Jeff Regan - Two More Episodes With Frank Graham

Jeff Regan, Investigator - Frank Graham 'If I Knew You Were Coming I'd Have Wrecked A Train' July 2, 1950 'The British Are Coming' September 3, 1950 Two episodes from the Frank Graham era of Jeff Regan, Investigator, which don't appear in the main Regan/Graham collection.  Both episodes feature stale premises, weak characterizations, lazy writing, and overacting that would make Yosemite Sam blush. Frank Nelson plays Anthony J. Lyon. If I Knew You Were Coming I'd Have Wrecked A Train: When found on the internet, this mp3 carried the date of November 23, 1949. While two sources state that there was an episode named 'If I Knew You Were Coming I'd Have Taken A Train' (the announcer clearly gives the name of this episode as 'Wrecked' rather than 'Taken'); one gives the November date, the other gives the date as June 11, 1950. To properly date this episode, I have deferred to the extensive research of Stewart Wright, linked in Nightkey5's review below. Mr. Wright identifies the shows that aired on the above dates as the lost episodes 'The Lady Above High C' and 'For Every Man There's A Manikin', respectively. He also got the title of this episode correct; the date that he provides for 'If I Knew You Were Coming I'd Have Wrecked A Train' is Sunday, July 2, 1950, at 8:30pm. The British Are Coming: One of the above-mentioned sources states that 'Gentlemen Prefer Horses' was the final episode, on September 3, 1950; the other source claims that G.P.H. had actually run the previous week, on August 27, and that the final episode was 'The British Are Coming', included here. In his research, Mr. Wright provides some compelling evidence identifying 'The British Are Coming' as the final September 3 episode. Frank Graham died on September 2, 1950, the day before the final transcribed episode was aired.  In this era, the show was a west-coast program only, airing Sundays at 8:30pm.  Beginning the following week at this time, The Los Angeles Times listed a program simply called 'Orchestra' for four weeks; as of October 8, the time-slot was taken over by Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy. Links: To listen to more Jeff Regan episodes starring Frank Graham, click here . To hear the earlier episodes of Jeff Regan, starring Jack Webb, click here . To listen to the second Jack Webb episode of Jeff Regan, 'The Prodigal Daughter', click here . To hear the final Jack Webb episode of Jeff Regan, 'The Man Who Lived By The Sea', click here . To visit Introduction To Old Time Radio's Jeff Regan, Investigator page, click here . Frank Graham's earlier CBS series 'Cosmo Jones' seems lost to history, but fans of 'the man of a thousand voices' may enjoy the 1943 film adaptation from Monogram Studios.  (Also of interest to OTR fans is radio stalwart Herb Rawlinson as oil tycoon James J. Blake.)  To watch Graham play 'Professor' Cosmo Jones in "Crime Smasher", click here . Frank Graham's obituary is taken from the September 11, 1950 issue of Broadcasting, page 82.  To view the July-September 1950 issues of Broadcasting magazine, click here .  To jump directly to the page with the Frank Graham obit, click here . Text © 2016 W.H.Wilson

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.