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).