The Casey Crime Photographer Programs

Background

Flashgun Casey, the character, was first penned by former newspaperman and advertising executive, George Harmon Coxe, Jr., in the March 1934 issue of Black Mask, the legendary--and influential--early Pulp magazine. Coxe relates that he had read and enjoyed the fiction exploits of reporters, but couldn't help wondering who was most at risk during these exploits--the reporter or his cameraman. "So why not give the cameraman his due? If the reporter could be a glamorous figure in fiction, why not the guy up front who took - and still does take - the pictures?"

1938's Here's Flash Casey, based on one of Harmon Coxe's short stories

Coxe ran twenty-one installments of the escapades of Jack 'Flashgun' Casey in the pages of Black Mask before it dawned on him that he just might have a franchise on his hands. Seeing how well other major pulp heroes had done in the Silents, Film and Radio by that time, Coxe set himself to expanding the Flashgun Casey franchise. Casey's first multimedia outing was in 1938's film, Here's Flash Casey, adapted from one of Coxe's short stories, 'Return Engagement.' Though not quite the same setting as all of the "Casey" incarnations to come, the story nevertheless provides some back-story to Jack Casey's evolution into Jack "Flashgun" Casey of The Morning Express. Although a modest success at the time, the Flash Casey franchise stalled until 1942, when Coxe persuaded CBS to consider Flash Casey for Radio.

The Flashgun Casey franchise takes to the airwaves over CBS

CBS all but tiptoed into their Flashgun Casey franchise on July 7, 1943, by relegating it to impossible timeslots for its first airings. And rather than invest a great deal of money into promoting what they considered something of a risk in a Radio market aleady awash with successful detective and crime anthologies, CBS staffed its Flashgun Casey with staff actors and crew, relegating it to late night airings for its first two years. By the third week of broadcasts, CBS began tepidly promoting it in the trade magazines and newspapers with teaser photos of Jim Backus and the beautiful Jone Allison as Jack Casey and Ann Williams.

From the October 30th 1943 issue of The Billboard:

Apparently the Backus/Allison combo didn't gel for some reason since by its sixth airing CBS moved it even nearer to midnight, and swapped Backus for veteran Shakesperean actor Staats Cotsworth. CBS let that combination ride for the remainder of the Flashgun Casey run, while continuing to fiddle with both the format, and its name. Some newspapers were already listing Flashgun Casey as Casey--Press Photographer by December 1943, and CBS inexplicably changed the name of the program from Flashgun Casey to Casey Press Photographer in February of 1944, while still keeping it exiled to the late-late night timeslots.

Alice Reinheart was teamed with Staats Cotsworth and John Gibson for the Casey Press Photographer run, and CBS began fleshing out its supporting cast with some wonderful sound engineering, musicians for its fictional Blue Note Café and more radioplay development by Harmon Coxe himself. While no Hooper audience ratings have surfaced for the first year of its run, judging by occasional newspaper reviews, Jack "Flashgun" Casey was beginning to build a respectable audience despite its late night scheduling. Indeed, CBS tried Casey Press Photographer in a late afternoon slot for the Summer of 1944, but immediately pushed it back to its late night slot for the Fall of 1944.

The New York Evening Post of February 6th 1949 helps explain why Staats Cotsworth, himself a fine artist and photographer, seemed the perfect fit for his role as Jack 'Flashgun' Casey.

Crime Photographer's backdrop hints at the Boston area. Jack Casey and Ann Williams are reporters for the fictional Morning Express. The selection of an overnight edition newspaper in a city large enough to present an endless variety and range of late night crime, helps drive the sub-plot of many of Casey's scripts. The atmosphere of the setting is anchored by The Blue Note Café, a late night lounge where musicians--and Morning Press denizens alike--hang out. The Blue Note's bartender, Ethelbert, is a sardonic, inquisitive, and philosophical character who provides both a sounding board and levity for Jack Casey and Ann Williams as they either await their next call to a crime scene or close each program reflecting on the assignment they've just dealt with.

