Listen to “The Gentlemen Detectives of Old Time Radio” on Spreaker.
Rex Harrison was a popular actor in the 1950s (though he’s most-remembered for his work in the 1960s) and so NBC gave him his own radio series, as they did to many well-known stars during the first few years of the 1950s. In many ways, the series bore a strong similarity to the previous Bulldog Drummond series as Rex Saunders travels the world with an assistant helping out damsels in distress. Rex Saunders even has the same foghorn opening.
The series lasted fourteen weeks and ended abruptly with the final episode announcing details of a fifteenth week program that would never be aired. The strength of the series is Harrison’s charisma and a few clever writing touches.
Star Bio:
Rex Harrison (1908-1990): Harrison had a seven decade long career on the stage, in film, as well as on television and radio. Harrison broke into Hollywood with a critically-acclaimed performance in 1946’s Anna and the King of Siam.. His career peak came in the mid-1960s when he won an Oscar and Golden Globe Award for his performance as Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady (1964). During this time, he also turned in great performances in Cleopatra (1963), The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965), and Doctor Doolittle (1967).
Episode Log (Courtesy of Digital Deli FTP):
- The Lady with Hate in Her Heart (Original Air Date: May 2, 1951)
- A Shocking Still Life (Original Air Date: May 9, 1951)
- Diamonds Can be Done…To Death (Original Air Date: May 16, 1951)
- When You Play the Game…With Death (Original Air Date: May 23, 1951)
- High Dividends…Or Shallow Graves (Original Air Date: May 30, 1951)
- The Plan in the Killer’s Mind (Original Air Date: June 6, 1951)
- A Trip to the Death House (Original Air Date: June 13, 1951)
- A Murder Deep in the Killer’s Mind (Original Air Date: June 20, 1951)
- The Most Malignant of Diseases…Namely Murder (Original Air Date: June 27, 1951)
- Hidden Thoughts in a Feminine Mind…Concerned with Murder (Original Air Date: July 4, 1951)
- When Murder is Along as a Silent Companion (Original Air Date: July 11, 1951)
- Unto Death Do Us Part (Original Air Date: July 18, 1951)
- Worth More Than It’s Weight in Murder (Original Air Date: July 25, 1951)
- When They Track Down…The Human Game (Original Air Date: August 1, 1951)
End of Log