Category: Golden Age Article

Audio Drama Review, Golden Age Article

Audio Drama Review: Perry Mason and the Case of the Howling Dog

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In the Case of the Howling Dog, a man approaches Perry Mason with two seemingly unrelated requests. First, he has questions about the requirements for drafting a will including whether the will would be valid if he were executed for murder. Then he complains about his neighbor’s howling dog which is keeping him up at night.

Mason takes action on the howling dog, contacting the district attorney’s office. The neighbor insists there’s no problem and that Perry’s client is mentally unstable. Then Mason’s client disappears with the neighbor’s wife and later on, the neighbor himself is found murdered. Mason has to unravel the sordid affairs of the dead man, find the client he’s supposed to represent, and unmask the real killer.

The Case of the Howling Dog is the best installment yet of the Colonial Radio Theatre’s Perry Mason series. The mystery is incredibly complex and engaging with an amazing amount of twists and turns. At 78 minutes, this is  a fast paced thriller. Also, this is only the second of the four to feature actual courtroom scenes (The other being “The Case of the Sulky Girl.”) CRT did a much better job with the courtroom drama than in The Case of the Sulky Girl as the court scenes in The Case of the Howling Dog were more vibrant and engaging. Fans of legal dramas will appreciate Mason’s brilliant legal manuvering in the program’s climax.

Throughout the episode, as has been the usual case in these shows, Mason walks a thin line ethically. When confronted over this by Paul Drake, he expresses contempt for lawyers who wouldn’t skate on thin ice for a client. Certainly, the CRT’s Perry Mason series wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining if he didn’t.’

Rating: 5.0 out of 5.0 Stars

Note: If you are an Audible Member, the digital download of these programs are only $2.95 each which is a fantastic price for these great productions.

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Golden Age Article, Hercule Poirot

Book Review: The Labours of Hercules

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When reviewing the list of Agatha Christie stories that had been adapted to television and radio, one work was missing and (for reasons I’ll explain later) was unlikely to be adapted,  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 Achillies. 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 was in “The Apples of Hesperides.” In the original tale, Hercules received the help of Atlas, in Poirot’s version, he received the help of Atlas-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 at the 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 acquaintence with a supposedly reform 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 which threatens to bring down the Prime Minister who 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 seemed a little too simple. Poirot becomes involved in this case when a young English politician approaches him while visiting Europe with his problem.  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.

The reason this is unlikely to be adapted is that to adapt the book to television would require a series of one hour episodes like the first 36 that began the ITV Poirot series. Even if ITV were willing to do more 1 hour shows, the latest Poirot productions have been quite a bit darker which suggests that in the 21st Century, there’s really not a place at ITV for the lighter fare that the Labours of Hercules represent. As for BBC Radio 4, they seem only to be interested in the novels.  The Colonial Radio Theatre would probably be able to do a good job with the stories, but Jerry Robbins received no interest from Christie’s people when looking into adapting stories that hadn’t been done elsewhere.

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 reccomend the audiobook version for that reason. It’s probably the closest we’ll get to an adaptation.

 

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.

You can receive the Labours of Hercules free from Audible when you sign up for a trial membership.

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Golden Age Article

Perry Mason and the Case of the Disappearing Netflix Streams

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Starz recently announced that it would be ending its relationship with Netflix in order for Starz to maintain its premium band and avoid losing subscribers who just watch movies on Netflix. This doesn’t have a big impact on me as I use Netflix mostly for old movies rather than new ones, but there’s one big change mystery fans should be aware of. The 1980s and 1990s Perry Mason TV movies are currently available on Netflix, but they’re being made available by Starz, so by February, they’ll be gone along with the rest of the Starz content.

Nearly twenty years after the last Perry Mason episode with Raymond Burr left the air, Burr reprised the role in the 1985 Made for TV Movie, Perry Mason Returns which features Perry Mason resigning from the Court of Appeals to defend Della Street from the charge of murdering her boss.  With the death of William Hopper (who played Paul Drake from 1957-66), Perry was aided by Paul Drake, Jr. (William Katt), a free spirited young detective that clashed gently with Perry.In 1989, Paul Drake, Jr. was replaced by Ken Molansky (William Moses) a young attorney who did Perry Mason’s investigations.

Additional movies were greenlighted. From 1986-93, Raymond Burr and the cast turned out between 2 and 4 Perry Mason movies per year.  Most of the Mason films were shot in Colorado which meant some great and notable scenic shots. The scenery, along with well-written mysteries and the iconic acting of Raymond Burr made these latter day Mason mysteries a pleasure for fans of legal detective dramas. 

 In addition, show producers Fred Silverman and Dean Hargrove began production of another similarly formatted program in 1986 when they produced Matlock.  Matlock starred another golden age legend (Andy Griffith) as Attorney Ben Matlock, who like Mason was a brilliant lawyer with competent supporting colleagues who investigated his cases.

These two shows were my introduction  to the mystery genre. They represented a dying genre of heroic superlawyers who won 99% of their cases and the interests of their clients almost always run parallel to the interest of justice.

A new breed of more realistic and cynical lawyer dramas were already on the rise. Programs like LA Law, Law and Order, The Practice, and Boston Legal took an entirely different slant with their lawyer heroes sometimes helping guilty clients escape, sometimes failing to get innocent clients acquitted, and fighting over ripped-from-the headline controversial issues, while living deeply flawing personal and professional lives.

The death of Raymond Burr in 1993 and the cancelation of Matlock in 1995 forever ended the super lawyer genre, at least when it came to recurring television drama.  Yet while most fans know it may not be realistic, the stories remain fascinating and compelling escapism, starring beloved actors.

Outside of Netflix, the Perry Mason Movies are hard to come by. Like Seasons 7-9 of the original Perry Mason and Matlock, the 26 Perry Mason TV Movies are not available on commercial DVD. Once they’re gone from Netflix, the only legal way of catching them will be to find  an occassional cable TV rerun. I hope to watch as many of these great movies in the meanwhile.

