Radio Recap: Dark Venture

"Over the minds of mortal men come many shadows; shadows of greed and hate; jealousy and fear. Shadows which fog the minds of men and women which urge them on into their venture in the dark..."

Dark Venture was a mystery anthology program heard over ABC from May 30, 1945 until February 10, 1947. For part of its run it was sponsored by Wildroot Cream Oil. It was produced in ABC's San Francisco studio like other shows of the time such as Pat Novak, for Hire. The series was narrated by John Lake, directed by Leonard Reeg and produced by J. Donald Wilson.

If that last name sounds familiar, it should - J. Donald Wilson was the original producer of the Whistler for CBS and took up Dark Venture after leaving that series. Wilson also produced the 1930s Adventures of Charlie Chan and the New Adventures of Nero Wolfe.

J. Donald Wilson must have had some interest in the idea of getting into the psychology behind crimes, just as the Whistler got inside the heads of each episode's would-be criminal. Dark Venture promoted itself as being interested in secenarios that "solve the outcome by applying psychology." Like the Whistler, there were often surprise endings but the series played pretty fair with the audience, usually relying on a protagonist who lacked a vital piece of information which would lead to his defeat (or, if wrongly accused, vindication).

The series drew from a lot of great California radio talent, with episodes led by the likes of Elliot Lewis, William Conrad, Marvin Miller (who was also the announcer on the Whistler), Howard McNear, Bill Johnstone and Lurene Tuttle. Many episodes were written by Larry Marcus, who also wrote for the Whistler, Suspense and Night Beat.

I rather like Dark Venture - it is, certainly, reminiscent of the Whistler, but that's not a detraction. The focus on characters' psychological torment gives the series a feel that's totally unlike the bulk of mystery/crime anthology shows.

My pick for the best of Dark Venture is "Eclipse," in which Elliot Lewis portrayed an amnesiac man who discovers a small fortune hidden in his clothes and a white-suited man hot on his trail! "The Miser" could have been produced on the Whistler, concerning itself with a clerk who schemes to pocket money from the register following a robbery and the escalating trouble that brings him. "Hideout" is a pretty rote criminal-on-the-run story elevated by William Conrad's terrific performance as the lead character. Easily the least-conventional story is "Ten Dollar Bill," which follows a $10 bill that falls into various hands through both crime and circumstance.

We only have 15 surviving episodes of Dark Venture in circulation, several of them through the Armed Forces' Mystery Playhouse program. Here's a YouTube playlist created by a fan with those 15 episodes.