Night Beat, Vol. 1

Summary

There were several newspaper-based dramas during radio’s golden age, including Box 13, Let George Do It, and Casey, Crime Photographer, but Night Beat was a cut above. It was the story of Randy Stone, hard-nosed Chicago Star newsman, and his quest for the human-interest story behind the headlines. It starred Frank Lovejoy as Stone, who came to vivid life thanks to expert scripts by Russell Hughes, E. Jack Neuman, John Michael Hayes (who would later write the Hitchcock film classics To Catch a Thief and Rear Window), and Larry Marcus.

Lovejoy’s distinctive voice and approach to the role, combined with top performances by veteran radio actors, gave Night Beat a noir style that listeners loved. The stories ran the gamut from lighthearted to tragic, and through it all, Randy Stone would narrate the story and comment on it from beginning to end—often with a hard-edged cynicism. Night Beat aired on NBC Radio from 1950 to 1952. This collection features twelve episodes.

Episodes include

1. “Zero”
2. “The Night Is a Weapon”
3. “The Girl in the Park”
4. “A World All His Own”
5. “Number 13”
6. “Am I My Brother’s Keeper?”
7. “Flowers on the Water”
8. “The Man Who Claimed to Be Dead”
9. “I Know Your Secret”
10. “Tong War”
11. “Mentallo, the Mental Marvel”
12. “The Elevator Caper”