Call the Police (radio program)

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Call the Police
George Petrie 1950.JPG
George Petrie starred in Call the Police in 1948-1949.
GenreCrime drama
Running time30 minutes
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
Syndicates NBC
CBS
StarringJoseph Julian
George Petrie
AnnouncerHugh James
Jay Sims
Written byPeter Barry
Frank Lane
Lou Vittes
Directed byJohn Cole
Produced byJohn Cole
Original releaseJune 3, 1947 (1947-06-03) –
October 25, 1949 (1949-10-25)
Sponsored by Lever Brothers (Rinso and Lifebuoy)
S. C. Johnson & Son (Johnson Wax)

Call the Police is an old-time radio crime drama in the United States. It was broadcast on NBC June 3, 1947 - September 28, 1948, and on CBS June 5, 1949 - September 25, 1949. [1]

Contents

Premise

Bill Grant, the main character of Call the Police was a Marine who had served in World War II and whose father had been a policeman who was killed in the line of duty. The younger Grant went to the FBI Academy and then returned to his hometown to find that criminals had taken control. He took on the challenge of cleaning up crime in the city. [1]

Vincent Terrace, in Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows, summarized the program's format as follows, "The stories are hard-hitting re-creations of gruesome crimes, the step-by-step actions of the criminals and the police efforts to apprehend the culprits." [2]

Reviews

Media critic John Crosby described Call the Police as "[o]ne bad penny which turns up every summer." [3] He added, "The plots move just short of the speed of sound and are wildly complicated, though, I'm forced to admit, fairly ingenious." [3]

A review in the June 12, 1948, issue of the trade publication Billboard said that summer's first episode "was written with punch and verve and brought [to] life by excellent characterizations ..." [4]

The trade publication Variety said that the June 1, 1948, episode (the show's premiere for that summer) "makes up in smart dialog and swift pace for its run-of-the-mill character." [5] The review noted the episode's "good" performances, "striking" sound effects, and "fine" music bridges, and it said that the sometimes flippant dialog "brightens up the program". [5]

Personnel

Grant was portrayed by Joseph Julian (1947) and George Petrie (1948-1949). Libby Tyler, a criminal psychologist and Grant's girlfriend, was played by Joan Tompkins (1947) and Amzie Strickland (1948-1949). Sergeant Maggio, Grant's assistant, was played by Robert Dryden. [6] Actors frequently heard in supporting roles included Ed Jerome, Mandel Kramer, George Matthews, Bill Smith, and Alice Reinheart. The announcers were Jay Sims (1947) and Hugh James (1948-1949). [1]

John Cole produced and directed the program. [1] Writers were Peter Barry, Frank Lane, and Lou Vittes. Ben Ludlow provided the music. [7]

Schedule and sponsors

Call the Police was a summer replacement program for the three years it was broadcast, filling the time slot of Amos 'n' Andy each year. [6] The 1947 and 1949 broadcasts were sponsored by Lever Brothers, advertising Rinso laundry soap and Lifebuoy soap. The 1948 broadcasts were sponsored by S. C. Johnson & Son, advertising Johnson Wax. [1]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Cox, Jim (2002). Radio Crime Fighters: Over 300 Programs from the Golden Age. Mcfarland. p. 65. ISBN   978-0-7864-4324-6.
  2. ↑ Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN   978-0-7864-4513-4. P. 58.
  3. 1 2 Crosby, John (June 17, 1948). "New Crime Program on Network". Oakland Tribune. California, Oakland. p. 28. Retrieved February 2, 2017– via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  4. ↑ Chase, Sam (June 12, 1948). "Call the Police" (PDF). Billboard. p. 12. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Call the Police". Variety. June 9, 1948. p. 26. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 131. ISBN   978-0-19-507678-3 . Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  7. ↑ "The Call the Police Radio Program". The Digital Deli Too. Retrieved 2 February 2017.

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