Art Godfrey

Philip Marlowe On Old Time Radio

Philip Marlowe is one of the all-time classic mystery thrillers from the golden age of American radio.

Many of the most celebrated serials and anthologies found their beginnings during the golden age of radio. In fact, several of the vintage classics have been adapted into television series’ and on the silver screen.  These programs have been revived in today’s world and given a modern twist to fit and reflect the ever-changing tastes of audiences around the world.

One of the most popular old time radio shows is “Philip Marlowe.” This fictional character was the creation of master story-teller, Raymond Chandler. Although Chandler’s roots in literature were in the short story, it was in the transition between the former and novel-writing that the character of Marlowe was born.

After several failed attempts to make it big in L.A., Chandler spent the earlier part of his career trying his hand at writing poetry and short works of fiction.  However, a series of light tales in the pulp fiction genre signaled a breakthrough in his career. His fictional musings were published in ‘Black Mask’ and ‘Dime Magazine’ wherein his tough and hardened heroes became the building blocks that shaped and molded what would later on become a notorious figure in old time radio mystery thrillers.

Philip Marlowe made his first appearance in “The Big Sleep” in 1939 and The Long Goodbye, and became the central figure of majority of Chandler’s other creative writings. You could even say that he was the epitome of a perfectly balanced and well-rounded protagonist. Marlowe was your traditional hard-boiled detective— tough without being overly macho and clichéd. In truth, his greatest asset was perhaps his gruff exterior while his almost working-class background instantly made him someone the masses could relate to.

As a private detective, he could tumble and roughhouse with the best of them and yet still be cultured enough to appreciate classical music and enjoy the finer points of chess.  Marlowe had the uncanny ability to take a punch to the face and still be able to deliver a comeback with unfailing flair and panache. In fact, when asked to explain the origin of his character, Chandler merely stated that, “Marlowe just grew out of the pulps. He was no one person.”  Such was the enigma and charisma of Philip Marlowe.

The success of the Philip Marlowe novels led to their subsequent serialization on radio. In turn, its success on air propelled the radio program to greater heights that secured both television and film adaptations for the series. However, it was the old radio shows that carved both Raymond Chandler’s and Philip Marlowe’s names in the history of American radio.

Many of Hollywood’s celebrated actors played the role of the cynical private eye on the air. The first one being Dick Powell on a Lux Radio Theatre episode in 1945 titled, “Murder My Sweet.” The role was later voiced by Van Helfin for a brief period to replace the “Bob Hope Show.”  The most famous talent to portray the complicated Philip Marlowe was Gerard Mohr, whose deep baritone thrilled and titillated listeners across America.  While Raymond Chandler had very little to do with the radio serializations, he did approve of Mr. Mohr’s natural portrayal of the hard-boiled detective.

Article Tags: Philip Marlowe, Time Radio

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