P H I L O V A N C E , D E T E C T I V E
--------- ----------- -----------------
1945 - 1950
First Show: ??? ??, 1943 Last Show: Jul 04, 1950
Number Shows: Not known Audition Show: none known
Series Description:
The character of Philo Vance came from the pen of S. S. Van Dine,
the pen name for Willard Huntington Wright (1888 - 1939). He wrote
a total of 12 Philo Vance novels:
The Benson Murder Case (1926), The Canary Murder Case (1927),
The Greene Murder Case (1928), The Bishop Murder Case (1929),
The Scarab Murder Case (1930), The Kennel Murder Case (1933),
The Dragon Pool Murder (1933), The Casino Murder Case (1934),
The Kidnap Murder Case (1936), The Garden Murder Case (1938),
The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1938) and The Winter Murder Case
(1939).
Philo Vance is an amateur detective who assists the district
attorney with his investigations. Outside of detective work, he is
a wealthy connoisseur of the arts. The first ten novels take place
in New York City. The last two take place in Hollywood.
A large number of the novels became movies, with William Powell
filling the role of Vance five times from 1929 to 1933 and Basil
Rathbone doing the honors once in 1930.
NBC was the first to bring Vance to the airwaves, airing a Summer
series from 07/05/45 to 09/27/45 with Jose Ferrer starring as Vance.
ABC tried a short running series on the West Coast starting July 23,
1946, starring John Emery as Vance.
It wasn't until 1948, after the last Philo Vance movie was made,
that Frederick Ziv syndicated a series starring Jackson Beck as
Vance with Joan Alexander as his secretary. This series, of 104
shows, would last into 1950. The series featured last minute clue-
gathering to lead into end-of-the-show revelations and solutions.
Log Comments:
This list is primarily based on Jerry Haendiges' log (see "Other
Logs or Books" section below).
There were a number of problems building the log. First, it appears
no shows survived from the first series and only two survive from
the second. Second, the start and end dates, from the Radio
Memories catalog and John Dunning's Enclopedia (see "References"
section) conflict with dates found in other catalogs. Third,
Jerry's log list 25 shows with "Title Unknown" and had 9 show titles
with missing date and episode number. I found episode numbers that
accounted for a few shows but caused conflicts with shows 67 and 80.
Chronological Log:
Date Day Num Title Avail
------------ --- --- ------------------------------------ -----
.. ONLY 2 SURVIVING SHOWS FROM ...
.. PHILO VANCE SERIES ON NBC ...
Apr 29, 1943 Thu "The Case OF The Cellini Cup" yes
May 06, 1943 Thu "The Mystery Of The Missing Cat" yes
.. ONLY KNOWN SURVIVING SHOW FROM ..
...... THE 1945 SUMMER SERIES ......
Aug 09, 1945 Thu "The Case of Strange Music" yes
... SYNDICATED ZIV PRODUCTIONS ...
Jul 13, 1948 Tue 1 ... title not known ...
Jul 20, 1948 Tue 2 ... title not known ...
Jul 27, 1948 Tue 3 ... title not known ...
Aug 03, 1948 Tue 4 ... title not known ...
Aug 10, 1948 Tue 5 ... title not known ...
Aug 17, 1948 Tue 6 ... title not known ...
Aug 24, 1948 Tue 7 "The Poetic Murder Case" yes
Aug 31, 1948 Tue 8 "The Coachman Murder Case" yes
Sep 07, 1948 Tue 9 "The Midget Murder Case" yes
Sep 14, 1948 Tue 10 "The Blue Lady Murder Case" yes
Sep 21, 1948 Tue 11 "The Backstage Murder Case" yes
Sep 28, 1948 Tue 12 "The Argus Murder Case" yes
Oct 05, 1948 Tue 13 "The Bulletin Murder Case" yes
Oct 12, 1948 Tue 14 "The Cover Girl Murder Case" yes
Oct 19, 1948 Tue 15 ... title not known ...
Oct 26, 1948 Tue 16 ... title not known ...
Nov 02, 1948 Tue 17 ... title not known ...
Nov 09, 1948 Tue 18 ... title not known ...
Nov 16, 1948 Tue 19 ... title not known ...
Nov 23, 1948 Tue 20 ... title not known ...
