s.

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Book Review, Golden Age Article, Nero Wolfe

Book Review: Too Many Women

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In Too Many Women, Wolfe is brought on a personnel matter. The Naylor-Kerr company studying employee retention asked supervisors to fill out a card for each departed employee. One manager sets off a sensation when he lists the reason for one employee’s departure as “murdered.” Officially, the police had said the case was a hit and run. Wolfe and Archie are hired to quiet the rumors one way or another.

The client’s idea was to have Wolfe come and work undercover at the firm. Wolfe rejects this absurd idea out of hand but as he and Archie are quarreling he’s more than happy to have Archie go undercover as a consultant at the firm.

Archie finds himself involved in a complex web of rumors, gossips, and office jealousies in this post-war office dominated by females. The supervisor who made the original allegation informs Archie that he knows who the killer is. Archie reports the statement and then the supervisor is retracts it and is killed in the same manner as the first victim. Now Archie and Wolfe have to catch a murderer.

This is actually not one of my favorite Wolfe stories and I seem to be in the minority on this. I thought the overall idea of domestic discord in the Wolfe household was better handled in If Death Ever Slept. In Too Many Women, Wolfe has managed to tick everyone in the household off: Archie by demanding he replace his typewriter, Fritz through his interference in cooking, and Theodore by putting non-Orchid flowers into the orchid area. It’s hard to believe that Wolfe would simultaneously irritate everyone at the same time by interferring everyone else’s business given how much effort has gone in to establishing the tranquility of this home.

I also have to note that Stout did something different with his chaptering. Usually, Nero Wolfe books have around 20 (or less) chapters of about equal length with the first few chapters perhaps being a little longer as Stout establishes the premise of the story. Stout, chose to use several quick chapters at the beginning as the story was being established. An action-packed or suspenseful book can benefit from short chapters as it adds tension. However, Stout’s use of short chapters at the beginning gives you the feeling that the book is going nowhere fast when you look up and see that you’ve reached Chapter 11 and nothing significant has happened.

Stout usually crafts some interesting supporters characters. No such luck in Too Many Women. With the exception of the person who alleged the murder and one woman in the officers, the employees at Naylor-Kerr are mostly the same: hot-headed men and amorous gossiping women.

The story redeems itself towards the end when Wolfe and Archie rally under police pressure to patch up the differences and uses the deception and gossip within the office to solve the case. The end is particularly noteworthy given that the killer never sets foot in Wolfe’s office, which is certainly unusual for Wolfe stories.

Rating: Satisfactory

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Golden Age Article

Three Forgotten Old Time Radio Christmas Traditions

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Television has its Christmas traditions. A Charlie Brown Christmas, It’s a Wonderful Life, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas survive through the wonder of reruns and videos.

The Golden Age of Radio also had its Christmas traditions, some things that for years were part of what Christmas was in America. Thankfully, through the power of MP3, we can step back in time and rediscover some of the best:

1) Christmas in Pine Ridge

The recurring Lum and Abner Christmas special in the 1930s was somewhat of an odd show. There wasn’t any comedy to speak of. The plot centers around Lum, Abner, and Grandpappy Spears helping out a young couple that’s gotten stranded in Pine Ridge, where the mother is giving birth. The family is clearly met to parallel the Holy family travelling to Bethlehem.

The episode’s theme shows Pine Ridge at its best and in its fifteen minutes, it’s poignant, thoughtful, and even philisophical as Lum reflects as well on the old year ending and the New Year coming.

Lum and Abner Christmas Special-December 25, 1940

2) Lionel Barrymore as Ebeneezer Scrooge

While most people living in the 21st century have no idea who Lionel Barrymore is. Mention, “Mr. Potter from It’s a Wonderful Life” and people will have no problem remembering the distinctive voice of the wheelchair bound adversary of Jimmy Stewart’s George Bailey.

One key contributor in Barrymore playing Potter was that Barrymore had a lot of experience in the role of miser.  From 1934-53, he played the Role of Ebenezer Scrooge for 18 of 20 Christmases. He relinquished the role once to his brother John in 1935 and in 1938, Orson Welles took the part. However, in 1939, while Welles was still the boss at the Campbell Playhouse, Barrymore was Scrooge once again. This time in an hour long adaptation that showed off the amazing talent that was Lionel Barrymore with Welles’ narration making the show a must-hear. Listen and you’ll find out why, for an entire generation, Barrymore was definitive Scrooge.

Listen to The Campbell Playhouse: A Christmas Carol: December 24, 1939

1) Bing Crosby singing Adeste Fideles

If you say, Bing Crosby and Christmas, the first song that will undoubtedly come to mind is, White Christmas. However, this was not the song most common to Crosby Christmas Special. It was Adeste Fideles, which is commonly known as Oh Come All Ye Faithful.

Whether Bing Crosby was hosting the Kraft Music Hall,  Philco Radio Time, or the General Electric show, Adeste Fidelis would lead off. Crosby would first sing the song in Latin, and then everyone on stage and at home was invited to sing the song in English.

While less people understand the Latin version now than in Crosby’s day, the performance is quite powerful and was simply a great way to begin another great Crosby Christmas.

December 20, 1953 episode of the General Electric show.

