Radio Detective Story Hour Episode 147 – “The Burning Court”

Charlie Ruggles

Charlie Ruggles

This week’s podcast looks at John Dickson Carr’s The Burning Court adapted for radio by Harold Medford for the Suspense radio series. It was the premier episode of the series which began in 1942. Carr was one of the premier mystery writers of the “locked room mystery” in the forties, but with elements that went beyond Ellery Queen, Agatha Christie and others of the period. Carr added an element of the supernatural, but believed that all things could be resolved by logic. The Burning Court was one of his novels that did not feature a primary detective in the role of solver of a crime. This adaptation is very well done and though not written by Carr, who did write some adaptations of his stories for radio as well as original plays.  Charlie Ruggles, well known as a comedic actor is well out of type for this episode.

Music under is the theme from Body Heat by John Barry.

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