Soft-spoken character actor John Gibson portrays Ethelbert for eleven years of the various incarnations of Casey, Crime Photographer. His contribution to the overall lighter atmosphere of the various Casey runs was integral to the program's success over the years. Listeners tuned in to Casey as much to hear Ethelbert's sardonic, mixed-metaphor observations of Life in general, as much as for the underlying crime drama itself. Another integral element of Casey's success was gifted writer Alonzo Deen Cole who penned the scripts for the long-running The Witch's Tale program. Cole's scripts were realistically gritty, yet witty and humane. Each of his 30-minute morality plays inevitably provided moments of reflection on how the underlying crime of the script had both evolved and resolved itself.

Casey very much owed its success over the years to its underlying ensemble of Alonzo Deen Cole's scripts, Staats Cotsworth's realistic portrayal of Jack Casey, and Ethelbert's comic relief. The Ann Williams character, variously portrayed by Jone Allison, Alice Reinheart, Lesley Woods, Betty Furness and finally, Jan Miner, provided the sidekick/love interest element of the ensemble.

Another key element of the ensemble was The Blue Note Café itself. The use of a local watering hole to frame a successful ensemble drama has become a tried and true framework over the years. The equally successful Duffy's Tavern (1941-1951) ran for the same length of time as Casey Crime Photographer. For its first two years it ran over the same CBS network that eventually sustained Flashgun Casey and Casey--Press Photographer. We need but to fast-forward a few years to find the same successful framework in Television's Peter Gunn, 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, All In The Family, and Cheers!. In Casey, The Blue Note Café serves as more than an anchor. It very much frames the interactions between all of Casey's protagonists.

The Blue Note Café ambience is provided by several noteworthy jazz and swing performers over the run. The Blue Note Café’s resident pianist was portrayed by Herman Chittison, but Juan Hernandez and Teddy Wilson from The Benny Goodman Trio were also heard over the years. The transitions between the traditional dramatic organ music to the refreshingly upbeat musical background of The Blue Note Café usually served as a waypoint in the script for reflection, recapping the evolution of the script arc, or for the traditional script wrap-up at the end of most programs.

The Coxe/CBS Crime Photographer franchise continued on past the Anchor Hocking sponsored run, reprised over both Television and Radio. CBS ran a Television version of Crime Photographer (1951) which saw only John Gibson and Jan Miner reprising their respective roles in Television. Casey's beat was Manhattan instead of Boston in Crime Photographer's television incarnation. Jack Casey [Richard Carlyle] continued his fondness for jazz, and The Blue Note Café continues as the anchor for the Television Casey. The Television scripts were exposited in flashback format, with Casey narrating his latest exploit to Ethelbert the bartender. The 'Morning Express' also makes the transition from Boston to Manhattan, with reporter Ann Williams augmented by cub reporter Jack Lipman. Two months into the Television run, CBS re-cast Casey and Ethelbert, substituting young Darren McGavin as Jack Casey. The most distinguishing element of the short-lived Television Casey was its direction, with the famed future Film Director Sidney Lumet helming the series.

CBS and Coxe took another run at Crime Photographer over Radio in 1954, reprising Staats Cotsworth, John Gibson and Jan Miner in their previous Radio roles. The 1954 run extended to the Spring of 1955, at which point the Crime Photographer franchise had pretty much run its course. The sleuthing photographer format didn't end with the CBS/Coxe franchise. ABC took a run at the concept with their Man With A Camera (1958), starring Charles Bronson, and running for two seasons, though it bore no resemblance whatsoever to the Casey, Crime Photographer franchise.

We are again indebted to the Armed Forces Radio Service for preserving more than a quarter of the Crime Photographer programs in circulation. As more AFRS transcriptions surface, we'll continue to expand, fill-in, and extend the information below.

Series Derivatives:

Provenance for Aug. 12, 1943 change for Flashgun Casey from Wednesday to Thursday night


Anchor Hocking Spot
Ad of 46-08-01


Anchor Hocking Spot
Ad of 46-08-08


Anchor Hocking Spot
Ad of 46-08-15


The Billboard review of Crime Photographer from April 10th 1948

Notes on Provenances:

The most helpful provenances were newspapers and magazines.

