Man Against Crime

Man Against Crime

Ralph Bellamy as Mike Barnett (1951)
Also known as ''Follow That Man''
Genre Crime drama
Created by Lawrence Klee
Written by Vin Bogert
Directed by Paul Nickel (1949)
Edward Montagne (1952-54)
William Berke (1953)
Frank McDonald (1953)
Paul Alter (1953)
Francis D. Lyon (1954)
Starring Ralph Bellamy (1949-1954)
Frank Lovejoy
Nita Talbot
Narrated by Carl King
Theme music composer Fred Steiner
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 5
No. of episodes 122
Production
Producer(s) Edward Montagne
Lawrence M. Klee
Editor(s) Maria Montague (1952-53)
Running time 30 mins. (approx)
Release
Original network CBS (1949-1953)
DuMont (1953-1954)
NBC (1953-1954)
Picture format Black-and-white
Audio format Monoaural
Original release October 7, 1949 – June 27, 1954
Gloria McGhee and Ralph Bellamy in 1953

Man Against Crime (also known as Follow That Man) starring Ralph Bellamy, one of the first television programs about private eyes, ran on CBS, the DuMont Television Network and NBC from October 7, 1949 to June 27, 1954. The show was created by Lawrence Klee and was broadcast live until 1952.[1] The series was one of the few television programs ever to have been simulcast on more than one network: the program aired on both NBC and DuMont during the 1953-1954 television season.[2]

Synopsis

Man Against Crime stars Ralph Bellamy as Mike Barnett, a New York freelance private eye. In the 1951 season, Robert Preston co-starred as Mike Barnett's brother, Pat (who also assumed the lead while Bellamy was on vacation that summer). In the summer of 1956, Frank Lovejoy took over the role of Mike Barnett until the series' end that same year.

Accompanied by a frantic theme song by Fred Steiner, the film noir-style introduction features an unknown man running down a deserted New York City street while being chased by a black car, all of which is viewed from above. As he knocks on Barnett's door, there is a spray of sub-machine gun fire, and the man is killed. Barnett opens the door, hears the click of the bolt on the gun, ducks and is missed by a second, shorter burst of slugs. Barnett then takes off after the killer while Follow That Man appears in bold letters and the title of the episode is shown on a file folder that is propped up against a telephone. The filmed episodes were syndicated as Follow That Man because the sponsor owned the original title [see below].

The show's first prime-time episode aired on CBS on 7 October 1949, and the final prime-time episode was broadcast, on NBC, on 26 August 1956. In the 1950-1951 season, the series finished at #13 in the Nielsen ratings, followed by a #29 finish in 1951-1952.[3]

Filming

Interior filming was done at the Bedford Park Studios in New York City, while exteriors were filmed in Manhattan and NYC's other boroughs, as well as in Washington, D.C. ("The Washington Story"), and Pennsylvania.[4]

Sponsorship

The R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (Camel cigarettes) sponsored the series, as well as holding a monetary share in the program and a copyright on the series. Mike Barnett was frequently shown smoking a cigarette (and occasionally flashing a pack at the camera), and at the conclusion of the program, Ralph Bellamy would put on reading glasses and read a list of veterans' hospitals and military bases to which "the makers of Camels" was donating cigarettes that week.

DVD release

There were eighty-four filmed episodes (seasons 4 and 5), of which twenty-eight are available on DVD.

Episodes

Season 1 (1949-50)

[5]

Season 2 (1950)

[6]

Season 3 (1951)

[7]

Season 4 (1952-53)

[8]

Season 5 (1953-54)

[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Oldies.com "Follow That Man (aka Man Against Crime)" Check |url= value (help). Oldies.com. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
  2. ↑ Marsh, Earle and Tim Brooks (1985). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946-Present, p. 513. Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-31864-1.
  3. ↑ http://www.classictvhits.com/tvratings/index.htm
  4. ↑ Bedford Park Studios "Locations" Check |url= value (help). IMDb.com. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
  5. ↑ Man Against Crime Season 1 Episode Guide
  6. ↑ Man Against Crime Season 2 Episode Guide
  7. ↑ Man Against Crime Season 3 Episode Guide
  8. ↑ Man Against Crime Season 4 Episode Guide
  9. ↑ Man Against Crime Season 5 Episode Guide

Bibliography

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