Golden Age Article

William Shatner as Archie Goodwin?

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William Shatner as Archie Goodwin

This fascinating casting choice has come to light on several blogs via a March 14, 1959 article in the New York Times that wrote of CBS signing Shatner to play the role of Archie Goodwin with Kurt Kasznar as Wolfe.

Information has been added to Wikipedia about the series including an article purportedly from the Baltimore Sun TV critic Donald Kirkley who suggested that the pilot had been a tad too successful:

Everything seemed to point to a sale of the series. A facsimile of the brownstone house in which Wolfe lives in the novels … was found in Grammercy Square. But when the film was made and shown around, it was considered too good to be confined to half an hour. There was a new shuffle and deal, and in consequence, an hour-long, new pilot is now being photographed in Hollywood.

This new information raises a couple of interesting points. First of all, it exposes that one myth newer Nero Wolfe fans have been told repeatedly is bunk. The myth is that after the failure of the last radio episode of Nero Wolfe in 1951 that Rex Stout foreclosed the possibility of any other English-language adaptations of the great detective. Clearly, this is false as he’d given CBS the green light for the TV series. I’ll have to make some corrections to a few things as a result of this new information. Hopefully, others who have written about Nero Wolfe will do the same.

Secondly, it raises an interesting question in terms of what type of Archie Goodwin William Shatner would have made. Shatner, at this point is a known quantity, most famously from his role on Star Trek.  His style in Trek has been parodied for its occasional hammyness. This reputation has been furthered by Shatner’s interpretations of songs such as Mr. Tambourine Man and Rocket Man have furthered this reputation, as perhaps has Shatner’s starring roles as supercop TJ Hooker and his Emmy Award winning performance as egomaniacal Denny Crane.

In 1959 though, all of this was in the future. Shatner was a much sought-after young talent, who made his first big splash on television in a two part Studio One episode that became the basis for the Defenders. When beginning the film of Nero Wolfe, he was only 28 and six years away from his first TV series, “For the People.”  In the interim period, he remained in demand as a TV guest star on a variety of shows including The Twilight Zone,  77 Sunset Strip, and The Naked City.

For my part I’d definitely love to see how the young Mr. Shatner handled the role of Archie Goodwin. If the TV Pilot ever becomes available, I’ll be first in line to see it.

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Golden Age Article

Radio Review: Life with Luigi

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 (Pasquale (Alan Reed), Luigi (J. Carrol Naish), and Rosa (Jody Gilbert) from the 1952 TV show.)

(Caption: Pasquale (Alan Reed), Luigi (J. Carrol Naish), and Rosa (Jody Gilbert) from the 1952 TV show.)

Life with Luigi  aired on CBS over radio from 1948-52 and in two  separate  incarnations over television in 1952 and 1953.  138 radio episodes (with some duplicates thrown in) are available on the Internet Archive.

It was a radio sitcom with heart that featured J. Carroll Naish as Luigi Basco, an Italian who was sponsored by Pasquale (Alan Reed) who brought Luigi to the country in hopes of marrying him off to his overweight daughter Rosa (Jody Gilbert) but is disappointed that Luigi doesn’t want to marry her because she’s too fat. Pasquale will do anything to get Luigi to marry Rosa and most of the plots focus on this point.

In addition to this, Luigi is a night school student and his fellow pupil Schultz (Hans Conreid) is a key supporting character who had some of the best line of the show. Others in the class included Horowitz (Joe Forte) and Olsen (Ken Peters), and the teacher, Miss Spaulding (Mary Shipp.)

This outstanding cast (in particular Reed. Conreid, and Naish) along with support from such radio pros as Gerald Mohr, Frank Lovejoy, Jim Backus, and Frank Nelson made the show appealing despite some very flawed writing.

Most episodes of Life with Luigi (particularly the early ones) had the same basic plot:

1) Luigi has a problem.

2) Pasquale offers to help Luigi out but Luigi balks when he finds out that to get Pasquale’s help he has to marry Rosa.

3) Pasquale learns of a better way to solve the problem from his night school class.

4) Pasquale get’s Luigi all “Ferschimmeled” with concerns that he violated an obscure government act that will threaten Luigi with imprisonment or deportation. Failing that, Pasquale sets Luigi up to get in trouble.

5) Luigi gets in trouble or imagines he’s getting into trouble.  Pasquale repeats his offer to Luigi and Luigi agrees reluctantly.

6) Before Pasquale can really help, the truth comes out and Luigi excuses himself and refuses to marry Rosa.

Even the lines had formulas and running gags were their stock and trade.

Schultz would deliver advise Luigi. “Be like me, always laughing, always smiling.” Then a yelp of pain. “Oh, my rheumatism is killing me.”

Pasquale’s greeting for Luigi was also standard, “Luigi, my friend. Hello, Luigi. ‘Allo, ‘Allo.”

Others, while not repeating word for word followed a similar pattern. For example, when Luigi is still troubled after talking to his class and seeking advise elsewhere, Pasquale will upbraid Luigi for seeking elsewhere rather than coming to  him:

Pasquale: You always runnin’ around like a little squirrel looking for nuts. And all the time,  right over here is the big nut.