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Audio Drama Review, Golden Age Article

Audio Drama Review: King Solomon’s Mines

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Before there was Indiana Jones, there was Allan Quartermain. King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard introduced readers to that intrepid adventurer in 1885.

Hollywood has never quite gotten the story right, as the temptation to add a romantic subplot and change details is irresistable. However, the Colonial Radio Theatre’s production of the story starring Jerry Robbins was fantastic and faithful to the original story.

The plot begins when Quartermain is approached on a boat by a Captain Good and Sir Henry Curtis to engage in a search for Sir Henry’s lost brother, who was last seen years before searching for King Solomon’s mine. Quartermain agrees to go provided that a stipend is guaranteed for his son should anything happen to him and a share of the treasure in the unlikely event he survives.

To follow the trail of Sir Henry’s Brother, the trio must trek across treacherous terrain through unknown parts of Africa. A native African named Umbopa goes along for the journey, but it’s obvious he’s hiding something from the rest of the group.

Once again, Colonial Radio Theatre shows the power of radio, as you’re transported back to Victorian Africa and the extremes of weather on the journey to King Solomon’s Mine. CRT successfully captures the mystery, wonder, and excitement of this unforgetable story that features epic battles, legendary treasures, and political intrigue.   This is a fantastic production for fans of Men’s Adventure.

Rating: 5.0 out of 5.0

Note: If you are an Audible Member, the digital download of these programs are only $2.95 each which is a fantastic price for these great productions.

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Golden Age Article, Nero Wolfe

Book Review: If Death Ever Slept

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In If Death Ever Slept what Nero Wolfe later describes as a joint act of “mulishness” leads Wolfe to  undertake a case he would have never taken otherwise as Archie goes undercover as Alan Green, the secretary to an eccentric millionaire named Otis Jarrell who believes his daughter-in-law is “a snake” who obtained information from his in-home office and shared it with a competitor who beat him out of a business arrangement.

The client is aware of both Archie and Wolfe by reputation, and Archie quickly learns that Wolfe was only hired to gain Archie’s help. Jarrell offers Archie a personal fee in addition to Wolfe’s fee for finding or fabricating evidence that leads his son to divorce his daughter-in-law. Archie doesn’t want any part of that arrangement, but decides to stay on to earn a fee for Wolfe by finding out how and if information was leaked from the office.

In the midst of this, a gun disappears from the client’s office and the client ignores Archie’s advice to report the theft to the police as required by law. When, a man is murdered with the same caliber bullet as the missing gun, Wolfe and Archie are left in a real pickle. Their goal is no longer to earn a fee, but to extricate themselves from this mess with their licenses and reputations intact.

Rex Stout outdid himself in creating the Jarrell household as fully formed and interesting characters. The women are particularly fun including the wealthy secretary, the eccentric daughter, and the flirty stepmother. In addition, Stout builds a complete family culture that is no less real than the culture of Wolfe’s house on 35th street. The Jarrell home  also has a very unique and interesting character. 

A highlight were the scenes in Wolfe’s office where Archie remained undercover and Orrie Cather impersonated Archie Goodwin.

The mystery is good enough. The solution is achieved in a very workmanlike fashion that involves an itenary for each suspect. The one downside of the audiobook version is that it takes about half an hour to read through the 4-day itenaries. Still, with great characters and Dol Bonner appearing to discover the vital clue, I’ll give, If Death Ever Slept:

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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Golden Age Article, Nero Wolfe

Book Review: Too Many Cooks

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In the first three Nero Wolfe books, Rex Stout firmly established that Wolfe rarely leaves the house. From 1937-46, Wolfe was routinely pushed out of the Brownstone by Stout with only two stories in this period allowing him to stay homebound:

  • The Red Box (1937) sent Wolfe to a clothing store to question witnesses at the behest of a client and peers in the orchid community.
  • Some Buried Caesar (1939) had Wolfe head upstate to put his orchids on display at an exposition.
  • Where There’s a Will (1940): had Wolfe visit a client’s house.
  • Black Orchids (1942) was the first novella collection and  saw Wolfe heading out to another flower show where a murder occurred in the first of two stories.
  • Not Quite Dead Enough (1944) featured Wolfe leaving the Brownstone in both novellas.
  • The Silent Speaker (1946): Wolfe goes to police headquarters to report to an inspector who replaced Cramer on a case.

However, it wouldn’t be until the 1950s that  Wolfe was pulled as far from his home as in Too Many Cooks which sees Wolfe boarding a train to attend a convention of famous cooks in a West Virginia resort town where Wolfe had been invited as a guest of honor to speak about American contributions to fine dining. One of the great cooks, Philip Laszio is despised by his fellows for stealing recipes and for a Machivellian rise through the culinary world, and is killed with suspicion falling on the other cooks.

A wet behind the ears prosecutor asks for Wolfe’s help in the case. When one of Wolfe’s suggestions leads to the imprisonment of  a prestigious chef , Wolfe has to set to work to find out what happened.

This book introduced Wolfe’s lifelong friend, Marco Vukcic, the owner of Rosterman’s as a character. Vukcic served as a humanizing force on the Wolfe character. Vukcic was one of the few people to call Wolfe by his first name. Wolfe’s sentiment for Vukcic is in full force when he’s confronted by the widow of the murdered man (who was Vukcic’s ex-wife) and Wolfe delivers a classic smackdown for  her ruthlessness.

Even involved in the stereotypically genteel world of cooks, there are risks. At one point in the course of his investigation, Wolfe ends up getting shot.

One controversey that surrounds the book is the use of racial epithets. This  is, after all, the South in the 1930s, and it sounds it. There are about a dozen or so uses of the “N-word” and Archie uses a only slightly less offensive term a couple of times. So, it’s hardly at the Huckleberry Finn level of racial language, but like Mark Twain, Stout had a point.

