Adventure

Broadcast History: 1944 to 1945

The title of this series refers to the writer and director of the show, Carlton E. Morse. There were 52 episodes of this thirty-minute adventure series featuring a San Francisco detective, Captain Bart Friday, and his sidekick, Skip Turner. Captain Friday and Skip roamed the world together seeking danger and solving mysteries. The stories told bordered on the supernatural, though there was usually a rational explanation for the superbly written terror-chillers.

Broadcast History: 1 January 1952 to 30 December 1952

Broadcast History: 1951-1952

Bold Venture brings you adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall together in the sultry setting of Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean.

Broadcast History: 1948-50s

Starring Alan Ladd as Dan Holiday a writer who in order to find material for his books would advertise for adventure in the Star Times Newspaper as follows, “Adventure wanted – Will go anywhere, do anything – Box 13”. His replies often lead him into danger and excitement more than he bargained for.

Broadcast History: 18 May 1942 to 31 August 1950, 13 October 1950 to 24 September 1953 and 5 October 1953 to 29 November 1957

At first it was easy because of the war in Europe against the might of The Third Reich and The Pacific conflict taking place against the Japanese. The stories were based on Counter espionage which took place against both these nations.

Broadcast History: 16 January 1939 to 26 December 1952
Theme Tune: Valse Triste, by Sibelius

I Love A Mystery weaves a spell over its fans. It is a tale of three partners, Jack Packard, Doc Long and Reggie Yorke who formed the A-1 detective agency. They are adventurers who travel the world in search of action, thrills and mystery, battling the evils of natural and supernatural and rescuing women in distress.

Broadcast History: 25 April 1948 to 18 July 1948
Theme Tune: Valse Triste

This was a 30-minute weekly adventure series which only appeared in the summer of 1948. The show continued the adventures of the I Love A Mystery series.

Broadcast History: 23 April 1952 to 14 October 1953

It’s hard to believe that the stories in I Was a Communist for the FBI are not fiction but fact. They tell the true story of Matt Cvetic, a man who put his love for his country above everything else. The stories in this series were based on the actual records and authentic experiences of Matt Cvetic (portrayed by Dana Andrews) who infiltrated the top levels of the Communist Party for the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1941 until 1950.

Cvetic was the son of immigrant parents from Slovenia who hated the Communists and this, together with his knowledge of the Slavic languages and his determination to serve his country, led the FBI to invite him to serve as a counterspy. It was a hard decision for him to make. Life was not easy for Cvetic as he was shunned by his parents and siblings, his wife and twin sons and friends all of whom truly believed him to be a Communist. He had to maintain this pretence at all times for his own safety, proving, as he says at the end of almost every episode, that he must “walk alone”.

The stories were broadcast on radio from April 23rd 1952 – October 14th 1953. Matt Cvetic died in 1962.

Broadcast History: 1951 to 1952

The Third Man subtitled The Lives of Harry Lime is the fabulous adventure story of the immortal man originally depicted in the motion picture and based on the character created by Graham Greene.

In total there are fifty-two episodes and they were originally broadcast in 1951 and 1952. The main character, Harry Lime who could be compared to Robin Hood in that he robbed the rich to feed the poor (although the poor was usually himself) was played by the inimitable Orson Welles.

The shows are easily distinguished by the zither theme played by Anton Karas followed by a gun shot and then Harry Lime: “ That was the shot that killed Harry Lime. He died in a sewer beneath Vienna, as those of you know who saw the movie The Third Man. Yes that was the end of Harry Lime, but it was not the beginning Harry Lime had many lives and I can recount all of them. How do I know? Very simple because my name is Harry Lime.”

Broadcast History: July 1944 to Sept 1948 and Oct 1950 to May 1952

The Man Called X is an espionage melodrama starring British born actor Herbert Marshall as Ken Thurston, intelligent agent known as the man called X. His cases involved him travelling the world to exciting and exotic places and involve the usual gamut of delinquents, murderers, politicians and mysterious shady ladies, etc. At the beginning of each show the announcer would declare, “Wherever there is mystery, intrigue, romance, in all the strange and mysterious places of the world, there you will find the Man Called X.”

Broadcast History: 6 October 1953 to 30 March 1954

Frank Sinatra starred as Rocky Fortune in this thirty-minute adventure series written by George Lefferts and Ernest Kinoy. Rocky was a young man who took adventurous jobs and got into various kinds of deep trouble. He was footloose and fancy-free just drifting from one hazardous job to another.

Broadcast History: 31 October 1948 to 10 September 1950

Just how one man could possibly get himself into so much trouble or how so much trouble could seek him out is a fact that puts Rocky Jordan well and truly amongst the ranks of Sherlock Holmes, Matt Dillon, Sam Spade, Rick Diamond and even the crew of the Scarlet Queen (amongst many many others).

Broadcast History: 1929 to 11 September 1940

Fu Manchu was an evil Chinese physician bent on revenge after his wife was accidentally killed by a British officer during the Boxer Rebellion. Fu Manchu might have revolutionised science but chose the path of evil instead. Some of the weapons he devised included a snake in a cane handle, killer fungus and a green mist, which was delivered in letters. Once the letter was opened, green mist filled the room and killed everyone instantly.