Luigi: You so right, Pasquale. You’re the biggest nut I know.

(Pause)

Pasquale: It’s a funny thing. When you say it, it comes out different.

The show’s stand out performances were key. Pasquale’s mangled English, taken with Schultz’s class clown character, and the innocent confusion of Luigi made the characters likable in spite of us being able to predict exactly what was going to happen.

Life with Luigi was also more than just a sitcom though. The story was enlivened with a sense of patriotism and optimism about America. While other characters such as Pasquale and (to a lesser extent) Schultz were cynical about people and institutions in America. Yet, Luigi’s faith in America and Americans, while often shaken by careless reactions often would inspire the best in people, whether it was helping the anti-Communist Crusade for Freedom or inviting strangers for Thanksgiving, or delivering a patriotic, Luigi had many heart-warming moments.

Luigi takes Citizenship oathLife with Luigi was a tribute to the depth of love that most immigrants to America and a gentle nudge to native born American to understand and preserve what they had.  Early episodes of Life with Luigi overplayed this. with one promo boasting that as a new immigrant off the boat from Italy, Luigi knew more about this country’ s government and freedoms than  most Americans.

The show dialed back Luigi’s knowledge level after the first dozen or so episodes, so that he was still learning about American History rather than having a firm and resolute grasp on it. The producers also wisely dropped the character of young Jimmy, the general manager of Luigi’s antique shop and Luigi’s apparent ward. People who have been in America less than a year don’t have wards.

The show also preached tolerance and brotherhood. Luigi’s class is a United Nations of immigrants (indeed, Schultz forms an ad hoc United Nations as a secret club) with the class recognized as the delegates from Italy, Israel, Austria, and Sweden. Luigi took a risk and when writing a play for his school, included a role for a black student as Crispus Attucks. In another, Luigi lost a job as a salesman because he refused to change his name to something more “American.” Luigi was informed that Basco was a fine American name.

As a comedy, Life with Luigi was a mixed bag including both laugh out loud moments as well as some turns that seem more stupid than funny.  However, the show worked in touching the hearts of listeners and inspiring them to be better citizens and better neighbors and the show is still having an impact until this day. The Daily Herald in Chicago  ran a profile of a retired teacher known as St. Patricia who now dedicates her life to teaching people from 19 different countries English:

But to get to the root of Bernhold’s appreciation for teaching English, she goes back nearly 60 years. As a teen in San Francisco, Bernhold fell in love with the radio show, “Life with Luigi.”

The show followed Italian immigrant Luigi Basco to his English classes, where a “very patient” teacher helped the students through their struggles.

Bernhold now has to exhibit that same patience and she does so regularly.

Life with Luigi would have a less than inspiring run on television. It premiered in 1952 with the episode, “Citizenship,” which is available at the Internet Archive. The show used most of the original cast except for Luigi’s classmates. Particularly noteworthy is the absence of Hans Conreid as Schultz. (Update: A second episode was added to the archive.)

The show was cancelled and recast. There are many rumors why this happened.  The most popular seems to be that the series was cancelled because viewers found the ethnic stereotypes on the show offensive. This is, to be honest, internet junk borrowing the story of another TV shows downfall. Another CBS show, Amos ‘N Andy, which was cancelled over objections from the NAACP in 1955. There were no similar objections to Life with Luigi. Indeed, two of the most notable and youngest Italian entertainers of the era appeared on the program in the form of Mario Lanza and Frank Sinatra. While the show might seem politically incorrect today, it’s doubtful that anyone in the 1950s viewed the good-natured show as racially offensive given its overall focus on ethnic tolerance and understanding.

The television program  was pulled over concern by sponsors that the show was subversive. Throughout its radio run, the show poked gentle fun at corporate power structures and bureaucracies that Luigi would have to navigate to solve problems until coming on a real human being. General Foods cancelled their sponsorship of Life with Luigi because he’d offended stockbrokers and utility companies.  The show was canceled despite 40% of the televisions in the United States being tuned to it.

J. Carrol Naish was a Taft Republican, the most conservative wing of the GOP, and said said the idea he would  allow anything subversive on the show was ridiculous. Still, the program was cancelled. They later wanted him to return, but he opted not to, choosing to focus on playing other roles.

The show was recast completely with Vito Scotti taking over the role of Luigi and making Luigi a waiter for Pasquale rather than the owner of his own antique shop (episode available at archive.org) . The radical transformation  doomed the show and it didn’t last past the Summer of 1953.

Thirty years later, the 1980s would see another show with an optimistic America-loving immigrant featured in Perfect Strangers starring Bronson Pichot as Balki Bartokomous, another immigrant living in Chicago learning about the American way of life and teaching others lessons in timeless values by example. As sensibilities had changed, they made Balki an immigrant from a fictional country which short-circuited any ethnic stereotypes or allegations thereof.

Life with Luigi is not remembered much these days, but even more than 60 years after it first hit the air, the episodes remain a treat for those who could use an escape from cynicism and a chance to understand America better.

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Golden Age Article, Nero Wolfe

Book Review: A Right to Die

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Nero Wolfe encountered Paul Whipple in 1938’s Too Many Cooks as a black waiter in West Virginia studying anthropology. Wolfe obtained Whipple’s help in solving the murder of a famous chef.

