Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Radio Recap: The Cases of Mr. Ace

I know very little of the series The Cases of Mr. Ace. What I have found looking around online has proved contradictory. It has a Wikipedia article that claims the series was derived from the 1946 film Mr. Ace and it appeared on ABC. Radio Goldindex maintains that this was not an ABC program, it was a Paragon Radio Productions syndicated program dated 1947. In possibly the funniest bit of trivia, the Wikipedia article on star George Raft refers to the Cases of Mr. Ace as a “popular program,” followed by “[citation needed].”

So let’s begin with George Raft. In retrospect, his career was winding down in 1947, although he surely didn’t know it; he was no longer under contract at Warner Bros. and was starting his own production company, but just about all his peers in film at the time were likewise getting away from studio control and launching unsuccessful independent ventures. He’d been a popular actor at the start of the 1940s, but by 1950 he would be virtually washed-up. By making his own syndicated radio program he was likewise taking a step many other popular Hollywood personalities took.

There are only 3 examples of the Cases of Mr. Ace (plus 1 fragment) from which we can determine what the series was like. The series was produced and directed by Jason James, who was (according to Radio Goldindex) a psuedonym for Jo Eisinger. As I noted in my recent look at Eisinger’s book the Walls Came Tumbling Down, he was a great admirer of Dashiell Hammett’s work. It becomes immediately apparent from listening to any episode of the Cases of Mr. Ace that he was deliberately inviting comparisons to Hammett. In the show’s introduction there’s a long sharp musical chord near-identical to the one which opened every episode of the Adventures of Sam Spade. And while some anonymous Wikipedia author assumed the series was a spin-off from the film Mr. Ace, it seems much more likely that “Ace” is a lame pun in place of Spade, pointing to how this series wears its references on its suit sleeve. That Raft had recently portrayed another “Eddie Ace” is an interesting coincidence, but they can’t be considered linked works as Mr. Ace was a political-romance film in which Raft portrayed a political boss who falls in love with the lady politician he’s supposed to ruin. The Eddie Ace of the Cases of Mr. Ace is simply a private detective - you know, like Sam Spade.

Raft, natch, had a chance to play Sam Spade on the screen but passed it up to co-star in Manpower instead, giving up the part to Bogart. I blogged about Raft’s poor choice before - I’m pretty much convinced that starring in Manpower was the moment Raft’s career began to fade. He whom was previously superior to Bogart was, by 1947, Bogart’s inferior. So Raft made a private eye radio show; there’s no shame in that. But the Cases of Mr. Ace really wanted to be like the Adventures of Sam Spade, to the extent that one episode (called online “the Man Named Judas”) is a blatant rip-off of the Maltese Falcon. The episode follows most of the plot beats, includes Joseph Kearns doing a Sydney Greenstreet impression complete with the phrase “coin of the realm” (Kearns had portrayed Greenstreet’s Gutman for the Adventures of Sam Spade); Ace referred to the pursued object as a “dingus” and there’s a very poor Peter Lorre impostor. To hear this episode is to suffer second-hand embarrassment on behalf of the cast.

Having proved unable to compete against an unfettered Bogart, Raft now seemed intent on proving himself incapable of besting Howard Duff. Duff’s version of Sam Spade was already performed as a near-parody of Bogart’s, delivered with a huge sense of sarcastic humour. But Raft’s charisma wasn’t Bogart’s or even Duff’s. Raft really needed a camera to help him out. In a movie, he could smoulder; on the radio, he only smothers. His performance is constantly lackluster as he appears to be sleepwalking through the part - or worse yet, hungover. The origins of this show are so unclear that I wouldn’t reject the idea that it was never actually broadcast - maybe they only recorded 4 episodes, realized Raft had no interest in making any more and cut their losses.

And that’s a shame, because there’s an element to the Cases of Mr. Ace that’s very unique. In the first episode (called online “the Murder of Frederick Miller”) Ace was summoned by Dr. Gail, a psychologist who wanted him to tell her about one of his cases. This is used as the artifice by which Ace narrates his own adventures, similar to Spade narrating his stories to Effie. The idea of some playful banter between a private eye and his female shrink - that’s unusual, that’s an idea with potential. Unfortunately, either the script or the sick friend he sat up with the night before failed to bring out Raft’s playful side, so even those scenes failed to work out.

You can hear what there is of the Cases of Mr. Ace on the Old-Time Radio Researchers Library and judge for yourself.

Monday, May 29, 2023

Escape Episode Guide: Part 13

Welcome back to my episode guide to the wonderful radio series Escape! The final two episodes sponsored by Richfield Oil open up this batch of episodes! Series creator William N. Robson has also departed the program, this time for good (he'd later resurface as producer/director of Suspense). For now, Norman Macdonnell once again takes command of Escape!

