A look at a somewhat forgotten American cozy mystery writer – Charlotte Murray Russell – wrote a number of mysteries well into the 1950s but then suddenly gave it all up and returned to her library work. She was an influence on a number of later female mystery writers who got their start writing “cozy” style mysteries.
This play is from the Crime Club. A brief look at that radio series. This episode starred Raymond Edward Johnson (right) and is adapted from Russell’s book, The Case of the Topaz Flower.
Music under is Benny Goodman’s “Benny Rides Again.”
This podcast features a radio detective series that I will admit is in my opinion a stinker. I have only been able to hear one episode (none others exist), but to round out the radio detective genre, I felt I should feature it nonetheless. Some of you may like it, but I found it definitely an example of very early and bad radio drama. Hopefully, you are curious enough to give it a try!
The second podcast dedicated to our “Laura-fest” in which Bob Bailey stars in an episode of Let George Do It – “Laura’s House.” This was later in the 6 year run of Let George Do It. By this time the series was no longer a comedy but took itself seriously, though some like this episode had its silly moments.
A revisit to the classic BBC radio series from the 1940s. The series was created partly by John Dickson Carr and modeled on his experience working as a scriptwriter for the American series Suspense. When you hear it, you think you are listening to a twist on that American series, but while there were crossover storylines, this series had its own unique stamp including the creepy sounding Man in Black portrayed by British actor Valentine Dyall (right).
This coming month – October – Turner Classic Movies is offering several film noir directed by Nicholas Ray from the late 1940s and early 1950s in honor of his 100th birthday anniversary. They include They Live By Night (1949) with Farley Granger and Cathy O’Donnell based on the novel Thieves Like Us by Edward Anderson; preceded by In A Lonely Place (1950) based on the wonderful novel by Dorothy B. Hughes and featured as a podcast from the radio play version and Born To Be Bad (1950) with Joan Fontaine and based on the novel by Anne Parrish.
Raymond Chandler is back with a new drama of The Long Goodbye which will be heard over BBC Radio 4 beginning on Saturday, October 1st at 14:30 GMT or 19:30 EST. This is a new play, so be sure not to miss it. It stars Toby Stephens in an excellent adaptation. You can find it 