Twenty-four years laters, Whipple calls in his marker to get a favor from Wolfe. Now an Assistant Professor of Anthropology, he shows up unannounced at the Brownstone and quotes Wolfe’s remarks on racial equality with Wolfe stating, “The ideal human agreement is one in which distinctions of race and color and religion are totally disregarded.”

The professor quotes this speech of Wolfe’s and then, with no sense of irony whatsoever, asks Wolfe to investigate his son’s fiancee’ to find out what’s wrong with her as she’s a white woman wanting to marry his son. Wolfe objects to the investigation, but at last agrees to do the job in order to repay the debt he owes to Whiple for helping him solve the case.

Archie meets the woman in question and finds her to be an eager and earnest civil rights campaigner who also believes strongly in the potential of Whipple’s son. She tells Lily Rohan that she thinks he’ll be the first black Mayor of New York. Convinced their wasting their time, Wolfe still sends Archie out to he young woman’s hometown in the Midwest for a thorough check. All Archie finds out is that a suitor took his own life on her doorstep. Archie’s about ready to give up the investigation when the decision before him when the young woman is found murdered.

However Archie and Wolfe aren’t out of it for long. When the younger Whipple is charged with the murder, Wolfe sets out to serve justice and repay his decades old dobt to the young man’s father.

There are many questions that are raised by A Right to Die. For practical plot purposes, I wonder whether every key witness in a Nero Wolfe case is entitled to one free case from Nero Wolfe. The book also gloss es over the agelessness of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin as Nero and Archie haven’t aged a day while the young waiter is old enough to have an adult son working at a Civil Rights organization.

The book also serves us a large  dodse of social commentary. Stout and Wolfe both supported the civil rights movement, but Stout raises several issues in the book including reverse racism, prejudice, and perils of race consciousness. The book actually presents an interesting contrast on the latter issue. Wolfe treats blacks in the story the same as white and is accused of racism. On the other hand, Wolfe doesn’t believe the younger Whipple is going to be charged due to flimsy evidence and motive. The Whipples are certain that he will be charged, but Wolfe reaffirms his belief by stating that while New York City isn’t perfect, “it’s not Dixie.” Wolfe is proven wrong when Whipple is charged.

Stout also decided to be even more avant garde and have Archie fall in love with a black woman. However, Archie never approaches the woman romantically and never says anything outside of his official capacity. And the woman barely says anything, and nothing noteworthy the entire book. While, I know that inter-racial dating was really not done as a rule in 1964, what Stout manages to do is to create the most shallow and one-sided of the many “romances” of Archie Goodwin.

The second murder was also a bit telegraphed. The victim called Archie and mentioned that he suspected about the murder and would give them a call back because he didn’t want to talk about it until he was sure. Next thing, we knew the victim was dead. I always wondered why, having experienced this same phenomena a few dozen times, Archie never says, “You know the last twelve people who had that idea were murdered before they got back to me. How about you come over and tell me about it and we can go ask together?”

Wolfe spends most of the book in a fog and only solves the  case on a hunch. Clearly, A Right to Die is not among the better books in the series. However, the investigation while not particularly fruitful does produce some interesting moments including a couple of trips by Archie out of town. And Stout works in some very ironic moments that work quite well.

Overall, I ‘ll give the book:

Rating: Satisfactory

You can find all the Nero Wolfe books in Kindle, Audiobook, and book form on our Nero Wolfe page.

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Golden Age Article, Sherlock Holmes

Book Review: The Sign of Four

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The Sign of Four begins when a young woman comes to Sherlock Holmes with a problem. Her father disappeared from his hotel in London on returning on leave from India. She then began receiving a pearl a year for the past six year from an anonymous benefactor. She wants Holmes and Watson to accompany the mysterious rendezvous. The benefactor informs the party of a fabulous treasure that the young woman is entitled to. However, the benefactor’s brother is found dead and Scotland Yard jumps to conclusions and charges the kindly gentleman as the murderer.

Holmes has to uncover what really happened, free the innocent man, and find the real killer.

Review: After enjoying Sherlock Holmes in so many other media, I returned to the book at the encouragement of Author Chris White who advised writers to read Sherlock Holmes.

Having already read A Study in Scarlet  recently, I decided to go with the next published Holmes novel, The Sign of Four and found it to be one of the best detective novels of its time.

The story is wonderfully paced with plenty of excitement, from chasing down the criminals through the use of a dog to another appearance by the Baker Street irregulars, and a thrilling boat chase for the climax of the story.

More than a century after it was first written, the novel shows little sign of its age.  The Sign of Four is well-paced, exciting, and even action packed story.  It represents Doyle at his finest in many ways.

The puzzle has a touch of the bizarre with its use of exotic weapons and strange footprints, but not too bizarre as seemed to me to be the case in some later Holmes stories such as “The Creeping Man.”

I think that while in Study in Scarlet, we learned about Holmes, in this book we begin to see Holmes’ personality: the genius who is so driven to avoid hum drum existence, who seeks problems and trouble to find some problem to keep his attention. Holmes may have been called ADD today, but his genius shines through in the book.

