BROADCASTS.com

b'

The Hurdy-Gurdy Murder Case (Aired May 24, 1949)

Philo Vance was the detective creation of S. S. Van Dine first published in the mid 1920s. Vance, in the original books, is an intellectual so highly refined he seems he might be ghostwritten by P. G. Wodehouse. Take this quote from The Benson Murder Case, 1924, as Vance pontificates in his inimitable way: "That\'s your fundamental error, don\'t y\' know. Every crime is witnessed by outsiders, just as is every work of art. The fact that no one sees the criminal, or the artist, actu\'lly at work, is wholly incons\'quential." Thankfully, the radio series uses only the name, and makes Philo a pretty normal, though very intelligent and extremely courteous gumshoe. Jose Ferrer played him in 1945. From 1948-1950, the fine radio actor Jackson Beck makes Vance as good as he gets. George Petrie plays Vance\'s constantly impressed public servant, District Attorney Markham. Joan Alexander is Ellen Deering, Vance\'s secretary and right-hand woman.


THIS EPISODE:

\\xa0
May 24, 1949. Program #46. ZIV Syndication. "The Hurdy-Gurdy Murder Case". Commercials added locally. Gangster Eddie Mills has been shot and killed, despite his hiring a body guard. An organ-grinder could provide a clue to the crime, but he\'s been murdered too! Jackson Beck, Joan Alexander, S. S. Van Dine (creator), Jeanne K. Harrison (director), Henry Sylvern (organist), Frederick W. Ziv (producer). 32:53. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.