Dec. 21, 2009
Nightbeat - Broadcast on NBC, Nightbeat ran from 1949 to 1952 and starred Frank Lovejoy as Randy Stone, a tough and streetwise reporter who worked the nightbeat for the Chicago Star looking for human interest stories. He met an assortment of people, most of them with a problem, many of them scared, and sometimes he was able to help them, sometimes he wasn’t. It is generally regarded as a ‘quality’ show and it stands up extremely well. Frank Lovejoy (1914-1962) isn’t remembered today, but he was a powerful and believable actor with a strong delivery, and his portrayal of Randy Stone as tough guy with humanity was perfect. The scripts were excellent, given that they had to pack in a lot in a short time, and there was a good supporting cast, orchestra, and sound effects. ‘The Slasher’, broadcast on 10 November 1950, the last show of season one, has a very loosely Ripper-derived plot in which Stone searches for an artist. Supporting actors included Parley Baer, William Conrad, Jeff Corey, Lawrence Dobkin, Paul Frees, Jack Kruschen, Peter Leeds, Howard McNear, Lurene Tuttle and Martha Wentworth.
THIS EPISODE:
May 29, 1950. NBC netWORK. Sponsored by: Wheaties, Crust-Quik. Harlan Matthews, a Stamp Dealer with memories of a murder he committed long ago, attempts murder, suicide and more! An "alienist" and Randy Stone try to help. The system cue has been deleted. Frank Worth (music), Ben Wright, Junius Matthews, Warren Lewis (producer, director), Larry Marcus (editor), Irwin Ashkenazie (writer), Jeanette Nolan, Frank Lovejoy, Frank Martin (commercial spokesman), Jeff Corey. 29:23.