The novel is also noteworthy for its focus on Holmes’ use of Cocaine in the beginning and end.  Dr. Watson (and by extension Dr. Doyle) were concerned about the use of Cocaine in the late 19th Century and its negative effects. However, Doyle wasn’t heavy handed in his approach, and so Watson’s concern sounds more like a modern doctor’s concern with some eating too many trans fatty foods. And Holmes is blaise about it, leading to some interactions and statement that may seem surreal or humorous to the modern reader.

If you can get past that, Sign of Four is truly a classic that every fan of detective fiction should read.

Rating 5.0 stars out of 5.0

Note: You can download this book free for your Kindle here. It also should be available for free for other e-readers.

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Audio Drama Review: A Dickens Holiday Sampler

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Say, “Charles Dickens” and “Christmas” and people will almost assuredly think of Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, and Jacob Marley. A Christmas Carol has been adapted countless times with new adaptations coming every year or so with the latest being the 2009 version starring Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman.

Yet Charles Dickens and Christmas was more than a one story affair. Dickens wrote several more Christmas stories after the Christmas Carol. Most of which are lesser known, but still have their own charm. In A Charles Dickens Holiday Sampler, Colonial Radio Theatre brings two of these tales to radio.

The Cricket on the Hearth centers on a carrier named  John Peerybingle, who is married to a much younger woman named Dot.  Interesecting with Perrybingle is an older toymaker named Tackleton who wants to marry a younger woman, and a poor toymaker who tries to shield his blind daughter from the cruelties of life. Throughout the story, the Crickets on the hearth play a magical role as a sign of blessing and even prevent our hero from committing a tragic wrong. A redemptive element is present in this story, just as with the Christmas Carol. The story is touching but did tend a little towards melodrama towards the end. Still, it had richness in it. It’s atypical for Dickens’ storiess as it reminds me more of Shakespeare’s lighter works with its fantasy romance element.

Seven Poor Travellers was a stunning surprise. It began with a narrator (presumably Dickens himself) stumbling upon the Six Poor Travellers House and endeavoring to service Christmas dinner to the travellers. Once it’s all arranged, the narrator tells the poor travellers a story and Dickens tells his readers a story within a story about a young man who joins the military to forget a lost love and get himself killed. Instead, he finds a redemption and a lifelong friend. The story within the story is powerful and Dickens’ final lines after the poor travellers departed is one of the best quotes on Christmas ever.

While both Dickens stories are solid, Colonial clearly outdid itselft with Seven Poor Travellers,  which was the harder story to dramatize well given its odd structure. As a set, the two stories are a wonderful way to get in the Christmas mood.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.0 stars

Note: If you are an Audible Member, the digital download of this program (both stories) is only $2.95 each which is a fantastic price for these great productions.

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All I Needed to Know I Learned from Columbo: Sherlock Holmes: The Man Who Knew Just Enough

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My new ebook, All I Needed to Know I Learned from Columbo is now available on Amazon. It takes a look at 7 great  fictional detectives (Sherlock Holmes, Nero Wolfe, Father Brown, Dan Holiday, Boston Blackie, Columbo, and Adrian Monk), examines their careers in books, TV, and radio and then gleans one or more life lessons from their stories.

To provide you an idea of what the book is like, I’m pleased to offer Chapter 1 for your reading pleasure.

Chapter 1

Sherlock Holmes

In 1887, Arthur Conan Doyle introduced Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet. When we first meet Holmes, he’s a young eccentric who needs a roommate. Dr. John Watson, an injured veteran of Afghanistan, moves in with Holmes and begins to learn what a unique fellow his companion is.

In A Study in Scarlet, Holmes emphasizes his role as a consulting detective. The job, as described by Holmes, involved helping other detectives who have gotten stuck in their efforts to solve a case. This emphasis on being a consultant disappears in later stories as Holmes often has clients of his own.

Holmes took on a wide variety of complex mysteries, told in short stories and novels. He captured the interests of readers, but Doyle became worried Holmes was preventing hom from moving in more serious literary directions, so in 1893, Doyle killed off Holmes in a fight with his newly introduced archenemy, Professor Moriarity.

Doyle only left his audience demanding more. Doyle wanted to cash in by creating a stage version of Holmes. After a long process, he found actor/playwright William Gillette who adapted Holmes to the stage. Gillette added greater definition to the Holmes character in the public mind. The phrase, “Elementary, my dear Watson.” had its genesis in Gillete’s play.

Gillete  traveled throughout the world, playing the role of Holmes on stage for forty years, and later became the first actor to play Holmes on the radio. These efforts increased the public demand for more Sherlock Holmes stories. Doyle tried to respond to this demand in ways that wouldn’t commit him to further projects. He released Hound of the Baskervilles as a novel that was set before Holmes’ death. Doyle finally relented and brought Holmes back from the dead for The Return of Sherlock Holmes. That collection of short stories ended with Watson stating Holmes had forbidden him from writing down any additional stories.

Public demand persisted and two more short story collections and another novel followed before the last Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes story appeared. Even after Doyle died, the public demand for Holmes didn’t. Hundreds of film, television, and radio adaptations have been made since.