OTRisms:

First, a pragmatic observation about program number sequencing for the various runs of Casey, Crime Photographer and it's derivatives; it's a fool's errand in its current state. The pointless exercise of sequentially numbering the entire presently known estimates of program episodes is an absurd waste of time--and effort. It's also a complete fraud. There are five distinct runs of Casey, Crime Photographer, none of which are completely in circulation and none of which are completely supported by verifiable provanances.

It's also worth noting that fully one-third of the Casey episodes in circulation are from AFRS or AFRTS transcriptions. AFRTS transcriptions are not as broadcast recordings. Period. AFRTS is AFRTS and as broadcast is as broadcast. They have never been the same, they will never be the same and anyone passing them off as the same is simply being disingenuous. Period. Saying they're the same is simply lying.

Now . . . given the above realities, how best to make the best of a poor situation up to this point:

Many logs assert that Flashgun Casey Program #30 of January 29, 1944 was simply pre-empted. Our research supports 14 local newspaper listings across the country showing this program airing in its normal timeslot, with some competing outlets electing to air the FDR Birthday Observance in Flashgun Casey's timeslot in lieu of the normal programming. That's not a pre-emption. That's just incomplete research.

There are eleven, hard pre-emptions cited in the circulating logs from the OTR community. Of these eleven, only one was a nationwide pre-emption [for the 1944 Election Results]. Where a pre-emption was not universal, we cite the date as 'pre-empted in some outlets'. We have contemporaneous provenances showing that the program aired in at least five separate national areas on the date of the alleged other ten universal pre-emptions. Until more substantive provenances surface, we'll continue to log those episodes as Title Unknown, with a provisionally assigned sequence number and date. That is simply the only honest manner in which to maintain the log at present. In addition, it should be noted that--whenever possible--we actually research and cite the actual or possible cause of the pre-emption so that the reader isn't left wondering. Any other practice would be irresponsible.

A second controversy surrounds when Flashgun Casey transitioned to Casey, Press Photographer [Casey--Press Photographer]. WEEI [Boston] lists Casey, Press Photographer in the 11:30 p.m. timeslot, for the evening of March 25, 1944. The New York Times also cites the program title, Casey, Press Photographer, beginning with its February 5, 1944 listings. These are the first published mentions of the new title for the program that we've been able to find. Either WEEI, Boston jumped the gun and renamed the series a few weeks prematurely, or this is when the series changed its name. A mistake perhaps. And yet WEEI, Boston (which is the city where the fictional 'Morning Express' is set), yet again cites the series name Casey, Press Photographer in its listing of April 1, 1944. An April Fool's joke perhaps. But two listings in a row, from a large market radio station listing is difficult to dispute. Moreso since there's no other rationale given in existing provenances for why the subtle name change in the first place. CBS certainly had its reasons, we're sure. But the WEEI and New York Times provenances are clear historical evidence--in error or otherwise--of CBS' intent.

But going even further, one can actually hear the program refer to itself as Casey, Press Photographer as early as the program of February 26, 1944, titled The Clue In The Clouds. Now let's take a moment to clear the air here once and for all. How can it be that virtually every expert 'OTR' archivist--and seller--cites Flashgun Casey ending on or about--variously--March 1 or March 8, 1944, when simply by listening to it, they'd clearly hear a Casey, Press Photographer into and outro for the February 26, 1944 program? Is it simply a coincidence that all of them cite the exact same log sequence? Is it possible that all of them simply coincidentally mis-heard the clear provenances? Or . . . is it possible that a inordinately influential minority of commercial otr sellers have simply colluded to mislead the entire Golden Age Radio community regarding the Casey Crime Photographer canon. If collusion is too strong a word, then perhaps a gentleman's agreement among a handful of artificially influential collectors who've agreed to protect the integrity of each others' advertised holdings. In any case, it begs the question.

Do these experts listen to their holdings or do they not? There are great [perceived] stakes involved. The perceived expertise and preeminence of many of these collectors or authors is the foundation upon which their existing or future sales --and reputations--are based. Is there a valid argument to be made that a great deal of the circulating 'otr lore' is entirely apocryphal and without basis in historical fact? There most certainly is. Is it also quite obvious that a great number of these influential experts don't actually listen to the programs for which they claim preeminent expertise? It most certainly is. We see it in virtually every log we undertake.

