Detective fiction is full of examples of the woman-as-detective theme throughout its history. While the majority of the fictional detectives were men, there are flattering examples in which female sleuths regularly sought out clues and ultimately solved crimes. In radio, on the other hand, female detectives were usually somewhat vacuous or treated with little respect. Radio did have its share… (more…)
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From the fecund mind of mystery/thriller writer, Edgar Wallace, best known as the first screenwriter of the film King Kong. His better known mystery series include the J.G. Reeder and Green Archer series. Wallace’s stories were so well accepted over 160 films were made from them. This week I’ll look at Wallace and the radio play “Criminal At Large” from… (more…)
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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… (more…)
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In 1914, pulp fiction writer, Louis Joseph Vance, published the first in a series of mystery detective books starring Michael Lanyard, aka The Lone Wolf. Though Vance died before he could see the industry his books created in the thirties and forties, the books left him a successful writer. This week, a look at the radio serial, The Lone Wolf… (more…)
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One of the lesser known detective radio series, The Cases of Mr. Ace appears to have been in very limited run mostly on WNEW in New York in the late forties. The series was one of only two in which George Raft starred. I personally never really felt Raft was much of a radio actor. His onscreen persona is mostly… (more…)
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One of the lesser known radio detective serials was The Amazing Mr. Malone also known as Murder and Mr. Malone. Yet this series had three separate runs, a television series and several movies all based upon the fictional detective mystery books by author Craig Rice, whose real name was Georgiana Ann Randolph Rice (right).
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Adventures of Frank Race was purely a radio series with no connection to other media. It’s first star was Tom Collins whose suave (but fake) British sounding accent provided some well crafted narrative to the series. The second star was Paul Dubov who was more hardboiled. This week, a look at the international detective whose primary business was following insurance… (more…)
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While one might not think of Big Town as a detective series, it wasn’t as much in its first run with Edward G. Robinson. But by 1942, the cast had changed and so had the theme. Managing Editor Steve Wilson of the Illustrated Press (portrayed by this time by Edward Pawley [right]) spent more time on the street investigating crime… (more…)
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Jeff Regan, Investigator saw its birth in July 1948 on CBS. The aural gimmick in the opening was that Regan worked for an international investigation firm run by Anthony J. Lyon. The series proclaimed him “The Lion’s Eye.” The owner, Anthony J. Lyon, played by Wilms Herbert with a voice sounding like a rather large man, would send his prime… (more…)
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The original characters were created by Jack Boyle, who first published a short story in “The American Magazine” in 1914 called “The Price of Principle.” Boyle went on to write several more Blackie stories that were collected into a book of short stories in 1919. The character as created by Boyle was a bit more hardened than the radio version.… (more…)
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