Mr. Chameleon is a detective fiction radio drama created by Frank Hummert and produced by Frank and Anne Hummert.[1] It ran on CBS Radio from July 14, 1948,[2] to 1951[3] or 1953.[1] The series starred Karl Swenson as a New York police detective who is a master of disguise, and who assumes a new identity in each episode in order to catch a criminal.[1] The listening audience is always aware of who Mr. Chameleon is, no matter in which disguise he appears.[1] According to the series' opening voice-over, "Chameleon" is not a nickname or pseudonym but the character's actual surname, one which he has tried to live up to since childhood.[4] His motto is, "The innocent must be protected and the guilty must be punished."[5] The theme song is John Jacob Loeb and Paul Francis Webster's "Masquerade".[1]

In addition to Swenson, Frank Butler was heard in the role of Dave Arnold[6] (a sergeant who was Mr. Chameleon's assistant[7]), and Richard Keith portrayed the police commissioner. The announcers were George Bryan, Howard Claney, and Roger Knapp. The program was directed by Richard Leonard and written by Marie Baumer.[1] Victor Arden's orchestra provided music.[6]

Broadcast initially on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern Time, Mr. Chameleon replaced The American Melody Hour. Sponsors of the program included Sterling Drug[2] and Bayer aspirin.[1]

Critical response

A review of the premiere episode in the trade publication Variety said that the cast "turns in graphic characterizations" and rated the quality of production as "Grade A throughout".[8] The review said that the show had the ingredients to make it successful.[8]

A review in the trade publication Billboard during the fourth year of Mr. Chameleon described it as "actually nothing but a night time soap opera in the camouflage of a weekly mystery series."[9] It said that in the specific episode being reviewed, "Script, performance and production were all ridiculously melodramatic and devoid of any real character or animation."[9] The reviewer also wrote that the title character used too many cliches, had too much self confidence, and was a "stuffy individual".[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 463–464. ISBN 9780195076783. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  2. 1 2 "News of Radio". The New York Times. June 23, 1948. p. 54. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  3. "Anne and Frank Hummert". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  4. "New Show". The Akron Beacon Journal. 14 July 1948. p. 9. Retrieved 11 December 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "The Sudden Death..." The Roanoke Times. 17 July 1948. p. 18. Retrieved 11 December 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 Cox, Jim (June 14, 2015). Radio Crime Fighters: More Than 300 Programs from the Golden Age. McFarland. p. 180. ISBN 978-1-4766-1227-0. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  7. "'Mr. Chameleon' Solves Mystery". The Tampa Times. September 5, 1951. p. 13. Retrieved November 27, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 "Mr. Chameleon". Variety. July 28, 1948. p. 84. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 Bundy, June (September 15, 1951). "Mr. Chameleon". Billboard. p. 13. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.