Tipping My Fedora

Sam Spade, the protagonist of Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon, first appeared Black Mask magazine before publication in book form in 1930. Despite being an instant success, Hammett never wrote another book about his ultra hardboiled PI, though he did appear again in three short stories published in 1932. Between 1931 and 1941, as discussed with Mark Dillon on the last episode of Fedora, Warner Bros released three films based on the novel, with a different actor playing the main role each time. However, it was on radio that Spade had his most consistent success. The Adventures of Sam Spade, as the half-hour show was called, made its debut on 12 July 1946, starring Howard Duff as Spade and Lurene Tuttle as his secretary, Effie Perrine. The show moved from ABC to CBS and then NBC, running for a total of 245 episodes. On top of that, Duff and Tuttle reprised their roles in a special 1-hour episode of Suspense, in which Sam Spade briefly met Philip Marlowe (as played by host Robert Montgomery). That episode is presented here in its entirety. 

Suspense / The Kandy Tooth Caper (CBS, 10 January 1948) Written by Bob Tallman and Jo Eisinger; Director: William Speir; Cast: Robert Montgomery (series host / Philip Marlowe), Howard Duff (Sam Spade), Lurene Tuttle (Effie Perrine), Joe Kearns (Casper Gutman), Cathy Lewis (Hope Laverne), Wally Maher (Lawrence Laverne), Jay Novello (Joel Cairo), Jeanette Nolan (Mrs. Julius), Jack Edwards, Jr. (Herman Julius / mortuary attendant), Sidney Miller (documentary narrator), Hans Conried (Marvin / Don Constantino), Bill Johnstone (Lieutenant Dundy).

Today’s podcast is devoted to THE MALTESE FALCON, the classic novel by Dashiell Hammett and its various film versions including the classic Humphrey Bogart version from 1941 and the two lesser-known adaptations that preceded it.

My guest is Mark Dillon, the award-winning Toronto-based journalist specializing in film, TV and pop music. He is a former editor of Playback, the business publication for the Canadian media industries, and to which he still contributes. He has been writing for Hollywood magazine American Cinematographer for more than 25 years. He is author of Fifty Sides of The Beach Boys, chronicling America’s band, and co-hosts the (non-noir) podcast Surf’s Up: A Beach Boys Podcast Safari: https://soundcloud.com/user-93394161

Today I am joined by Ayesha Khan - host of the prizewinning podcast, Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever* (www.everyscififilm.com/) - to talk about one of our favourite movies, Ridley Scott's BLADE RUNNER (1982). In addition we will also look at its sequel, Denis Villeneuve's BLADE RUNNER 2049 and Philip K. Dick's original source novel, Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep? 

In the podcast we mention Film Noir Bingo, created by Todd Downing - you can follow him at www.todddowning.com.

You can follow Ayesha at www.everyscififilm.com and listen to her podcast Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever* on all major platforms.

Sergio looks at Michael Anderson's 1958 suspense drama, CHASE A CROOKED SHADOW, a clever mystery with a strong cast and memorable payoff. It stars Anne Baxter as an heiress driven to near madness when a man turns up claiming to be her dead brother and everybody but her believes him. Richard Todd is the the smooth impostor and Herbert Lom plays the understandably confused police inspector.

Though uncredited, the premise of the film, and its memorable final twist on which the whole plot depends, had first been used on radio in 1946 for an episode of The Whistler:

"Stranger in the House" (CBS, 2 September 1946), starring Virginia Gregg and Gerald Mohr. Script: Harold Swanton and Mark Smith; Music: Wilbur Hatch; Producer / Director: George W. Allen

The radio play is included in today's podcast, which also looks at some of the many screen and stage variations that followed it. These include the following adaptations of the 1960 stage play by Robert Thomas, Piege Pour Un Homme Seul:

 

1965: Catch Me If You Can (Stage Play)

Witten by Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert Directed by Vincent J. Donehue

Starring Tom Bosley, Dan Dailey, Bethel Leslie, George Mathews

 

1969: Honeymoon with A Stranger (TV Movie) 

Written by Henry Sleaser and David P. Harmon Directed by John Peyser

Starring: Janet Leigh, Rossano Brazzi, Barbara Steele, Cesare Danova

 

1976: One of My Wives is Missing (TV Movie)

Written by Peter Stone Directed by Glenn Jordan

Starring: Jack Klugman, James Franciscus, Elizabeth Ashley, Joel Fabiani, Garry Walberg

 

1987: Vanishing Act (TV Movie)

Written by Richard Levinson and William Link Directed by David Greene

Starring: Mike Farrell, Elliot Gould, Margot Kidder, Fred Gwynne

For this special Christmas episode, Sergio is joined by Scott K Ratner for an in-depth look at Dashiell Hammett's novel The Thin Man. We also consider the series of six movies it spawned, all of them starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles and Skippy as their pet Terrier, Asta. Here's a full list of the films in the series:

The Nick and Nora Charles Screwball Mystery Movies

The Thin Man (1934)

After the Thin Man (1936)

Another Thin Man (1939)

Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)

The Thin Man Goes Home (1944)

Song of the Thin Man (1947)

We also look at some of our favourite movie whodunits, including AND THEN THERE WERE NONE (1945), GREEN FOR DANGER (1947), WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1957), DEATH ON THE NILE (1978) and Rian Johnson's KNIVES OUT series starring Daniel Craig.

Scott K. Ratner is a Southern-California based writer/magician/actor whose endeavours are largely rooted in his interests in Golden Age detective fiction and classic era Hollywood cinema. He has written the libretto and lyrics for two whodunit musicals (All Talking! All Singing!! All Murder!!! and Murder on the High C’s) and a one-act Agatha Christie-related comedy (Kill A Better Mousetrap), as well as several nerdy articles for such magazines as Crime and Detective Stories and Mystery Scene. His magic act was once publicly praised by no less than Harry Blackstone, Jr. and the great Dai Vernon, though the truth of that story is considerably less impressive when the details are known. His brief sojourn as a teenage actor in television connected him with a few important players of the classic Hollywood era, and he regrets that he didn’t know enough about their filmographies at the time to ask the interesting questions. As a magician and theme park entertainer, he worked over two decades apiece at Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm.