Robert Mitchum is the King of Film Noir. Not only was he one of the great leading men (starring in masterpieces like Out of the Past), he was one of the great villains (issuing chilling turns in The Night of the Hunter and Cape Fear). He made some of the darkest noirs (Angel Face) and…
“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!” I know more of the Shadow than I know about the Shadow. I know the familiar catchphrase. I know he was a radio hero created in the 1930s and the star of pulp magazines. I know he was an influence on Batman’s…
By 1950, the golden age of dramatic radio had come to an end. In the twenties, thirties and forties, radio was the at-home alternative to a night out at the movies. With the coming of television, however, the radio that Americans had known for the better part of three decades simply ceased to exist. If…
One of the most important facts to know in life is that Martin Kane is remembered as the first PI to be featured in a weekly television series. On the historic day of September 1, 1949, NBC took its popular radio series Martin Kane, Private Eye and adapted it for television. William Gargan was the…
