





Frank Lovejoy on a another episode of Four Star Playhouse



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In theproduced some of the medium's best, programs like The Adventures of Philip Marlowe , and. Another -- although sadly not well-remembered today -- waswhich debuted on 6 February, 1950 and aired not just in the US, butandas well.The plot of Night Beat revolves around a reporter namedwho works for the fictionalnewspaper. In the process of writing his human interest column, "Night Beat," Stone passes in and out of the lives of night owls, underworld figures, lost souls, and other denizens of an improbably noirNight Beat's first audition aired in May of 1949. Taking a grittier approach than is found in the final product, it starred the well-known celluloid tough guy), was directed by), and written by, and a few years later,).By then radio was then rapidly losing its audience to television. Although NBC television programming began in 1940 with, it wasn't until 1948 -- when thevehicledebuted -- that NBC seemed to lose all interest in its radio programming. As television raked in the dough by focusing increasingly on children's programing and family-friendly fare, radio attempted to remain relevant by producing innovative and intelligent programming that television had no room for.Nonetheless, eager to please skittish network executives unsure about radio's future, theself-imposed a curfew on crime dramas, relegating them to later time slots than other sorts of programs. Sponsors had to be pleased and using the same script, a second audition for Night Beat was produced under the direction of, and) and starring. The softer version was OKed and the program was sponsored byandFrank Lovejoy was a seasoned radio and film actor who'd earlier starred onand played the(one of the few, almost completely-forgotten) on the radio program of the same name. He was born Frank Andrew Lovejoy, Jr. in thein 1912 and grew up in. Lovejoy's portrayal of Stone wasn't just more audience (and sponsor) friendly, it was sensitive and nuanced, balancing Stone's hard-boiled toughness with sensitivity, compassion, and likeability.Stone was equal parts reporter, crusader, and nocturnal flâneur. Week after week Stone somehow finds the strength to fight battles in an unwinable moral crusade, get into all sorts of trouble in the process (often ending up worse for wear as with his detective peers), and type up his piece in time to yell "copy boy" so that it can go out with the early edition.Perhaps the frequency with which Stone became deeply involved in murder, mayhem, Tong wars, et cetera and the speed and facility with which they're wrapped up is, well, ridiculous but unlike most series of its sort there was a measurable degree of continuity from episode to episode. At it's worse Night Beat was formluaic but above average -- at its best it's among the best of the genre.From the beginning, Larry Marcus stayed on the series with Mary Marcus, both serving as editors.) was brought on as director.composed the timpani-fueled intro and wonderfullyscore. The announcer was, and). Supporting actors included many of radio's biggest and most-prolific talents including, andRadio being the "theater of the mind," a lot of series' artistic success hinged on the show's wring and the writing on Night Beat was usually top notch. The pictures it created are vivid and, in the case of Stone's journalism, enjoyably florid but never quite over-the-top. Some of the series' best writers wereand),'s first female staff writer and later writer forand), and, and later,). Other writers include, andNBC seems to have never believed in Night Beat and for most of its run was happy to bounce it around various nights and time slots. There were about 104 episodes and roughly 74 are currently in circulation. The final episode aired 25 September, 1952. Night Beat was adapted for television with an episode of the anthology series, Four Star Playhouse titledIn it, Lovejoy resumed his old role and it aired on 5 November, 1953. It's possible that it was produced as a pilot for a television series but whatever the case, that didn't happen.Ironically, after he was replaced by Lovejoy, O'Brien went on to play the truly bland (and therefore much more popular) title character on-- a radio drama whose conclusion in 1962 is usually viewed as the end of old time radio. Lovejoy went on to appear onand star in's. He died on 2 October, 1962 from a heart attack at his residence in. Recordings of Night Beat and other Old Time Radio shows can be found in Amoeba'ssection.