Saturday Night Radio

Van Heflin played Marlowe when the series was on NBC as a summer replacement. Mohr had the role when it moved to CBS through the rest of its run, except for a single episode where William (He's Everywhere!) Conrad took over.

One of my favorites.

Mohr was a liiiiiitle bit too breezy, but not by much. He had an easy, wry, well-inhabited charm, and could read the noir-soaked end monologues with the required weariness, tarnished idealism, and hope. The plots were efficient and just twisty enough to keep you wondering, and it all works well, again and again.

It was, I think, the height of Mohr's career, because he carried the whole show. He did lots of secondary parts in movies and TV - he strolls through a Perry Mason or two - and he did a lot of The Whistler in its later half. I grew up with his voice, because he was Reed Richards in the animated Fantastic Four, one of his last roles. A bum ticker took him out in '68.

James Lileks (View Comment):

Mohr was a liiiiiitle bit too breezy, but not by much. He had an easy, wry, well-inhabited charm, and could read the noir-soaked end monologues with the required weariness, tarnished idealism, and hope. The plots were efficient and just twisty enough to keep you wondering, and it all works well, again and again.

It was, I think, the height of Mohr’s career, because he carried the whole show. He did lots of secondary parts in movies and TV – he strolls through a Perry Mason or two – and he did a lot of The Whistler in its later half. I grew up with his voice, because he was Reed Richards in the animated Fantastic Four, one of his last roles. A bum ticker took him out in ’68.

I liked the tone more than I liked the way "The Adventures of Sam Spade" was a little too lighthearted. Not quite hardboiled enough. I did like Lurene Tuttle as Effie, though.

Percival (View Comment):

I liked the tone more than I liked the way “The Adventures of Sam Spade” was a little too lighthearted. Not quite hardboiled enough. I did like Lurene Tuttle as Effie, though.

I was going to mention Spade as another example of the genre. Spade got high on its own supply early in the run; I think. It was praised for Duff's sardonic tone and the high-quality writing, and the writers decided to ramp up the comically baroque lingo and characters. It feels like something that got hot fast and burned bright. It's fun, without abandoning the conventions of the genre - much like Richard Diamond, later - and that was its niche.

Percival (View Comment):

Van Heflin played Marlowe when the series was on NBC as a summer replacement. Mohr had the role when it moved to CBS through the rest of its run, except for a single episode where William (He’s Everywhere!) Conrad took over.

One of my favorites.

William Conrad did seem to be everywhere in radio for sure and then on to television. I believe he was the captain on Dragnet among many, many parts.