Pat Novak For Hire - "Father Leahy" (04-02-49)

Father Leahy (Aired April 2, 1949)

The rapid, staccato dialogue between Webb & Raymond Burr is typical of harboiled fiction and is often humorous. Pat uses the time to try to solve the case. He usually employs the help of his friend Jocko Madigan (played by Tudor Owen) - a drunken ex-doctor typically found at some disreputable tavern or bar - to help him solve the case. As Pat asks for his help, Jocko launches a long-winded philosophical diatribe, full of witty and funny remarks, until Novak cuts him off. Jocko and Pat unravel the case and Hellman makes the arrest. Finally, we hear the foghorn and Novak's footsteps on the pier again before Novak spells out the details of the case for us. At the end, Novak informs us that "Hellman asked only one question", which Pat answers with a clever retort. The dialogue is rife with similes found in pulp fiction. Example: 'The neighborhood was run down - the kind of place where the For Rent signs look like ransom notes. Show Notes From The Old Time Radio Researcher's Group.

 

THIS EPISODE:

 
April 2, 1949. Program #5. ABC. "Father Leahy" - Program #3. ABC net, KECA, Los Angeles origination, AFRS rebroadcast. A priest puts Pat on the trail of an escaped convict named Joe Feldman. This leads to a slit throat, a dead cop, and the standard frame. Jack Webb, Raymond Burr, Richard Breen (writer), Basil Adlam (music), George Fenneman (announcer), Tudor Owen, Paul Frees (doubles), Parley Baer, Lurene Tuttle, William P. Rousseau (producer, director). 30:10. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.