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Crime Classics

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396:, Hyland was an ordinary fellow who, in a dry, droll manner, would present a tale from his files, his wry comments interspersed between dramatized scenes. The episodes would typically begin with Hyland inviting the audience to listen to a sound, from drops of rain to horses' hooves, and then introducing the main players and events of his report. The titles also contributed to the series' light tone, as they were intentionally pompous and usually laced with irony. Typical titles included "Your Loving Son, 984: 27: 136: 384:. Hyland was introduced by the announcer as a "connoisseur of crime, student of violence, and teller of murders." Merrill's deadpan portrayal of Hyland provided the welcome note of tongue-in-cheek humor to the proceedings. Unlike the ghoulish weird storytellers of 582:
substituting for that entry), capturing the sound and feel of the various time periods simply but elegantly, often with the use of only two or three instruments per episode. During the fall of 1953, the show was scheduled back to back with
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the play Lincoln had attended the night of his death. The experiment was unsuccessful, and according to radio historian John Dunning, earned Lewis a rebuke from network head
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Episodes included "Good Evening, My Name Is Jack the Ripper" on June 30, 1954, with Betty Hartford portraying Mary Jane Kelly.
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series, examining crimes and murders from the past. It grew out of Lewis' personal interest in famous murder cases and took a
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was taken with the facts and events, but the tragedy was leavened with humor, expressed largely through the narration.
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for television. Merrill was to continue as host, with Lewis as executive producer and
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Popmatters: The Seven-Layered Arsenic Cake of Madame LaFarge and Other Crime Classics
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The only continuing character was the host/ and narrator, Thomas Hyland, played by
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The crimes dramatized generally covered a broad time and place frame from ancient
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was one of the more frequently heard performers, in such diverse parts as
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A roster of Hollywood radio actors filled the various historical roles.
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returned to radio to score all but one of the series episodes (with
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Radio Crime Fighters: More Than 300 Programs from the Golden Age
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Jack the Ripper: His Life and Crimes in Popular Entertainment
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reported in 1956 that Tomado Productions would begin filming
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Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows
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Encyclopedia of Unaired Television Pilots, 1945–2018
707:. Louisiana, Shreveport. June 21, 1953. p. 7 F 622:were the announcers. Ken McManus was the director. 361:) and the lives (and often deaths) of the likes of 256: 248: 240: 226: 216: 200: 190: 180: 172: 164: 156: 148: 51:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. 311:Produced and directed by radio actor and director 140:Elliott Lewis, creator, producer, and director of 349:The cases ranged from famous assassinations (of 338:. Each episode in the series was co-written by 816:On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio 736:Radio Program Openings and Closings, 1931–1972 8: 639:as director. The episode was not broadcast. 126: 16:American radio docudrama series (1953–1954) 571:also were heard regularly on the program. 125: 111:Learn how and when to remove this message 846:Coville, Gary; Lucanio, Patrick (2015). 979: 648: 728: 726: 400:," "If a Body Needs a Body, Just Call 303:from June 15, 1953, to June 30, 1954. 658: 656: 654: 652: 7: 944:Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs: 771: 769: 767: 765: 763: 49:adding citations to reliable sources 695: 693: 701:"New Series Dramatizes Old Crimes" 14: 994: 982: 134: 25: 369:to more obscure cases, such as 315:, the program was a historical 36:needs additional citations for 1: 1022:1950s American radio programs 881:"Tomado to Film 2 New Series" 669:. McFarland. pp. 86–87. 