Listen to “The Great Detectives Present Night Beat” on Spreaker.

Night Beat was originally conceived as a hard-boiled newspaper drama but ended up taking an entirely different direction. The pilot was commissioned in 1949 and was directed by William Rousseau who directed the hardest of hard-boiled detective programs such as Pat Novak for Hire and The New Adventures of Michael Shayne. The pilot starred future Johnny Dollar star Edmond O’Brien and reflected those sensibilities. The pilot wasn’t picked up.

The series was retooled with Warren Lewis taking over as Producer/Director and Frank Lovejoy taking the lead. The result? A series that managed to mix a hard-boiled, world-weary perspective with intelligent, sensitive, and thought-provoking scripts filled with superb characters and played by some of the best radio actors of the Golden Age.

The series lasted for 112 episodes and there was a backdoor pilot for a television version that aired as part of Four Star Playhouse. After it’s cancellation, the series was redone in Australia by Grace Gibson Productions. In 2012, Radio Archives released a short story edition as an audiobook and an ebook featuring further adventure of Randy Stone: A sign of how the series has continued to be loved by fans of great radio drama across the decades:

About the Stars:
Edmund O’Brien (1915-85) became the second on-air Johnny Dollar in February 1950. O’Brien had previously played an insurance investigator in the 1947 film The Killers. He’d previously tried to break in to hardboiled radio drama when he recorded the pilot episode for Nightbeat, but the role instead went to Frank Lovejoy. Growing up O’Brien was the next door neighbor to Harry Houdini, and he had his first break in acting in Orson Welles’ Mercury Theater. After O’Brien left Johnny Dollar after the 1951-52 season, he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar and Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe for his role in The Barefoot Contessa. He got a second Golden Globe and a nomination for a second Oscar ten years later for his role in Seven Days in May. Over the course of his long career in film and television, O’Brien played in every genre and a wide variety of roles. From a poisoned accountant trying to solve his own Murder in DOA to the heavy in Pete Kelly’s Blues, the role of Crowley in The Further Adventures of Gallegher, Syndicated Private Detective Johnny Midnight, and much more. O’Brien left behind a legacy that his Johnny Dollar performances compliment. For more on Mr. O’Brien, visit this great fan website.

Frank Lovejoy 1912-62-Frank Lovejoy enjoyed one great hit starring role in his career as reporter with a heart Randy Stone in Nightbeat. The program a fan favorite for its mixture of suspense, mystery, and true human drama. However, Lovejoy’s contributions go far beyond that. He began as an actor on programs such as Jungle Jim and The Columbia Workshop and was the first announcer on This is Your FBI. Lovejoy continued to provide solid dramatic support for the latter days of radio’s golden age, frequently lending his talents to Suspense from 1957-59. Throughout his career, Lovejoy did well through his ability to create believable characters whether it was a heavy on Box 13, a cop after typical mugs in an episode of The Damon Runyan Theater, or one of Luigi Bosco’s typical comic foils in Life with Luigi. While Lovejoy never had a huge success with his television programs (both his detective shows Man Against Crime and The Adventures of McGraw were short-lived) but provided so many great character performances that he received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Episode log:

• • • The Ted Carter Murder Case (Audition Date: May 19, 1949 with Edmond O’Brien)
    • The Elevator Caper (Audition Date: January 13, 1950)

   

