Radio Recap: Philo Vance

Philo Vance was a half-hour detective show based on the gentleman crime solver created by S. S. Van Dine, immortalized in a series of films (1929-1947), four of which starred William Powell. Philo Vance's first time on radio was over NBC as a summer program from July 5-September 27, 1945, sponsored by Lifebuoy. The series moved to ABC as a summer series in 1946, then became a syndicated program from 1948-1950. Jose Ferrer protrayed Philo Vance on NBC (we have only 3 episodes from his tenure); Jackson Beck had the role in the syndicated version.

Jackson Beck is best-remembered to radio listeners as the announcer of the Adventures of Superman but he's decent as a leading man - a bit stolid, but good. George Petrie played opposite Beck as John Markham, the New York district attorney. The Vance/Markham relationship is different from that of most radio amateur/professional pairings. Rather than a busybody who forces himself on the law and one-up them in their investigations, Vance was always called in to consult on cases by Markham. Vance even made mistakes in the course of his investigations, unlike so many smug radio detectives.

Vance's simple blend of confidence and humility certainly makes him different than most detectives. There are certainly flashier and funnier radio detectives you can listen to, but Philo Vance is, at the very least, inoffensive.

The Old Time Radio Researchers have a collection of 95 episodes of Philo Vance at the Internet Archive.