SHAKESPEARE

Synopsis

Radio series about private detective Sam Spade, a character created by Dashiell Hammett in his novel The Maltese Falcon. A psychiatrist named Doctor Denoff comes to Spade (Howard Duff) when a blackmailer gets hold of some patient records that can embarrass one of his patients, an actress named Constance Brent, who is appearing in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. When Denoff is murdered before Spade can act, he goes to the theatre to interview Brent. Puck’s lines that close the play are heard right before Brent comes backstage. After this practical beginning, the episode continues to play with Shakespeare. Brent’s husband refers to her as "my lovely Titania." The blackmailer, named Pericles Nikolitus, confronts Spade, and quotes Titania, "These are the forgeries of jealousy." Spade says, "Titania, huh? Ah, yes. Midsummer Night’s Dream, act 1, scene 18. I’m a little rusty on my Shakespeare." This is a joke, but the writer forces the blackmailer to provide a clue by replying that Titania does not actually appear until well into act 2. Spade gets wise, and observes that Titania does not appear until well into 40 minutes of the play, which provides a clue for later. Spade gives a fake Shakespeare quote and credits a fake Shakespeare play when he says, "'All paths lead to the grave.' Ophelia, act 6." Denoff’s body is soon exhumed to look for some missing microfilm in this watch. The murderer of he blackmailer is Constance Brent’s husband, who is waiting for Spade to find the film, and puts a gun on Spade when he finds it. Spade refers to him as "the second gravedigger from Hamlet," and refers to Constance as Lady Macbeth, though she is not part of the plot (it’s Mrs Denoff who killed her husband). [With acknowledgement to Mike P. Jensen for providing the detailed synopsis].

Series

Adventures of Sam Spade, The

Language

English

Country

United States

Medium

Radio

Transmission details

2 Aug 1946 (Channel: ABC)

Duration

30 mins

Credits

Director

William Spier

Producer

William Spier

Writer

Dashiell Hammett

Music

Lud Gluskin

Adaptor for Radio

Bob Tallman; Jo Eisinger

Cast

Fred Essler
Howard Duff	Sam Spade
Lurene Tuttle	Effie Perrine

Additional Details

Production type

Television and Radio Drama

Plays

Midsummer Night’s Dream, A

Subjects

Drama

Keywords

Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Mystery

Notes

Notes

Many episodes were derived from previously published short stories by Dashiell Hammett, who was not otherwise involved in the making of the show. This episode however was an original story written by Bob Tallman and Jo Eisinger, who received no credit on air.

History

In total the series ran for 245 half-hour episodes. This episode was the fourth of the initial batch of thirteen episodes broadcast on the ABC network between 12 July and 4 October 1946. It then switched to CBS, where it ran for a further 156 episodes until 18 September 1949. It then moved to NBC the following week, where it continued for a further 75 episodes. The final episode broadcast on 27 April 1951.

Reviews

Grams Jr., Martin. The Radio Adventures of Sam Spade (Churchville, Maryland: OTR Publishing, 2007).

Online Availability

Online URL

https://archive.org/details/OTRR_Sam_Spade_Singles/Sam+Spade+1946-08-02+Sam+and+the+Psyche.mp3

Online format

Streamed/Download

Production Company

Name

ABC

Archive

Name

Internet Archive

Email

info@archive.org

Web

http://www.archive.org/details/movies External site opens in new window

Phone

+ 415-561-6767

Fax

+ 415-840-0391

Address

Internet Archive
P.O. Box 29244
Presidio of San Francisco
San Francisco,
CA 94129-0244
USA

Distributor (Sale)

Name

otrsite.com

Contact

Jerry Haendiges

Email

jerry@otrsite.com

Web

http://www.otrsite.com External site opens in new window

Phone

562-696-4387

Fax

562-696-4387

Address

1308 Sunset Drive
Whittier
CA 90602
USA