  • #121: "The Footprint" (August 18, 1950) Starring: William Conrad. Story: Gouverneur Morris. Script: Richard Chandlee. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Mexico.
    Plot: A band of hired men venture to a Chinese pagoda in the Mexican desert where they observe strange religious rites - and a hidden fortune!
    Review: This episode is a bit nuts, like a desert version of "Bloodbath" but with a secret cult who practice ritual sacrifice for good measure. I think it all comes together well - the story is tense, especially as the thieves flee across the desert and perceive the green silk costumes of their pursuers. Also, meet Escape Snake #7: the gray snake! My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
  • #122: "Crossing Paris" (August 25, 1950) Starring: Jay Novello. Story: Marcel Ayme. Script: John Meston. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: France.
    Plot: A black market smuggler tries to meekly carry his wares through the darkened streets but his somewhat unwelcome ally insists on drawing people's attention to him.
    Review: This is all over the place, isn't it? William Conrad is outstanding as the drunkard who keeps endangering the protagonist but I'm not as sold on Novello's restrained performance in the lead or the violent climax. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
  • #123: "A Sleeping Draught" (1st version October 1, 1950) Starring: Ben Wright. Story: Weston Martyr. Script: Antony Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Atlantic Ocean/Australia.
    Plot: A ship ferrying convicts to Australia breaks into violence, first against the prisoners, then directed at the crew.
    Review: We're back on the high seas for a decent production about the difficulty men have trusting each other (a recurring Escape trope) but I find the prisoners' voice so irritating that I don't really enjoy going back to this episode. Still, Ben Wright is very good and I want to highlight him because I am sometimes critical of him in other episodes. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
  • #124: "Roulette" (October 8, 1950) Starring: Terry Kilburn. Story/Script: Antony Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: France.
    Plot: A naive young man agrees to help a woman who claims her life is in danger.
    Review: This doesn't quite work; it's trying to be an Eric Ambler drama with a protagonist who doesn't comprehend the world of espionage. Unfortunately, the protagonist is so simple-minded, the spy is so obvious and the plot has no particular twists or humorous moments to make up for it. It's rare for me to say I don't recommend an episode of Escape, but this is another instance. My Rating: 2/5 stars.
  • #125: "The Power of Hammer" (October 15, 1950) Starring: Harry Bartell. Story: Antony Ellis. Script: Gil Doud. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Belgian Congo.
    Plot: The Belgians want to arrest a madman who has set up his own private fortress in the jungle; the guide they hire has a history with the would-be king.
    Review: Bartell is good in the lead role but I find the villain way, way too over-played and over-hyped (no one dares shoot the villain because his loyal natives will bring down his killer - or so goes the theory). Overall, it's good high adventure. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
  • #126: "The Time Machine" (2nd version October 22, 1950) Starring: John Dehner. Story: H. G. Wells. Script: Irving Ravetch. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: England.
    Plot: Two men test their time machine by journeying into the future where they find humans have evolved along two very different paths.
    Review: This production is just slightly better than the previous attempt (episode #40), I think, simply because John Dehner had such a great presence. I still find the dialogue between the two leads a bit stilted but it remains a great adventure tale. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
  • #127: "Seven Hours to Freedom" (October 29, 1950) Starring: Stan Waxman. Story/Script: Bud A. Nelson. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Pacific Ocean.
    Plot: A fisherman's boat is commandeered by escaping criminals en route to Mexico.
    Review: Back on the high seas and the situation is a good, tense one, but the execution is disappointing - merely a Key Largo wannabe. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
  • #128: "Earth Abides" Part 1. (November 5, 1950) Starring: John Dehner. Story: George R. Stewart. Script: David Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: USA.
    Plot: After most of mankind is wiped out a survivor seeks his path amidst the debris.
    Review: I owe Escape for making me aware of this story - one of the godfathers of the "post-apocalypse" fictions that have since become their own cottage industry. Author Stewart put a lot of thought into what would become of the Earth with a greatly reduced human population and those points - narrated by Larry Dobkin - are effectively rendered while Dehner is a great protagonist, who owes his life to Escape Snake #8: another rattlesnake! My Rating: 5/5 stars.
  • #129: "Earth Abides" Part 2. (November 12, 1950) Starring: John Dehner. Story: George R. Stewart. Script: David Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: USA.
    Plot: The remains of human society continue to struggle and are put to the test when a murderer appears.
    Review: I feel the second half of this story fumbles it a bit; it tries to swerve away from the bittersweet ending of the novel into something more optimistic that doesn't really fit the rest of the series. But the main drama of the story, involving William Conrad as a brutish intruder, is very well dramatized. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
  • #130: "Journey into Fear" (November 19, 1950) Starring: Wilms Herbert. Story: Eric Ambler. Script: Antony Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Turkey.
    Plot: An engineer in Turkey is targeted for assassination and flees on the high seas.
    Review: Speaking of Eric Ambler, here's his best-known work! The novel is a bit much to fit into a half-hour and I don't think it's helped by Herbert's performance - here, Terry Kilburn would have had hit the right note (or Harry Bartell - see #22, "Second Class Passenger" or Morgan Farley - see #25, "Three Good Witnesses"). Escape has done better jobs with this kind of story, the average man who is thrust into danger. Herbert just sounds a little too capable for the role. My Rating: 4/5 stars.

You can listen to episodes of Escape at the Internet Archive! I'll be back with more next week!

Sunday, May 28, 2023

Lubango Vlog 2023 Wrap-Up!

After my year in Angola I created a video upon my return to sum up my time there. I've done that again, but with a special guest to guide the conversation!

...And here's a very special bonus video!

Saturday, May 27, 2023

2023 Inkwell Award Winners!

The Inkwell Awards recently announced the winners of the 2023 Inkwell Awards. As a member of the Inkwell Awards nomination committee, I'm happy to have played a part in assisting in the recognition of those inkers who are recognized by fans as being the best in the biz. Congratulations to all of those who won!

Friday, May 26, 2023

Radio Recap: T-Man

T-Man was a short-lived CBS series that ran as a summer show, July-August 1950. It starred actor Dennis O’Keefe as treasury agent Steve Larsen. It was produced and directed by the fine William N. Robson, who was, of course, the man who launched my personal favourite series Escape; T-Man included many actors familiar to Escape listeners such as Paul Frees, Bill Johnstone and Ted De Corsia.

T-Man owes its existence primarily to the 1947 feature film T-Men directed by Anthony Mann which likewise starred Dennis O’Keefe in a dramatized retelling of an actual treasury office case to break up a team of counterfeiters. T-Man apparently drew from the same real-life case as T-Men, based on a dialogue exchange in the pilot that is much the same as one O’Keefe had in the film. Of course, T-Man also owed a lot to the general interest in procedurals in radio of the time; there was a huge post-war interest in how law enforcement functioned and by demonstrating how the authorities worked producers could “prove” they were citizens in good standing (William N. Robson got smeared by Red Channels because he was interested in left-wing politics but evidently had no actual ties to communism; it didn’t matter in that toxic Cold War environment, the onus was on him to prove himself a good citizen).

Robson, of course, cut his teeth in the 1930s on the radio series Calling All Cars, which dramatized true-life police accounts. Post-war audiences wanted something a little more sophisticated than what the likes of Calling All Cars or Gang Busters had presented, a vein which Jack Webb’s Dragnet tapped into and struck gold; the FBI had their turn with programs such as the FBI in Peace and War and This Is Your FBI. What did that leave? The treasury department, for one.

Although the treasury department would seem like it has limited opportunities for variety - it always seems to come down to catching counterfeiters - T-Man had a strong central performance by O’Keefe (using 1st person narration, always a plus in radio), an able cast of excellent supporting performers, good music cues and excellent sound effects, which make T-Man very easy to listen to today. The series worked in unusual circumstances to situate its counterfeiters, such as in the debut episode “There Is No Business Like Show Business” in which a lousy troupe of actors are the front men for a counterfeit operation.

T-Man is frequently connected to the Australian radio series T-Men (1956) online. It doesn’t appear as though they shared scripts, their only connection seems to be that they were both based on the U.S. Treasury Department.

T-Man certainly didn’t last very long and we have only a few remaining episodes (the pilot + 2 broadcasts) but for all that, it’s very strong. You can hear those episodes at the Old-Time Radio Researchers Library.

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Lubango Vlog: Meet My Student Will!

I've spoken and written a lot about my students, I think it's time I simply introduced you to one of them. In this video my student Will tests out his English as he explains what he's learned in my classes.

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Radio Recap: Mystery House

Mystery House was an unusual radio series that aired on Mutual from February 1944 toSeptember 1946. It was a mystery anthology series, but with a difference - quite an odd difference. Could it be argued that Mystery House was the Inception of old-time radio mystery anthologies? Now that I’ve written it, I suppose it could.

You see, Mystery House had a unique premise: as the opening of each episode would declare, this series was about the publishers of a series of mystery novels whose staff would act out a proposed new novel before approving it for publication. But that’s mere artifice; in reality, a cast of actors would perform as the staff of the Mystery House publishing firm (headed by Dan and Barbara Glenn) who would themselves perform the characters who appeared in each week’s stories.

The premise is particularly odd because there really were old-time radio shows that were based on popular mystery publishers. After all, we famously enjoyed Inner Sanctum Mysteries on the radio for many years; I don’t think they ever actually adapted an Inner Sanctum novel into a radio drama, but each week they would remind you of the latest print releases. The same method was employed on the series Crime Club, and its the latter series that Mystery House most resembles in terms of production values.

Mystery House wasn’t great radio, but it wasn’t bad either. Like many Mutual programs it had a lower budget and had to make do with an organ, but their organist was versatile and did their best to use the instrument as a means of covering up the paucity of audio effects. The dramas themselves are very familiar potboilers, full of mysterious deaths, scheming wealthy people and star-crossed lovers who would make it as a couple if the man could just get his big break. The characters tended to be very familiar archetypes with the occasional colourful accent thrown in. But the plots moved at a fast pace with quick dialogue to maintain momentum.