Nov 30, 1948 Tue 21 "The Blackjack Murder Case" yes
Dec 07, 1948 Tue 22 "The Star Studded Murder Case" yes
Dec 14, 1948 Tue 23 "The Murdock Murder Case" yes
Dec 21, 1948 Tue 24 "The Vanilla Murder Case" yes
Dec 28, 1948 Tue 25 "The Rhumba Murder Case" yes
Jan 04, 1949 Tue 26 "The Magic Murder Case" yes
Jan 11, 1949 Tue 27 ... title not known ...
Jan 18, 1949 Tue 28 ... title not known ...
Jan 25, 1949 Tue 29 "The Idol Murder Case" yes
Feb 01, 1949 Tue 30 "The Golden Murder Case" yes
Feb 08, 1949 Tue 31 "The Flying Murder Case" yes
Feb 15, 1949 Tue 32 "The Butler Murder Case" yes
Feb 22, 1949 Tue 33 "The Herringbone Murder Case" yes
Mar 01, 1949 Tue 34 "The Listless Murder Case" yes
Mar 08, 1949 Tue 35 "The Curtain Call Murder Case" yes
Mar 15, 1949 Tue 36 "The Million Dollar Murder Case" yes
Mar 22, 1949 Tue 37 "The White Willow Murder Case" yes
Mar 29, 1949 Tue 38 "The High Hat Murder Case" yes
Apr 05, 1949 Tue 39 "The Movie Murder Case" yes
Apr 12, 1949 Tue 40 "The Green Girls Murder Case" yes
Apr 19, 1949 Tue 41 "The Cardinal Murder Case" yes
Apr 26, 1949 Tue 42 "The Cipler Murder Case" yes
May 03, 1949 Tue 43 "The Masters Murder Case" yes
May 10, 1949 Tue 44 "The Meanest Man Murder Case" yes
May 17, 1949 Tue 45 "The Butterfly Murder Case" yes
May 24, 1949 Tue 46 "The Hurdy Gurdy Murder Case" yes
May 31, 1949 Tue 47 "The Red Duck Murder Case" yes
Jun 07, 1949 Tue 48 "The Mistletoe Murder Case" yes
Jun 14, 1949 Tue 49 "The Combination Murder Case" yes
Jun 21, 1949 Tue 50 "The Peacock Murder Case" yes
Jun 28, 1949 Tue 51 "The Motor Murder Case" yes
Jul 05, 1949 Tue 52 "The White Murder Case" yes
Jul 12, 1949 Tue 53 "The One Cent Murder Case" yes
Jul 19, 1949 Tue 54 "The Racket Murder Case" yes
Jul 26, 1949 Tue 55 "The Cheesecake Murder Case" yes
Aug 02, 1949 Tue 56 "The Tick Tock Murder Case" yes
Aug 09, 1949 Tue 57 "The Deep Sea Murder Case" yes
Aug 16, 1949 Tue 58 "The Johnny A. Murder Case" yes
Aug 23, 1949 Tue 59 "The Blue Penny Murder Case" yes
Aug 30, 1949 Tue 60 "The Brotherly Murder Case" yes
Sep 06, 1949 Tue 61 "The Oxford Murder Case" yes
Sep 13, 1949 Tue 62 "The Checkerboard Murder Case" yes
Sep 20, 1949 Tue 63 ... title not known ...
Sep 27, 1949 Tue 64 ... title not known ...
Oct 04, 1949 Tue 65 "The Black Gold Murder Case" yes
Oct 11, 1949 Tue 66 "The Tea Cup Murder Case" yes
Oct 18, 1949 Tue 67 "The Necktie Murder Case" yes
"The Meeker Murder Case" yes
Oct 25, 1949 Tue 68 "The Deathless Murder Case" yes
Nov 01, 1949 Tue 69 ... title not known ...
Nov 08, 1949 Tue 70 ... title not known ...
