Stand By For Crime

Stand By for Crime is a show that listeners in the early 1950s enjoyed weekly. It centered on a radio news anchor named Chuck Morgan in Los Angeles. Each episode featured him getting information on crime stories from his friend Lt. Bill Miggs in the police department. He tipped him off the best crime stories in the area and once Morgan had a tip, he was off to solve the mystery with the help of his friends.

The show jumped on the coattails of other series that were popular in the day.  There were many crime dramas and true crime shows that held listeners’ attention show after show such as Dragnet and Mr District Attorney. Stand By for Crime is a drama – the stories were not related to any actual crimes that were going on at the time though often the stories were topical.  It starred real life husband and wife Glen Langen and Adele Jurgens as Chuck Morgan and Carol Curtis. However, on the show they didn’t have any kind of romance, she was his secretary and they were simply partners in solving mysteries. In fact, if you didn’t know they were married, you’d never have guessed there was any romance between them, a testament to their acting talents.

Along with the main characters, each episode had Chuck and Carol meeting with other people who helped them to solve the crime.  These characters were often a little shady and interesting. The show was different from other radio dramas because it carried a “just the facts” style that was free from a lot of romance and melodrama.  The real story was the crime and solving it.

While Stand By for Crime wasn’t one of the most popular radio series related to crime, it had a steady following. It always presented good stories that were interesting mysteries to the end and like other crime dramas, Stand by for Crime was popular with people who enjoy a good mystery.  It fell within the ranks of other shows such as Gangbusters that enjoyed a similar audience.

At least 26 episodes have been preserved in good quality recordings and they’re certainly fun to listen to. If you like crime drama without a lot of frilly melodrama, this show will be right up your alley.

The titles of the shows and original broadcast dates are missing and each is listed in episode order. I will be commencing with Episode 2 as I have another editorial in mind, which covers the content of Episode 1, the threat of communism in America in the early 1950's.

Happy listening my friends,