All that really sets Mystery House apart from Crime Club is the odd structure where they pretend the dramas are being performed by a mystery publishing house. But outside of the opening of the program where the two leads Dan and Barbara briefly banter about the script they’re about to perform, it doesn’t factor into the series at all. Still, the odd premise is interesting enough that I think mystery fans should sample at least one episode - any episode (they all sound about the same, though sometimes the audio is low). If you love Crime Club and wish there were more of it, well, Mystery House is more-or-less the same thing.

The Old-Time Radio Researchers’ Group has a YouTube playlist of all the surviving episodes here.

Monday, May 22, 2023

Escape Episode Guide: Part 12

Welcome back to my episode guide for the great radio dramatic series Escape! We're still in the (brief) era where the show was sponsored by Richfield Oil. Antony Ellis also begins supplying scripts to Escape during this period; he'd later become the producer/director of the series. And if you wondered why I was numbering appearances by snakes up until now, well, these 10 episode should give you an idea...

  • #111: "Mars Is Heaven" (June 2, 1950) Starring: Jeff Corey. Story: Ray Bradbury. Script: Morton Fine/David Friedkin. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Mars.
    Plot: The first men on Mars are shocked to be greeted by a colony of humans already living there.
    Review: This is among my favourite Bradbury stories but this isn't my favourite version of it. I admire that Robson treated the story seriously here but it feels too reverant (heck, we pause to hear from St. Paul's basilica!) and too slow to get to the action. Even though the Dimension X version is less faithful to Bradbury's text I like it more; the concluding scene with the Martians' conversation feels especially odd. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
  • #112: "Serenade for a Cobra" (June 16, 1950) Starring: Charles McGraw. Story/Script: Joel Murcott. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: India.
    Plot: A cargo pilot takes up smuggling to make some extra money, offending his Indian radio operator who keeps a cobra as a pet.
    Review: Meet Escape Snake #3: the cobra! This is vintage Escape and much like the classic "A Shipment of Mute Fate" it's all leading up to a man in a confined space facing a dangerous snake. Of course, in this case the always-welcome McGraw isn't a hero and there's a cruel twist ending! My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
  • #113: "Sundown" (June 23, 1950) Starring: Barton Yarborough. Story/Script: Joel Murcott. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA.
    Plot: After an outlaw kills his pony a boy dedicates his life to vengeance.
    Review: We still haven't reached the western story credited with inspiring the series Gunsmoke, but here is what I easily dub Escape's best western story (it probably doesn't get much credit because writer Murcott wasn't part of Gunsmoke, he went on to Tales of the Texas Rangers). This is a sad, somber story about one man's casual cruelty resulting in a life spent on vengeance. It's beautifully told and the type of story only Escape was telling at the time. My Rating: 5/5 stars.
  • #114: "Bloodbath" (June 30, 1950) Starring: Vincent Price. Story/Script: James Poe. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Peru. Plot: Five men head into the jungle and find a fortune in uranium; greed quickly turns them against each other which is a bad choice in the midst of the dangerous wild.
    Review: You say you want another man vs. nature story? How about bats? Electric eels? Escape Snake #4: the python? Of all the stories in which men are destroyed by their greed this may be the topper as greed and nature conspire together to destroy them; this is my favourite of Price's performances on Escape as he portrays the one honest man. His closing narration is especially powerful: "I know where there's enough uranium to blow it all to hell. Want it? Just go up the river, it's for the taking. Ask Dumont and Obie and Weems and Hess. A trillion bucks worth, enough to give the whole world a bloodbath... yourself included." My Rating: 5/5 stars.
  • #115: "A Shipment of Mute Fate" (4th version July 7, 1950) Starring: David Ellis. Story: Martin Storm. Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Venezuela.
    Plot: A man transports a bushmaster aboard a ship; the worst-case scenario happens when the snake gets loose.
    Review: Featuring Escape Snake#1! One final effort at adapting this tale of snakes on the high seas, truly the epitome of Escape (previously heard as episodes #10, 34 and 60). David Ellis does all right in the lead role, albeit not as well as previous performers. The production quality remains very high, it's a perfectly-told thriller, although the Ritchfield commercials eat up some time. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
  • #116: "Shark Bait" (July 14, 1950) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Antony Ellis. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Nicaragua
    Plot: A boat owner hires out to some men who claim to be interested in fishing on the high seas but they turn out to be gun runners.
    Review: An excellent thriller with a terrific swerve ending; all of the performers are right on point. I realize I've written this many times, but William Conrad is invaluable as a protagonist, he elevates every episode he appears in. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
  • #117: "Yellow Wake" (July 21, 1950) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Bud Nelson. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Panama.
    Plot: A sailor commandeers a whaling ship for an old-fashioned high seas treasure hunt.
    Review: This one starts out strong and ends strong but the middle - where Conrad's anti-hero protagonist seizes control of the ship - isn't quite as gripping. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
  • #118: "Poison" (July 28, 1950) Starring: Jack Webb. Story: Roald Dahl. Script: James Poe. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: India.
    Plot: An angry bigot discovers a snake asleep on his chest and only an Indian doctor can save his life.
    Review: Jack Webb claims the lead role but William Conrad easily steals the show with his performance as the bigot. Conrad's transformation from fearful to abusive in the climax is especially striking. The story is basically carried by the performances, they elevate Dahl's story and Poe's script. And we owe it all to Escape Snake #5: the krait! My Rating: 5/5 stars.
  • #119: "Two Came Back" (August 4, 1950) Starring: Stacy Harris. Story: Jules Archer. Script/Director: William N. Robson. Setting: New Guinea.
    Plot: An old army buddy invites his friend into the jungle to find a fortune - but the buddy's unfaithful wife is a major problem.
    Review: This one I find entertaining because it skips and dodges around expectations. It features a femme fatale (with one heck of an audio intro) and her husband is the typical "big dumb ox" type. But it plays out contrary to the tropes and that renders it memorable. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
  • #120: "The Red Forest" (1st version August 11, 1950) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Antony Ellis. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA.
    Plot: A man on the run finds his way blocked by a forest fire as he's forced to help fight the blaze.
    Review: An excellent tale as the adventure of battling a forest fire is combined with the tension of a man on the run - and even throws in some romance. This is among Ellis' best work for the series. Escape Snake #6: the rattlesnake makes a quick appearance! My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.

You can listen to episodes of Escape at the Internet Archive! I'll be back with more next week!

Sunday, May 21, 2023

Radio Recap: Crime and Peter Chambers

I give the creators of Crime and Peter Chambers fair credit: every episode contains crime, and also Peter Chambers.

Crime and Peter Chambers was a latter-day NBC program that aired April-September 1954. Unlike The Adventures of Christopher London, this is the sort of NBC show I usually whine about; a small New York cast of unfamiliar voice talent; limited audio effects; and the same recycled music used by NBC on Rocky Fortune, That Hammer Guy, Barrie Craig, The Chase, etc. - music that wasn’t always chosen to match the mood of the scenes but seemingly as sonic wallpaper.

