A more indepth look at Raymond Chandler’s iconic private detective, Philip Marlowe. Rising from the pulps of miscellaneous detectives, Chandler hewed his image of his private detective into a Knight Errant, who remained tough, but intelligent. The author’s writings adapted very well to radio as in this radio drama, “The Persian Slippers.” Music under is Night Town from Joni Janak’s… (more…)
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This episode presents what I think is one of the best audio noir productions ever produced. Adapted from the Cornell Woolrich (as William Irish) short story – “And So to Death” – it is one of Woolrich’s best – pure noir. The adaptation preserves much of that aurally through the fabulous performances of Eddie Bracken and veteran radio actor William… (more…)
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James M. Cain is considered by many as one of the creators of the roman noir or “dark fiction” along with Cornell Woolrich, Jim Thompson, Dorothy Hughes and others. Some describe his stories as “hardboiled” though I don’t feel they are in the strict sense other than if one considers noir fiction as a sub-genre of the “hardboiled” school. The… (more…)
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The last adaptation of my look at Dorothy B. Hughes, mystery writer from the forties. This radio adaptation is based on the film “The Fallen Sparrow” starring John Garfield. The adaptation is from the Lux Radio Theater. Not as good as the previous podcast, but it gives another look into the types of characters and situations, this writer created. This… (more…)
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Night Beat was one of those radio series that came over the networks in the early fifties just as the medium was beginning to toll its death knell for dramatic network drama. Yet the quality of many of the shows from this period were some of the best produced by radio. This journalist as detective serial starring Frank Lovejoy, whose… (more…)
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100th podcast of this series! This week I want to return to two series with detective elements as well as what I call radio noir aspects in their productions. A special double-header focusing on the writing, the darkness and the pulse of two of the better radio series with crime detection themes. Night Beat with its gravel-voiced character played by… (more…)
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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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