The Casey Crime Photographer Programs

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.

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.

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.

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] continues 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

Notes on Provenances:

All above cited provenances are in error in one form or another. The most helpful provenance was the log of the radioGOLDINdex.

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. Anyone who states otherwise at this point in the discovery phase of researching these series' is more than a fool--they're misleading liars, plain and simple. Harsh? No. Fact.

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. This is the first published mention of the new title for the program that we've been able to find. Either WEEI, Boston jumped the gun and renamed the series two-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 provenances are an historic fact--in error or otherwise.

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 possible that all of them have simply colluded to mislead the entire Golden Age Radio community for 37 years. It begs the question. This isn't a 'tin-foil hat' question. Do these experts listen to their holdings or do they not?

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 pure greed.
• The break that transitions Flashgun Casey to Casey, Press Photographer is 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 fully provenanced research with the '1,500 expert researchers' at the OTRR and their Casey, Crime Photographer log, which the OTRR claims to be correct according to their 'OTTER log' they represent as the "most authoritative and accurate vintage Radio database in the world":

OTRRpedia

''The OTRR Group's Certified Series is currently the most accurate archive of OTR series in the world. Each series has been thoroughly researched, accurately labeled (dates and titles), and transcribed at the highest quality possible.''

We've provided a screen shot of their current log for comparison, HERE to protect our own further due diligence, content and intellectual property.

The OTRR's top-down approach to any logging effort can be summed up in two words that have been the nemesis of genuine research since the phrase was first coined: "wishful thinking." Flying in the face of historical fact, the OTRR clings to the notion that if they simply wish hard enough that something is true that it will become true. Barring their lack of success in wishing something true, they resort to simply rewriting history. This is nowhere better exemplified than in their utterly fictious Casey, Crime Photographer log.

• They cite a contiguous run of Casey, Crime Photographer spanning five completely different runs of the franchise over eleven years, and encompassing production breaks of as much as three years.
• They intentionally sidestep the fact that almost a quarter of the recordings they refer to as production recordings in their possession, represent the hard work and selfless dedication of the AFRS and AFRTS. The denatured recordings of the AFRS and AFRTS, by their very mandate, leave no provenance whatsoever as to actual air dates or sequencing. To represent differently is a lie. To withhold that information is intent to defraud.
• Indeed, their continued insistence on withholding any actual, peer-verifiable provenances for any of their fanciful representations regarding their log of Casey, Crime Photographer is also intent to defraud. Quite simply, they cannot possibly substantiate their current log from the paucity of exemplars of the franchise in current circulation.
• Well intentioned, potential vintage Radio fans have unquestionably already made purchase decisions in acquiring Casey Crime Photographer episodes to add to their collections based in whole, or in part, on the demonstrably false information provided by the OTRR, citing the OTRR's claim as "the most accurate archive of OTR series in the world."

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

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.

Casey--Press Photographer

Crime Photographer [1945-1947]

Casey, Crime Photographer [1947-1950]

Crime Photographer [1954]

AFRS [Network Series] Crime Photographer

AFRS [H- Series] Mystery Playhouse

Crime Photographer Supplemental Recordings

Casey Crime Photographer Biographies