I was surprised to learn Peter Chambers was adapted from a print series of novels by Henry Kane- I’d never heard of him before. He was portrayed by Dane Clark, who had to carry the bulk of each episode, narrating everything in an annoying second-person style (“You’re a private detective - that’s for money; anything else, that’s for laughs.”). The plots are fairly standard radio detective fare with femme fatales, tough guys and innocent men framed for murder. I perked up a little when Nelson Olmsted’s welcome voice appeared in one episode, but otherwise each episode sounds like the previous one.

I don’t dislike Crime and Peter Chambers but I think it’s at best, average. I can’t recommend anything so average, but if you’ve heard the best, here’s the rest on the Old-Time Radio Researchers playlist.

Saturday, May 20, 2023

Friday, May 19, 2023

Radio Recap: The Adventures of Christopher London

The Adventures of Christopher London was a very short-lived NBC radio series that ran only January-June 1950. You may recall I usually complain about the quality of NBC’s 1950s dramatic programming as inferior to that of CBS but The Adventures of Christopher London is different - it was produced and directed by William N. Robson, whom you’ll certainly recall was producer-director of Escape (among many other fine programs). The presence of Robson’s able hand is no doubt why I find The Adventures of Christopher London is well above average for NBC programs.

Added to that, the titular character was created by Erle Stanley Gardner (Perry Mason) especially for radio and portrayed by the terrific actor Glenn Ford. And although this was just one among dozens of private detective shows, the character of London had an actual… character. Having spent time in China during the war, London would philosophize using adages he learned from the Chinese (represented as well by London’s servant Ah Song, played by Charlie Lung). Other performers heard in episodes included Ben Wright, Barton Yarborough and Ted de Corsia - a lot of familiar voices from Escape.

The Adventures of Christopher London had more going for it than most private eye shows, yet it only lasted 19 weeks - it seems even with the wonders of transcription, Ford didn’t have time in his busy schedule to continue in the role - so the series ended swiftly. It was replaced by the show Top Secret, which I recapped here. Only three of the nineteen episodes are known to exist today:

  1. ”The Missing Heiress” (February 5, 1950): London pursues a missing woman; does she have amnesia or is she someone’s prisoner?
  2. ”The Price of Sugar” (February 26, 1950): London investigates sugar racketeers.
  3. ”Pattern for Murder” (May 29, 1950): After a deadly redhead kills a man in front of him, London pursues her.

You can hear them on the Internet Archive. As I said, The Adventures of Christopher London is better than average; if you want to hear some different voices and enjoy quality production and story values, this is a fine one to seek out.

Thursday, May 18, 2023

The Walls Came Tumbling Down: A Mostly-Forgotten Novel and Its Mostly-Forgotten Adaptations

I recently read the 1943 novel The Walls Came Tumbling Down by Jo Eisinger. I was aware of it because it had been adapted as an episode of Suspense starring Keenan Wynn from June 29, 1944 (on YouTube here). I liked the episode and thought it had a strong mystery at the outset, but I found the wrap-up confusing.

In both the book and radio adaptation, D’Arcy is a famous columnist visited by his old parish priest. The priest received a threatening visit from someone seeking two Bibles marked “E.B.” and referenced “the walls of Jericho.” The priest had no idea what the visitor was referring to but when he reported the visit to his bishop was met with skepticism and told not to involve the police. D’Arcy agreed to help the priest but shortly after when he went to meet him at his home found the priest murdered.

From there, the two stories diverge. To streamline the novel into a half-hour a number of characters were dropped. In the book, D’Arcy is menaced by a criminal mastermind disguised as a priest, his henchman, a femme fatale, a man posing as the fatale’s father, and that man’s lawyer. The first two were eliminated entirely from the radio play.

The book is very breezy - you could read it in one sitting, it’s a very light-hearted and skillfully written mystery novel. Of course, it’s difficult to keep from thinking of the definitive crime-mystery novel, the Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett. As in that novel, everyone is seeking a mysterious object of great value that’s been all but forgotten by history. An attractive woman with a fabricated story is after it, but her partner wants it for himself; there’s a mastermind after it with a murderous thug doing his bidding; at one point one of the criminals tries to search the hero’s office but is easily overpowered and treated as a joke by the hero; the hero is motivated to find the identity of his friend’s killer. And so on.

There are a few half-hour versions of the Maltese Falcon that successfully featured all of the most relevant characters and scenes, but such is not the case with the Suspense adaptation of The Walls Came Tumbling Down. Many important scenes and characters were eliminated or merged with others. D’Arcy is made to reach his conclusions with such speed in the radio version (deciding he needs to find the burial place of Joshua Nunn, declaring the walls will be found in Greenwich Village) that he seems to making huge leaps in logic, when in reality he’s making huge leaps in deduction, skipping over the moments where D’Arcy pieced the clues together in the book.

A lot of what William Spier cut was right to be cut, such as all the scenes in the book involving a bookseller (D’Arcy has no idea what makes the Bibles worth killing for initially and so goes down the wrong track when a bookseller friend suggests these might be rare Bibles stolen from the British Museum). In the radio version, D’Arcy learns the purpose of the Bibles fairly early on. In the novel, the clues lead to a valuable mural which everyone expects to find painted on a wall; it turns out to be on the ceiling, in a neat twist. But in the radio version the mural is on a wall and the climax is entirely different.

The novel was also adapted into a 1946 motion picture, but the film took even more liberties with the source material, changing D’Arcy to “Archer” and changing the mural to a lost Da Vinci painting, among many other changes. My instincts that Eisinger was a great fan of Hammett seem spot-on as his other writing credits include “The Kandy Tooth,” a radio sequel to the Maltese Falcon written for the Adventures of Sam Spade and also heard on Suspense. He was also producer-director of the 1947 radio series the Cases of Mr. Ace, which has an episode that is ridiculously similar to the Maltese Falcon, almost to the point of parody; I’ll have to do a radio recap on that series.

I recommend the book as a good piece of fun, but I think the Suspense adaptation is inferior, despite the flourish of Wynn’s performance and the always-strong production values expected from William Spier.

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Radio Recap: The Cruise of the Poll Parrot

The Cruise of the Poll Parrot was a syndicated radio program that was apparently created in 1936 but because of its pre-recorded nature was rebroadcast several times up ‘til 1940. It was a juvenile adventure serial and lasted for 39 episodes. Although together the adventures run rather seamlessly, there are breaks every 13 episodes so that ultimately the series told different stories. The series was sponsored by Poll Parrot shoes, who made children’s shoes; to reinforce that sponsorship, in the program the adventures were set aboard the whaling vessel Poll Parrot and every episode featured the squawking commentary of Poll, a pet parrot aboard the eponymous vessel! You were not liable to forget the product’s name.

When I say the Cruise of the Poll Parrot was a juvenile adventure program, I can’t over emphasize “juvenile” enough. The series Moon Over Africa was a juvenile adventure program too - but the adventures in the Cruise of the Poll Parrot were told primarily through the viewpoints of two children, Susie (kid sister of the ship’s owner, Ezra) and Johnny (initially kidnapped, eventually a cabin boy). The adventures themselves are straight out of Treasure Island. Hardly any time is given over to whale hunting, instead the focus being on mutineers, treasure hunts, privateers, Brazilian natives and a magician with a pet panther.

It’s a program that’s certainly of its time; I’ve seen the show praised for its research, yet this is a program where indigenous people in the Amazon sound exactly like American “Indians” right out of a western serial. So maybe take claims that the program was well-researched with a grain of salt. The final 3rd of the series hiccups a bit as suddenly the historical setting became relevant (turns out the US Civil War broke out after the Poll Parrot set sail) and two major roles were recast (Johnny and Ezra).

