Bold Venture
Slate (Humphrey Bogart) and Sailor (Lauren Bacall) cruise the Caribbean aboard the Bold Venture. (Bogart and Bacall pictured here on their private yacht Santana.)
GenreAdventure
Running time30 minutes
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
SyndicatesFrederic W. Ziv Company
StarringHumphrey Bogart
Lauren Bacall
Jester Hairston
Written byMorton Fine
David Friedkin
Directed byHenry Heyward
Produced bySantana Productions
Original release1951 
1952
No. of episodes78

Bold Venture was a syndicated radio series starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall that aired from 1951 to 1952. Morton Fine and David Friedkin scripted the taped series for Bogart's Santana Productions.

Synopsis

Salty seadog Slate Shannon (Bogart) owns a Cuban hotel, Shannon's Place,[1] sheltering an assortment of treasure hunters, revolutionaries, and other shady characters. With his sidekick and ward, the sultry Sailor Duval (Bacall), tagging along, he encounters modern-day pirates and other tough situations while navigating the waters around Havana. Aboard his boat, the Bold Venture, Slate and Sailor experience "adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance in the sultry settings of tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean."

Calypso singer King Moses (Jester Hairston) provided musical bridges by threading plot situations into the lyrics of his songs.[2] Music for the series was by David Rose.[3]

The series combined elements of a number of past Bogart/Bacall film collaborations, most notably To Have and Have Not which also cast Bogart as a boat owner in the Caribbean who reluctantly becomes involved in intrigue while romancing Bacall. The relationship between Shannon and King Moses, and his ownership of an inn, is strongly reminiscent of the dynamic between Rick Blaine and Sam in Casablanca.

Production

Beginning in March 1951, the Frederic W. Ziv Company syndicated 78 episodes via electrical transcription.[4] Heard on 423 stations, the 30-minute series earned $5,000 weekly for Bogart and Bacall.[3]

All of Frederic Ziv's 40+ radio series (some 10,000 radio programs), including all 78 episodes of Bold Venture, were donated by the Ziv Estate to Media Heritage and exclusively licensed to Carl Amari who successfully launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds necessary to professionally transfer the complete run of Bold Venture. Soon, all 78 episodes will be available, including 18 "lost" Bold Venture episodes which have not been heard in more than 70 years. A definitive collection of all 78 Bold Venture episodes, which will include a detailed historical booklet, will be available beginning in 2024 through Amari's company. Amari plans to launch additional Kickstarter campaigns to raise funds necessary to release more complete runs of Ziv radio series, including Boston Blackie, I Was a Communist for the FBI, Favorite Story, Philo Vance and The Cisco Kid. Amari will launch a website in 2024 that offers these Ziv radio series at www.ZivRadio.com