The most famous movie adaptation paired Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Holmes and Watson. This partnership endured for fourteen films and more than two hundred half-hour radio shows from 1939-46. For years, this performance stood as the standard. Now many Holmes fans prefer the British Television episodes of Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett for their fealty to Doyle’s stories, rather than the improvisations most of the Rathbone-Bruce films made in moving Sherlock Holmes to the 1940s.

Rathbone and Jeremy Brett of the ITV series have the most supporters for all-time best Holmes. However, new entrants continue to appear. In late 2009, Robert Downey, Jr. played Holmes on the silver screen while 2010 marked the launch of a new BBC program imagining Holmes living in modern times called simply, Sherlock.

Hundreds of pastiches have been written outside the Holmes canon of the fixty-six stories and four novels. Nearly 125 years after a Study in Scarlet appeared, public worldwide interest in the character of Sherlock Holmes remains unabated. People are curious about every facet of his life. He provokes more “what if” questions than any character in literature. He is the definitive fictional detective.

Life Lesson: The Man Who Knew Just Enough

But is Sherlock Holmes Smarter than a Fifth Grader?

A modern Holmes could do many things. However, based on A Study in Scarlet, he’d do well to stay away from quiz shows.

In A Study in Scarlet, Dr. Watson begins the process of trying to get to know his new roommate. He’s quickly impressed by Holmes’ knowledge in many areas, but Watson finds himself astonished and almost scandalized by Holmes’ lack of knowledge in other key areas outside of his professional interest:

His ignorance was as remarkable as his knowledge. Of contemporary literature, philosophy and politics he appeared to know next to nothing. Upon my quoting Thomas Carlyle, he inquired in the naivest way who he might be and what he had done. My surprise reached a climax, however, when I found incidentally that he was ignorant of the Copernican Theory and of the composition of the Solar System. That any civilized human being in this nineteenth century should not be aware that the earth travelled round the sun appeared to be to me such an extraordinary fact that I could hardly realize it.

“You appear to be astonished,” he said, smiling at my expression of surprise. “Now that I do know it I shall do my best to forget it.”

“To forget it!”

“You see,” he explained, “I consider that a man’s brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skilful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones.”

“But the Solar System!” I protested.

“What the deuce is it to me?” he interrupted impatiently; “you say that we go round the sun. If we went round the moon it would not make a pennyworth of difference to me or to my work.”

With a lack of general knowledge skills, Holmes wouldn’t make it far on Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader? However, Holmes offers sound advice for those who aren’t planning on making their careers as quiz show contestants.

Some of what happened to Holmes’ knowledge is natural phenomena. We do tend to forget things that we learned in school when it has little relevance in our lives. Many parents have felt a sense of embarrassment at being unable to help their junior high students with their math homework. However, the difference is the practice of remembering and forgetting is usually an involuntary process.

What Holmes followed is a process of being mindful and choosing what information will be allowed to take up room in his brain. This is a key lesson in the information age. We have access to endless streams of interesting information. However, we can become so overwhelmed it comes to mean nothing.

Holmes’ focus of only retaining career-related information is not necessarily healthy. Holmes was a workaholic while most of us seek to balance work with a family life and leisure pursuits. However, Holmes does set an example as to how we ought to arrange our brain-attics as letting the brain arrange itself has unpleasant results. Multiple surveys have shown Americans often have better knowledge of pop culture than they do personal finance, world affairs, and even their own religions. Ignorance of important matters is not because people have chosen to be ignorant, but because they’ve not made a mindful effort to choose what information they want to learn.

While it may sound easy to forget useless and unwanted information, it’s actually quite a challenge. It is far easier to start with acquiring new information.

The first key is to find out what’s important to you. What information would you like to know or become an expert on?  Would you like to understand a culture, a science? What skills can you acquire that would make your life better or more productive?

The second key is set out to learn about a topic you care about. This doesn’t require a classroom. Many experts are self-taught. Be sure to begin with resources that speak to your current level of knowledge. In addition to reading books and listening to CDs, search for podcasts and blogs that relate to your topic and follow them, so you continually get new information relevant to where your interests lie.

Part of your inventory may be taking a look at information that clutters your brain, but attracts your attention. After the 2009 season of America’s Got Talent ended, I resolved never to watch another season. It cluttered up my brain and took my time for something that wasn’t really fulfilling and enjoyable once it was all said and done. What activities or television shows lead to brain clutter will depend a lot on your own personality.

Beyond skills and knowledge, our brain can become cluttered and confused in our experiences. Many of us easily recall negative experiences. When taking a customer service course a few years back, my class was asked to recall a positive customer service experience and then a negative one. Most described the positive experience in only 30-45 seconds, but could take five minutes describing every detail of the ordeals they’d gone through six or seven years before. We retain and remember the negative experiences of life and the positive gets pushed away, and hence can be harder to remember.

One way to prevent this is by writing down the blessings and good things as they happen to you in your life. Recording it on paper will help you to remember and reading it can help you clean out the mental junk when it begins to accumulate.

Keep Being Mindful

Throughout his career, Holmes displayed knowledge of some topics beyond the bare-bones sketch given by Dr. Watson. This doesn’t negate Holmes points to Watson on their first meeting. Holmes continued to learn throughout his life. Life can lead us to find that we need new pieces of information that we had no idea we would need when we started out. However, Holmes’ decision to get new information came through a mindful process. Holmes didn’t just let information happen to him and neither should we.