It’s not bad for what it is - judged as 1930s children’s entertainment, I think the Cruise of the Poll Parrot is a fine adventure serial. You can listen to it all for yourself; here’s a link to the Old-Time Radio Researchers’ Group playlist of the entire series.

Monday, May 15, 2023

Escape Episode Guide: Part 11

Welcome back to my episode guide for the great raido series Escape! We've now reached the (brief) era where Escape had a sponsor, the Richfield Oil company. This means some episodes are a bit truncated to make room for commercial advertisements, but at least the sponsor helped keep the series thriving.

  • #101: "Danger at Matecumbe" (March 24, 1950) Starring: Frank Lovejoy. Story/Script: Gwen Bagni/John Bagni. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA.
    Plot: A drifter is hired to impersonate a famous author only to become a fall guy in a murder frame-up.
    Review: A pretty good thriller, the type of story the Bagnis did very well with; frankly, my favourite parts are the comical scenes of the sheriff escorting Lovejoy out of town. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
  • #102: "Green Splotches" (March 31, 1950) Starring: William Conrad. Story: T. S. Stribling. Script/Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Andes mountains.
    Plot: A scientific party in the mountains encounters a plant-like man.
    Review: I'm given to understand the original story wasn't a science fiction tale, suggesting it was changed quite a bit. It's intriguing and very much in the mould of "Conqueror's Isle," but the audio quality is poor. I might rate it higher if a cleaner version emerges. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
  • #103: "The Ambassador of Poker" (April 7, 1950) Starring: Elliott Reid. Story: Achmed Abdullah. Script: John Dunkel. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: China.
    Plot: A gentleman from Virginia ventures into China, relying on his skill with poker to see him through.
    Review: This might be my favourite Escape story set in China; it succeeds thanks to Elliott Reid's performance as the somewhat comical poker player. I mean, this is a story where a man's unbeatable skill at cards is how he solves every problem; that's fun, and helps mitigate the usual bad "yellowface" voice acting. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
  • #104: "The Golden Snake" (April 14, 1950) Starring: Tony Barrett. Story: Paul Pierce. Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Mexico.
    Plot: Treasure hunters go exploring for a lost Mayan fortune but it seems the Mayans are still active and don't want it found.
    Review: An interesting story that oozes with menace, even supernatural overtones, but it's very restrained. This is a very good treasure hunt story, focused more on an anti-plunder message than on greed, which is the norm in Escape. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
  • #105: "The Shanghai Document" (April 21, 1950) Starring: John Dehner. Story/Script: Gwen Bagni/John Bagni. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: China.
    Plot: An American reporter traveling by boat to Shanghai is caught up in espionage.
    Review: Yet another story from the Bagnis, set in a boat (but not at sea). It's very much in the tradition of Eric Ambler but I find it only just okay; it takes half the runtime just to get to the problem and I'm a little incredulous that John Dehner's character is named "Dehner!" Ben Wright's foppish missionary is fun though. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
  • #106: "Something for Nothing" (April 28, 1950) Starring: William Conrad. Story: H. Vernor Dickson. Script: Sylvia Richards. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA.
    Plot: A struggling actor happens across a murder scene; he decides to blackmail the dead man's wife and impersonate her husband.
    Review: This feels like the premise for a Suspense tale (or heck, the Whistler) but with a star like Conrad leading it comes off very nicely. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
  • #107: "The Man Who Stole the Bible" (1st version May 5, 1950) Starring: Rick Vallin. Story/Script: Gwen Bagni/John Bagni. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA.
    Plot: During Mardi Gras, a salesman steals a Bible from his hotel room then finds he's targeted by a mob.
    Review: Another good premise from the Bagnis; using Mardi Gras as cover for a criminal gang is a good choice and I do enjoy that the protagonist's problems all come about because he genuinely wants to take a Gideon Bible! My Rating: 4/5 stars.
  • #108: "The Rim of Terror" (May 12, 1950) Starring: Nancy Kelly. Story: Hildegarde Terihet. Script/Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA.
    Plot: A woman travelling by car picks up a German hitchhiker and learns he's a double agent.
    Review: This story doesn't entirely work for me. I think the premise is great (maybe a better premise for a Suspense episode though) but I just can't buy Hans Conreid as the romantic lead. I think the first time I listened I kept expecting him to be revealed as a villain and was shocked when there was no double-cross. I think another actor (Paul Frees?) could have done a better job of selling the character as a love interest; Conreid is just a bit too stiff. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
  • #109: "Pass to Berlin" (May 19, 1950) Starring: Stacy Harris. Story/Script: Morton Fine/David Friedkin. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Germany.
    Plot: A killer fears that a mind-reading blind woman might possess actual psychic powers and know what he's done.
    Review: This script originated on William Spier's Philip Morris Playhouse (as "Leona's Room"). That version had the benefit of Vincent Price's performance but the story is still strong enough without him. The killer's unease as he wonders just how much the blind woman really knows is palpable and as it turns out, she does know just enough to catch him. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
  • #110: "Command" (2nd version May 26, 1950) Starring: Harry Bartell. Story: James Warner Bellah. Script/Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA.
    Plot: A junior officer in the Calvary disagrees with his superior's judgement.
    Review: Another good rendition of this production (first done as #96), although lacking Bill Johnstone's great performance from the previous version. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.

You can listen to episodes of Escape at the Internet Archive! I'll be back with more next week!

Sunday, May 14, 2023

Radio Recap: Under Arrest

Under Arrest was a radio series which ran on Mutual from 1946-1954 (according to the Old-Time Radio Researchers, although it might be 2 shows they’ve conflated as one), initially as a summer replacement for the Shadow. The show would open sounding a little like Gang Busters with alarms as a warden’s voice would bark, “into your cells!” And each episode ended in the same manner, followed by a voice adding, “all prisoners present and accounted for.”

Initially the series featured two leads, police detective Captain Jim Scott (played by Joe DeSantis) and lady reporter Susan Webb (played by DeSantis’ future wife Margaret Draper). It seems Susan was dropped from the show at some point. Listening to the earliest surviving episodes, the series does sound a little like the Shadow - one can imagine that the same audience who enjoyed hearing Lamont and Margo solving crimes would have likewise enjoyed the Scott/Susan duo.

As the series developed, however, I stopped thinking of the Shadow and found myself thinking of an entirely different Mutual series — the Mysterious Traveler. It’s not so much that the crime content of the series is like what the Mysterious Traveler offered but that the cast of performers and musical effects sound basically identical to episodes of the Mysterious Traveler.

Initially the series also put me in mind of Gang Busters, but the earliest surviving episode persuaded me otherwise. Initially it sounded like other pre-Dragnet police programs, the only wrinkle being that the series had an actual lead character rather than an ever-changing cast from week to week. However, in one scene of the first episode, Captain Scott counsels the son of a murdered man. The teenage son is outraged by his father’s death and wants to become a police officer and seek revenge on criminals. Scott sagely observes that not all criminals deserve death and it isn’t the police officer’s job to sentence them. It’s not exactly a moment of liberal humanity, but saying the police should try to capture criminals alive verges on radical anarchy depending on which circles you travel in. Anyway, it’s an idea that few police programs in old-time radio addressed.

