Jump to content

Alias Jimmy Valentine (radio program)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alias Jimmy Valentine
Bert Lytell starred as Jimmy Valentine (1918 photo)
GenreCrime drama
Running time15 minutes
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
SyndicatesNBC-Blue
StarringBert Lytell
James Meighan
AnnouncerDick Joy
Written byDoris Halman
Produced byFrank and Anne Hummert
Narrated byFord Bond
Original releaseJanuary 18, 1938 –
February 27, 1939
Other themesIf I Should Love You
Sponsored byEdgeworth Tobacco
Dr. Lyon's Tooth Powder

Alias Jimmy Valentine is an old-time radio crime drama in the United States. It was broadcast on NBC-Blue January 18, 1938 - February 27, 1939.[1]

Format

[edit]

The concept for Alias Jimmy Valentine came from writer O. Henry in his short story "A Retrieved Reformation".[1] That story was adapted into the 1909 play Alias Jimmy Valentine by Paul Armstrong.[2][3]

The program's stories focused on Lee Randall, described by Jim Cox in his book, Radio Crime Fighters: More Than 300 Programs from the Golden Age as "an ex-con and reformed safecracker [who] applied his talents and enormous underworld contacts to abet the forces of law and order".[1] While doing so, he became an honest bank clerk and fell in love with the daughter of the banker.[4]

Producers

[edit]

The series was produced by Frank and Anne Hummert, who were described by Jim Cox in his book, Frank and Anne Hummert's Radio Factory: The Programs and Personalities of Broadcasting's Most Prolific Producers as "the most prolific creatives in eight decades of broadcast history".[5] They originated more than 100 radio series, about half of which were soap operas.[5]

Cox wrote that Alias Jimmy Valentine episodes raised "the never-to-be-resolved query: 'Can a protagonist go straight and overcome his impasse?'"[1] That query, Cox wrote, "was true formulaic Hummert".[1]

Personnel

[edit]

Bert Lytell and James Meighan each played the lead at different times.[6] William Bennett Kilpack[7] and Earle Latimore also appeared on the program.[8]

Dick Joy was the announcer. Doris Halman was the writer.[1] Ford Bond narrated.[9]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f Cox, Jim (2002). Radio Crime Fighters: More Than 300 Programs from the Golden Age. McFarland. p. 39. ISBN 9781476612270. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  2. ^ "Alias Jimmy Valentine". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. December 26, 1909. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1921-1930. 1971. p. 12.
  4. ^ Cox, Jim (2009). The A to Z of American Radio Soap Operas. Scarecrow Press. p. 25. ISBN 9780810863491. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  5. ^ a b Cox, Jim (2003). Frank and Anne Hummert's Radio Factory: The Programs and Personalities of Broadcasting's Most Prolific Producers. McFarland. p. 5. ISBN 9780786416318. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  6. ^ Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4. P. 21.
  7. ^ Cox, Jim (2004). Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons: A Complete History and Episode Log of Radio's Most Durable Detective. McFarland. p. 65. ISBN 9781476607382. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  8. ^ Herbert, Stephen (2004). A History of Early Television. Taylor & Francis. p. 466. ISBN 9780415326681. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  9. ^ Cox, Jim (1999). The Great Radio Soap Operas. McFarland. p. 26. ISBN 9781476604145. Retrieved 5 October 2016.