If you want to read more, All I Needed to Know I Learned From Columbo is available for the Kindle for only $1.99 through Amazon.com as well as through Amazon’s U.K. Kindle Stores for the U.K, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. and we’ll shortly be made available in other ebook formats.

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Radio Drama Review: Perry Mason and the Case of the Curious Bride

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In The Case of the Curious Bride, awoman comes to Perry Mason for legal advice on behalf of “a friend” and aska a series questions.  The questions revolve around the ins and outs of what happens when a husband is declared legally dead and the legality of a subsequent marriage if the presumed dead spouse returns.

Mason clearly sees that: 1) these are questions that can’t be answered with generalities and 2) that the woman calling on him is asking for herself. When Perry calls the woman on, she leaves the office. Perry feels almost instantaneous regret for pushing too hard and seeks to find out who the woman is and what her problem is.

After some investigating, Perry finds the truth: the woman was married, her husband presumed dead, but in reality, he’s alive and blackmailing her after her second marriage to a weakling son of a wealthy man. Perry gets her to promise to think things over and not do anything until talking to him in the morning.

However, Perry wakes up the next day to find her first husband has been murdered and its only a matter of time before the police put their finger on her. Perry has to clear his client and represent her interests against non only prosecutors but a resentful father-in-law.

In this installment in the Perry Mason series, Mason is less crime-solver than troubleshooter. His goal is not to catch the killer, but to get his client off, whatever it takes. In The Case of the Curious Bride, Mason is reminiscent of what Jim Rockford would be like had he ever been admitted to the bar than the 1950s respectable Perry Mason that had evolved from later books. Mason cons his way through his initial investigation and then tricks the prosecuting attorney into shooting himself in the foot. In addition, Mason makes a rare foray into family law to achieve justice for his client.

Colonial Radio Theater has really gotten into the rhythym of these early Mason stories and they once again have a great period feel to them, even working in a good vintage radio pun when Perry Mason is telling Paul Drake about someone who was following his client.

Mason: Then there’s this matter of the shadow.
Drake: Lamont Cranston?

Jerry Robbins turns an another dynamic performance as the fast-talking Perry Mason. 

Overall, with great sound quality and dogged dedication to the original story, Perry Mason and the Curious Bride makes a great buy for fans of classic mysteries.

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 Note: The Author of this piece received a review digital copy of this drama.

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1990s Mystery Fans Rejoice: Columbo Has one More Thing and Father Dowling Comes to DVD

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I checked the website TVShowsonDVD and came across two interesting items.

First of all, all the Columbo movies will be on DVD in the United States next year with the release of the final DVD movie set.  The final 7 columbo movies span from 1994-2003, though Falk slowed down greatly towards the end with the first three films coming from 1994 and ’95 and Falk averaging a film every other year for the last eight years. Some highlights of the set include the second appearance of William Shatner as a Columbo guest villain in Butterfly in Shades of Grey and Patrick McGoohan plays a killer mortifician in Ashes to Ashes. This is, of course, overdue for eager U.S. Columbo fans. 

It’s worth noting that the entire series will be available on January 10, 2012 or nearly 2 1/2 years after the series was avialable in Great Britain.  Not certain the reason for this. It’s always seemed curious that DVD season for American TV shows come out in other countries before they do in the U.S. just as official releases Bonanza came to Germany long before they made it to the U.S.

Meanwhile another program that had been released already overseas (in this case, in Australia) will find its way to television in February 2012. The first season of the Father Dowling Mysteries is set for DVD release. The release will include the 1987 pilot movie as well as the seven episodes that made up season one.

The show starred Tom Bosley as Father Frank Dowling, a kindly crime-solving priest with Tracy Nelson as Sister Stephanie ‘Steve’ Oskowski. Tom Bosley was best known for his role  as Howard Cunningham on Happy Days. Prior to starring in Father Dowling, Bosley had played Sheriff Amos Tupper on Murder She Wrote. In 1986, he took on the role of a Priest who played a minor role in Perry Mason and the Case of the Notrious Nun. The next year, he made the Father Dowling pilot movie.

Hopefully, the next two seasons of the series will be released without much further delay.

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The Stuff Dreams are Made Of….

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This past week, I had occasion to listen to the Lux Radio Theater version of The Maltese Falcon.  Humphrey Bogart and the rest of the original cast were not available, but the great Edward G. Robinson was chosen to fill Bogart’s substantial gumshoes.

At the end of the hour performance, I was struck by how the Lux performance even with an “A” lead came off as a pale imitation when compared to the Bogart classic.  I then listened to the  half hour Academy Award Theater radio presentation with Bogart in the lead and Sidney Greenstreet and Mary Astor

I had the same feeling when I heard radio’s attempt to create a made-for-radio sequel to the Maltese Falcon with Howard Duff as Spade. Duff had successfully created his own version of Spade, and played the famous hard boiled eye more often than anyone else. And the Khandi Tooth Caper is a fine radio play in its own right, but it couldn’t come close to living up to the wonder of the movie.