Of course, this is a detective book, so the points couldn’t be too fine or too preachy, and whatever point he’d have to make would have to tie in to the story. On these points, Stout succeeded. Wolfe has reason to believe that the staff know who committed the crime after hearing from a relucant witness that the killer was black.

Wolfe decides to bring the staff up into his suite for questioning. Archie thinks the entire excercise will be a waste of time, as they cops hadn’t gotten anything out of them and that Wolfe wouldn’t know how to communicate with blacks.

Wolfe begins his session by humbly expressing his gratitude to the men for the privilege of being able to come to America. He then learns the men’s names and refers to them by their proper names unless otherwise requested. In other words, Wolfe treated them with the same courtesy and respect that he initially gives to everyone he questions. And through that, Wolfe is eventually able to get their help.

What Stout communicates to a segregated America is that the way to live together in harmony is to treat every person with equal dignity, and judge them on their character.  As Wolfe says, ” … the ideal human agreement is one in which distinctions of race and color and religion are totally disregarded.” It’s very powerfully done and not disruptive to the story.

Too Many Cooks is not without its flaws. The first few chapters drag a bit. However, the biggest weakness of the story is that Wolfe dominates the story line to such an extent that there’s really not a whole lot for Archie to do.

Outside of a couple scenes on the train to and from New York, the action is confined to the resort, probably within a couple hundred yards of Wolfe’s room. Archie is usually the focal point of the investigation with a lot of action and runing errand. Here Archie is more reactive and doesn’t even get off many good lines of dialogue. Archie is about as useful and important to the plot as Captain Hastings in a Poirot book. Wolfe’s next novel also took Wolfe away from the Brownstone in, Some Buried Caesar, but in that one, Stout wisely gave Archie a lot more play.

While I can’t say it’s a criticism, the story points to an inconsistency in the Wolfe universe. In Too Many Cooks, Wolfe prepares and delivers a lengthy speech (not fully included) on American contributions to fine dining, and at the final banquet, an all American gourmet dinner is served. Twenty years later in The Next Wintess, Wolfe commends chili as  “One of the few contributions America has to world cuisine.”   One wonders why Stout changed Wolfe’s mind on this point, or if Stout simply forgot Wolfe had delivered a stirring defense of American contributions to cooking.

The book also includes the recipes for the All-American gourmet meal, the preparation  of which is beyond my simple talents. (If you have cookied the recipes in this book, please share your experience in the comments.)

Overall, Stout prepared a very good recipe in Too Many Cooks, although it could have used a dash or two more of Archie Goodwin action.

Overall, I’ll give it a:

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, Yours Truly Johnny Dollar

The Endurance of Johnny Dollar and Sherlock Holmes

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This is the first article that’s based on a listener/reader question. Wben I was soliciting questions for starting this column on Facebook, Matthew wrote:

How about a study on why Johnny dollar and Sherlock Holmes lasted as long as they did while others shows didn’t.

There were other shows that lasted as long or longer than these two programs such as Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons (1937-55), Nick Carter (1943-55), and Mr. and Mrs. North (1942-54), but there’s no question that  Johnny Dollar (1949-54, 1955-62) and Sherlock Holmes (1930-36, 1939-42, 1943-50) carved out a spot for themselves in America’s golden age of radio that was unique and worth examining.

The glut  of radio detective shows came to air from about 1947-51. The success of Rogue’s Gallery and Sam Spade had convinced network executives that there was a market for more detectives, particularly of the hard boiled sort. While some shows were poorly made (ABC’s Danger, Dr. Granger and The Deadline Mysteries) stand out, there were many well-produced shows that got lost in a flood of similar shows. And after the early 50s, the growth of television made it impossible to launch an even well-produced shows like the Adventures of the Abbotts for more than a season.

Sherlock Holmes and Johnny Dollar are separate cases of shows that survived the glut of radio detectives and decline of radio respectively. So, let us begin with what kept Sherlock Holmes on the radio:

1) There’s Only One Sherlock Holmes

The pure number of radio shows hitting the airwaves could not compete for Sherlock Holmes’ audience. Americans had already developed a fond admiration for Holmes.  There have been countless adaptations in every imaginable media. The demand for Sherlock Holmes is and was inexhaustable. Therefore, if one network or one sponsor decided they were no longer interested, someone else would step up as they knew there was an audience.

2) Rathbone and Bruce

 While Nigel Bruce was only connected with Sherlock Holmes for seven seasons and Basil Rathbone for six, their role in securing the current and future popularity of Holmes  cannot be overstated. They were popular and well-beloved with the American people to make listening to Sherlock Holmes a radio tradition than anyone else.

3) A More Leisurely Pace

One reason that radio detective shows burned out is that the vast majority of them were year-round operations. While comedians such as Bob Hope and Jack Benny always took Summer break, radio private eyes had 52 scripts a year to perform and writers had to come up with 52 different mysteries. It was easy for actors and writers alike to run out of creative juice.  Even when a detective show did take a Summer break, it was often abbreviated, such as the 4 week Summer Break Edmond O’Brien took from Yours Truly Johnny Dollar in 1950.

With the exception of the torrid 106-week period of 1943-45 that had Rathbone and Bruce appearing every week, the show had shorter seasons. Those prior to the Rathbone-Bruce pairing ran for less than 40 weeks each, the first three Rathbone-Bruce seasons were between 23-26 episodes each, and after the marathon 1943-44 and 1944-45 seasons, all subsequent Holmes seasons were 39 episodes each, giving the writers and Holmes-Watson pair 13 weeks of vacation.

Johnny Dollar:

1) Standing Out From the Crowd:

Like Holmes, the Johnny Dollar productions had something unique going for them. First, was the unique concept of focusing on an insurance investigator. While countless detectives would occasionally be hired by an insurance company, Johnny Dollar was the only network-based detective show which featured a character who specialized in insurance investigations (the syndicated Adventures of Frank Race did as well.)

