Transcript
Randy Stone (0:00)
Get this and get it straight. Crime is a sucker's road and those who travel it wind up in the gut of the prison or the grave. The story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Sam Spade (0:18)
The Adventures of Sam Spade Detective the.
Vincent Price (0:22)
Adventures of the Saint Starring Vincent Price Bob Bailey in the exciting adventures of the man with the action packed expense Account, America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator.
Randy Stone (0:33)
Yours truly, Johnny Dollar.
Frank Lovejoy (0:55)
Hello and welcome to down these Mean Streets and more old time radio Detectives Crime Fighters for this bonus show, I've picked out my five favorite episodes of Nightbeat, the outstanding radio drama that starred Frank Lovejoy as Chicago reporter Randy Stone. Each night, Stone walked the streets of the Windy City in search of stories for his column in the Chicago Star. Though he wasn't a detective and Nightbeat wasn't strictly a detective show, it featured great tales of mystery and crime as Randy encountered people from both sides of the tracks at all levels of society each and every week. It had a terrific star in Frank Lovejoy, a veteran radio player who found success on the big screen in the late 40s and 50s. He was perfectly cast as the endearing Randy Stone, a reporter who tries to keep his optimism from being overwhelmed by his cynicism. A version of the character was played in the show's audition episode by Edmund O'Brien, an actor we know around here for his stint as yours truly, Johnny Dollar. And while I love O'Brien as Dollar and in many of his film roles, I think Lovejoy was definitely the right choice. O'Brien would have played the character in a more two fisted tough guy nature. And part of what makes the series so great is that Randy Stone is always trying to find the bright side, always hoping that human nature won't disappoint him. Largely unsponsored and arguably underappreciated during its original run, Nightbeat is a series that holds up great today. If you're not familiar with it, hopefully you'll enjoy this introduction courtesy of my five favorite episodes of the show. It's a collection of shows that are mysteries or mystery adjacent, and they help to show the variety of stories encountered by Randy Stone each night as he walked the night Beat. We'll start with the show's premiere episode, originally aired on NBC on February 6, 1950. In Randy Stone's first on air adventure, he comes to the aid of a woman whose clerical error results in a man believing he has a terminal illness. Now she and Randy must find the man before he takes his own life, usually on Nightbeat. A chance meeting with a stranger would set Randy off on his adventure for the week. That's certainly the case in our second show, Today, originally aired on May 22, 1950. Randy meets a mild mannered old man in the park, and the man reveals his unusual ability. He claims he can kill anyone he wants merely by thought. Bill Johnstone, Lieutenant Guthrie of the lineup, and the voice of The Shadow plays Mr. Fettel, the man who claims to have this startling superpower. William Conrad co stars with Frank Lovejoy in our third show, Today, originally aired on NBC on June 12, 1950. This is my personal favorite episode of the show. Randy meets an ex college football star who's fallen on hard times. He's working for a crooked Chicago politician, and he's been given the unusual assignment of tracking down an old blind man. Randy's eager to help his old hero get back on his feet until he learns that the blind man is marked for death. A long time ago, back when the movie Cellular came out, I thought the story was really familiar. In case you don't remember that one, it stars Chris Evans as a man whose phone is randomly dialed by Kim Basinger, who's trapped in her home by armed criminals, and he's the only one who can save her. It reminded me of our fourth episode of Nightbeat today, where it's Randy Stone who decides to let his fingers do the walking and randomly dial Chicago phone numbers. His flight of fancy takes a dark turn when he reaches a woman who's about to be killed by her insane husband. This tense story, told in real time, originally aired on NBC on July 31, 1950. And finally today, Randy joins the police on a frantic hunt to find a case of contaminated butter before it unleashes a typhoid epidemic on the windy City. Our fifth and final show, Today, originally aired on NBC on September 25, 1950. Grab a coat and a cup of coffee. We'll be up late on the Night Beat with Randy Stone in my five favorite episodes of this great radio series.