"No crime has been committed... yet. No murder has been done... yet. No manhunt has begun... yet."
Manhunt was a syndicated detective program - episodes ran about 15 minutes long and were broadcast from November 28, 1943-June 4, 1944. The short runtime of each episode means they have to get down to brass tacks right away; the dialogue is spat out quickly, the mysteries are not too complex and the plot moves like a freight train. The lead character is a forensic detective played by Larry Haines; his superior, played by Maurice Tarplin, is always skeptical of his conclusions but Haines' character tends to reach the correct conclusions. The presence of Tarplin as the skeptical police chief may well remind you of Boston Blackie as Tarplin's Inspector Faraday was basically the same character. In fact, Boston Blackie was made by the same syndication company just after Manhunt finished.
I find Manhunt is good for what it is - the 15-minute timeslot means the episodes are not very deep but if you want a very quick mystery show, this is it. It's like Boston Blackie but with fewer twists and turnabouts.
You can hear a playlist of Manhunt episodes here at YouTube.
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