Dollar was not a typical private detective with a typical relationship with the local homicide squad who was often politely (or not so politely) asked to keep his nose out of police business. Rather,  nine times out of ten, Dollar was treated with respect as someone with an official status and a right to be in on the case.

In the second half of the show’s life under producer Jack Johnstone, there was far less competition in the detective area. While a few shows (NBC’s The Big Guy and Mutual’s It’s a Crime, Mr. Collins come to mind) ran for one season each, for the most part Johnny Dollar was the only place in town for a radio detective story from 1955 on.

2) Have Expense Account, Will Travel

While most detectives were more or less stuck in one location. Dollar could easily end up jetting anywhere in the world on his cases, which gave his adventures an exotic feel. You never knew where he’d end up. His investigations could take Johnny Dollar to steel plant, down to Mexico, over near Palestine, over to England, or just down the street from his apartment in Hartford.

3) Adaptability

Johnny Dollar survived because the show adapted and changed. The original run of Johnny Dollar had Dollar as a poor man’s Sam Spade. The change to Edmond O’Brien brought a more Malowesque pathos and world-weariness.  The popularity of Dragnet spurred the show to have many episodes that were practically police procedurals. The ability to roll with the punches kept the show going while other programs went down for the count.

4) Bob Bailey and Jack Johnstone

Bob Bailey had put in at least six seasons playing a private eye in Let George Do It and was the perfect choice to revive the series after its one year hiatus. Bailey’s performance was the perfect mix of compassion, tenderness, and toughness that allowed Johnny Dollar to gain a new lease on life, while other detectives faltered.

Jack Johnstone, a veteran of Superman and the Man Called X made a show that was just as exciting for adults as Superman had been for kids. Under Johnstone, the character of Johnny Dollar began to take shape. Johnny developed a favorite hobby (fishing), a couple recurring characters including a girlfriend in the 1960 season. Some of the recurring characters Johnny dealt with included the various insurance company executives who would call on Johnny. Previous shows never re-used the same executive twice, but Johnstone not only reused insurance company men, but gave them distinct personalities. The best known of these was Pat McCracken of the Universal Adjustment Bureau. Johnstone made Johnny more realistic and three dimensional than most of his predecessors. This is why his interpretation of Johnny Dollar is still beloved more than 50 years later.

If you have an idea for a future column, email me.

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Audio Drama Review, Golden Age Article

Zorro Comes to Radio

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If you grew up in the 1950s, when you think of Zorro as Guy Williams in the Disney series. Or if you grew up in the late 80s and early 90s, Duncan Regehr may have provided your vision of Zorro. Others may remember Antonio Banderas as Zorro and for many classic film buffs, it is without a doubt Douglas Fairbanks who defines the character in the silent film version.

Zorro did make it to radio in 1957, in a short-lived serial based on the Curse of Capistrano, however only two episodes of this series survive.

Zorro has been interpreted and reinterpreted so many times throughout the years that it’s hard to remember that Zorro originiated in the pulp magazines in stories by Johnston McCulley. may have passed Zorro by for the most part, modern producers of radio drama have picked up the torch.

The Colonial Radio Theatre  brought two of these stories to radio in Zorro and the Pirate Raiders and Zorro Rides Again.

Summaries

In Zorro and the Pirate Raiders, the commandante of the pueblo, Captain Ramon, forms an alliance with cutthroat pirates to  raid the pueblo and split the booty. Ramon also orders the pirates to kill Don Diego de la Vega and kidnap his bride-to-be. Zorro thwarts the attack on Don Diego with the help of other caballeros and then pursues the pirates across the sea.

In Zorro Rides Again, Zorro has retired after The Pirate Raiders but is forced to return when an imposter begins to commit injustices in the name of Zorro. Zorro must clear his name and find the imposter before friends turn against him and the government executes.

Review

These Zorro productions are superb swashbuckling adventures.  Each feature length adventure was filled with action, adventure, and surprise twists throughout the story. The sound effects were amazing, and help to transport you back to Old California.

There were differences between this production and most Zorro adaptations. The biggest was that Zorro had allies: twenty caballeros who fought alongside him. This is a stark difference between modern productions which have Zorro fighting a lone battle against evil, which has become the trend.  However, the CRT’s version of Zorro remains faithful to the original vision of McCulley.

Zorro and his caballeros are courageous and gallant, living by a code of honor.  McCulley’s vision of Zorro was as a North American version of the knights of old and this really shows through in the Colonial Radio Theater production.  The cast from the stars to their supporting players were all excellent. In particular, Sam Donato shined in the role of Sergeant Garcia.  Oftentimes, the role of the Sergeant in Zorro is often played as buffoon or coward, but Donato’s portrayal was more nuanaced, and there was a lot more to Sergeant Garcia than meets these eyes.

There were very few flaws in these productions, and they were  a result of being faithful to the source material, so I can’t complain about them. I will say that when a radio drama features a fight between two guys with knives in their mouths, the theater of the mind has to work overtime to supply the images.

Overall, these are great productions that represent Zorro as he was meant to be and provide hours of fun and excitement.

Note: If you are an Audible Member, the digital download of these programs are only $2.95 each which is a fantastic price for these great productions.

Rating: 5.0 out of 5.0

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Book Review, Golden Age Article, Nero Wolfe

Book Review: Three for the Chair

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While shopping in the thrift store, I found a 1968 Bantam Paperback copy of, Three for the Chair, a 1957 compilation of three Nero Wolfe novellas. While the book was not my planned next Nero Wolfe read, I decided to grab it cheap and enjoy the book.

There are three stories in this book and each should be reviewed in its own right.