  • Zero (Original Air Date: February 6, 1950)
  • The Night is a Weapon (Original Air Date: February 13, 1950)
  • A World All His Own (Original Air Date: February 20, 1950)
  • Girl in the Park (Original Air Date: February 27, 1950)
  • The Number 13 (Original Air Date: March 6, 1950)
  • Am I My Brother’s Keeper? (Original Air Date: March 13, 1950)*
  • The Man Who Claimed to Be Dead (Original Air Date: March 20, 1950)
  • Flowers on the Water (Original Air Date: March 27, 1950)
  • The Night is a Weapon (Original Air Date: April 9, 1950)
  • I Know Your Secret (Original Air Date: April 10, 1950)
  • Tong Water (Original Air Date: April 17, 1950)
  • Mentallo, the Mental Marvel (Original Air Date: May 1, 1950)
  • The Elevator Caper (Original Air Date: May 8, 1950)
  • The Night Watchman (Original Air Date: May 15, 1950)
  • I Wish You Were Dead (Original Air Date: May 22, 1950)
  • Harlan Matthews, Stamp Dealer (Original Air Date: May 29, 1950)
  • Girl From Kansas (Original Air Date: June 5, 1950)
  • The Football Player and the Syndicate (Original Air Date: June 12, 1950)
  • Vincent and the Painter (Original Air Date: June 19, 1950)
  • The Juvenile Gangster (Original Air Date: June 26, 1950)
  • Marty (Original Air Date: July 3, 1950)
  • Old King Death (Original Air Date: July 10, 1950)
  • Molly Keller (Original Air Date: July 17, 1950)
  • The Devil’s Bible (Original Air Date: July 24, 1950)
  • A City at Your Fingertips (Original Air Date: July 31, 1950)
  • Old Blind Pop (Original Air Date: August 7, 1950)
  • Doctor’s Secret (Original Air Date: August 21, 1950)
  • Old Home Week (Original Air Date: September 4, 1950)
  • The Hunter Becomes the Hunted (Original Air Date: September 11, 1950)
  • Wanna Buy a Story? (Original Air Date: September 18, 1950)
  • A Case of Butter (Original Air Date: September 25, 1950)
  • The Kenny Day Amnesia Case (Original Air Date: October 6, 1950)
  • Einar Pearce and Family (Original Air Date: October 13, 1950)
  • Judge Arnold’s Daughter (Original Air Date: October 20, 1950)
  • The Doctor’s Daughter (Original Air Date: October 27, 1950)
  • Black Cat (Original Air Date: November 3, 1950)
  • The Slasher (Original Air Date: November 10, 1950)
  • Big John McMaster (Original Air Date: March 4, 1951)
  • Juke Box Romance (Original Air Date: May 18, 1951)
  • Fear (Original Air Date: May 25, 1951)
  • The Will of Mrs. Orloff (Original Air Date: June 1, 1951)
  • The Search for Fred (Original Air Date: June 8, 1951)
  • Night Beat: Otto, the Music Man (Original Air Date: June 15, 1951)
  • Sanctuary (Original Air Date: June 22, 1951)
  • Byline for Frank (Original Air Date: June 29, 1951)
  • The Bill Perrin Amnesia Case (Original Air Date: July 6, 1952)
  • Anton’s Return (Original Air Date: July 13, 1951)
  • They (Original Air Date: August 17, 1951)
  • Mr. and Mrs. Carothers (Original Air Date: October 26, 1951)
  • Lost Souls* (Original Air Date: November 16, 1951)
  • Expectant Father (Original Air Date: December 28, 1951)
  • Gusher James* (Original Air Date: March 7, 1952)
  • Pay Up or Die (Original Air Date: May 1, 1952)
  • Long Live the Clown (Original Air Date: May 8, 1952)
  • The Death of Riley (Original Air Date: May 15, 1952)
  • Target for a Week (Original Air Date: May 22, 1952)
  • The Jockeys Were Brothers (Original Air Date: May 29, 1952)
  • The Marvelous Machine (Original Air Date: June 5, 1952)
  • Railroaded (Original Air Date: June 19, 1952)
  • Reformer (Original Air Date: June 26, 1952)
  • The Old Itch (Original Air Date: July 3, 1952)
  • The Smell of Peaches (Original Air Date: July 17, 1952)
  • Flight from Fear (Original Air Date: July 31, 1952)
  • Somebody Stop Ann (Original Air Date: August 7, 1952)
  • His Name is Luke (Original Air Date: August 14, 1952)
  • The Man with the Red Hair (Original Air Date: August 21, 1952)
  • The Bomb On Flight 63 (Original Air Date: September 4, 1952)
  • Larry, the Understudy (Original Air Date: September 11, 1952)
  • The Policy Wheel Racket (Original Air Date: September 18, 1952)
  • The “Bug” Killings (Original Air Date: September 25, 1952)

*Episode played out of order

Christmas Episode Played Out of Order:

• Five Days Off for Christmas (Original Air Date: December 21, 1951)

Special Rebroadcasts:

• A World of His Known (Rebroadcast Date: April 16, 1950)
• Girl in the Park (Rebroadcast Date: April 23, 1950)
• Am I My Brother’s Keeper (Rebroadcast Date: April 30, 1950)

*Show Played Out of Order

Log Complete