“Specialists in Crime and Adventure”

Until this morning, it had been many years since I’d thought of the mid-20th-century radio drama series I Love a Mystery, “about three friends who ran a detective agency and traveled the world in search of adventure.” But Jerry House’s new post about “The Million Dollar Curse,” a January 1940 installment, brought back fond memories of that program. (To hear more episodes, simply click here.)

House’s post reminded me, as well, that in 1973 ABC-TV broadcast the 90-minute pilot for a small-screen version of I Love a Mystery. It starred Les Crane as Jack Packard, the seemingly ubiquitous David Hartman as Doc Long, and Hagan Beggs as Reggie York. Also featured were Ida Lupino, Don Knotts, and Jack Weston. The script was based on “The Thing That Cries in the Night,” a multi-segment story from 1949, which found our heroes investigating strange doings and mysterious crying sounds at the home of a wealthy family in Hollywood.

NBC must not have had much faith in its pilot: The movie was shot in 1967, but the network held onto it for half a dozen years before airing the thing. And no wonder it had doubts—the finished product is really pretty cheesy, woodenly acted, with an opening title sequence that includes the sort of organ music familiar from old radio mystery shows. Not surprisingly, this turkey didn’t generate a weekly series. But it’s mildly diverting, if you have a free afternoon. I’ve embedded a YouTube version below for your viewing pleasure.



WATCH MORE: If that pilot doesn’t put you off video versions of I Love a Mystery, also check out this 1945 film adaptation, “about a man who seeks protection after he predicts his own death in three days.”