A Window for Death:

A man who left his family under a cloud of suspicion and then made a fortune in mining, apparently dies of natural causes after returning home.  Members of the family aren’t so sure, and are suspicious of the man’s partner who inherited the entire mining interest. Wolfe is hired to determined whether there is enough to call the police in.

This story is very workmanlike. There’s little action. The majority of the story involves Wolfe questioning witnesses in the Brownstone and the rest involves Archie doing so outside. No added deaths occur and there are no real plot twists. Inspector Cramer does not appear in the story, with A Window for Death ending with Wolfe composing a note to him. Still, the actual solution is pretty clever.

Rating: Satisfactory

Immune to Murder

At the request of an Assistant Secretary of State, Wolfe leaves the comfort of the Brownstone for a rustic fishing resort to help with sensitive oil negotiations by cooking fish for the ambassador who had specifically requested Wolfe. Wolfe hates the  locale and plans to leave after lunch. Wolfe’s plans are upset when Archie discovers the Assistant Secretary of State lying dead in stream.

Given the other potential suspects (members of a diplomatic delegation who are immune to prosecution and two rich oil magnates), the District Attorney suggests absurdly that Archie was there as a hired assassin. The truth doesn’t come out until the murderer does something that insult’s Wolfe’s vanity.

This story was adapted for television on a Nero Wolfe Mystery as the last episode and was panned by fans. In my opinion, there was nothing wrong with either the episode or the story. It was, however unfortunate to make this the last episode, as we had none of the familiar supporting characters that fans loved, plus in the context of a final episode, the solution was unsatisfying. However, in the context of a Nero Wolfe reading binge, the story represents a nice change of pace.

Rating: Very Satisfactory

Too Many Detectives

Thanks to Archie’s interest in learning about wiretapping, Wolfe agrees to help a man tap his own phone. Later, Wolfe learns he was duped and the man who hired him didn’t own the phone being tapped.

Wolfe’s embarrassment is deepened when he’s summoned to Albany and forced to endure a long car ride to discuss the matter. Wolfe and Archie to find several other detectives waiting.

When it’s their turn to testify, they learn that the man who fooled them claimed they knew the wiretap was illegal. When it was time for the phony client to testify, he’s found dead, and Wolfe and Archie are arrested as material witnesses.

While Archie and Wolfe are released on bail, they can’t leave  the jurisdiction, a situation Wolfe can’t tolerate. The only way out is for Wolfe to find the killer.

Wolfe compares notes with the other detectives and finds that all but one of them was taken in by the same scheme as Wolfe. Wolfe then gets all six detectives to share every available operative back in New York City to solve the case, leading to a surprising and satisfying solution.

This story in notable for featuring Dol Bonner. Bonner had appeared in her own novel in 1937 and also appeared in a Tecumseh Fox novel. She and Wolfe got along well which had Archie nervous as he figured that Bonner was that rare type of woman Wolfe could actually fall for. Archie even imagines a situation where Archie, Wolfe, Bonner, and Bonner’s assistant Sally Colt all in the Brownstone solving cases together. Thus, even great authors have intriguing ideas occur to themwhich if tried would wreck their franchise.

As an aside, the story makes me curious to read Stout’s Dol Bonner novel.

As for Too Many Detectives, it was truly a good use of an hour and deserving of a:

Rating: Very Satisfactory

Overall rating for the Collection: 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: Might as Well Be Dead

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In Might as Well Be Dead, Wolfe is hired by a Nebraska businessman to find his son, Paul Herald. The older Herald had exiled his son eleven years earlier  on the belief his son had stolen $11,000 from the business but had since learned that someone else committed the theft. He turns to Wolfe as a last result after having contacted the police and submitting a classified ad to get his son’s attention.

Because Herald had monogramed luggage that he took with him, Wolfe supposed  the that Paul retained the same initials and so ordered a display ad taken out, address to PH and written in a way that Wolfe felt would be more likely to gain a response as he promises to help PH clear his name of the crime he was falsely accused of without forcing him to renewing any bonds he’d renounced.

Wolfe gets a response all right because a P.H. is on trial for murder and several people think Wolfe is going to intervene in the Peter Hayes murder trial. Looking at the newspaper picture, both Wolfe and Archie dismiss the possibility of Peter Hayes being Paul Herald, but after Hayes’ attorney pays the brownstone a visit, Archie believes an in-person examination is in order. When Archie sees Hayes’ expression when found guilty, he’s almost certain that Hayes and Herald are one and the same.

With the help of Herald’s lawyer, Archie gets an in-person interview that cinches it, but Herald begs Archie not to reveal his true identity for fear of the pain it would cause his mother and sisters.

Wolfe faces a dilemma and decides not to tell his client but to press ahead, find the truth, clear Paul Herald of the crime and then report to his client once he’s cleared his son.

What follows is an amazing series of twists and surprises, of mysteries inside mysteries that represent the series at its best. Every recurring character is in top form, particularly Wolfe.  Wolfe has no relapses to speak of, though he does reach a point where he believes that he’s found enough information so the police can wrap it up, but Cramer lets him know after a few days that’s not the case.

The story takes on an added human element with the murder of a detective working for Wolfe, Johnny Keems. Might as Well Be Dead showcases Wolfe’s humanity and sense of justice is on full display (as much as it ever is) right up and to Wolfe’s magnanimous gesture at the end of the book.

If this had been a third season of Nero Wolfe, this would have been a worthy project to adapt. Though, they would probably have to work with the scene where Archie and Saul Panzer find the final clue due to the grittiness of the scene, but it could be done. This book was adapted for the William Conrad Nero Wolfe series in the 1980s.

Might as Well Be Dead is also interesting for the number of times that a prior Wolfe novel is mentioned. Archie brings up an incident from Fer-de-Lance to a couple different witnesses. Stebens mentions one  from, The Red Box. And Archie tells us that the kids in the neighborhood have viewed Wolfe’s house with suspicion since, in The Golden Spiders, twelve year old Pete Drosos obtained a meeting with Wolfe and was then murdered.

