Mon 25 May 2020
An Old Time Radio Review: MEET MISS SHERLOCK “The Case of the Dead Man’s Chest” (1946).
Posted by Steve under Old Time Radio , Reviews[4] Comments
MEET MISS SHERLOCK “The Case of the Dead Man’s Chest.†CBS, 07 July 1946. Sondra Gair as Jane Sherlock, and Joe Petruzzi played Peter Blossom, a lawyer and her fiancé, with William Conrad as a homicide captain named Dingle.
Meet Miss Sherlock had two runs as a summer replacement show for CBS, perhaps on the West Coast only. The first is said to have been on the air from July 3, 1946, to September 26, 1946 while the second one ran from September 28, 1947, to October 26, 1947, but that early date for the first run must be in error. The date given for this episode is correct, as a missing man is declared dead exactly seven years after his disappearance on July 7, 1939. (See update below.)
This is a problem with getting cornet information about old radio show. You have to rely too much on second-hand data. No matter. We’re lucky to have any examples of shot-lived radio shows such as this one to listen to today. (There is one other I know about: 46-09-12 “Wilbur And The Widow,†with a broadcast said to be September 12, 1946.)
As a feather-brained, if not out-and-out screwy amateur detective, Jane Sherlock has a strange occupation for her to keep running across dead bodies: she’s a buyer for her fiancé’s mother’s shop on Broadway. In this episode, when she buys a large rosewood chest at an auction, she discovers two things: a lot of people want to buy it from her, and and secondly, a skeleton of a man is inside.
The first half of the show showed some promise, but the second half does its best not to fulfill that promise, and for me, I’d have to say it succeeds. There are too many people involved, and Miss Sherlock, for the most part is pushed to the side, without much involvement. It’s always fun to recognize Bill Conrad’s voice in one of these old radio shows, though. It’s so distinctive you couldn’t miss it if you tried.
You can listen to this particular episode here.
And one source of general information about the series is here.
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UPDATE: The presumed date for this episode, July 7, 1946. was a Sunday, and the show (or at least the next episode, as announced) was on a Wednesday. It may be that the date assigned to this episode was incorrectly done based on the internal evidence I mentioned in paragraph one.
UPDATE #2. See Michael Shonk’s comment #2. in which he gives me the correct date for this episode: July 17 (not 7), 1946. Lots of other information in his comment about the company and cast of both runs of the series, too. Be sure to read it.
May 25th, 2020 at 1:37 pm
I had not heard the name Sondra Gair before, so I went looking, and discovered her obituary online:
It says in part, and I quote:
“n the early 1940s, she established a career on the radio. She became a regular on such programs as WGN radio’s “Theater of the Air,” the “Colgate Comedy Hour,” “Ma Perkins,” “Bachelor’s Children,” “Woman in White” and “Corliss Archer.” She became the star of a CBS show titled, “Meet Miss Sherlock,” about a female version of Sherlock Holmes.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-05-27-9405270062-story.html
May 25th, 2020 at 4:20 pm
Jack French has a wonderful book about radio’s female detectives called PRIVATE EYELASHES. And it has some interesting stuff about MISS SHERLOCK.
There were two versions. Only two episodes survive and both are from the Summer 1946 version. The second version lasted five weeks (Sept-Oct 1947). There are no surviving scripts, just eight episode titles.
The aircheck for the episode linked here was July 17, 1946 (also the date for the script title).
The series was created by e. Jack Neuman (a major writer in radio and television). Neuman based Jane Sherlock on actress Ida Lupino and her traits of innocences and determination.
The writers of the first series was Neuman and Don Thompson. Thompson wrote the episode “Case of the Dead Man’s Chest.” It is believed to have been directed by Dave Vail. Vail and Neuman would return for the second version as well.
I really hate the opening when Jane shoots down poor hopeless Peter marriage proposal EVERY week. The music was “A Little Bit Independent” (1935).
Others to have been in the cast were Paul Frees, and Ira Grossel (Jeff Chandler). The second version would star Monty Margetts as Jane, Barney Phillips as Captain Dingle. No one remembers who played Peter.
Gair graduated Northwestern (Chicago) with Charlton Heston and Patricia Neal. Heston was upset when she didn’t join him to conquer Broadway. Instead she was working on a Chicago based radio soap MASQUERADE, the series was moving to Hollywood and she went with it.
In Los Angeles she was an active radio actress appearing in such series as SUSPENSE and MEET CORLISS ARCHER.
Gair would give up show business for her husband and became a good wife and mother (of three young children). As they moved to follow the husband’s (non-showbiz) career, they ended up in Chicago. In the 50s her husband left her and the kids and ran off with her best friend. Certainly Jane Sherlock could have taught her about careers and men.
In 1967 she would return to radio, first the NPR station in San Francisco and finally back to Chicago where she would end up in the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame.
In the second version Jane was played by Betty Moran for one episode then replaced by Monty Margetts. Margetts got her start with Howard Duff and the two were a success in San Francisco. She would leave show business to become a caregiver for her sick Mother. When her Mother died Jack Webb who knew her from San Francisco radio days helped her get back into showbiz.
May 25th, 2020 at 7:27 pm
I love comments that are longer than my reviews. Thanks, Michael! The date of July 17 now makes sense, so special thanks for that. And all of the other information, too. Wonderful!
When it comes to facts about radio shows, two sources I trust are Martin Grams (whom I know) and Jack French (who unfortunately I don’t). I remember when his book on lady detectives on the radio came out, but I don’t remember ever buying it. If most of your information came from it, I really should have.
May 25th, 2020 at 8:12 pm
All my information came from French’s book.
I have it on Kindle. He covers every known radio female detective. I went in awhile ago and bookmarked every page where he starts a discussion about one of the characters.
So I clicked on bookmark notepad and scrolled down to MISS SHERLOCK and shared it here.
I love doing research its turning all those notes into a readable review where I lose my energy.