The radio  adaptations are helpful to showing the true wonder of the movie and what makes it a great clasisc.  The biggest key is the dialogue with lines such as Kasper Gutman’s, “I’m a man who likes talking to a man that likes to talk.” However, not just any actor can deliver these sort of lines.

I’d insist the magic of the movie comes back to the cast. While Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, and even Elisha Cook, Jr. (who played Wilmer) turned in solid performances, they aren’t irreplacable. In fact, neither the Lux or the Academy Award Theater version featured Lorre and the Lux version didn’t feature Astor, and neither featured Cook. The only rule is if you don’t have Peter Lorre playing Joel Cairo don’t have an actor doing a bad Peter Lorre impression (as was the case with the Khandi Tooth Caper.)

The key to the greatness of the movie is found in Bogart and Greenstreet as Spade and Gutman. As Spade, Bogart delivers a spell-binding performance. Bogart’s is tough, cynical, sarcastic and may seem mildly sociopathic at times as he tries to play both sides to square the murder of his partner.

And  Greenstreet’s performance was a classic that would be imitated countless times on radio, in television, and screen. He served up a definitive template of the sophisticated, polite, and yet ruthless villain and earned an Oscar nomination.

Those two performances make the film a definitive screen classic that thankfully, no one in the modern era has tried to remake.

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Book Review: Gambit

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A prominent citizen is accused of murdering one of his daughter’s suitors by poisoning his drink while he’s engaged in a blindfolded chess match with 12 different chess players. Wolfe is hired by the daughter of the accused who believes that her father’s lawyer is up to no good due to being in love with her mother. The lawyer opposes hiring Wolfe which means Wolfe must free his client’s father without his cooperation.

 

The language of Chess figures prominently in the story. Indeed, the title of the story comes from the realization by Wolfe that given that no one other than the accused had a motive to kill the victim leads Wolfe to conclude that the murder was a gambit meant to get the accused out of the way. Wolfe instead of searching for someone with a motive to kill the victim, he has to find someone with a motive to get the accused executed or sent up for life.

Once again, Stout creates a wonderful cast of supporting characters and suspects.  The scene where one suspect offers to hire Wolfe to suborn perjury to get the accused off is comedy gold, particularly as the man expects Wolfe to be on the hook for the crime and to protect him entirely.

Overall, Gambit was surprising in that except for the actual culprit, the suspects turned out to be mostly decent and honest people, a refreshing break with the stereotypical sociopath-filled murder suspect family.

Archie is good as always, and Wolfe is at his eccentric best. The novel opens with Wolfe burning an offensive book in the fireplace: the newest edition of the dictionary which Wolfe views as a threat to the English language. Wolfe asks his prospective client, “Do you use imply and infer interchangeably?… According to this book, you can.”   Wolfe has to struggle to be polite when pressure from her family to drop the case leads his client to take up temporary residence in the Brownstone for several days.

The payoff of the novel is just as good. This one is unique as Archie solves the mystery before Wolfe after obtaining a key clue. Though, both Wolfe (and myself for that matter) figured it out once this clue was revealed. So, for once Archie isn’t the dark when the payoff comes.

The only negative thing I can say about the book is that Stout did seem to be overusing the tape recorder to catch his criminals. It played a role in The Final Deduction as well as a Nero Wolfe novella. Still, overuse of the tape recorder is a small issue in a book that has so much to offer.

Rating: Very Satisfactory

You can find all the Nero Wolfe books in Kindle, Audiobook, and book form on our Nero Wolfe page.

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Book Review: The Final Deduction

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In The Final Deduction, Wolfe is hired as insurance by a woman whose husband has been kidnapped. However, Wolfe’s client is being particularly cagey about the information she’ll share with Wolfe. Wolfe does manage to get a meeting with the woman’s secretary who has said she heard the call from the kidnapper. Wolfe and Archie both conclude that she was part of the kidnapping plot.

After the money drop, the husband is returned alive, but soon afterwards the secretary and the hush and are both murdered while Wolfe and Archie find themselves in a spot as their client had told them not to tell about the kidnapping until 48 hours after it occurred.

However, along with trouble comes opportunity. With their duty complete, the son of their original client wants Wolfe’s help to recover the half million dollars in ransom money which his mother has told him he can keep if he finds it. In exchange for this, Wolfe will get a 20% cut.

This book was a very well-balanced Nero Wolfe mystery. Plenty of Archie and Wolfe interactions, a good cast of characters in the victim’s family, and a decent mystery. Stout also has some clever word play. The word “deduction” is worked throughout the book in both its meaning to tax law and its meaning to the detective.

It’s also of somewhat historical interest as a peek at the world of the pre-JFK Income Tax Code. Wolfe’s reason for accepting the 2nd case was that if he managed to collect, he’d work himself into the 80% Tax Bracket. At which point, it wouldn’t make sense for him to take on any more work as he’d end up in the 90% bracket and only keeping a dime of every dollar earned. His clients were in the slightly higher 91% tax bracket. Both would play a key factor in the story, so you have to wrap your mind around that which can be difficult when the current top marginal rate is 36%.

Rating: Very Satisfactory

You can find all the Nero Wolfe books in Kindle, Audiobook, and book form on our Nero Wolfe page.

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