Mon 30 Nov 2015
A TV SERIES COLLECTOR’S WISH LIST FOR SANTA, by Michael Shonk
Posted by Steve under TV mysteries[26] Comments
by Michael Shonk
It is that time of year when children of all ages experience what collectors feel all year round. The thrill of the possibilities, the excitement of the search and finding your prey, the joy of possession – and we don’t have to wait for Santa.
Every collector has his Holy Grails, his or her list of those that have escaped their grasp for too long and may not even still exist. I decided this season to ask Santa for some help, and I decided to share it here.
The first is always of interest to the collector. So I have long sought the series most accept as TV network’s first weekly mystery series with a regular cast – BARNEY BLAKE, POLICE REPORTER. The series aired live on NBC from April 22, 1948 to July 8, 1948 and starred Gene O’Donnell as Barney.
One of my favorite characters in fiction is Craig Rice’s John J. Malone of books, films, radio, and TV. I have reviewed the radio series here (and discussed the TV series in the comments)
The TV version of Malone aired on ABC between September 24, 1951 and March 10, 1952 and starred Lee Tracy as Malone. The series aired live and alternated with MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY on Monday at 8-8:30pm. While MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY has been released on DVD, I have yet to find one episode or even clip of AMAZING MR. MALONE.
It was common in the fifties for radio series to become a TV series and that was the fate of George Harmon Coxe’s Jack Casey. The TV series CRIME PHOTOGRAPHER aired on CBS from April 19, 1951 to June 5, 1952. In Season One Casey was played by Richard Carlyle who was replaced in Season Two by Darren McGavin. Today few remember the once popular Casey who got his start in pulps and in addition to radio and TV made it in novels and films.
THE MASK aired on ABC from January 10, 1954 to May 16, 1954. It featured two brothers, Walter and Peter Guilfoyle (played by Gary Merrill and William Prince) as lawyers who fought crime. It was also TV’s first hour-long mystery series with a continuing cast of characters.
21 BEACON STREET aired on NBC from July 2 to September 10 1959. PI Dennis Chase (Dennis Morgan) worked with a group of specialists to solve crime. Reportedly the series producers sued MISSION IMPOSSIBLE for stealing its idea (or one of its characters). It also may be the first TV series with a female license PI (Joanna Barnes as Lola).
ADVENTURE SHOWCASE aired on CBS on Tuesday during the summer of 1959. The series featured four failed pilots, one airing each week. IMDb gives details of three of the four titles – BROCK CALLAHAN (episode title “Silent Kill†and starred Ken Clark, written by Stirling Silliphant and directed by Don Siegel), JOHNNY NIGHTHAWK, a lover of adventure and professional pilot with his own plane (starred Scott Brady, written by Tony Barrett and directed by Oscar Rudolph), WAR CORRESPONDENT (starring Gene Barry as Sgt Pike, written by Otis Carney and directed by Christian Nyby).
All sound interesting, but I am a fan of writer Sam Rolfe, and he apparently wrote the second week’s failed pilot of which almost nothing is known – not plot, characters, cast, nor title — and that is what I am searching for. Santa knows all — including collectors never pick the easy ones.
Speaking of challenges, number one on my wish list (and bucket list … I did say I was a collector) is THE LONG HUNT OF APRIL SAVAGE. The TV Movie pilot was written by Sam Rolfe, and may have had the episode title of “Home is an Empty Grave.†Everything about this show is intriguing. The pilot sold and the series was on the proposed ABC’s 1966-67 schedule. The premise was ahead of its time. Robert Lansing starred in the Western as April Savage. Savage’s family had been killed by eight men and during the series he would search for each to kill them.
Similar to today’s arc stories Savage would find the killers one at a time over the period of the series, or so it was planned. But there were behind the scenes problems, and reportedly Rolfe quit and the show fell apart, so ABC quickly turned to another pilot also with Lansing called THE MAN WHO NEVER WAS. (A review of a made-for-TV movie cobbled together from edited episodes of THE MAN WHO NEVER WAS can be found here.)
Sometimes you wonder how a TV series with such great talent involved could disappear, an example of this is ABC’s STONE. The series aired January 14, 1980 to March 17, 1980. It was created by Stephen Cannell (ROCKFORD FILES), Richard Levinson and William Link (COLUMBO) and produced by Cannell for Universal Television. It starred Dennis Weaver (McCLOUD) a cop who writes a best seller that affects his work on the police force.
