Sunday, January 20, 2019

Librarians on Old Time Radio: Boston Blackie Solves the Stolen Rare Book (1946)

Here is my third entry in my new series - Librarians on Old Time Radio.  I am going to feature programs that have librarians and related information professionals in key roles in the story.  These might be fairly straight forward - or only tangentially related to librarianship.  This episode features a a detective/crime series that I have always loved.  I am moving this to the front of this series because I heard this on XM recently when driving back from Pittsburgh - not Boston.

Suzzallo Library (with Decorative Squirrels) at the University of Washington - Seattle, Washington (May 8-11, 2018)

Suzzallo Library at the University of Washington 
Seattle, Washington (May 2018)

One of my favorite Old Time Radio series is Boston Blackie.  These crime stories always leave the police, especially Police Inspector Farraday, frustrated and befuddled.  But to the rescue is Boston Blackie - who always solves the crime and saves the day.  Each of episodes starts the same way - with this phrase that says everything you need to know about Boston Blackie:

"Enemy of those who make him an enemy,
 friend to those who have no friend."

Remember that phrase!  Boston Blackie moves effortlessly on both sides of the law, but is primarily interested in doing what is right.  If that means working with the police, then so be it!  The character was created by author Jack Boyle, Boston Blackie was a safecracker who served time in prison before turning his attention to making things right.  The most well known episodes were syndicated by Frederic W. Ziv to Mutual and other networks after World War II.  Staring in the role as Boston Blackie was Richard Kollmar.  Mary Wesley (his constant companion) was played by Jan Miner.  Maurice Tarplin plays Police Inspector Farraday, who starts off most episodes with the belief that no matter what the crime was, Blackie was involved.  Tarplin is also know as the voice of the Mysterious Traveler and The Strange Dr. Weird.  

On September 3rd, 1946 - the ABC Radio Network broadcast an episode known as the "Stolen Rare Book." It starts out with Mary Wesley looking for a valuable first edition of a book at the local library.  She is heading to the rare book vault to see the work - when someone alerts everyone that the attendant there has collapsed.  So when Inspector Farraday shows up, so does Boston Blackie.  But in the hubub of the collapsing attendant - it seems that a rare book has been stolen.  Blackie and Mary Wesley discover that the person who noticed the collapsing attendant works for a rare book dealer Harold Benson - and might be responsible for the missing volume.  And while they were thinking that Benson might be involved - the story and the case changes when it is discovered that the rare book dealer was murdered.  So as you might imagine - there are all sorts of "keep quiet" librarian gags throughout the episode.  But once again, Boston Blackie saves the day and figures out the crime.

Stolen Rare Book on Boston Blackie (September 3, 1946)



Here are some links to programs relating to Old Time Radio and Boston Blackie:
Librarians on Old Time Radio 
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