I N S P E C T O R M A I G R E T
----------------- -------------
1959 - 2001
First Show: 09 Dec, 1957 Last Show: 24 Dec, 2002
Number Shows: 48 Audition Show: none
Series Description:
Georges Simenon (1903-1989), Belgian-born French novelist, is one of
the most skilled and literate writers of detective fiction. Over 500
million copies of his books have been printed in as many as 50
languages. He's best know as the creator of Paris police detective
Inspector Maigret, the hero of 84 mysteries.
The Paris police investigate crime "by the book". Maigret is more of
a "thinking detective". He uses his perception and phschological
insight to solve the complex crimes that come his way. More often
than not, he's more interested in the "why" of a crime than "who".
With such popularity, it is only natural that someone, somewhere
would want to dramatize the Inspector's exploits. The first known
adaptation of Georges Simenon Maigret stories was done by the BBC in
1957. It was an adaptation of the Maigret novel "Maigret and the Lost
Life" and aired on the BBC's Home Service. There were no more radio
plays until after Inspector Margret appeared on BBC TV. The same
novel was adapted for BBC TV and aired on 6 Dec, 1957, starring Basil
Sydney as Maigret. A number of Margret stories were adapted for TV
in the early 1960's, with the part of Maigret played by Rupert Davies.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is believed to be the first to
bring Inspector Maigret to radio in the Americas. The CBC produced a
series of 40 30-minute shows that aired in 1970 and 1971 and 7 60-
minute shows that aired from 1975 through 1977. Some, possibly all,
of the 30 minute shows were episodes of 5-part serials. At least 5
of these 5-part serials are known to exist. It is also believed that
they were broadcast as part of the CBC's Theater 10:30 series. Some
of the radio dramas were later released on audio cassette.
The BBC again brought Maigret to radio on 21 Aug, 1976. There were
three series of Maigret adventures on Radio 4 that started with that
show of 21 Aug, 1976. The first series consisted of 6 shows and ran
until 25 Sep, 1976. The second series consisted of 13 shows and
running from 29 May, 1977 through 21 Aug, 1977. Shows from these two
series are believed to have been repeated in 1983. The third series
of 4 shows aired from 03 Dec, 2002 through 24 Dec, 2002. There were
also two plays on the BBC Radio 4's Saturday Night Theater and one on
the BBC Radio 4's Afternoon Play. More Maigret dramatizations are
expected in 2003.
Besides the Inspector Maigret stories, other works of Georges Simenon
have been produced by the BBC. They are:
"The Train" 09-04-72
"November" 10-28-72
[title not known] 12-30-72
"The Stain on the Snow" 02-21-73
"The Iron Suitcase" 04-18-73
"Monsieur La Souris" 05-16-75
On 26 November, 2002, The Afternoon Play presented "The Man Who Had
10,000 Women" by Mark Lawson. In it, a Parisian detective is asked
to investigate the mysteries of the late author's life, on the day of
Geroge Simenon's death.
For those who want more, besides books and radio plays, there's
always TV and the movies. But that's beyond the scope of this log.
Log Comments:
This log was possible thanks to the information provided by Ian Beard
and Gary Marsa and information obtained from a number of Internet
sites. Titles for the known CBC shows were provided by Dave Siegel.
Broadcast information for the CBC shows is not known.
The log only lists the titles of 5 CBC series, each consisting of 5
episodes. These make up only 25 of the 40 30-minute shows produced by
the CBC. The remaining titles are not known. Broadcast dates for all
CBC shows are not known.
Chronological Log:
Date Day Num Title
------------ --- --- ---------------------------------------------
First BBC adaptation
09 Dec, 1957 Mon - "Maigret and the Lost Life" (90 minutes)
(airs 9:15 PM on the Home Service)
CBC 30-MINUTE SHOWS (40 episodes)
(All title listed are for series of 5 30-
minute shows.)
