While John P. Marquand (right) found literary success in his books such as The Late George Apley, he found commercial success in a series of detective/spy novels featuring a Japanese mystery man – Mr. I.A. Moto. This week I feature the agent that Peter Lorre made famous and also made Lorre successful. By the time radio found the novels, Moto had become a detective/agent fighting Communism in America.
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This week another radio detective cum lawyer born from the daytime serial dramas. Perry Mason on radio was wedged between two other “soap operas” and though it was also one, it was different from the others. I’ll look at Earl Stanley Gardner and his famous lawyer who did a lot of detective work on the radio version. There were several actors who portrayed him on radio, but the most frequently remembered one was John Larkin (right).
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A look at the detective serials as “soap drama.” Mr. Chameleon came from the factory of Frank and Ann Hummert who are best known as the creators of many of radio soap operas and now some of the long running television daytime dramas. The series starred Karl Swenson (right) as the detective who could disguise himself to solve a crime.
Music under the commentary is “Old Folks” by the Ron Helman Jazz Ensemble from the Podshow music network.
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Though he was much better in Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator, gravely-voiced William Gargan starred several more times on radio. This week a look at one of his lesser roles in which he seemed to sometimes sleep his way through. This crime detective series starred Gargan as Ross Dolan.
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Just as his successful radio series, Dragnet, was making a move to television, Jack Webb starred in another short lived radio vehicle – Pete Kelly’s Blues. I’ll look at why he might have done so when he had so much on his plate at the time. The series had some great New Orlean’s Style Jazz!
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This week you’ll hear an audition episode of a series that apparently never aired. San Francisco Final was produced by many of the same personnel who brought Dragnet to the television. Though San Francisco Final is a very well written episode, it has many of the same elements of Dragnet in style and feel.
The series starred Jeff Chandler who was then a major Hollywood star.
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I’m back with an all new podcast about a Raymond Chandler short story called “Spanish Blood.” The story is an integral one in Chandler’s development of his “tarnished knight” – Phillip Marlowe.
A look at Raymond Chandler’s idea of the fictional detective and the radio play “Murder in City Hall” from the Molle Mystery Theater.
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Repeat podcast while I am on leave from July 2005.
Charlie Chan was the creation of author Earl Derr Biggers (right) whose famous detective was best known in a series of films. But Chan also had a modest run on radio as you will hear in this podcast.
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Repeat episode (Sep 2005) while I take some time off.
A look at an unusual Radio Detective – one doesn’t always think of this radio character in the detective vein, though he was indeed the investigator as much as a crime fighter. The Shadow is one of the best remembered radio characters from his pulp creation to radio and films.
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A look at another female radio detective series. This one had two big stars in Joan Blondell and Dick Powell, then husband and wife. The series, Miss Pinkerton, Inc. is based on the characters created by Mary Roberts Rinehart.
Note: I’ll be taking a couple of weeks off – repeat programs will be appearing here the next two weeks.
Background music is called “Speak Low” by Akili.
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