Barney Blake, Police Reporter

Last updated
Barney Blake, Police Reporter
Genre Crime drama
Directed by
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Camera setup Single-camera
Running time25 mins.
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseApril 22 (1948-04-22) –
July 8, 1948 (1948-07-08)

Barney Blake, Police Reporter is an American crime drama that aired live on NBC from April 22, 1948, to July 8, 1948. NBC claimed it was the first mystery series to air on TV. The program was canceled after 13 weeks by its sponsor, American Tobacco Company. [1] The show was packaged by Wynn Wright Associates. [2]

Contents

Premise

Set in New York City, the series centers on police reporter Barney Blake and his secretary Jennifer Allen as they solve criminal cases. [3]

The premiere episode was "Murder Me Twice". [4] Other episodes included "E-String Murder" on May 6, 1948. [5]

Time slot

When Barney Blake debuted, NBC had a ban that prohibited "the airing of any radio crime show before 9:30 p.m." Eastern Time. [2] The trade publication Variety reported that the show became "one of the first major studio productions to be aired at so late an hour." [2] It was broadcast on Thursdays. [2]

Critical reaction

The show's premiere episode was panned in a review in the trade publication Billboard . Jerry Franken wrote that the script's shortcomings undermined the "slick, Class A production". [6] Franken predicted that if the program's scripts did not improve, the show "will go down in history not only as the first but also the worst of its breed." [6] Variety's review of the same episode said that the show succeeded in adapting the detective genre for TV and called it "a notable advance in dramatic fare on television." [4] It commended the way direction and camera work resulted in a feeling of movement and action and noted that Ted de Corsia's performance as a murder outshone O'Donnell's starring role. [4]

A brief comment in the trade publication Televiser described the show as a "fast moving mystery series". [7]

Personnel

Gene O'Donnell portrayed Barney Blake, and Judy Parrish played Jennifer Allen. [3] Garry Simpson [4] and David Lewis were the directors. [8] Writers included Max Ehrlich. [9]

Related Research Articles

The Alan Young Show is an American radio and television series presented in diverse formats over a nine-year period and starring English-born comedian Alan Young.

Daniel J. Travanti is an American actor. He is best known for playing police captain Frank Furillo in the television drama series Hill Street Blues (1981–1987) for which he received a Golden Globe Award from five nominations, and two consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards from five nominations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forrest Lewis</span> American actor (1899–1977)

Raymond Forrest Lewis was an American actor of the theater, radio, motion pictures and television.

Front Page Detective is an American crime drama series which aired on the DuMont Television Network on Fridays at 9:30 p.m. ET from July 6, 1951, to September 19, 1952, and in October and November 1953. The program was then in broadcast syndication for several years thereafter.

<i>The Greatest Show on Earth</i> (TV series) 1963 American TV series or program

The Greatest Show on Earth is an American drama series starring Jack Palance about the American circus, which aired on ABC from September 17, 1963, to September 8, 1964. It was produced by Desilu, the production company founded by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Sr.

The Lawless Years is an American crime drama series that aired on NBC from April 16, 1959, to September 22, 1961. The series is the first of its kind, set during the Roaring 20s, preceding The Untouchables by half a season.

The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre is an American anthology series that aired live on NBC Mondays at 8 pm EST from September 27, 1948 to June 26, 1950. The program presented both news headlines and live dramatic performances of either original plays or works adapted for television from the stage. Sometimes the show was referred to as Chevrolet on Broadway or The Broadway Playhouse; particularly when the program was presenting an adapted stage work from New York City's theatre scene.

<i>The Court of Last Resort</i> American television show (1957–1958)

The Court of Last Resort is an American television dramatized court show which aired October 4, 1957 – April 11, 1958, on NBC. It was co-produced by Erle Stanley Gardner's Paisano Productions, which also brought forth the long-running hit CBS-TV law series, Perry Mason.

<i>Crossroads</i> (1955 TV series) American TV anthology series (1955–1957)

Crossroads is an American television anthology series based on the activities of clergy from different denominations. It aired from October 7, 1955, to September 27, 1957, on ABC. The show was retitled The Way of Life for syndication.

