Front Page Detective is an American crime drama series which aired on the DuMont Television Network on Fridays at 9:30 p.m. ET from July 6, 1951, to September 19, 1952, and in October and November 1953. The program was then in broadcast syndication for several years thereafter.[1]
Front Page Detective stars Edmund Lowe as David Chase, a newspaper columnist who helps police solve especially difficult mysteries. The title derived from a popular true-crime magazine of the same name, and stories were based on material from the magazine.[2]
Other cast members were Frank Jenks as Lieutenant Rodney, Paula Drew as Sharon Richards, and George Pembroke as Lieutenant Andrews.[2]
Personnel
Jerry Fairbanks was the producer and distributor, and Arnold Wester was the director. Gene Levitt and Robert Mitcher were the writers.[3]
Reception
A review in The New York Times of the series's initial episode found that its drama paled in comparison to that of the Kefauver Commission hearings that were then being televised. The reviewer suggested that the killer was fairly obvious and described the episode as "too cut and dried ...".[4] A review in the trade publication Variety panned the June 27, 1952, episode, describing it as "a dull affair which the actors seemed to realize and refuse to help".[3] The review also noted "slipshod and oftimes embarrassing" off-camera operations.[3]
Unlike many other programs which aired on DuMont, the series was produced on film by an outside production company. A few episodes are available on DVD and online, usually as part of early TV compilations.
Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows, Third edition (New York: Ballantine Books, 1964) ISBN0-345-31864-1
References
^Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (1979). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows: 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. ISBN0-345-25525-9. P. 213.
^ abTerrace, Vincent (2014). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010, 2d ed. McFarland. pp. 369–370. ISBN978-0-7864-8641-0. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
^ abc"Front Page Detective". Variety. July 2, 1952. p. 24. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
^"Television in Review: 'Front Page Detective,' a New Channel 5 Serial With Edmund Low, Takes Back Seat to Kefauver". The New York Times. March 17, 1951. p. 27. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
^"UCLA Film and Television Archive entry". Archived from the original on 2013-01-06. Retrieved 2012-12-28.
front, page, detective, american, crime, drama, series, which, aired, dumont, television, network, fridays, from, july, 1951, september, 1952, october, november, 1953, program, then, broadcast, syndication, several, years, thereafter, genrecrime, dramadirected. Front Page Detective is an American crime drama series which aired on the DuMont Television Network on Fridays at 9 30 p m ET from July 6 1951 to September 19 1952 and in October and November 1953 The program was then in broadcast syndication for several years thereafter 1 Front Page DetectiveGenreCrime dramaDirected byArnold WesterStarringEdmund LowePaula DrewFrank JenksCountry of originUnited StatesOriginal languageEnglishNo of seasons2No of episodes46ProductionExecutive producersJerry FairbanksRiley JacksonCinematographyLester ShoreRunning time30 minutesProduction companyJerry Fairbanks ProductionsReleaseOriginal networkDuMontPicture formatBlack and whiteAudio formatMonauralOriginal releaseJuly 6 1951 1951 07 06 November 13 1953 1953 11 13 Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Personnel 3 Reception 4 Episode status 5 See also 6 Bibliography 7 References 8 External linksSynopsis EditFront Page Detective stars Edmund Lowe as David Chase a newspaper columnist who helps police solve especially difficult mysteries The title derived from a popular true crime magazine of the same name and stories were based on material from the magazine 2 Other cast members were Frank Jenks as Lieutenant Rodney Paula Drew as Sharon Richards and George Pembroke as Lieutenant Andrews 2 Personnel EditJerry Fairbanks was the producer and distributor and Arnold Wester was the director Gene Levitt and Robert Mitcher were the writers 3 Reception EditA review in The New York Times of the series s initial episode found that its drama paled in comparison to that of the Kefauver Commission hearings that were then being televised The reviewer suggested that the killer was fairly obvious and described the episode as too cut and dried 4 A review in the trade publication Variety panned the June 27 1952 episode describing it as a dull affair which the actors seemed to realize and refuse to help 3 The review also noted slipshod and oftimes embarrassing off camera operations 3 Episode status EditUCLA Film and Television Archive has 17 episodes of this series 5 Internet Archive and TV4U also have one episode each Unlike many other programs which aired on DuMont the series was produced on film by an outside production company A few episodes are available on DVD and online usually as part of early TV compilations See also EditList of programs broadcast by the DuMont Television Network List of surviving DuMont Television Network broadcasts 1951 52 United States network television scheduleBibliography EditDavid Weinstein The Forgotten Network DuMont and the Birth of American Television Philadelphia Temple University Press 2004 ISBN 1 59213 245 6 Alex McNeil Total Television Fourth edition New York Penguin Books 1980 ISBN 0 14 024916 8 Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows Third edition New York Ballantine Books 1964 ISBN 0 345 31864 1References Edit Brooks Tim amp Marsh Earle 1979 The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946 Present Ballantine Books ISBN 0 345 25525 9 P 213 a b Terrace Vincent 2014 Encyclopedia of Television Shows 1925 through 2010 2d ed McFarland pp 369 370 ISBN 978 0 7864 8641 0 Retrieved December 18 2021 a b c Front Page Detective Variety July 2 1952 p 24 Retrieved December 18 2021 Television in Review Front Page Detective a New Channel 5 Serial With Edmund Low Takes Back Seat to Kefauver The New York Times March 17 1951 p 27 Retrieved December 18 2021 UCLA Film and Television Archive entry Archived from the original on 2013 01 06 Retrieved 2012 12 28 External links EditFront Page Detective at IMDb List of episodes at CTVA DuMont historical website This article relating to a drama television series in the United States is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Front Page Detective amp oldid 1129148930, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