1037:1954 radio programme endings 1032:1953 radio programme debuts 887:. March 24, 1956. p. 2 1053: 852:. McFarland. p. 169. 491:(as Lincoln, Trotsky, and 451:(as Bathsheba Spooner and 968:Old-Time Radio Collection 912:. McFarland. p. 48. 906:Terrace, Vincent (2018). 782:. McFarland. p. 86. 776:Terrace, Vincent (2015). 739:. McFarland. p. 58. 733:Terrace, Vincent (2015). 133: 393:The Mysterious Traveler 625:The trade publication 453:Madame de Brinvilliers 152:Historical crime drama 1017:American radio dramas 493:Thomas Edwin Bartlett 431:and Trotsky assassin 334:to late 19th-century 471:(as Julius Caesar), 45:improve this article 600:Our American Cousin 547:, Clayton Post (as 288:is a United States 130: 1027:CBS Radio programs 445:Dr. William Palmer 826:978-0-19-507678-3 663:Cox, Jim (2015). 517:William Johnstone 501:John Wilkes Booth 371:Bathsheba Spooner 295:which aired as a 281: 280: 165:Country of origin 121: 120: 113: 95: 1044: 999: 998: 997: 987: 986: 985: 978: 964:Internet Archive 931: 930: 928: 926: 903: 897: 896: 894: 892: 877: 871: 870: 868: 866: 843: 837: 836: 834: 833: 807: 801: 800: 798: 796: 773: 758: 757: 755: 753: 730: 721: 720: 714: 712: 697: 688: 687: 685: 683: 660: 606:William S. Paley 576:Bernard Herrmann 489:Herb Butterfield 457:Betty Lou Gerson 325:dramatic license 277: 275: 267: 265: 257:Original release 138: 131: 116: 109: 105: 102: 96: 94: 60:"Crime Classics" 53: 29: 21: 1052: 1051: 1047: 1046: 1045: 1043: 1042: 1041: 1007: 1006: 1005: 995: 993: 983: 981: 973: 940: 935: 934: 924: 922: 920: 905: 904: 900: 890: 888: 879: 878: 874: 864: 862: 860: 845: 844: 840: 831: 829: 827: 809: 808: 804: 794: 792: 790: 775: 774: 761: 751: 749: 747: 732: 731: 724: 710: 708: 699: 698: 691: 681: 679: 677: 662: 661: 650: 645: 537:Mary Jane Kelly 529:Madeleine Smith 465:Lucrezia Borgia 449:Mary Jane Croft 351:Abraham Lincoln 309: 273: 271: 269: 263: 261: 233: 209: 207: 144: 124: 117: 106: 100: 97: 54: 52: 42: 30: 17: 12: 11: 5: 1050: 1048: 1040: 1039: 1034: 1029: 1024: 1019: 1009: 1008: 1004: 1003: 991: 971: 970: 959:Crime Classics 955: 949: 946:Crime Classics 939: 938:External links 936: 933: 932: 919:978-1476672069 918: 898: 872: 859:978-1476607375 858: 838: 825: 802: 789:978-1476605289 788: 759: 746:978-1476612232 745: 722: 717:Newspapers.com 689: 676:978-1476612270 675: 647: 646: 644: 641: 633:Crime Classics 591:Crime Classics 433:Ramón Mercader 415:, Blackbeard, 409:William Conrad 402:Burke and Hare 344:David Friedkin 308: 305: 285:Crime Classics 279: 278: 258: 254: 253: 250: 246: 245: 242: 238: 237: 235:David Friedkin 228: 224: 223: 218: 214: 213: 202: 198: 197: 192: 188: 187: 182: 178: 177: 174: 170: 169: 166: 162: 161: 158: 154: 153: 150: 146: 145: 142:Crime Classics 139: 128:Crime Classics 122: 119: 118: 101:September 2015 33: 31: 24: 15: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1049: 1038: 1035: 1033: 1030: 1028: 1025: 1023: 1020: 1018: 1015: 1014: 1012: 1002: 992: 990: 980: 976: 969: 965: 961: 960: 956: 953: 950: 948: 947: 942: 941: 937: 921: 915: 911: 910: 902: 899: 886: 882: 876: 873: 861: 855: 851: 850: 842: 839: 828: 822: 818: 817: 812: 811:Dunning, John 806: 803: 791: 785: 781: 780: 772: 770: 768: 766: 764: 760: 748: 742: 738: 737: 729: 727: 723: 718: 706: 702: 696: 694: 690: 678: 672: 668: 667: 659: 657: 655: 653: 649: 642: 640: 638: 637:Robert Florey 634: 630: 629: 623: 621: 617: 612: 609: 607: 603: 601: 596: 592: 588: 587: 581: 577: 572: 570: 566: 565:Georgia Ellis 562: 558: 557:Billy the Kid 554: 550: 546: 545:Marie Lafarge 542: 538: 534: 530: 526: 525:Betty Harford 522: 518: 514: 513:Lizzie Borden 510: 506: 502: 498: 494: 490: 486: 482: 478: 474: 473:Harry Bartell 470: 469:Edgar Barrier 466: 462: 458: 454: 450: 446: 442: 438: 434: 430: 429:William Burke 426: 425:Jack Kruschen 422: 418: 414: 410: 405: 403: 399: 395: 394: 389: 388: 383: 378: 376: 372: 368: 364: 363:Cesare Borgia 360: 359:Julius Caesar 356: 352: 347: 345: 341: 337: 333: 328: 326: 322: 318: 314: 313:Elliott Lewis 306: 304: 302: 298: 294: 291: 287: 286: 270:June 30, 1954 260:June 15, 1953 259: 255: 252:Elliott Lewis 251: 247: 244:Elliott Lewis 243: 239: 236: 232: 229: 225: 222: 221:Elliott Lewis 219: 215: 212: 206: 203: 199: 196: 193: 189: 186: 183: 179: 175: 171: 168:United States 167: 163: 159: 155: 151: 147: 143: 137: 132: 129: 115: 112: 104: 93: 90: 86: 83: 79: 76: 72: 69: 65: 62: –  61: 57: 56:Find sources: 50: 46: 40: 39: 34:This article 32: 28: 23: 22: 19: 958: 945: 925:December 26, 923:. 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"Crime Classics"
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CBS
Lou Merrill
Bob LeMond
Larry Thor
Elliott Lewis
Morton Fine
David Friedkin
radio
docudrama
sustaining
CBS Radio
Elliott Lewis
true crime
documentary
dramatic license
Greece
America
Morton Fine

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