DETECTIVE IN THE HOUSE aired on CBS between March 15 and April 19, 1985, and starred Judd Hirsch as a successful engineer who quits to become a PI and is tutored by a retired PI played by Jack Elam. This hour-long drama may have had Howard Duff in an episode or two. I wanna see Elam as a PI in a “drama.â€
LEAVING L.A. aired on ABC from April 12, 1997 to June 14, 1997. The series was about an odd group of people working at the Los Angeles morgue. The cast included Christopher Meloni, Ron Rifkin, Allison Bertolino and Hilary Swank (pre-Oscar). Someday this one will pop up somewhere and since Santa is always watching, maybe he will tell me if I’ve been good.
Sometimes just a clip from a forgotten/lost series can add it to the wish list. Here are a few series that made Santa’s list with only a clip or theme song.
MONTY NASH was a syndicated TV series based on a series of books by Richard Telfair. Harry Guardino played government investigator Monty Nash in this half hour series that aired in 1971.
KINGSTON: CONFIDENTIAL starred Raymond Burr as a rich communication mogul who liked to fight crime. This NBC series aired first as a successful TV Movie called KINGSTON in 1976. The series lasted 13 episodes from March 23, 1977 to August 10, 1977.
VERONICA CLARE was on Lifetime network from July 23 1991 to September 17, 1991. Veronica was an owner of a jazz club in L.A.’s Chinatown and doubled as a PI with a 40’s style. While the clip’s audio is near unlistenable, the video shows the series neo-noir style.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iryLt679SrY
BLACK TIE AFFAIR was originally called SMOLDERING LUST until NBC changed it over creator/producer Jay Tarses objections. Tarses is known for his comedy work (THE BOB NEWHART SHOW, BUFFALO BILL). In this series Tarses created his version of the PI mystery. The series aired from May 29 to June 19, 1993, and starred Bradley Whitford and Kate Capshaw. Once the series changed its name to BLACK TIE AFFAIR the theme would lose its lyrics but here is the original theme with its lyrics.
Now comes the horrible moment I remember as a kid. I am only half way into the Sears Christmas catalog, and I realize my list is too long. I could make Santa mad by asking for too much — aka all I really really need. But I am an adult now, and I no longer have to depend on the kindness of others. I can continue to shop until it is time to give Santa yet one more try next year. Ho ho ho everyone.
November 30th, 2015 at 8:43 pm
I was pressed for time today, so forgive for not adding any photos or doing a better job of formatting Michael’s list. But as long as he really really wants Santa to see it, I thought it best to get it posted long before others decided to do the same thing.
And Michael, I know this is a tease, but a couple of years ago when VERONICA CLARE came up for discussion once before, I went searching and I found someone selling some if not all of the episodes. I bought them, of course, and …
Then things got really hectic around here. The DVDs were boxed up and put someplace, but where I do not know. They exist, I do have them, and maybe next year I will find them again.
But wait, there’s more. While the series was on, I also taped most of the shows on VHS cassettes, but where they are, I also do not know. I am working my way through several hundred of these old cassettes, slowly but surely. Some day … !
November 30th, 2015 at 9:47 pm
The BROCK CALLAHAN episode used to show up on television and at one time was available by itself on YouTube. I recall MONTY NASH, but only a few episodes, and of course THE MAN WHO NEVER WAS. Other than that I only know about the others.
I wonder if McGavin channeled any of Flash Casey into Kolchak? The Tracy Malone has long been on my list as well.
My Christmas wish list would be the musical version of OUR TOWN with Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman, and Eva Marie Saint done for television; the adaptations of Carr’s THE BURNING COURT and THE DEVIL IN VELVET; the anthology adaptation of one of Hammett’s Sam Spade stories with Richard Conte as Spade (“Too Many Have Lived” I think); and the adaptation of THE LONG GOODBYE with Dick Powell recreating his Philip Marlowe.
November 30th, 2015 at 10:28 pm
Steve, I am sure some on my list still exists but that is the collectors market – here today and lost in some box somewhere the next 🙂
I just bought three episodes of the British TV Series QUILLER.