Cast:
Maigret - Budd Knapp
"Maigret And The Headless Corpse"
"Maigret And The Safecracker's Wife"
"Maigret And The Old Lady"
"Maigret And The Crime At Lock No. 14"
"Maigret And The Hundred Gibbets"
CBC 60-MINUTE SHOWS (7 shows)
Cast:
Maigret - Budd Knapp
"Inspector Maigret's Boyhood Friend"
"Inspector Maigret And The Killer"
"Maigret Sets A Trap"
"Maigret In Society"
"Maigret Hesitates"
"Maigret's Christmas"
"Maigret And The Reluctant Witness"
BBC SERIES I
Cast:
Maigret - Maurice Denham
Simenon - Michael Gough
(all shows 45 minutes long)
21 Aug, 1976 Sat 1 "Maigret Goes Home"
28 Aug, 1976 Sat 2 "Maigret In Montmartre"
04 Sep, 1976 Sat 3 "Maigret Has Scruples"
11 Sep, 1976 Sat 4 "Maigret In Society"
18 Sep, 1976 Sat 5 "Maigret Sets A Trap"
25 Sep, 1976 Sat 6 "Maigret And The Young Girl"
BBC SERIES II
Cast:
Maigret - Maurice Denham
Simenon - Michael Gough
(all shows 45 minutes long)
29 May, 1977 Sun 7 "Maigret And Monsieur Charles"
05 Jun, 1977 Sun 8 "Maigret And The Hundred Gibbets"
12 Jun, 1977 Sun 9 "Maigret Goes To School"
19 Jun, 1977 Sun 10 "Maigret's Boyhood Friend"
26 Jun, 1977 Sun 11 "Maigret At The Crossroads"
03 Jul, 1977 Sun 12 "Maigret Has Doubts"
10 Jul, 1977 Sun 13 "Maigret And The Madman Of Bergerac"
17 Jul, 1977 Sun 14 "Maigret And The Minister"
24 Jul, 1977 Sun 15 "Liberty Bar"
31 Jul, 1977 Sun 16 "Maigret And The Old Lady"
07 Aug, 1977 Sun 17 "Maigret Hesitates"
14 Aug, 1977 Sun 18 "Maigret Takes The Waters"
21 Aug, 1977 Sun 19 "The Patience Of Maigret"
BBC SATURDAY NIGHT THEATRE
05 May, 1984 Sat 20 "Maigret And The Millionaires" (75 minutes)
Maigret played by Maurice Denham
22 Mar, 1986 Sat 21 "Maigret's Special Murder" (90 minutes)
Maigret played by Bernard Hepton
BBC AFTERNOON PLAY
21 Dec, 1998 Mon 22 "Maigret's Christmas" (45 minutes)
Maigret played by Barry Foster
BBC AFTERNOON PLAY
(aired at 2:15 PM)
03 Dec, 2002 Tue 23 "A Man's Head" (45 minutes)
10 Dec, 2002 Tue 24 "The Bar on the Seine" (45 minutes)
17 Dec, 2002 Tue 25 "My Friend Maigret" (45 minutes)
24 Dec, 2002 Tue 26 "Madame Maigret's Own Case" (45 minutes)
Reader Feedback:
* Ray Blake sent the information about the 2002 series and "The Man
Who Had 10,000 Woman".
* Dave Siegel sent information about the CBC shows.
* Arlene Osborne sent a list of shows indicating some BBC shows were
repeated in 1983.
* Gary Marsa provided information on the first BBC radio adaptation
and some corrections and additions.
Last Update: May 20, 2004
This log is informational only and does not imply that I have these
shows for trade or sale. The shows are still protected under
copyright law and should be obtained only from authorized dealers.
The log may be freely reproduced and published on a no-profit basis.
Please send error corrections or additional information to Frank M.
Passage, 109 Elmwood Road, Verona, NJ 07044 (email: wb2ntp@arrl.net).