As a general disclaimer, we point out that our run sequencing is based on several currently imposed limitations:

• There are in fact collectors who possess many of the answers to the correct program run sequencing. At present they feel that the best means of disseminating this key information is to sell it to the Golden Age Radio community. This is a regrettable situation driven not by collegial information sharing but by greed.
• The break that transitions Flashgun Casey to Casey, Press Photographer appears to be as stated above--the 44-02-26 program titled The Clue In The Clouds.
• The break that transitions Casey, Press Photographer to Crime Photographer appears well supported as 45-07-11, the beginning of the Summer run of 1945, titled The Cat's Paw. CBS's decision to continue that Summer run through the Fall of 1945 begins with a resumption of Saturday scheduling on October 6, 1945 and continues through to the first announcement on 46-07-15 that Crime Photographer would begin commercial broadcasts two weeks hence. This signals the beginning of Anchor Hocking's sponsorship of Crime Photographer. Anchor Hocking had sponsored Hobby Lobby up until 46-08-01, at which time they began posting spot ads advertising their sponsorship of Crime Photographer, beginning 46-08-08.
• A reasoned argument can certainly be made for Anchor Hocking's sponsorship of Crime Photographer as the point of demarcation for a new, distinct run of Crime Photographer. But as of the preparation of this log, there is insufficient information to establish either CBS's or Anchor Hocking's intent in this respect.
• For the preparation of this log, we continue the long accepted assumption that Casey, Crime Photographer--as a separate and distinct run--begins with the 47-03-20 airing of The Demon Miner.

As to specific audible provenances, we offer the following:

Repeats may be rebroadcasts of a transcribed program or repeats of a script. With only seventy programs in circulation we can only conjecture as to which repeats are transcribed rebroadcasts or repeats of a script.

Also note that the Anchor Hocking Sales presentation is a wealth of information regarding the cast and crew from 47-04-15, on.

We've also annotated several additional provenance points throughout the log notes below.

We invite you to compare our provenanced research with the '1,500 expert researchers' at the OTRR and their Casey, Crime Photographer log. We've provided a screen shot of their current log for comparison, HERE to protect our own further due diligence, content and intellectual property.

What you see here, is what you get. Complete transparency. We have no 'credentials' whatsoever--in any way, shape, or form--in the 'otr community'--none. But here's how we did it--for better or worse. Here's how you can build on it yourselves--hopefully for the better. Here are the breadcrumbs--just follow the trail a bit further if you wish. No hobbled downloads. No misdirection. No posturing about our 'credentials.' No misrepresentations. No strings attached. We point you in the right direction and you're free to expand on it, extend it, use it however it best advances your efforts.

We ask one thing and one thing only--if you employ what we publish, attribute it, before we cite you on it.

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We don't pronounce our Golden Age Radio research as 'certified' anything. By the very definition, research is imperfect. We simply tell the truth. As is our continuing practice, we provide our fully provenanced research results--to the extent possible--right here on the page, for any of our peers to review--or refute--as the case may be. If you take issue with any of our findings, you're welcome to cite any better verifiable source(s) and we'll immediately review them and update our findings accordingly. As more verifiable provenances surface, we'll continue to update the following series log, as appropriate.

All rights reserved by their respective sources. Article and log copyright 2009 The Digital Deli Online--all rights reserved. Any failure to attribute the results of this copywritten work will be rigorously pursued.

[Date, title, and episode column annotations in red refer to either details we have yet to fully provenance or other unverifiable information as of this writing. Red highlights in the text of the 'Notes' columns refer to information upon which we relied in citing dates, date or time changes, or titles.]