These references were a reminder that 23 books into the Wolfe canon, the series was clearly becoming an American Cliassic, and Might As Well Be Dead is a crowning achievement.

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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Interview With a Modern Radio Star

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Quick trivia question. What American radio actor  has played Allan Quartermain, Perry Mason, and John Barrymore? If you’re thinking Orson Welles, Elliot Lewis, Howard Duff, or some other golden age figure, you’re wrong.

The answer is  Jerry Robbins, who was born as the golden age of radio was ending. His Colonial Theatre on the Air has been producing radio dramas for fifteen seasons, bringing life such familiar characters as Zorro, Perry Mason, the Wizard of Oz, and Father Brown. In addition, the Western Series Powder River ran for four seasons from 2004-2007 and is coming back for a fifth.

What Colonial Theatre does is remarkable, both in longevity and quality. Most well-known radio revival efforts since 1962 have been splashes in the pan. More than their existence, they’ve rediscovered the art of radio drama. Whether you’re walking through the Noirish world of Perry Mason, travelling into darkest Africa with Allan Quartermain, or running with Jessica and Logan in Logan’s Run, the Colonial Radio Theatre (CRT) takes you there as only radio can.

Actor, Writer, and Director Jerry Robbins graciously granted my request for an interview in which we discussed Perry Mason (in which he plays the lead), the production of radio dramas and what the future may hold for the Colonial Theater:

Question: How did the Colonial Theatre get started and how long has it been in existence?

Jerry RobbinsJerry Robbins: We started as a business in 1995; although I started producing radio plays as a hobby in 1988 (a feeble attempt at A CHRISTMAS CAROL) and by 1990 I was making re-creations of the old time shows on a regular basis; shows like THE LUX RADIO THEATRE, SCREEN GUILD PLAYERS.  In those days – before home computers were commonplace and before the internet, the only way I could get a radio script was to buy an old LUX show on a cassette, then transcribe the script out on the typewriter, then recording and editing. The early shows were horrid, but after a while they were getting a lot better! By the time it was decided we would do “Colonial Radio Theatre” for commercial release in 1995, I had already done well over a hundred or so of those old time programs.  By transcribing all those old programs into scripts, I learned how to write for radio drama that training came in very handy when I wrote my first original dramatic program, BATTLE ROAD. This week we are recording out 425th production.  We are in our 16th year as an official company.

Question: You play the role of Perry Mason in four radio dramas so far. As an actor, how do you approach a role that’s been defined so much by Raymond Burr’s iconic performance? Has Perry Mason been a role you’ve always wanted to play?

JR: I’ve actually done five so far – CASE OF THE CURIOUS BRIDE will be released in December.  Approaching the role was easy – you will not believe this, but I have never seen a complete PERRY MASON episode with Raymond Burr. Just a clip here and there over the years.

The first story we did, VELVET CLAWS ,  takes place in 1933, and I was thinking of Clark Gable in the role – and that is who I have in mind when I play Perry – Clark Gable! I think he would have made a great Perry Mason if MGM had made the pictures.  I can’t say I always wanted to play Perry, but I am thrilled to be able to in these productions, you can be sure on that!

Question: Also, when you’re adapting a story like Perry Mason or Zorro that has appeared in other medias so often, do you try stick closely to the book or do you influenced by previous adaptations?

JR: On our ZORRO productions, which I adapted for audio, we stayed with the original books 100% as far as the storyline goes.  I am pretty sure that we were the first audio company to produce a modern ZORRO recording since the BBC did THE MARK OF ZORRO in the 70’s. I decided to pass on doing yet another remake of MARK OF – and thought a more obscure story that was not so legendary would be fun – thus ZORRO AND THE PIRATE RAIDERS and then ZORRO RIDES AGAIN.

The first script took seven drafts, as the Zorro people were very picky on how the role would be written (we were working off of the original book THE PIRATE RAIDERS, but they wanted Zorro portrayed more as he is today – so we went through a lot of changes to make that happen, as I was trying to stay as close to the book as possible.  I am not a Zorro fan, so I didn’t know that “Zorro doesn’t do this, Zorro doesn’t do that, Zorro’s horse is this, not that” – I was just going by the book they sent me – I was not inventing new things for Zorro to do – but they were not happy with the way Zorro was portrayed in the book, thus the re-writes. Anyway, draft seven was approved and we went into production.  Now it seems like everyone and his brother is doing a ZORRO audio production and the owners of ZORRO do not seem as picky with the stories as they were with the first one.

Our PERRY MASON programs also stay with the original books, however I know in some cases M.J. Elliott (who writes our PERRY MASON scripts) sometimes combines / condenses scenes so they will play smoother in a radio drama format – but we do not add our own ideas regarding story into the script. As far as I am concerned, these stories were wonderful long before we ever came along. Why change what already works?

Question: One thing I was kind of curious about is that I see you’ll have the third volume of Father Brown mysteries coming out soon and one of the cases is, “The Oracle of the Dog.” In the story, Father Brown solves the crime without ever going to the scene or interviewing the suspects. How did you deal with that in adapting that story?

JR: Since M. J. Elliott writes all the scripts for our FATHER BROWN series, I sent the question along to him. His response:

“It was best, in the interests of drama, that he should be there to witness events as they unfold, without making any substantial alterations to Chesterton’s excellent tale. We therefore had Father Brown visiting the house where the murder occurs in order to study its extensive library for a sermon he’s working on. He’s right in the thick of things from the start and, unknowingly, almost witnesses the murder. We had a similar problem with the classic The Invisible Man, because Father Brown appears surprisingly late in the adventure. In order to keep him at the forefront (these are, after all, The Father Brown Mysteries), we had him apparently narrate the story, although we learn at the end that all this time he’s actually been explaining his deductions to the killer.”

