OTR Detective Christmas, Day 8: Let George Do It

Let George Do It was a long-running Mutual detective series than ran 1946-1954, with Bob Bailey as the lead character George Valentine for most of its run (this was Bailey's big role prior to his tenure on Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar). Accompanied by his girlfriend Brooksie (the versatile Virginia Gregg), George placed a newspaper ad inviting people to hire him ("Personal notice: Danger's my stock in trade. If the job's too tough for you to handle, you've got a job for me: George Valentine. Write, full details!").

The Let George Do It episode of Christmas Day, 1950 is called "Santa Claus in Glass" and opens with a gentle send-up of a typical detective scene as the supposed "victim" is George and Brooksie's Christmas duck! The drama also closes with a fine Christmas greeting from Bob Bailey.

Another Christmas radio program tomorrow!

OTR Detective Christmas, Day 7: Candy Matson

Candy Matson is a fun radio detective series that aired on NBC around 1949-1951. The series was both recorded at and set within the city of San Francisco. The program had a lot of hardboiled content yet also a very wry, sarcastic sense of humour. I hope to feature one of my Radio Recaps on this series in the new year.

In the December 10, 1949 episode "Jack Frost," a department store's Jack Frost goes missing. It isn't a tradition I'm familiar with, but it seems some department stores used a Jack Frost figure instead of Santa Claus himself. Anyway, Candy looks for the missing Jack Frost and finds him dead, then recruits her friend Rembrandt to assume the role of Jack Frost while she hunts the killer.

Another Christmas radio program tomorrow!

OTR Detective Christmas, Day 6: The Lone Wolf

The Lone Wolf, alias Michael Lanyard, was a lot like Boston Blackie - not only a thief who turned hero but also debuted in prose then moved on to movies and radio (also television!). He was created by Louis Joseph Vance.

The Lone Wolf's radio series lasted from June 29, 1948 to January 1, 1949 on Mutual -- and the only surviving episode appears to be the final episode, which just happens to be a Christmas-themed program! The title is "The Golden Santa" and concerns the Lone Wolf (portrayed by Walter Coy) being hired by a woman who claims to have lost a golden statue of Santa Claus.

Another Christmas radio program tomorrow!

OTR Detective Christmas, Day 5: 21st Precinct

Here's another series I haven't blogged about before; 21st Precinct was one of many police procedural shows that drifted into radio through the wake of Dragnet but it was a little different - there wasn't much action or gunplay, it dealt in the humdrum daily life of a police precinct and the variety of cases that came through their doors, which didn't always mean there was a crime to be solved. It ran on CBS from 1953-1956 with Everett Sloane in the lead as Captain Canelli.

In the bittersweet Christmas episode "The Giver" (December 22, 1954), the police are called to investigate an old man who is said to be selling merchandise from his apartment. As it turns out, he's not selling it - he's giving it away - and he can't account for why it was all delivered to his apartment in the first place!

Another Christmas radio program tomorrow!

OTR Detective Christmas, Day 4: The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Today, let's check in on Sherlock Holmes - via the New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes! This was the series that began with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Holmes and Watson but by the time of the episode I'm featuring (December 21, 1947) the roles had been adopted by John Stanley and Alfred Shirley.

In "the Adventure of the Christmas Bride," Holmes and Watson investigate the scene where a woman was once sealed inside a trunk and died, supposedly leaving behind a ghost who haunts a bride-to-be.

Another Christmas radio program tomorrow!

OTR Detective Christmas, Day 3: Boston Blackie

Boston Blackie was not a sophisticated detective show but it ran for many years through the Ziv company's syndication service on Mutual. The character of Boston Blackie originated in the pulp stories by Jack Boyle, then was adapted to film and finally ended up on radio with Richard Kollmar in the lead role.

Although Blackie's background was that he was a criminal with a heart of gold; the movies and radio made him a reformed criminal. Despite his good nature, Blackie was perpetually accused of being involved in whatever crime was most recently committed, thanks to the easily-befuddled Inspector Faraday, easily the dumbest of all dumb radio cops.

The episode referred to as "Stolen Rings at Christmas" (December 22, 1948) concerns a criminal who hides some stolen rings inside a street corner Santa Claus' donation pot. To get the rings back, Blackie poses as Santa himself and has to sing 'Jingle Bells' to save his life! It's not radio at it's best but it's a diverting yarn.

Another Christmas radio program tomorrow!

OTR Detective Christmas, Day 2: Casey, Crime Photographer

Here's a series I've never written about before: Casey, Crime Photographer. It was based on the pulp magazine hero and adapted to radio by Alonzo Deen Cole (best-known for the Witch's Tale) with Staats Cotsworth as Casey. It aired on CBS in the timeslot right after Suspense and apparently did very well at retaining Suspense's audience, evidently beating whatever NBC was airing in their timeslot.

There are a few episodes of Casey, Crime Photographer set during the holidays but I rather like the episode titled "Christmas Shopping" from December 19, 1946. Casey and his sidekick Ann happen to witness a man get pickpocketed - but when they confronted the man who was robbed, he denies having lost his money. Casey's convinced this is part of a scheme.

Another Christmas radio program tomorrow!