My favourite episode is “The Paris Road” in which Scott pinpoints the criminals who performed an art theft together, yet the two criminals have never actually met in person!

Despite what was apparently a very lengthy run on radio, there’s barely anythinhg left of Under Arrest today. The few surviving episodes can be heard on the Old Time Radio Researchers Group’s YouTube playlist page.

Saturday, May 13, 2023

Lubango Vlog Has a New Junk Food Video!

Why do I make these videos about the quality of junk food in Angola? For you, gentle viewer, for your benefit. After all, what do I have to gain from eating junk food, other than fat?

Friday, May 12, 2023

Radio Recap: The Amazing Mr. Malone

The Amazing Mr. Malone was a radio program that ran first on ABC from 1947-1951 then on NBC for just 8 episodes in May-July 1951. We have all 8 of the NBC shows but only a few of the ABC programs. Originally the lead character was portrayed by Frank Lovejoy, later Gene Raymond and finally George Petrie in the NBC shows. The series tagline was “a lawyer whose practice before every kind of bar is legendary.”

I had never heard of the character before listening to the series, but the Amazing Mr. Malone appeared in a series of novels written by Craig Rice (pseudonym of Georgiana Walker), was adapted into motion pictures (one, Having Wonderful Crime in 1945 starring Pat O’Brien) and later had a television series. Who knew? Not me, obviously.

Although a detective program, it’s different from the majority of its kind, especially what was being broadcast by its contemporaries. John J. Malone is not a private detective, but a lawyer - one who frequently serves as a criminal defense lawyer. The episodes have a different kind of rhythm than most radio detective shows as they usually begin by following the events of the criminals, going on for some time until Malone is brought into the case. Unusual for the genre, Malone sometimes defends clients who turn out to be guilty; in one episode he offers his services to a man he just implicated in a crime!

While most detective shows of the time featured antagonism between the sleuth and the police professionals, it seems more justified in Malone’s case since he was usually defending people the police were trying to put behind bars. And despite his “amazing” moniker, Malone was fallible, which is extremely unusual in the detective genre. In one episode the police lieutenant Sidney Brooks (ably played in the NBC shows by Larry Haines) notes that he turned out to be correct about the case while Malone was wrong; “that’ll never happen again,” Malone retorts. The lieutenant likewise notes there was never a point during the drama where Malone was knocked unconscious (an overused trope in radio): “that’ll never happen again either,” Malone insists.

The writing on the Amazing Mr. Malone could be incredibly self-aware, especially in the 8 NBC shows. Repeatedly, Malone’s 1st scene in an episode would feature him stumbling home from the bar singing “It Was Just One of Those Things” to himself, only to be interrupted mid-song by the police on his telephone. In the 2nd last episode, when Malone reaches the point where the phone normally rings, he pauses, confused that the telephone didn’t interrupt him. A second later, the phone rings and Malone tells Brooks he was late; Brooks insists that he already phoned Malone once, Malone is the one who was late getting back from the bar!

The series was loaded with radio professionals, including Raymond Burr. In one episode (“The Devil Finds Work for Idle Hands”) you can hear Jack Webb acting against Henry Morgan, who would be his 1960s television Dragnet partner. The show’s breezy pace and strong sense of humour makes the Amazing Mr. Malone a cut above your typical radio detective show and it’s a shame that so few are known to exist. But for what we do you have, you can listen at the Old-Time Radio Researchers Group YouTube playlist page.

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

New Lubango Vlog: The ISTEL Library

I talk about the ISTEL library a lot - here's a video tour of the place I'm referring to!

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

A Sick Look at Sick

Sick was a black & white humour magazine that ran from 1960-1980. It started out at Prize Comics, then moved to Hewfred Publications in 1968, then Pyramid Books in 1974 and finally Charlton Comics in 1976. I’ve spent some time indexing issues of Sick for the Grand Comics Database after noticing they had a lot of unindexed issues, just as I earlier indexed most of Cracked magazine for them.

The magazine originated under the editorial oversight of Joe Simon, one of comicdom’s all-time greatest creators and a man with a long association at Prize. I wouldn’t have pegged Simon as a humour editor since most of his work as a writer/artist had been on adventure and romance books but Simon’s tenure (1960-1970) felt as though it had a steady hand guiding the enterprise. Even after he stepped down as editor, he continued to draw most of the covers through the Pyramid Books years. It’s not clear to me how much he had to do with the interiors - many stories in the early years had sporadic credit boxes - but he seems to have been a very good editor on the series.

When talking about black & white comic book humour magazines, eventually you have to mention Mad - it was considered the industry leader. It’s been said that Cracked was the magazine kids bought when they wanted entertainment while waiting for the next Mad to arrive - indeed, that Cracked staggered their months of publication to ensure that since they and Mad printed 8 new issues per year, every month that didn’t have a new Mad would be a month when they shipped Cracked. But if Cracked was what kids bought after Mad, whither Sick? How did Sick remain afloat for 20 years?

Sick benefited from having a lot of exceptional talent in its early days. Simon’s art director was the phenomenal Bob Powell up ‘til his death in 1967. Powell seemed to set a “house style” in the manner John Severin did for Cracked. Early contributors included Angelo Torres, Leo Morey, Jack Davis and Vic Martin; Don Orehek came and went at various times simultaneous to his Cracked career.

But more than that, Sick seemed to have a particular audience in mind when it launched. It was attempting to reach a sophisticated audience, perhaps a bit older than Mad’s readers. As time went by it set its sites lower and eventually became dominated by film and television parodies just like what Mad and Cracked were printing, but the first few years have a lot of political content and an emphasis on monologues. Writer/editors Dee Caruso and Bill Levine wrote monologues for comedians and adapted their work to Sick. It makes Sick very much a product of its times, very much navel-gazing at contemporary culture, but I do respect that initially the goal wasn’t necessarily to target the same kids & college students who were reading the better-known magazines.

But there were clear missteps along the way. Unlike Mad and Cracked, Sick never quite got a handle on repackinging its contents as reprints. That was one way Mad kept fans coming back during their skip months - there would be a ‘special’ of some sort that was mostly reprinted material. In time, Mad and Cracked published specials like clockwork. But although Sick printed a few specials here and there it was very scattershot and irregularly published. Sick made a deal to repackage their stories in paperbacks like the other magazines had, yet those books don’t seem to have made waves.

Powell’s death in 1967 led to Bernard Wiseman assuming the role of art director. Wiseman was a gifted cartoonist but his work skewed younger than Powell’s and Sick definitely became more kid-friendly under his tenure. I suppose I should also mention the magazine’s mascot; originally it was Dr. Sickmund, but in 1963 they knowingly went for an Alfred E. Neuman imitator called “Huckleberry Fink” who would remain with the magazine in some form up ‘til the end. Fink’s arrival was one of many signs that Sick had an identity crisis going on as they struggled to find oxygen in a Mad-heavy environment.

Simon’s successor as editor in 1971 was Paul Laikin, who had previously been editor of Cracked; he left the magazine when it moved to Charlton and moved on to Marvel’s Crazy magazine, then back to Cracked; heck, at one time he wrote for Mad - he was very much a career-humour magazine man. But having indexed Cracked and Crazy, I had a hunch Sick under his tenure would read much like the other magazines - and it did. Lots of familiar names from other Laikin books turned up (Eden Norah; Aron Mayer; John Langton; Lugoze; Caracu; Tony Tallarico), reprints became more common (usually 1 story per issue) and a reduction in the number of comic art stories and corresponding rise in the number of text features.

