RUSC MAILING

Written by Ned Norris

By the early 1950s, radio crime drama had grown up a bit.

The shadowy private eyes and melodramatic gangsters were still around, of course, but listeners were becoming increasingly drawn to something a little more grounded — the police procedural. The patient, methodical business of interviewing witnesses, checking alibis, and building a case one clue at a time.

One of the finest examples of that style is The Lineup, a CBS crime drama that ran from 1950 to 1953.

It comes from the same era as Dragnet, and it shares that concern for realistic police work, but The Lineup has a flavor all its own. It is moodier, often more dramatic, and built around that wonderfully tense police procedure where witnesses are asked to identify a suspect from a row of faces.

At the heart of the series is Lieutenant Ben Guthrie, played for much of the run by the excellent Bill Johnstone, who many old time radio fans will remember as the voice of The Shadow after Orson Welles. Alongside him is Sergeant Matt Grebb, most notably played by Wally Maher, whose warmth and natural delivery added a great deal to the show.

What I enjoy most about The Lineup is that it does not rely on gimmicks. The stories are lean, intelligent, and well acted. The officers are not supermen; they simply keep asking questions, checking facts, and waiting for a suspect to make one mistake too many.

You will also hear plenty of familiar radio voices along the way, including performers such as Virginia Gregg, Howard McNear, Parley Baer, Jeanette Nolan, and Tony Barrett — the sort of dependable Hollywood radio talent who could bring a whole character to life in just a few lines.

If you enjoy police dramas, I think The Lineup is well worth your time. It may not be quite as famous as Dragnet, Suspense, or Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, but it deserves to be mentioned alongside the best of them.

I currently have over 30 episodes of The Line-Up available to listen to on RUSC, with more than 40 additional episodes still to add.

So if you fancy a crisp, atmospheric police drama with a cold, hard edge, do give The Lineup a listen.

Happy listening,

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