Casey Crime Photographer Program Logs

Flashgun Casey, Press Photographer

"Flash-Gun Casey" to
Open Show on KGLO
Wednesday Night

"Flash-Gun Casey," dramatizing the adventures of a press photographer, makes its debut as a weekly sustaining feature on KGLO-CBS Wednesday at 10:30 p. m.
Based on the famous character created by novelist George Harmon Coxe, "Flash-Gun Casey" is the prototype of the modern newspaper cameraman—quick thinking, ingenious and resourceful.
More than a cameraman. Flash-Gun is a curious and inquiring soul who not only gets his picture but also solves the mystery hidden behind the obvious news story. Some mysteries come lo liffht through minute examination of photographs.
"The Case of the Switched Plates," first of the series, finds Casey, ace photographer of the Express, starting out to cover a society wedding and winding up with pictures of a spy ring. How Flash-Gun, aided by Ann Williams, lovely girl reporter, tracks down the axis agents makes a suspenseful half-hour of radio entertainment.
Each broadcast presents an episode complete in itself.

43-07-07 The Daily Mail
NBC -- 11:30 new drama. Flashgun Casey

"The Lost Melody"

A haunting thread of melody leads Flashgun Casey, ace cameraman of the Express, to the trail of a group of Axis agents in "The Lost Melody," third complete episode in the KGLO-CBS series "Flashgun Casey," on Wednesday at 10:30 P.M.

A musician disappears and his fiance enlists Casey's aid to f nd him. The trail leads only to blind alleys until Flashgun hears a song-and then things begin to POP, much to the discomfiture 0f a couple of Hitler's stooges.

"Flashgun"

Eight coats of ordinary house paint is the murder weapon in "The Case of the Painted Walls "exciting episode in the "Plashgun Casey"' series Wednesday on KGLO-CBS at 10:30 p.m.
A noted author dies after his apartment is freshly painted. Flashgun Casey, on a picture-assignment for his paper, discovers the who and why of the ingenious paint crime.

43-08-11 Findlay Courier
A flicker of fear that crosses a man's face when his picture is the clue that leads Flashgun Casey to an ingenious killer in "Murder Comes In Threes" on the CBS' "Flashgun Casey" series Wednesday at 11:30 p. m.

43-08-12 Mason City Globe-Gazette

"Flashgun Casey"

"Flashgun Casey" previously heard on Wednesday, moves to Thursday this week on KGLO-CBS at 10:30 p. m.
"Flashgun Casey" dramatizes the adventures of a press photographer with a knack for uncovering mysteries — and solving them. Jim Backus plays "Flashgun" and Jone Allison is heard as Ann Williams, lovely girl reporter who accompanies Casey on his adventures.

43-08-19 Mason City Globe-Gazette

"Flashgun Casey"

The newest episode in the Flashgun Casey series Thursday on KGLO-CBS at 8:30 p. m. When the phone rings a fourth time Flashgun Casey is on hand to solve the baffling riddle. Jim Backus plays Flashgun Casey and Jone Allison is Ann Williams, Casey's Girl Friday.

43-08-19 Findlay Courier
Death comes mysteriously to three persons who pick up a telephone receiver in "Somewhere a Phone Is Ringing," newest episode In the "Flashgun Casey" serles Thursday night over CBS.

Amateur Sleuth

Flashgun Casey, press photographer and amateur sleuth, starts out on a picture assignment and finds himself involved in a murder mystery in the newest of the exciting episode of the "Flashgun Casey'' series. Thursday on KGLO-CBS at 10:30 p. m.

Flashgun Prowls

Flashgun Casey, ace newspaper photographer, is given a picture assignment that involves him in a murder mystery in another exciting episode ol the "Flashgun Casey" series, broadcast Thursday on KGLO-CBS at 10:30 p. rn.

Casey, Press Photographer

Crime Photographer [1945-1947]

Casey, Crime Photographer [1947-1950]

The Billboard of April 19th 1947 cites the rationale for Jan Miner replacing Lesley Woods as Ann Williams.

From the March 13th 1948 Billboard,Toni (home permanent) considered sponsoring a Fall Season of Philip Marlowe, Private Detective, but apparently pulled out after Van Heflin declined to pursue a full season as Philip Marlowe. Toni soon after reversed its position on sponsoring Casey, Crime Photographer.

Crime Photographer [1954]