Common to all the humour magazines I find is an inability to make deadlines. Harvey Kurtzman’s Mad constantly had to fill pages with reprints from earlier issues, his “Hey Look” stories from Marvel or even old Punch magazine articles (indeed, I don’t think Al Feldstein gets enough credit for keeping Mad on the rails when he succeeded Kurtzman). But one popular trick of Kurtzman’s was to use text features (often written by he himself) to quickly fill pages. I sense that Laikin was a kindred spirit to Kurtzman; not a gifted artist like he, but similarly in a quagmire about how to fill 52 pages almost every month. A popular Laikin tactic in several magazine series was to present a parody of a famous poem in the public domain; that way Laikin could print the original poem on 1 page, his parody on the 2nd page. That’s 2 pages of easy content!

If I found the Laikin years a bit lackluster, that’s nothing on the Charlton years. Charlton was infamously the bottom rung of the comics industry, the place where otherwise-unemployable talent went to die (or find creative freedom if you’re Steve Ditko). By the time Sick arrived at Charlton it had lost just about everything that might have given it any cache; the series’ old recurring features were dropped and the logo redesigned while very few long-time contributors were still puttering around (Bill Burke being the biggest exception). Artist and 1960s contributor Jack Sparling took the reins as editor and also seems to have drawn the majority of stories during the Charlton era.

The Charlton era at least brought in some unusual talent. It’s not surprising to see a Charlton workhorse like Joe Gill churning out stories for Sick, but it is a bit surprising to find Arnold Drake writing a great deal for Sick at a time when he was still a busy DC Comics freelancer. Drake’s stories for Sick have a veneer of contempt for super heroes and particularly Stan Lee, who became parodied in Drake’s “Ego-Man” stories. Drake was one of DC’s funniest Silver Age writers, but I find his Marvel work underwhelming; perhaps he had some lingering resentment to Marvel that inspired Ego-Man.

The Charlton Sick also had able work from Dave Manak, but the era feels mostly cheap and sleazy. Cheap because the typewriter font used at that time looked very unprofessional. Sleazy primarily due to Jack Sparling’s recurring feature “Cher d’Flower” which appeared in the back of the magazine and featured a naked woman lounging in every panel (yet always framed in a manner to prevent actual nudity on the page). Perhaps Sparling saw the suggestive art Bill Ward worked into Cracked and figured he could do him one better, maybe get some publicity by provoking a boycott of his magazine. The “Cher d’Flower” stories are too risqué for children, too juvenile for adults.

In all, Sick is just barely remembered now and unlikely to be rediscovered and celebrated but for those willing to sift through, it had some diamonds in the rough.

Monday, May 8, 2023

Escape Episode Guide: Part 10

Welcome back to my episode guide to the fantastic old-time radio series Escape!
  • #91: "The Vanishing Lady" (2nd version January 10, 1950) Starring: Joan Banks. Story: Alexander Woollcott. Script/Director: William N. Robson. Setting: France.
    Plot: A woman goes to fetch a doctor for her sick mother then finds herself tangled in a conspiracy to deny her mother's existence.
    Review: Another good adaptation of the story, virtually identical to the 1st version (#26). If I have any criticism it's that Ben Wright is too stiff as the male lead. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
  • #92: "The Sure Thing" (2nd version January 17, 1950) Starring: Anthony Ross. Story/Script: Gwen Bagni/John Bagni. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Caribbean/Cuba.
    Plot: A doctor tending to a wounded man aboard a boat realizes he's fallen in among criminals.
    Review: I give this outing a slight advantage over the previous version (#79) as I think Ross' performance is a little more interesting than the previous one by John Hoyt. An excellent high seas crime thriller. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
  • #93: "Treasure, Incorporated" (January 24, 1950) Starring: Frank Lovejoy. Story/Script: Gwen Bagni/John Bagni. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Caribbean.
    Plot: A man trying to build a tourist destination in an island paradise underestimates a beachcomber.
    Review: A different kind of treasure hunt story, where the "treasure" begins as a trick to impress tourists, then later becomes the real thing! A decent parable about the futility of imposing your way of living on a different locale; Lovejoy is perfect as the increasingly-haggard protagonist. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
  • #94: "Present Tense" (January 31, 1950) Starring: Vincent Price. Story/Script: James Poe. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA/Mexico.
    Plot: A prisoner condemned to death escapes his bonds - but somehow he is never able to escape his destiny.
    Review: This script is something special, something unusual; Price carries the half-hour with his intense performance as his character basically lives out "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (see #18) multiple times. A bit more psychological and a lot more abstract than most Escape stories but an absolutely perfect drama. My Rating: 5/5 stars.
  • #95: "The Outer Limit" (February 7, 1950) Starring: Frank Lovejoy. Story: Graham Doar. Script: Morton Fine/David Friedkin. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA.
    Plot: A test pilot who vanished mid-flight returns to Earth with an account of his meeting with extraterrestrial life.
    Review: I believe this was the most-frequently adapted science fiction story on radio. But this production might be the best one, primarily due to Lovejoy's intense performance as the pilot. We don't seem to dread nuclear destruction today to same degree people of the 1950s did but overall it remains a relatable human fear. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
  • #96: "Two If by Sea" (February 14, 1950) Starring: John Dehner. Story: Roger Bax. Script: John Michael Hayes/E. Jack Neuman. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USSR.
    Plot: The husband of a Russian ballerina turns to espionage in an effort to liberate her from the Russians.
    Review: Escape didn't do too much with the Iron Curtain - contemporary South American politics showed up in the series from time to time but unlike Suspense, very little of the European situation. This is a decent espionage story, although the only scene I really like is the one where Dehner identifies the code a journalist is using to speak to him over the radio. This is the only episode of Escape with a script by Hayes, who usually wrote for Suspense; Hayes later gave up radio writing after getting noticed by Alfred Hitchcock and hired to write the script for Rear Window. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
  • #97: "The Red Mark" (February 21, 1950) Starring: William Conrad. Story: John Russell. Script: James Poe/Les Crutchfield. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: New Caledonia.
    Plot: Convicts in a penal colony scheme of making their escape from the brutal executioner of the camp.
    Review: And we're back to John Russell, one of Escape's favourite authors. Apparently the script is very different from Russell's original story. The story has a strong twist ending but I don't find the journey there as gripping as it ought to be. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
  • #98: "The Man Who Won the War" (February 28, 1950) Starring: Barton Yarborough. Story: Robert Buckner. Script/Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Belgium.
    Plot: A British Navy officer's family attempt to clear his name by proving how he won World War I on land.
    Review: I kind of like this story - but the framing feels all wrong. The story is framed as this great repudiation of the blemish placed upon a deceased man. But the actual story isn't anywhere near so heavy, it's a fairly light-hearted high seas adventure tale where a crate of kilts change the outcome of a battle! My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
  • #99: "Port Royal" (March 10, 1950) Starring: Charles McGraw. Story: Harry Rieseberg. Script: Gil Doud. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Jamaica.
    Plot: A sailor joins a hunt for sunken treasure but the crew's alliance is quickly put to the test.
    Review: I always enjoy an appearance by McGraw - his rough voice is perfect for roles such as this one, where he's a high seas treasure raider. He comes over as a good protagonist in part because although ignoble, he's not as ignoble as the other sailors (such as William Conrad's character) and tries to do right by John Dehner's captain, if only to save his own life. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
  • #100: "Three Skeleton Key" (2nd version March 17, 1950) Starring: Vincent Price. Story: George Toudouze. Script: James Poe. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: French Guiana.
    Plot: Three men are trapped in their lighthouse as rats swarm around them.
    Review: Here's the version of this story that most Escape fans highlight as the best, due primarily to Price's performance as Jean (you'll recall I only just covered the 1st version last week as #83, demonstrating how quickly this became a popular story). This is definitely one of Price's best radio performances, but I felt Elliott Reid disappeared into the role more easily in the previous performance. Likewise, Reid was supported by William Conrad as Louis whereas Price has Jeff Corey, who is nowhere near as good as Conrad (Bartell remains perfect in his reprise as Auguste). All that said, this is what Escape sounds like when firing on all cylinders. My Rating: 5/5 stars.

