Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - Whitehall 1212 "The Case Of The Strange Bondfire" (06-08-52)

The Case Of The Strange Bondfire (Aired June 8, 1952)


WHITEHALL 1 2, 1 2 Tweaked Jan. 12, 2006 This series was very similar to the Black Museum that was hosted by Orson Welles. Both the Black Museum and Whitehall 1212 drew their material from the files of Scotland Yard. The stories were true in every respect except that the names were changed to protect the innocent, as they say. The Whitehall 1212 series boasted that for the first time Scotland Yard opened its files and the producers promised to bring to the public authentic true stories of some of the most celebrated cases. Permission for these records came from Sir Harold Scott, Commissioner of the yard at that time. There is actually a Black Museum. This area is located on the lower ground floor of Scotland Yard and it does indeed contain articles that are closely associated with the solving of a crime. And "Whitehall 1212" was the actual emergency phone number for the yard at the time. The research for the shows was done by Percy Hoskins, chief crime reporter for the London Daily Express. For the benefit of American audiences, Wyllis Cooper of Quiet Please fame was hired as script writer. Interestingly enough both the Black Museum and Whitehall 1212 had all-British casts; both ran concurrently. Whereby Mutual Broadcasting System aired the Orson Welles version, NBC offered the Wyllis Cooper one. There were 44 episodes in the series and all but one are in circulation. None of the prorgrams were titled and as they appeared on the scene, were given names by those who collected them. For that reason there are variations of titles, some with incorrect spellings; an attempt has been made to correct this. Some of the shows had "case numbers" and when they were announced, are noted below.

THIS EPISODE:

June 8, 1952. NBC network. Sustaining. A broken and heat-fused lock from an automobile is an exhibit in the "Black Museum." A hatless man is seen running from a burning car, strangely close to Guy Fawkes' Day. Part of the final public service announcement and the system cue have been deleted. Percy Hoskins (research), Wyllis Cooper (writer, director), Lester Fletcher, Harvey Hayes, Jared Burke, Gordon Stern, Francois Grimar, Basil Langton, Patricia Courtley, Beulah Garrick, Victor Chapin. 29:05.

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