The Adventures of Frank Race

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Tom Collins portrayed Frank Race in 22 episodes. Tcollins.jpg
Tom Collins portrayed Frank Race in 22 episodes.

The Adventures of Frank Race was an American radio adventure serial syndicated by Bruce Eells Productions. The 30-minute program's first East Coast broadcast was 1949, and the show ran 43 episodes. Because it was syndicated, it aired on different stations on different days. For instance, in New York City, the first episode ran on WINS on April 9, 1949. [1] It "began running in some markets May 1, 1949." [2] The series was broadcast on the West Coast from 1951–52.

Contents

Each episode opened with a one-minute organ theme and then the following from announcer Art Gilmore:

The war changed many things; the face of the earth and the people on it. Before the war, Frank Race worked as an attorney, but he traded his law books for the cloak-and-dagger of the OSS. And when it was over, his former life was over, too... adventure had become his business!

Characters and story

Frank Race mainly investigated international insurance scams around the globe in various exotic locations, making him something of a cross between James Bond and Johnny Dollar. After Tom Collins played the title role for the first 22 episodes, Paul Dubov took over the lead role. Tony Barrett portrayed Race's sidekick, Mark Donovan. Other actors included Jack Kruschen, Wilms Herbert, Lillian Buyeff, Frank Lovejoy and Harry Lang.

Production

The series was written and directed by Joel Murcott and Buckley Angel. [3] Ivan Ditmars provided the background organ music. [2] It was syndicated by Broadcasters Program Syndicate. [4]

Episodes

East Coast premiere broadcasts

#DateTitle
01May 1, 1949"The Hackensack Victory"
02May 8, 1949"The Darling Debutante"
03May 15, 1949"The Istanbul Adventure"
04May 22, 1949"The Seventeen Black"
05May 29, 1949"The Enoch Arden Adventure"
06June 5, 1949"The Vanishing President"
07June 12, 1949"The Baradian Letters"
08June 19, 1949"The Airborne Adventure"
09June 26, 1949"The Shanghai Incident"
10July 3, 1949"The Juvenile Passenger"
11July 10, 1949"The Reckless Daughter"
12July 17, 1949"The Silent Heart"
13July 24, 1949"The Garrulous Bartender"
14July 31, 1949"The Vanishing Favorite"
15Aug 7, 1949"The Embittered Secretary"
16Aug 14, 1949"The Talking Bullet"
17Aug 21, 1949"The Fat Man's Loot"
18Aug 28, 1949"The General's Lady"
19Sept 4, 1949"The Violent Virtuoso"
20Sept 11, 1949"The Fourth Round Knockout"
21Sept 18, 1949"The Three on a Match"
22Sept 25, 1949"The Roughneck's Will"

(last episode with Tom Collins)

23Oct 2, 1949"The Green Doubloon"

(first episode with Paul Dubov)

24Oct 9, 1949"The Sobbing Bodyguards"
25Oct 18, 1949"The Diver's Loot"
26Oct 25, 1949"The Adventures in Mormon Country"
27Nov 1, 1949"The Brooklyn Accent"
28Nov 6, 1949"The Six Week Cure"
29Nov 13, 1949"The Fairway Beauty"
30Nov 20, 1949"The Runway Queen"
31Nov 27, 1949"The Lady in the Dark"
32Dec 4, 1949"The Silent Tongue"
33Dec 11, 1949"The Kandy Killing"
34Dec 18, 1949"The Undecided Bride"
35Dec 25, 1949"The Gold Worshiper"
36Jan 1, 1950"The House Divided"
37Jan 8, 1950"The Pharaoh's Staff"
38Jan 15, 1950"The Count Trefanno Crest"
39Jan 22, 1950"The Night Crawler"
40Jan 29, 1950"The Kettle Drum"
41Feb 5, 1950"The Lovable Character"
42Feb 12, 1950"The Black Friar's Bridge"
43Feb 19, 1950"The Big Top"

(last show of series)

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References

  1. The New York Times, ”Programs on the Air”, April 9, 1949
  2. 1 2 Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 10. ISBN   978-0-19-507678-3 . Retrieved 2019-10-20.
  3. Sies, Luther F. (2014). Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920–1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN   978-0-7864-5149-4. p. 13.
  4. "Third Series" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 17, 1949. p. 22. Retrieved October 17, 2024.

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