You can listen to episodes of Escape at the Internet Archive! I'll be back with more next week!

Sunday, May 7, 2023

Lubango Vlog: Anglican Church at Tchincondo

Bom dia! Here's something very different from my junk food videos. This time, I'm showing excerpts from a morning service at Tchincondo, a recently-founded church plant.

Monday, May 1, 2023

New Lubango Vlog Is Here… with More Junk Food!

Yes, I continue to find new examples of junk food to try in Angola! Here are the latest!

Escape Episode Guide: Part 9

Welcome back to my episode guide to the fantastic old-time radio series Escape!
  • #81: "Flood on the Goodwins" (1st version November 1, 1949) Starring: Jack Edwards. Story: David Devine. Script: James Poe. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: English Channel.
    Plot: A one-armed man rescuing survivors from the Channel during the war meets a German spy.
    Review: Not a bad thriller situation. I feel the story would have been stronger if the protagonist had been permitted to tell the story first-person as in many other Escape plots. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
  • #82: "Plunder of the Sun" (November 8, 1949) Starring: Paul Frees. Story: David Dodge. Script: John Dunkel. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Peru.
    Plot: A man joins a hunt for the lost treasure of the Incas but isn't sure which rival plunderer he should ally with.
    Review: A great adventure novel (and in 1953 a decent film starring Glenn Ford), this story suffers a bit from being truncated to fit a half-hour but it snaps along very breezily, thanks to the always-wonderful Paul Frees guiding us through as protagonist. This is my favourite of the many treasure hunt tales Escape told. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
  • #83: "Three Skeleton Key" (1st version November 15, 1949) Starring: Elliott Reid. Story: George Toudouze. Script: James Poe. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: French Guiana.
    Plot: Three men are trapped in their lighthouse as rats swarm around them.
    Review: This tale is often singled out as the greatest episode of Escape, and who am I to argue? Yet I'm a little different from other fans, who tend to prefer the versions Vincent Price led as Jean; I actually like the original version the most precisely because Reid's voice is not as distinctive as Price's; I feel Reid disappears into the role of Jean and thereby centers the drama on the situation, not on the performers/performances. That said, I don't think William Conrad gets nearly enough credit for his performance as Louis - his transformation from stolid leader to panicked and helpless is one of Conrad's best performances; likewise, Harry Bartell is splendid as Auguste. Of all the man vs. nature tales on Escape this is surely the most memorable and terrifying! Having read the original story, I have to say the changes Escape made to the climax render the story even more frightening! My Rating: 5/5 stars.
  • #84: "Maracas" (November 22, 1949) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Gwen Bagni/John Bagni. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Mexico.
    Plot: A sailor aboard a tramp steamer realizes the ship is running guns. He decides to get in on the crime.
    Review: We open again on the high seas for this smuggling tale. It isn't an exceptional tale but with William Conrad as our protagonist (plus great performances by Paul Frees and Ted de Corsia in supporting roles) I think it holds your attention. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
  • #85: "Letter from Jason" (November 29, 1949) Starring: Frank Lovejoy. Story: George F. Worts. Script: William N. Robson/Seelig Lester/Merwin Gerard. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA/South Seas.
    Plot: A man struggling with alcoholism is hired by his father-in-law to murder a man.
    Review: This is a bit of a departure for Escape - it seems at first blush to be a high adventure story but ultimately it proves to be a psychological character study. It's good, but atypical. The episode ends with a quick comedic skit where Gracie Allen meets Paul Frees and asks if George Burns can sing on Escape. It's a little bizarre but at least it proves CBS believed they had a popular show in Escape. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
  • #86: "Command" (1st version December 6, 1949) Starring: Elliott Reid. Story: James Warner Bellah. Script/Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA.
    Plot: A junior officer in the Calvary disagrees with his superior's judgement.
    Review: A very strong drama with a naive protagonist whose perspective the audience is skillfully meant to concur with but is gradually revealed to be in error. Bill Johnstone is terrific as the commanding officer and Paul Frees is strangely compelling as a comedic side character who meets a very non-comedic end. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
  • #87: "Border Town" (December 13, 1949) Starring: Jack Webb. Story/Script: Gwen Bagni/John Bagni. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA/Mexico.
    Plot: After discovering a fortune in money that was apparently held by a counterfeiter, a struggling actor thinks he might have his big break.
    Review: This one is a real winner because Webb is terrific as the protagonist. Webb's clumsy efforts at getting into crime are really unusual for the program - his attempts at bluffing his way through the underworld are entertaining because he's not very good at it. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
  • #88: "Figure a Dame" (December 20, 1949) Starring: Frank Lovejoy. Story: Richard Sale. Script: Morton Fine/David Friedkin. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: India.
    Plot: A detective protecting a woman's valuable emerald can't resist the impulse to steal it.
    Review: Another great story set on a train! Lovejoy is great as the despicable protagonist; rather like the previous episode, he bites off more than he can chew, especially when he tries to incriminate another passenger in murder. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
  • #89: "Seeds of Greed" (December 27, 1949) Starring: Gary Merrill. Story/Script: Floyd A. Nelson. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: Borneo.
    Plot: A sailor joins a treasure hunt for a sunken ship but his partner is openly plotting against him.
    Review: Back on the high seas and off on another treasure hunt; the South Pacific setting brings to mind the many John Russell stories Escape adapted throughout its run. There's a strong psychological aspect to the story that you don't often get in Escape, although the emphasis is on the adventurous aspects; more so than any other treasure hunt story, this is really about how greed destroys men. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
  • #90: "The Pistol" (January 3, 1950) Starring: Gerald Mohr. Story/Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA.
    Plot: A man journeys to California to join his brother's gold strike but finds murder has already struck.
    Review: We don't often have western adventures on Escape; the later episode "Wild Jack Rhett" is frequently called a pilot for Gunsmoke but this episode never comes up in discussions of westerns for adult audiences. Gerald Mohr is just okay as the protagonist, while Charles McGraw's scratchy voice is perfect as the antagonist; Betty Lou Gerson is a bit frustrating as the sketchy dance hall girl whose characterization seems to change in every single scene. The premise is sound and it's well-produced but this never entirely comes together. My Rating: 3/5 stars.

You can listen to episodes of Escape at the Internet Archive! I'll be back with more next week!