Detective show
(1945 - 50)
 Philo Vance was the detective creation of S. S. Van
Dine first published in the mid 1920's. Vance, in
the original books, is an intellectual so highly refined
he's seems he might be ghostwritten by P.
G. Wodehouse.  Take this quote from the Benson
Murder Case, 1924, as Vance pontificates in his inimitable
way "That's your fundamental error, don't y'
know Every crime is witnessed by outsiders, just as
is every work of art. The fact that no one sees the
criminal, or the artist, actu'lly at work, is wholly
incons'quential."
Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2010 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved-Reproduction is prohibited. Thankfully, the radio series uses only the name,
and makes Philo a pretty normal, though very intelligent
and extremely courteous gumshoe. Jose Ferrer played
him in 1945. From '48-50, the fine radio actor Jackson
Beck makes Vance as good as he gets. George Petrie
plays Vance's constantly impressed public servant,
District Attorney Markham. Joan Alexander is Ellen
Deering, Vance's secretary and right-hand woman.
Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2010 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved-Reproduction is prohibited. The organist for the show is really working those
ivories, and fans of old time radio organ  will especially
enjoy this series. Perhaps one reason the organist
"pulls out all the stops" is because there
seems to be little, if any, sound effects on the show.
Philo Vance, the radio series, does pay homage
to the original books in that both were, even in their
own time, a bit out of date and stilted. Other "old
school" detective shows are Boston
Blackie, The Falcon,
and Nick Carter, Master
Detective.
Lovers of the noirish hard-boiled school should seek
out a host of other shows: Philip
Marlowe, Pat Novack,
Richard Diamond,
Let George Do It,
and Yours Truly,
Johnny Dollar for starters.
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