Customer Reviews

The Radio Adventures of Sam Spade

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

OTR Publishing presents "THE RADIO ADVENTURES OF SAM SPADE", by Martin Grams Jr. --- I'm old enough to remember this show on my favorite radio stations in St. Louis, Missouri --- As Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade came to radio in a regular series, which featured a newcomer Howard Duff --- Spade had come to life via the pen of Hammett in 1930 with "The Maltese Falcon" in the hands of director John Huston, the novel became a screen classic in 1941 with none other than Humphrey Bogart as Spade --- The first radio adaptation of the film - that honor belongs to The Lux Radio Theater which brought The Maltese Falcon to radio in February 1943 with Edward G. Robinson as Sam Spade & Laird Cregar as Kasper Gutman.

Howard Duff proved to be an inspired choice and in the process was able to overcome two intimidating handicaps: the image of Bogart and the power of the novel --- Compared with Bogart's dour and straight-laced Spade, Duff was a hard-knuckled master of street-level whimsy and sarcastic comeback --- In the hands of noted radio director William Spier (from the Suspense Radio Show) who had toyed with the idea plus he had the unrivaled writing talents of Bob Tallman and Gil Doud, The Adventures of Sam Spade of the air was its own identity, owing little to the forces that had created it.

Table of Contents (Title and Page Numbers)
Introduction - 1
Chapter 1: The Printed Page - 3
Chapter 2: Sam Spade in Media - 10
Chapter 3: Sam Spade on Radio - 13
Chapter 4: Tallman and Doud - 31
Chapter 5: Lud Gluskin - 43
Chapter 6: The Fourth Wall - 49
Chapter 7: Lurene Tuttle - 53
Chapter 8: The Transcribed Episodes - 63
Chapter 9: The Sam Spade Caper - 69
Chapter 10: The Final Stretch - 79
--- The Episode Guide - 94
The Episode Guide: The ABC Series - 95
The Episode Guide: The CBS Series - 103
The Episode Guide: The NBC Series - 179
Introduction for "Babe Lincoln" - 215
An Executive Tells All - 217
Sam Spade Script: "The Persian" - 221
Selected Bibliography - 251
Index - 253

BIOS:
Howard Duff
Date of Birth: 24 November 1913 - Bremerton, Washington
Date of Death: 8 July 1990, Santa Barbara, California

SPECIAL FURTHER BREAKDOWN:
1. A history of the radio program.
2. A biography of Dashiell Hammett, Howard Duff and Lurene Tuttle.
3. The origin of the fictional character and the origin of the radio program.
4. Info about the Sunday funnies comic strip based on the radio series.
5. Information regarding the difference between the "live" radio broadcasts and the "transcribed" radio broadcasts.
6. How the radio series often broke the fourth wall and the inside-jokes.
7. The events leads leading up to producer/director William Spier's fight against the networks to keep the series on the air when Hammett's suspected Communist sympathies became public.
8. How and why Howard Duff was replaced by Steve Dunne.
9. A complete episode guide for each and every episode of the radio program, including plot descriptions, trivia and inside-jokes.
10.A reprint of "Babe Lincoln," a female detective that never came to be, and the Sam Spade connection.
11.A reprint of "The Persian," an unused Sam Spade radio script.

Special footnote, you know a listener didn't have to be told: those clinking glasses as Sam opened his desk drawer and began dictating, meant another exciting adventure --- Sam dictated to his secretary, Effie Perrine (played by Lurene Tuttle) who was always flustered (possibly from Duff's ad-libbing?) and secretly in love with him --- Each case unfolded as a report - a caper - dated with the actual air date, signed and delivered to the client, the client's widow or the police --- Spade's license number 137596 was always included in the report which unfolded chronologically, with the scene shifting between Sam and Effie and the in-field dramatization of Sam's dictation.

Duff made this his own unique character, the show had a style and class of its own --- And its wit and charm still holds up well today --- Much thanks to author Martin Grams Jr, for his thorough accounts of my collection on shows of Spade --- For all you ever wanted to know about Sam Spade on radio --- This is not to be missed, so stop by and pick up a copy from Amazon, you'll thank me later.

Total Page: 270 Pages ~ OTR Publishing #ISBN-10: 097033107X ~ (6/14/2007)

Very little is known about the radio program except for few recordings in circulation. Only 64 of the 220 plus broadcasts are known to exist according to Jim Cox's RADIO CRIME FIGHTERS book (McFarland, also available through Amazon). It is apparent the author had access to the entire collection of radio scripts because a detailed plot synopsis is included for each episode. Behind-the-scenes trivia reveals in-jokes within the scripts. There are script reprints for notable scenes. An essay written by producer/director William Spier is rerpinted. A brief radio script for a proposed program, BABE LINCOLN, featuring the Sam Spade character is also reprinted. Photos for covers of the Spade novels and short story collections, photos of Dashiell Hammett, photos of Howard Duff behind the microphone, photos of Lurene Tuttle and the cast add to the book's quality. Duff himself is quoted. Reprints of magazine and newspaper reviews. The correct titles and airdates, dates of recording for transcribed episodes are all included. A reference guide that was long overdue.

In early November 2007, Sam Spade fans requested the author to scan the radio scripts and make them available for free on the web. The author declined, citing reprinting the scripts would violate federally protected copyrights. A few chose to bad mouth the author and criticize his lack of involvement. Perhaps a coincidence but two people in the same month posting negative about the author on this web-site is suspicious.

As a fan of the program who knows exactly what is worthy for my bookshelf and critical about good writing I verify my pleasure reading this.

P.S. Word has it that the author recently secured permissions and that Bear Manor Publishing will be offering a collection of scripts in book form.

I'm not sure how Martin Grams, Jr. keeps getting book deals. His books are almost always on subjects about which I would love to read. However, his horrible grammar, terrible spelling, and generally poor grasp of the English language make reading his books exercises in frustration. The man simply can't write, and, apparently, his editing skills are equally poor. I have no doubt that his love of old-time radio and television is completely sincere, but the fact remains that he just doesn't have even the basic skills necessary to produce a coherent book.

Of the 270 pages in this book, only the first 90 are "about" the series. The rest of the book consists of plot outlines of the episodes. From the "trivia" entries following the plot outlines, it's obvious that the author has access to a lot of information.

It doesn't show. This book is an enormous disappointment to fans of the radio show recordings. It reads like it was written by a 12-year-old without any editing, and only a few pictures portray the actors of the radio show. There are many photos of Hammett and Bogart, along with many promotional pictures from the movie, The Maltese Falcon. This makes it obvious that the author knew there should be pictures, but he didn't have any.

The poor writing includes a repeated quote by Howard Duff on pp 89 and 90, along with this choice piece on page 90: "Mason starred in the movie, as well as Spier's wife, June Havoc. Third billing went to Steve Dunne as Havoc's on-screen wife, Tom Wilson."

I mean, come on. That's just pathetic.

There are almost no interviews with the cast and crew. And there are no pictures of them, the set, or the studio. This book could have been wonderful, but fails miserably.