Chicagoland Mystery Players

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Chicagoland Mystery Players
GenreMystery
Directed byErnest Lukas
StarringRobert Smith
Gordon Urquart
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Running time30 minutes
Release
Original networkWGN-TV (1947-50)
DuMont (1949-50)
Picture formatBlack-and-white
Audio formatMonaural
Original releaseSeptember 11, 1949 (1949-09-11) –
July 23, 1950 (1950-07-23)

Chicagoland Mystery Players was a live television series first shown on local station WGN-TV in Chicago starting in 1949, then picked up by the DuMont Television Network and first aired on the network September 11, 1949. The 30-minute show aired on Sundays at 8pm ET.

Gordon Urquhart portrayed police officer Jeffrey Hall, who examined each crime scene, questioned witnesses, and interrogated suspects.[1] Bob Smith portrayed Sergeant Holland. The director was Bruno VeSota.[2]

The series was one of several on DuMont that began in a local TV market before being picked up nationally. DuMont dropped the program on July 23, 1950, and it is unknown if it continued in Chicago for any time.

When the series aired on WGN-TV in Chicago, viewers were not given the solution to the crime. Instead they were told that they could find the solution in the next day's Chicago Tribune,[3] the newspaper that sponsored the program.[4] WGN-TV was owned by the Tribune.[citation needed] During its time on DuMont, the end was included as part of the program.[1]

The June 26, 1949, episode was "Adventures of the Curious Cat", written by George Anderson.[2]

Episode status[]

No episodes of the series are known to have survived.

See also[]

Bibliography[]

  • David 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 0-345-31864-1

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Bianculli, David. The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific. Anchor Books. p. 149. ISBN 978-1-101-91132-7. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "New mystery series begins on WGN-TV today". Chicago Tribune. June 26, 1949. p. 22. Retrieved April 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Labov, William; Browne, Ray Broadus; Browne, Pat. The Guide to United States Popular Culture. Popular Press. p. 565. ISBN 978-0-87972-821-2. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  4. ^ Raczkowski, Chris. A History of American Crime Fiction. Cambridge University Press. p. 327. ISBN 978-1-108-54843-4. Retrieved April 8, 2021.

External links[]

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