The Clock is a bit of a frustrating series to pin down. Even though the mystery anthology program is one of the most popular types of programs among old-time radio collectors, collectors and researchers don't appear to have unearthed very much information about the program. It's also surprising because the series had some major talent behind it - notable performers as well as the peerless craft of producer William Spier. You'd think there would have been numerous articles written about the series while it was being produced but... evidently not.
The Clock used noises such as the ticking of a clock and the chimes of bells to lend colour to their narratives. Each episode was hosted by Father Time himself (portrayed by William Conrad during the William Spier era). But beyond these trappings, the title "the Clock" doesn't tell you much about the show, not in the way a title such as Suspense, Escape, Romance or Intrigue efficiently tell you what to expect.
Most of what we have from the US version dates from William Spier's involvement. Many of the episodes preceding his were apparently written by Lawrence Klee, who would later write for the Chase. Spier was joined by many familiar voices from his work on Suspense, notably the team of Elliott and Cathy Lewis and even writer Lucille Fletcher! At the time, Spier had quit Suspense and I'm sure it was a coup for ABC to bring him aboard the Clock. Yet Spier's time on the Clock (no pun intended) was very short-lived; he definitely produced the final 6 episodes but we don't even know when his tenure as producer began. After the Clock ran down (pun intended) he moved on to the Philip Morris Playhouse before finally returning to Suspense one last time; some of the programs Spier produced for the Clock had been produced on Suspense, including "The Right Man" (heard on Suspense as "Bank Holiday" on July 19, 1945); others would be reprised on Suspense, including "The Search for Isobel" (November 3, 1949).
What we have of the US version is a bit mixed. "Bela Boczniak's Bad Dreams" (also referred to as simply "Bad Dreams") is Lucille Fletcher's contribution as writer but it's not up to quality of Suspense plays such as "The Diary of Sophronia Winters" of "the Thing in the Window." And one of the earliest surviving episodes - "Nicky Kane Lives" - is an odd duck, a quasi-supernatural tale of a gangster seeming to come back from the dead.
Based on what little we have of the US version, it would be hard to say whether we've been deprived of something great by not possessing all of them, but I'm sure simply because of the talent involved it would be nice to have all of Spier's episodes of the Clock.
If it's true that the Australian version was indeed adapted from the US scripts - and episodes do indeed sound like US dramas - then the surviving 50 or so Australian episodes at least gives us some concept of the show's usual plots. The first episodes of the Clock I ever heard were both Australian episodes: "All the Money in the World" (about a young man who receives unlimited money from an eccentric millionaire - it's the same premise that Jack Benny used as satire in his "I Stand Condemned" radio skits) and "The Man with the Strange Trunk" (concerning a woman who is very curious about a hotel guest's large trunk).
The Internet Archive has a collection of the Clock episodes that you can find over here - but be warned that like most attempts to impose order on the Clock it intermixes the US version with the later Australian episodes. Perhaps future researchers will be able to better determine the complete broadcast history of the Clock - we may yet be treated to some rediscovered missing episodes as well!
No comments:
Post a Comment