Sherlock Holmes OTR Lost Episodes are Found!

Aug. 8, 2008 - PRLog -- "John Stanley and Wendell Holmes as The Master Detective and Dr. Watson" by William Nadel

With this collection NOSTALGIA VENTURES completes its release of the 1948-49 SHERLOCK HOLMES radio season. Originating from the Longacre Theater in New York City, and broadcast over the Mutual Network, these shows are long-desired treasures, and the final great radio adventures of the Master Sleuth. This "Broadway" cast features John Stanley as Sherlock Holmes, Wendell Holmes aka "George Spelvin" as Dr. Watson, and Cy Harrice as announcer. Produced and directed by Basil Loughrane with music by Albert Buhrman, the series featured scripts by Howard Merrill and Max Ehrlich. Aired at a time when the program was struggling to maintain or increase its ratings, Merrill and Ehrlich tightened their plots, and experimented with new approaches to enliven their "Victorian" tales and bring more excitement to the show.

The last complete surviving run of the American years of the Detective, earlier episodes of the season can be found in the NOSTALGIA VENTURES sets THE GREAT DETECTIVES and SHERLOCK HOLMES.

At first the season began with Ian Martin portraying Dr. Watson, but his style of acting and looks were not a contrast to the graying Stanley as Holmes. Loughrane then chose the "teddy bear-like" Wendell Holmes to be the lovable "good doctor." It was an inspired choice, but presented a problem due to the actor's last name. (TV producer Sheldon Reynolds was faced with a similar problem when he chose Howard Marion Crawford to play opposite Ronald Howard in the 1950's filmed series. The solution was to just use the initial of Crawford's first name.)

The great tragedy of "masking" Wendell Holmes name with "George Spelvin" was to deny the actor his due. Then in his mid-thirties, he actually looked like a latter day Watson, and was a superb contrast to the precise John Stanley. Wendell was garrulous, tended to be overweight, and exuded a sparkling chuckle. Together John and Wendell brought the Baker Street duo to life. Wendell had come east after doing much radio in California. Heard there in SUSPENSE, he then became a "regular" on NEW WORLD A' COMING, X MINUS ONE, and the earlier DIMENSION X on the East Coast. Wendell was also proud to be heard in the prestigious ETERNAL LIGHT radio show. From 1949 on he could be seen on the screen in such films as "Lost Boundaries," a much-remembered classic dealing with racial issues, as well as "I Want to Live"—where he played a detective, and also had featured roles in "Elmer Gantry," and "The Absent-Minded Professor."
A veteran of television in the 1950's, Wendell appeared in episodes of the many beloved crime and mystery programs of the decade including PERRY MASON, PETER GUNN, HAWAIIAN EYE, THE UNTOUCHABLES, and ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS.

Unfortunately, Wendell Holmes died much too young in 1962.
Just as we were in the pre-planning stage for this set, we lost Cy Harrice—about two weeks before his 92°d birthday. One of the legendary announcers in radio and television, he introduced the Sherlock Holmes show during its last two years in New York City. Harrice also gave assistance to the University of Minnesota Library when we were writing and promoting a booklet describing Edith Meiser's contribution to the Holmes Canon and he was glad to see that his efforts on radio and on the program were being given a commercial release. Best remembered for his "and they are mild" on PALL MALL cigarette commercials, Harrice also plugged ALKA SELTZER, GENERAL MOTORS, and FORD, as well as recording a much-treasured comedy album. But, it is his announcing of shows like QUICK AS A FLASH, THE BIG STORY, CAVALCADE OF AMERICA, and WALTER WINCHELL that keep him fresh in our minds. And he was the last commercial announcer on the final network run of THE LONE RANGER. NOSTALGIA VENTURES dedicates this collection to his memory.

Only two of the 16 shows in this collection are dramatizations of the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tales; the rest loosely use ideas or elements found in many of the other 58 adventures that make up what Sherlockians call THE CANON. Over the more than a century since Conan Doyle's A STUDY IN SCARLET first appeared, many others have tried to continue the exploits of the great detective. These episodes by Merrill and Ehrlich are some of the best.

Special thanks to Tim Johnson, Special Collections and Rare books, University of Minnesota Libraries

This 8 CD Collection has a list price of $ 29.98 and can be ordered online at www.NostalgiaTown.com.  Includes a FREE BONUS Sherlock Holmes DVD with 3 complete TV episodes.

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We specialize in restored original broadcasts of Old Time Radio shows in various collector sets: Comedy, Variety, Mystery, Detectives, and Westerns from the 1930's, 40's and 50's.

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