21 Beacon Street is an American detective television series that originally aired on NBC from July 2 to September 10, 1959.
Produced by Filmways,[1] the summer replacement series for The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show[2]: 146 consisted of 11 black-and-white 30-minute episodes. The show starred Dennis Morgan as private investigator Dennis Chase. Other cast members included Joanna Barnes, Brian Kelly, and James Maloney.[3]
The series pilot was broadcast as an episode of Panic!.[2]: 146 The show aired on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Reruns were broadcast on ABC-TV on Sundays at 10:30 p.m. from December 1959 to March 1960.[3]
Leonard Heideman was the show's creator.[2] The series' first episode was "The Rub-Out".[4]
Premise
Dennis Chase was a private investigator with an office on 21 Beacon Street, in an unspecified city.[3] Chase was aided by Joanna Barnes as Joanna, who was a combination of beauty and brains. She was able to glean information and then act as a decoy. Brian Kelly was Brian, a young law school graduate; and James Maloney played Jim, an expert on dialects, as well as a skilled craftsman.[5]
Chase and his assistants worked to discover who the criminals were, but then notified the police to come and apprehend the law breakers.[3]
Forerunner to Mission Impossible
The producers of Mission: Impossible were sued for plagiarism by the creators of 21 Beacon Street. The suit was settled out of court. Bruce Geller claimed never to have seen the earlier show; Beacon Street's story editor and pilot scripter, Laurence Heath, would later write several episodes of Mission: Impossible.[6]
Episodes
The following is a list of episodes.
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Rub Out" | Maurice Geraghty | Robert C. Dennis | July 2, 1959 |
| 2 | "Safety Deposit" | Harold Schuster | Story by : John Meredyth Lucas Teleplay by : Leonard Heideman | July 9, 1959 |
| 3 | "The Payoff" | Maurice Geraghty | Tom Gries | July 16, 1959 |
| 4 | "Double Vision" | Jean Yarbrough | Story by : Jack Kelsey Teleplay by : Jack Kelsey and Leonard Heideman | July 23, 1959 |
| 5 | "The Swindle" | Maurice Geraghty | Story by : Orville H. Hampton Teleplay by : Leonard Heideman | July 30, 1959 |
| 6 | "The Execution" | Jean Yarbrough | John Meredyth Lucas | August 6, 1959 |
| 7 | "Break In" | Maurice Geraghty | Leonard Heideman | August 13, 1959 |
| 8 | "The Trojan Horse" | Maurice Geraghty | Betty Halsey | August 20, 1959 |
| 9 | "The Hostage" | Jean Yarbrough | Story by : David Chandler Teleplay by : Jack Laird | August 27, 1959 |
| 10 | "The Trap" | Val Raset | Story by : Fenton Earnshaw Teleplay by : Leonard Heideman and Fenton Earnshaw | September 3, 1959 |
| 11 | "Dilemma" | Jean Yarbrough | Leonard Heideman | September 10, 1959 |
| 12 | "Nothing is Impossible" | Val Raset | Story by : Clayton Rawson Teleplay by : Leonard Heideman | September 17, 1959 |
| 13 | "Close Call" | Harold Schuster | Leonard Heideman | September 24, 1959 |
References
- ^ Irvin, Richard The Forgotten Desi and Lucy TV Projects, Bear Manor Media, 2020
- ^ a b c Irvin, Richard (2014). George Burns Television Productions: The Series and Pilots, 1950-1981. McFarland. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-4766-1621-6. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946 – Present Ballantine Books, 1979, page 647
- ^ Cain, Ira (July 2, 1959). "New Cop-Crook Series to Premiere". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Texas, Fort Worth. p. 28. Retrieved May 3, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ 21 Beacon Street Is New Half Hour Crime Series, The Modesto Bee, June 28, 1959, page 41
- ^ White, Patrick J (1991), The Complete Mission: Impossible Dossier, New York: Avon Books, pp. 8–9, ISBN 978-0380758777, OCLC 24914321
External links