And there is always the Paley Center, UCLA TV/Film library and all the other places that keep TV in a vault safe, but also (due to copyright mess) away from viewers eyes.
Every collector knows the word “lost” does not apply to collecting.
November 30th, 2015 at 10:37 pm
David, TVObscurities.com has been doing a list of his favorite obscurities by decade once a month. I found comparing his and my lists and reading what others remembered from those decades has been interesting. So it inspired this (and maybe another list or two). I think I should give a link to his latest where you will find links to the rest.
http://www.tvobscurities.com/2015/11/my-favorite-obscurities-the-1990s/
Lists also betray the tastes of the person who makes the list. Notice, no anthologies on my list despite the endless number of such series during the late forties to mid-50s (plus the countless that followed).
I’ll keep an eye out for those you mentioned.
November 30th, 2015 at 10:45 pm
I suppose everyone knows that 10 years ago David Siegal and I put together a book on George Harmon Coxe’s Flashgun (aka Flash or Jack) Casey. The title was FLASHGUN CASEY, CRIME PHOTOGRAPHER, FROM THE PULPS TO RADIO AND BEYOND. It reprints the first novelette from BLACK MASK and a couple of Casey radio scripts. You can find copies through abebooks, especially at Dan Magnuson’s MLC Books.
November 30th, 2015 at 10:51 pm
Randy, it is always good to remind those who know and educated the rest of us. Did you cover the TV series?
Casey (I should’ve of used Flashgun in addition to Jack) is a character I am familiar with from radio. Have not had the chance to read the print versions nor see the movies.
December 1st, 2015 at 2:13 am
One series that I should particularly like to see is THE ENIGMA FILES. This ran one series of 15 episodes in 1980, and was the first of the ‘cold-case/unsolved crimes’ based police series. I only caught a couple of episodes when it was originally shown on the minority BBC2 channel, and it has somehow managed not to be repeated on satellite, or released on any home entertainment format.
December 1st, 2015 at 2:29 am
BRADSTREET, I found QUILLER at iOffer but the seller linked me to his site and it has THE ENIGMA FILES at it.
https://mrnostalgia.wordpress.com/tv-a-z/
December 1st, 2015 at 11:24 am
My #1 want is the short lived horror anthology JOURNEY TO THE UNKNOWN that ran in the late 60’s. Though I’ve never seen any of the episodes I’d like to see the Carr/Karloff COLONEL MARCH series and the Ralph Byrd DICK TRACY series.
December 1st, 2015 at 12:23 pm
Michael (#6). Yes, we covered the tv series and included photos of the four actors who played Casey and an episode guide. The work on this chapter was that of David Siegel.
December 1st, 2015 at 1:43 pm
9. Ray, youtube is a great place to look first. There are several JOURNEY TO THE UNKNOWN at YouTube. The opening theme is dark but the picture quality of the rest is amazing. It certainly from Hammer film department.
JOURNEY TO THE UNKNOWN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_tDAQM6ePY
There is another COLONEL MARCH at YouTube and there is an old out of print DVD that pops up here and there.
COLONEL MARCH AT SCOTLAND YARD
“Error at Daybreakâ€
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t11yDxj-NpI
There are other DICK TRACY episodes on YouTube.
DICK TRACY AND FLATOP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDa_MBLGBFg
All three series are easy to find in the collector market. Thomas Classic website has all three.
December 1st, 2015 at 2:38 pm
10. Randy, you mentioned four actors. There were two for radio, two for TV, and two for the movies.
The more I look into Casey’s history the more it seems the film versions are the most neglected.
Both film versions are available on YouTube but more is written about the very successful radio series and Darren McGavin’s involvement in the TV series.
Boy, did McGavin hate that TV series. He claims it was never rerun which makes me wonder if anyone saved a copy or if one was even made. As a network series it was almost certainly done live so it could be gone forever. Yet it did last two seasons but my guess that was due to the popularity of the radio show rather than the quality of the TV series.
December 1st, 2015 at 3:32 pm
Michael (#12) I thought you might ask about the FOUR actors on TV. Sorry I didn’t elaborate. According to David’s research there was a short-run tv series on CBS in 1945 (only 4 episodes). Oliver Thorndike played Casey in the first episode and Don Kohler in the 2d – 4th episodes. Photos of each actor are in the book. There is a description of each episode. David may have depended on newspaper accounts. See our book for more details.
