My favorite Crime serial was, and still is "The Untouchables" with the TV episodes starring Robert Stack as Federal Agent Eliot Ness. One of my favorite reasons for enjoying this series is because of the historical era of the early 1930s, (I'm from 1936), featuring automobiles of that era, mostly 4-door sedans with Gangsters and Tommy-Guns and Ness and his assistants chasing them through the winding roads of Tennessee and Virginia. Plenty of City shootouts too! And the narration of the episodes by the legendary Walter Winchell, with his crackling machine-gun delivery! Back in the 1940's he was the top newscaster. I'll never forget Winchell's opening introduction to the news: "Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. North and South America and all the ships at sea...let's go to Press! I also have "The Untouchables" on DVD with Kevin Costner as Eliot Ness. Hal
I recall that show. I was born in '54. I used to have old floor model radios with the cat's-eye tuning and short/long distance bands on them. One of them picked up the BBC. I used to listen to some of the shows they broadcast. Radio shows spark the imagination almost as much as books do. Another show I liked was Highway Patrol. I don't recall Broderick Crawford being in much other than that. It's interesting that a sure-fired successful format in America has always been: -Westerns -Crime/police shows -Lawyer/court shows Law & Order was genius, because it was a half hour of cops and a half hour of trial. I don't care much for their Special Victims Unit version, but love Criminal Intent. Chris Noth gets recycled, and Vince D'Onofrio is [always] genius. I wonder how long these formats shall remain popular.