Question: From start to finish, how long does it take to produce a drama like Zorro or Perry Mason?

JR: Every show is different. ZORRO AND THE PIRATE RAIDERS was recorded in one day. Post production on ZORRO took three months – mainly due to the fact that the score was being written at the exact same time.  ZORRO RIDES AGAIN was recorded in a single session as well, in about four hours. Post production was just shy of three months, and the music from PIRATE RAIDERS was re-used, which also saved time. Our ZORRO productions had about 70 or so music cuts.  On the flip side, we just released our fourth production with Ray Bradbury – THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES. That one took 21 recording sessions and was edited over seven months. A half hour episode of a series episode, like POWDER RIVER can a week, or two weeks, depending on the episode. On a series, we tape three or four episodes in a single session.

A PERRY MASON production is also recorded in a single session, and editing can take about a week – sometimes a week and a half.  Seth Adam Sher is our producer on the PERRY MASON series, and he does great work. He also produced our ZORRO productions. They are not easy to edit, trust me!

Question: How many people work regularly for the Colonial Radio Theater?

JR:  We currently work with 5 Producers (post production), 4 writers, two illustrators for cover art, myself as artistic director (I oversee all productions and final release product), and Mark Vander Berg who handles the business end of things. Jeff Gage is our music composer and has been with us since day one.  From 1995 till about the middle of 2006 I edited and wrote all the productions. It wasn’t till we were into the third season of our western series, POWDER RIVER, that another editor came onboard. I haven’t edited a show since.  It gave me more time for my writing and developing the production end of the business. We have an active list of 65 actors who work with us on a regular basis.

Question: Looking back over all the programs you’ve recorded, do you have any favorites? Also, as an actor was there any role that you particularly enjoyed?

JR: I don’t know as I have any special favorite production; but I would have to say those we did with Ray Bradbury are at the top of the list, as is the production we did with Walter Koenig, BUCK ALICE AND THE ACTOR ROBOT.  I am also partial to THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER and CAPTAIN BLOOD.   Favorite role would be Peter Blood in CAPTAIN BLOOD, and John Barrymore in William Luce’s BARRYMORE, which he adapted for audio for us from his Broadway play.

Question: Have you ever played a role over the radio that would have been hard for you to play in a movie or on television?

JR: Probably Britt MacMasters in our POWDER RIVER western series. I am not the worlds best horseman, but I sure can ride a radio horse!

Question: There are a lot of fans of Nero Wolfe in my audience. Have you given any thought to adapting Nero Wolfe stories to the radio?

JR: M.J. Elliott, who writes our PERRY MASON scripts has pitched that idea. I never looked into it, but I wouldn’t rule it out either. It’s not for lack of interest; we just have a schedule that is already into 2013.

Question: You have a very good list of many of your planned released into 2012. Outside of this list, do you have any projects that are in the planning and production stages, particularly in the detective genre?

JR: We are continuing with the FATHER BROWN series. We have 16 recorded, currently being released in sets of four from Brilliance Audio.  I am also hoping to continue the PERRY MASON series.  We talked with the folks who own the Agatha Christie works, but they did not seem very interested in getting back to us (and we were looking to do the titles not produced by the BBC – as I don’t want to step into someone elses territory).  We looked into Charlie Chan, and were a week away from recording when we were warned off because, although the book HOUSE WITHOUT A KEY is in Public Domain, the character of Chan is not. We then contacted the owner of the name to make a deal for the audio rights, but never heard back, so we put everything on the shelf. I am not going to chase anyone around, no matter who they are.  We also spoke with a very famous author / director who was interested in us producing one of his books, however we had to get clearance for it from one of Hollywood’s top studios who still held film rights (the picture had been made years ago); well, that was about four months ago and we’re still waiting for that phone call.  A reminder call to the studios law rep. was met with a ferocious growl from someone’s assistant; so if that’s how they do business, I’m not playing ball.  It would have been a fun project to work on, but we can also survive without it.

I was very excited when we went into production with PERRY MASON, and thought we could come up with a whole line of cool mysteries and detective shows, which are perfect radio listening, and trust me, the fact that we are not producing as many as I would like is not from lack of trying.

Question: Is there anything else you’d like to add for our audience?

JR: Just for them to know that radio theatre isn’t dead. Radio drama, comedy, musicals, adventure, history  – it’s still here – it never went away. Sure, we may have hit a bump or a pot hole here and there, but there are some great producers of modern mystery and detective shows still in full time, active production; Jim French for example, and his IMAGINATION THEATRE, Angelo Panetta and his RADIO REPERATORY COMPANY OF AMERICA produce some great adventures. The “Golden Age” may be long gone – but someone forgot to tell us!

Thanks for sharing. We look forward to hearing more great radio from you for years to come.

Colonial Radio Theatre programming airs on Sirius XM Book Radio Channel 80. A full schedule is available on their website.  You can follow their blog and podcast online.

Note: If you are an Audible Member, digital downloads are available at bargain prices on most Colonial Radio Theater productions.

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Book Review: The Red Box

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The Red Box was the fourth of the Nero Wolfe novels and begins somewhat abruptly in the middle of the initial interview with Wolfe’s client. With a desperate need for a client, Archie connives with a potential client to get Wolfe to leave his house to travel down to a fashion firm several blocks away to interview witnesses in the poisoning death of a model who ate a candy from a box of chocolate and diet.  The client presents Wolfe with a letter from fellow orchid growers citing his participation in Orchid and urging him to undertake the case in the name of decency.

The client, Lew Frost wants Wolfe solve the murder and get his cousin Helen (who he is in love with) to quit her modeling job, as she is a wealthy heiress who is set to inherit a $2 million estate.

