Craig Kennedy, Criminologist

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Craig Kennedy, Criminologist is a syndicated American detective television series. Produced in 1951, it was the first filmed TV program to be shown in U. S. Army hospitals in other countries. [1] Reruns were being broadcast in the United States as late as 1958. [2]

Contents

Overview

The series adapted the character of "pulp-novel sleuth" Craig Kennedy, a crime expert at Columbia University, to television. Donald Woods portrayed Kennedy, [1] a character created by Arthur B. Reeve, [3] who solved crimes by means of scientific deductions. [4] Kennedy regularly interacted with police inspector J. J. Burke, [5] sometimes helping Burke [6] and sometimes being helped by him. [7] Burke was portrayed by Syd Mason, [8] and Lewis G. Wilson played crime reporter Walter Jameson. [9] The supporting cast included Mara Corday, [10] Sherry Moreland, [11] Valerie Vernon, and Patricia Wright. [12]

Episodes

Partial list of episodes:

Production

Adrian Weiss was the producer and director. [17] Twenty-six episodes of the 30-minute black-and-white program [18] were filmed in Hollywood [13] at Key-West Studios. [19] Louis Weiss & Company distributed the series. [20] The Weiss Brothers gained sales of the show by promising that if it did not have higher ratings than its competition in its first 13 weeks, they would not charge for the second 13 weeks' episodes. [1] At least one station, WCAU in Philadelphia, bought rights to third and fourth runs of the series. It began the third run on July 9, 1953, with plans to continue the series weekly for 12 months. [21]

Critical response

Ellis Walker, writing in the Daily Palo Alto Times , called the program "a class D mystery series". [22] Walker expressed surprise at Woods's involvement in the show and suggested that the actor could not resist the money that he received. [22]

Conversion into films

In 1953 Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors Ltd. of London bought four episodes of Craig Kennedy, Criminologist with plans to combine them to create two hour-long features. The conversion also included having "a British personality" provide opening and closing narrations for the films, which were to be distributed to theaters in Great Britain. [21]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Erickson, Hal (October 9, 2024). Syndicated Television: The First Forty Years, 1947-1987. McFarland. p. 24. ISBN   978-1-4766-1381-9 . Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Tonight On Television". The Columbus Ledger. August 14, 1958. p. 46. Retrieved January 24, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Arthur B. Reeve, Author, Dies at 55: Creator of Fiction Detective, Craig Kennedy, Wrote on Criminology" . The New York Times. August 10, 1936. p. 19. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  4. ↑ Terrace, Vincent (October 17, 2024). Encyclopedia of Television Subjects, Themes and Settings. McFarland. p. 173. ISBN   978-1-4766-0445-9 . Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Private eye sees pretty girls everywhere". Daily News-Post. California, Monrovia. April 11, 1953. p. TV 1. Retrieved January 24, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Vavrick, Bill (May 4, 1953). "TV Chatter". Contra Costa Times. California, Walnut Creek. p. 8. Retrieved January 24, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 "Airview Pattern Pickups". The Berkeley Gazette. June 17, 1953. p. 16. Retrieved January 24, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Rich, Allen (April 2, 1953). "Listening Post and TV Review". Valley Times. California, North Hollywood. p. 20. Retrieved January 24, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Donald Woods will appear in new TV series". Chicago Sunday Tribune. December 13, 1953. p. 62. Retrieved January 24, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Tennis, Anyone?". The Patriot. Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. September 8, 1951. p. 17. Retrieved January 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Sultry Siren". The Patriot. Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. September 8, 1951. p. 17. Retrieved January 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "TV Aides". The Patriot. Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. September 8, 1951. p. 17. Retrieved January 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  13. 1 2 "Donald Woods to Star in A New Adventure Program". The Kansas City Star. December 9, 1951. p. 6 E. Retrieved January 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Cain, Ira (April 12, 1953). "'Craig Kennedy, Criminologist' Will Join WBAP-TV 'Whodunits' Thursday". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 18. Retrieved January 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ Vavrick, Bill (May 18, 1953). "TV Chatter". Contra Costa Times. California, Walnut Creek. p. 4. Retrieved January 24, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Complete Television Programs for Today". The Philadelphia Inquirer. September 3, 1955. p. 14. Retrieved January 24, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 185. ISBN   0-14-02-4916-8.
  18. ↑ Aaker, Everett (October 17, 2024). Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters: All Regular Cast Members in American Crime and Mystery Series, 1948-1959. McFarland. p. 609. ISBN   978-1-4766-0636-1 . Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Film Report..." Broadcasting. July 9, 195. p. 67. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  20. ↑ "26 More for Weiss". Billboard. May 29, 1954. p. 25. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  21. 1 2 "Film Sales". Broadcasting. July 20, 1953. p. 32. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  22. 1 2 Walker, Ellis (February 23, 1954). "Radio-TV: Did fast video bucks prove to (sic) much for Donald Woods?". Daily Palo Alto Times. p. 13. Retrieved January 24, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
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