Nov 15, 1949 Tue 71 "The Little Murder Case" yes
Nov 22, 1949 Tue 72 "The Nightmare Murder Case" yes
Nov 29, 1949 Tue 73 "The Thundering Murder Case" yes
Dec 06, 1949 Tue 74 "The Birdcage Murder Case" yes
Dec 13, 1949 Tue 75 "The Grey Glove Murder Case" yes
Dec 20, 1949 Tue 76 "The Chop Suey Murder Case" yes
Dec 27, 1949 Tue 77 "The Identical Murder Case" yes
Jan 03, 1950 Tue 78 "The Tip Top Murder Case" yes
Jan 10, 1950 Tue 79 "The Left Handed Murder Case" yes
Jan 17, 1950 Tue 80 "The Catty Corpse Murder Case" yes
"The Talking Corpse Murder Case" yes
Jan 24, 1950 Tue 81 "The Music Box Murder Case" yes
Jan 31, 1950 Tue 82 "The Sterling Murder Case" yes
Feb 07, 1950 Tue 83 "The Chicken Murder Case" yes
Feb 14, 1950 Tue 84 "The Scarface Murder Case" yes
Feb 21, 1950 Tue 85 ... title not known ...
Feb 28, 1950 Tue 86 ... title not known ...
Mar 07, 1950 Tue 87 "The Church Murder Case" yes
Mar 14, 1950 Tue 88 "The Mathmatical Murder Case" yes
Mar 21, 1950 Tue 89 "The Jackpot Murder Case" yes
Mar 28, 1950 Tue 90 "The Ivory Murder Case" yes
Apr 04, 1950 Tue 91 "The Mimic Murder Case" yes
Apr 11, 1950 Tue 92 "The Nylon Murder Case" yes
Apr 18, 1950 Tue 93 "The Golden Key Murder Case" yes
Apr 25, 1950 Tue 94 "The Shower Bath Murder Case" yes
May 02, 1950 Tue 95 "The Rooftop Murder Case" yes
May 09, 1950 Tue 96 "The Whistling Murder Case" yes
May 16, 1950 Tue 97 "The Manicure Murder Case" yes
May 23, 1950 Tue 98 "The Money Machine Murder Case" yes
May 30, 1950 Tue 99 "The Whirlaround Murder Case" yes
Jun 06, 1950 Tue 100 "The Alibi Murder Case" yes
Jun 13, 1950 Tue 101 "The Full Dress Murder Case" yes
Jun 20, 1950 Tue 102 "The Prise Ring Murder Case" yes
Jun 27, 1950 Tue 103 "The Argyle Murder Case" yes
Jul 04, 1950 Tue 104 "The Muddy Murder Case" yes
... SYNDICATED ZIV PRODUCTIONS ...
... SHOWS WHERE DATE OR NUMBER ...
... ARE NOT KNOWN. ...
"The Case Of The Girl Who Came Back" yes
"The Lost Glove Murder Case" yes
"The Meeker Murder Case" yes
"The Merry Murder Case" yes
"The Psychic Murder Case" yes
"The Talking Corpse Murder Case" yes
"The Traveling Monogram" yes
References:
* "The Ultimate History of Network Radio Programming and Guide To All
Circulating Shows", by Jay Hickerson, Box 4321, Hamden, CT 06514
* "On The Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio" by John Dunning,
ISBNB 0-19-507678-8, Oxford University Press, 1998.
* OTR club and vendor catalogs or web sites:
* Edward J. Carr, 216 Shaner Street, Boyertown, PA 19512
* Crabapple Sound, Henry Hinkel, 254 Florida Ave., Amsterdam, NY
12010
* Jerry Haendiges Productions, Jerry Haendiges, 13808 Sunset Dr.,
Whittier, CA 90602
* Radio Memories, Ted Davenport, 1600 Wewoka St., North Little
Rock, AR 72116
* Radio Showcase, Steve Kelez, PO Box 4357, Santa Rosa, CA 95402
* Vintage Broadcasts, Andy Blatt, PO Box 50065, Staten Island, NY
10305
Other Logs or Books:
* PHILO VANCE log, Jerry Haendiges Productions, 13808 Sunset Dr.,
Whittier, CA 90602 (http://www.otrsite.com)
Reader Feedback:
* Mark Dixon provided the title for the only known surviving show
from the 1945 Summer Series. He found it on an CD containing MP3
files, so vendor is not known.
Last Update: May 20, 2004
This log is informational only. It does not imply that I or my
references have these shows for trade or sale. The shows may still
be 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).