![]() Ned Jordan, Secret Agent was a short-lived, FBI inspired series from the pen of Fran Striker, the original writer of The Lone Ranger, and The Green Hornet. Ned Jordan, Secret Agent: May 1941 Broadcast Although frustrated with inactivity, the agent falls in love with a lovely Bolshevik. The Jepisode, "British Agent", tells the story of an agent who is left behind when the British Embassy in Moscow is abandoned during the Russian Revolution. Espionage was a favorite of movie makers. Lux Radio Theater, the long running radio anthology series, was started by adapting Broadway plays for the radio, before turning to Hollywood movies. Lux Radio Theater: British Agent (June 7, 1937) The stories seem somewhat simplistic, especially compared with modern espionage tales, but they are very effective in their 15 minute time frame. Poison gas, Sabotage, Defense secrets, and Suicide Ships are all part of the world of Secret Agent K-7. Agent K-7 is a "former United States secret agent who operated in 22 countries." The stories themselves are the adventures of other agents, B-9 and Agent Z, and their lovely sidekicks, while K-7 narrates the tales. Secret Agent K7 Returns was being produced and broadcast at a time when rumors of war in Europe were swirling. ![]() Secret Agent K7 Returns: Bombing Planes 1939 Tracy fought fanciful inner city hoods, where as the enemies of Dan Dunn were after world domination, or at least sabotaging America's military might. Dunn was a copy of Dick Tracy in many ways, except for the bad guys he chased. Espionage Radio between the World Wars was much more melodramatic than what we are used to today:ĭan Dunn, Secret Operative 48: Sabotage of the Giant Bomberĭan Dunn, Secret Operative 48 was taken almost directly from the funny papers. But Radio Spies have been around much longer than that. Radio came of age during WWII and the early years of the cold war. The Soviet's and their minions were the very evil enemy in I Was a Communist for the F.B.I. Cloak and Dagger's stories took place in both the European and Pacific theaters of WWII. The Counter Spies deal mostly with Nazi's during the War Years, but after the War the enemy becomes drug smugglers, black-marketeers, and eventually Atomic competitors. In the late 30s, when rumors of War were swirling from Europe, the spies chased by Agent K-7 were European, and though enemies of democracy, generally not established as Nazi's.Īs World War II descended on Paris, the couple in Lux Theater's "Winter in Paris" is hiding from not only German agents, but Russian as well. It is interesting and educational to see how the antagonists in Espionage stories change with the times. But audiences and producers would be lost without a showy shootout and a chase scene.Īs players in the competition between states in real life, spies and their stories can be great fodder for propaganda. In reality, spies do all they can to prevent attracting any attention that could give away their identities. Fictional spies are of course, much more colorful than their real life counterparts. The spy in fiction is often a loner, often with a loose hold on morality, often with a greater or lesser degree of ostentation. The Espionage Story, although it takes place on a personal level, is a competition between States, with the protagonist nation being the one the audience most identifies with. For the Spy, the enemy is a sovereign state, or a representative of that state.Īnother essential difference between Espionage fiction and Crime Drama the Crime story is a conflict between the Bad Guys in the form of criminals and the Good Guy Cops or Private Eyes. We know that the Bad Guys motivation stems from evil that is how they got to be Bad Guys in the first place. For the Detective, the danger comes from the Bad Guys that he is pursuing. What makes spies and the detectives such great characters in radio entertainment is the danger that is part of the air that they breathe. And in spite of the cynicism, both are essentially hopeful that their mission will make the world a better place. Both are forced to deal with some of humanities worst specimens, which makes a measure of cynicism part of their make-up. The spies and the detectives in old time radio shows have a lot in common on the surface. With every move he makes, another chance he takes ![]() "There's a man who leads a life of danger
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