Radio episode guide

No.DateTitle 1Title 2Title 3Title 4Title 5Ref
1March 26, 1951Deadly MerchandiseDeath By A Fighting BirdSmuggling ArmsGun Runners
2April 2, 1951Kwan Yen StatueQuam Yi Statue
3April 9, 1951Bill of LadingSix Crates of ApplesOpium Smugglers and Young GirlWhite Envelope
4April 16, 1951A Bullet for ShannonThugs and SlugsJohnny Price Story
5April 23, 1951Spanish GoldBuried TreasureTreasure on Flamingo CaySunken Treasure at 20 Fathoms
6April 30, 1951Murder of Franny LaneHe Who Laughs LastMurder is No JokeSlate Shannon Accused of MurderDixon and Lane
7May 7, 1951Espionage & Murder in San TomasAtomic Espionage on San Thomas
8May 14, 1951A Muncie Murderess in HavanaBlackmail is Dangerous to Your HealthThat Gun Will Kill You
9May 21, 1951False American PassportsFake American Passports
10May 28, 1951Sailor Framed For MurderCalverts House of Mirrors
11June 4, 1951Blue Moon
12June 11, 1951The Tears of SivaStar of Sheba
13June 18, 1951Half Million Reasons to Find Cary MartinWe Want Cary Martin
14June 25, 1951The High Price of Treason
15July 2, 1951Russian Roulette
16July 9, 1951Mystery of the Mary K
17July 16, 1951The Chaney WeddingDeath At The WeddingFrame Up
18July 23, 195112 Year PromiseOil Wells
19July 30, 1951Alice Ramsey's HusbandPoison DartsVoodoo Vendetta in Paradise
20August 6, 1951Search for Tommy ReedLooking for Tommy Reed
21August 20, 1951Ghost Ship
22August 27, 1951Jennie WardSlate's Old Flame
23September 3, 1951Terminal Key
24September 10, 1951Phyllis Calvert MurdersOut of ControlSuicide or Murder
25September 17, 1951Slate's Tuxedo PocketBlack Tie Affair
26September 24, 1951Murder in the Yucatán PeninsulaA Fatal Quest for Jade
27October 1, 1951Shannon's a SuckerSlate Shannon Sucker
28October 8, 1951Slate Shannon Held for RansomDanger at Tina's Parakeet
29October 15, 1951Camellias and a RubyA Camillia for El Dobbin
30October 22, 1951Passage for Mario Carada
31October 29, 1951Darby and Joan IncorporatedLonely Hearts Inc.
32November 5, 1951Mutineers of the S.S. Marino VictoryThe Marino Victory Marino
33November 12, 1951Slate Framed for Refinery RobberyBold Venture is Stolen
34November 19, 1951Slate's Stolen DaVinci
35November 26, 1951Paolo Framed for Jewel RobberySupapo's Greed
36December 3, 1951Cruise To BatabanoEmilio Lopez Story
37December 10, 1951Louis Gaspar CaseSlate's Stolen IdentityBring Me The Body of Slate Shannon
38December 17, 1951Tabard of PizarroAlice Markel poisoning)
39December 24, 1951Paul Brewer StoryEscape From Guantanamo
40December 31, 1951Carlos & Juan Ruiz StoryCrazy Old Carlo
41January 7, 1952Innocent in TrujilloRaul Mirado Execution
42January 14, 1952An Invitation to DeathFour Invitations To Death
43January 21, 1952Background Shots Can Kill You
44January 28, 1952Revenge Equals Murder Times Two
45February 4, 1952A Backstabbing at Shannon's PlaceJoe NormanThe Laughing Sailor
46February 11, 1952Isle Of PinesI'm Going To DieRhoda Gonzalez
47February 18, 1952The Dead Matt JefferiesThe One That Got Away
48February 25, 1952Welcome to Civilization, Dead ManWelcome Back, Dead ManMan From SumatraGeorge Carson Killed
49March 3, 1952Ruthie Ryan's FatherThe Big K.O.
50March 10, 1952Spectre of El Indio
51March 17, 1952Diamond SmugglingDiamond Fencing Fisticuffs
52March 24, 1952Robbed By Joe RalstonRevenge Is SweetThe Big Road
53March 31, 1952Haven's Venezuelan IslandTiny HavenGene Moore's WifeClaudiaRunaway Wife
54April 7, 1952Death Of Rudy KeijonFriends Like TheseBob Yancy arrests Slate for murderFetsui Jade
55April 14, 1952Sailor's Dead HusbandMarriage And MurderFreddie NayeSailor is a Wealthy Widow
56April 21, 1952
57April 28, 1952
58May 5, 1952
59May 12, 1952Señor RufioSeñor Rufio's Legacy of Death

Television

Ziv brought Bold Venture to television in 1959 with 39 episodes directed by William Conrad. The series starred Dane Clark as Slate Shannon, Joan Marshall as Sailor Duval, and Bernie Gozier as King Moses. Mark Dana played Philip Keith Baker, Lisa Gaye played Leta, and Karen Scott played Tina.[5] Morton Fine and David Friedkin were the producers.[2]

Because of unstable conditions in Cuba, the setting was changed to Trinidad. Filming locations included the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, California.

Listen to

References

  1. Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4.
  2. 1 2 Erickson, Hal (1989). Syndicated Television: The First Forty Years, 1947–1987. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-7864-1198-8. Pp. 20-21.
  3. 1 2 "Bogart Airer Costs 600G". Billboard. January 13, 1951. p. 3. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  4. Dunning, John (7 May 1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. pp. 109–110. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  5. Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
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