December 1st, 2015 at 4:21 pm
13. Randy, that is interesting for several reasons. That predates when TV networks existed. The accepted date for the beginning of TV networks is 1946 when coaxial cables allowed NBC and DuMont to start developing a network. In 1948 a very reluctant CBS and ABC joined in.
Before 1946, TV stations were local and experimental and did all sorts of programs prior to such network firsts as BARNEY BLAKE.
CBS did own TV stations such as W2XAB in New York (now WCBS), and W9XCB in Chicago (now WBBM).
But you are right I need to find your book.
December 1st, 2015 at 4:28 pm
14. Michael, Only a single episode with Darren McGavin exists. David viewed it at the Museum of Television and Radio in New York City over 10 years ago.
December 1st, 2015 at 7:01 pm
Randy, it is nice at least one episode survives (though Darren McGavin would probably have disagreed).
I would not be surprise if others on my list also exist in one of the film library museum or University.
I lived in Los Angeles for almost 25 years but never had the time to do the research I wanted to do at Paley or UCLA. Now I have the time I am disabled, stuck in Louisiana and unable to travel. But maybe this is Santa’s way of telling me I have been a bad boy.
December 2nd, 2015 at 1:53 am
Jonathan is planning on going to L.A. some time this winter, and some of the projects he’s working on may require him to use UCLA as a research source. Mostly movies but who knows, maybe TV too, but strangely enough, he’s not all that interested in old TV, only new shows. I guess I messed up somewhere along the line.
December 3rd, 2015 at 5:40 pm
There are many places for a film researcher to visit in Los Angeles county. I would try USC for film as it remains arguably the top film school in the World. UCLA Film/TV is known for being one of the best TV libraries in the World with Paley Center for Media an equal.
He has been to L.A. so I am sure Jonathan has seen or aware of the most known places such as Autry National Center.
I had a great time in that city and miss it.
December 3rd, 2015 at 10:48 pm
Jon and I spent a wonderful day together at the Autry Center back in November of last year. A great place. We also toured UCLA when he was taking classes there. I’ll make sure he knows about USC and their film archives.
December 4th, 2015 at 11:25 am
14. Michael, You might try MLC Books (mlcbooks@charter.net). Dan Magnuson is the dealer.
December 4th, 2015 at 12:36 pm
Thanks, Randy I’ll add it to my Christmas list or after I recover from going broke during the Holidays I will check it out.
September 22nd, 2017 at 9:09 pm
I just wanted to let you know that I have in my hand an original script, not signed, of The Long Hunt Of April Savage. Episode: Home, Is An Open Grave. It’s a revised final draft dated September 20, 1965 printed on blue paper. I have always cherished this. It was given to me by my cousin, Audie Murphy.
June 7th, 2019 at 7:10 pm
In your write up of The Amazing Mr. Malone (TAMM), you say that while the series that it alternated with, Mr. District Attorney (MDA), has been released on DVD, the Malone show has not.
Actually, there were 2 different MDA series. THe Ziv series starring David Brian has seen a few of its TV episodes on DVD, However, the first MDA series, the one that alternated with TAMM, has completely disappeared. As with TAMM, there is not s single surviving episode fo the first MDA series that I know of. This is a real shame since the first MDA series was produced by Phillips H. Lord and had Jay Jostyn and the other radio performers in its cast.
Unfortunately, early television has a lot of mising TV shows, its not just the DuMont network that is largely non-existent in TV programming archives.
June 9th, 2019 at 6:09 pm
You are correct and it explains a lot to me. The syndicated series was done on TV Film thus there is a copy left behind. The other two were live and no copy was likely made.
Some of the live programs had kinoscopes done – most commonly done for an actor, producer or a sponsor. But most live performances are lost forever.
I may revisit this list someday. I know more about the time now than I did then. I have tracked down a few of these – BLACK TIE AFFAIR, two of ADVENTURE SHOWCASE and I found a shooting script for 21 BEACON STREET.
Thanks for the information.
January 12th, 2021 at 6:14 pm
One episode of “Black Tie Affair” is up on Youtube.
January 12th, 2021 at 6:26 pm
“Brock Callahan” pilot (you’ll have to sign in to confirm you age; some loser reported it):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB14UvNZvig