Philip Marlowe is a half-hour ABC crime series, featuring Philip Carey as Marlowe, the fictional private detective created by Raymond Chandler. It was broadcast from October 6, 1959, until March 29, 1960.

The Amazing Mr. Malone is an American radio crime drama series based on the John Malone series of mystery novels by Craig Rice. The series ran on ABC from January 11, 1947, through September 24, 1950, and was broadcast on NBC Radio from May 25, 1951, through July 13, 1951.

<i>Delvecchio</i> (TV series) American dramatic TV series

Delvecchio is an American drama television series that aired Sundays at 10:00 pm (EST) on CBS from September 9, 1976, to March 13, 1977. It starred Judd Hirsch as the title character, Dominick Delvecchio, an Italian-American detective who worked for the LAPD and also studied to become a lawyer.

Stand By for Crime is an American television police drama that aired on ABC on Saturday nights from January 11 to August 27, 1949. The series stars veteran newsman Mike Wallace under his real name, Myron Wallace. The series is notable for being the first program to be transmitted from Chicago to New York City. It was ABC's component when each network presented 15 minutes of its programming on January 11, 1949, when the Bell System opened its coaxial cable linking TV's Midwestern and Eastern networks.

Who Said That? is a 1948–55 NBC game show that ran on radio and television, in which a panel of celebrities attempted to determine the speaker of a quotation from recent news reports.

<i>Murder Is My Hobby</i> American radio mystery series

Murder Is My Hobby is an American radio mystery program that was broadcast on Mutual in 1945–1946. The 30-minute program debuted on October 14, 1945, and ended on July 14, 1946. It was sponsored by Mendaco.

<i>Panic!</i> (TV series) American television anthology series

Panic!, broadcast as No Warning! during its second season, is a half-hour American television anthology series. Its 31 episodes aired on NBC from 1957 to 1958. The series host was Westbrook Van Voorhis.

Inner Sanctum is an American television anthology series based upon Inner Sanctum Mystery, the radio series of the same name. It was created and produced by Himan Brown. Its unseen host and narrator was Paul McGrath. Thirty-nine episodes were syndicated in 1954.

Meet McGraw is an American television detective drama that was broadcast on NBC from July 2, 1957, to June 24, 1958. Several months after it debuted, the title was changed to Adventures of McGraw. It was also shown in Canada on CBC Television and some independent stations. ABC began showing reruns of the program in the United States in November 1958. They ended on October 8, 1959.

Dr. Standish, Medical Examiner is an American radio mystery series that was broadcast on CBS From July 1, 1948, until August 19, 1948. It was a sustaining summer replacement program for The FBI in Peace and War, broadcast on Thursdays from 8 to 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The title character, created by George Harmon Coxe, had appeared in mystery stories in national magazines.

Gangbusters is an American crime anthology television series that was broadcast on NBC from March 20, 1952, until December 25, 1952. It was cancelled even though it had the eighth-highest rating of that season's TV shows.

References

  1. ↑ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (June 24, 2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Random House Publishing Group. p. 103. ISBN   978-0-307-48320-1 . Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "NBC's Late Curtain On Crime Shows Also Hits 'Barney Blake' TV Show". Variety. April 14, 1948. p. 26. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 75. ISBN   978-0-7864-6477-7.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Barney Blake—Police Reporter". Variety. April 28, 1948. p. 30. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  5. ↑ Hawes, William (November 16, 2015). Live Television Drama, 1946-1951. McFarland. p. 242. ISBN   978-1-4766-0849-5 . Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Franken, Jerry (May 1, 1948). "Barney Blake, Police Reporter". Billboard. p. 11. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  7. ↑ "Sponsor news . . " (PDF). Televiser. May 17, 1948. p. 4. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  8. ↑ "David Lewis". North County Times. Associated Press. October 31, 1992. p. 2. Retrieved January 29, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Ellett, Ryan (November 2, 2017). Radio Drama and Comedy Writers, 1928-1962. McFarland. p. 67. ISBN   978-1-4766-2980-3 . Retrieved April 11, 2023.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.