Despite his hating every moment, Wolfe uncovers one valuable clue in the course of his trip, in his interview with Ms. Frost and uncovers who the poison was really intended for. On confronting the target of the poison in his office on 35th street, Wolfe is shocked to learn that the man has made him the executor of his estate. He also wanted Wolfe to undertake a case for him, and an important to element of this was to be found in a red box, but before he could reveal the location of the box, he dies. Though, thanks to the will he remains a client.

As Archie says, this case is one client after another. Lew Frost dismisses Wolfe, but his cousin Helen hires Wolfe to find the poisoner, so Wolfe has yet another client.

The book contains a number of interesting features. The best may be Wolfe’s relationship with Helen Frost. It begins on a very rocky basis, but Wolfe ultimately wins her confidence and Helen matures throughout the book. It’s an interesting note that Wolfe seems to have an interesting effect on many spoiled children by treating them like adults. This is as compared to Helen’s friends and family who dote on her like she’s a child incapable of making her own decisions.

Also, my one big criticism of The Rubber Band was that Cramer was almost subservient to Wolfe. The Red Box thankfully has none of that as Cramer develops quite nicely and seems to be set in his cynicism and impatience with Wolfe’s games.

The story goes along quite nicely until the end when the book hits two big problems.

First, is a third murder, which was incredible. Stout’s fell into the mystery writer’s  trap of creating a murder scenario that is too clever to be practical. This murder involved carrying a volatile liquid in a purse or briefcase to a funeral, sneaking into the parking ar, getting into the murder victim’s car, and pouring this liquid into a teacup and then precariously positioning  the tea cup so that the victim will bump it and spill it on himself. The liquid by the way is so toxic that even casual exposure will send you to the hospital.  Rather than commending the plan for its ingenuity, Wolfe ought to have condemned its pure silliness that depended on dumb luck.

The second problem was the ending. While Wolfe used phony evidence to gain confessions or murder’s self-destructions several times, this particular book seemed to me to have the cheapest use of this trick I’ve yet encountered. And Wolfe’s actions hardly seem to work for his client’s emotional well-being. The main reason for Wolfe’s trick appeared to save the time and expense of finding the last missing necessary piece of the puzzle by substituting a phony.

However weak the end, I still enjoyed the book, with the Wolfe-Helen Frost relationship and the development of Inspector Cramer. While the book is probably the weakest of the first four installments of Nero Wolfe, 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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Audio Drama Review: Perry Mason and The Case of the Lucky Legs

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Colonial Theatre released the third of its Perry Mason Audio dramas, “The Case of the Lucky Legs.”  Like with the first two, this is an audio drama based on the original Perry Mason novels of the 1930s, but produced in the 21st Century.

Perry Mason is retained initially to take legal action against a beauty contest promoter who cheated small town businessmen and a local young woman by promising her stardom as winner of a Lucky Legs contest and then leaving her high and dry in Hollywood. When Perry goes to have a discussion with the con man, he finds the man murdered.

Perry finds himself dodging the police until he can find the truth, questioning the witnesses, not even sure who is client is as the man who gave a retainer for $5000 to file the lawsuit keeps changing who Perry is supposed to represent.

The recording is quite a bit shorter than the previous Perry Mason stories that Colonial Theater had done and the length worked for this story. It really created a very tight and well-paced mystery. The plot is full of twists and surprises. At one point, Perry even hires another detective agency to spy on Paul Drake’s operative who are working for the man who paid him.

If there is one criticism I had for the production, it was that role of the winner of the Lucky Legs contest had a voice that didn’t fit the part. She sounded more like 14 rather than 21.  Still, that’s a minor flaw in a brilliant production. I can hardly wait for Colonial’s next installment.

Note: If you are an Audible Member, the digital download of this production is only $2.95 which is a fantastic price for this great production.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

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Poirot Return Looks Likely

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David Suchet was honored with the Commander Order of the British Empire and expressed some hope that Poirot would return to ITV to adapt the final five Poirot books in the Autumn of next year. He said that while it wasn’t official, “the green light is blinking.”

Four novels and one play remain that have not been adapted for television by ITV:

The Big Four
Dead Man’s Folly
Elephant Can Remember
Black Coffee
Curtain

There also remains an entire short story collection (“The Labors of Hercules”) as well as one of Poirot’s Early Cases that wasn’t adapted during the original one hour serials but the ship has probably saled on those. In the meanwhile, it’s good to here Suchet bullish about more episode of Poirot. Hopefully, I’ll be fairly well caught up by the time the new ones are released.

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We Still Love Lucy

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Well, sometimes special days in the life or Golden Age figures pass me by. Such was the case with today’s anniversary of the birth of one of the world’s great comediennes, Lucille Ball.

Google paid tribute to Lucy with a doodle honoring Lucy’s landmark ratings hit with then-husband Desi Arnez, which ran from 1951-57 and left the air the number one sitcom on television.

The show’s popularity continues to endure. It still airs on local television in Los Angeles and reruns continue on cable 53 years after leaving. Lucy’s zaniness, her facial expressions, and her strong on-screen chemistry with Arnez make the show a huge win that brings a smile to most people’s faces.

The greatness of Lucille Ball is shown in the fact that the 1950s had a lot of great comedies on the air: The Life of Riley, Burns and Allen, Jack Benny, Jimmy Durante, Abbott and Costello, and several other very good servicable comedies. Yet, only I Love Lucy and the Honeymooners really seem to endure in the popular imagination.

There’s a certain charm about these shows that makes them connect with listeners across time. With all the changes from 1951-Present, Lucy has remained a constant that is enjoyed by fans of all ages, which is a truly remarkable achievement.

IMDB has 86 episodes online for your viewing pleasure. 

However, Lucy did have roots on radio. Prior to coming to television, she starred with Richard Denning (Michael Shayne, and Mr. and Mrs. North)  in My Favorite Husband, a domestic comedy. The writers recycled and reworked several My Favorite Husband  scripts for I Love Lucy. So, this gives a great opportunity to here the first draft of some of these fine comedic episodes.

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