Mandell Kramer Don MacLaughlin Counterspy 1952

''Counterspy'' was an

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

drama radio series that aired on the

NBC Blue Network The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American Commercial broadcasting, radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945. Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the N ...

(later

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

) and Mutual from May 18, 1942, to November 29, 1957.Dunning, John. (1998). ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio''. Oxford University Press. . P. 181. David Harding (played by

Don MacLaughlin William Donald MacLaughlin (November 24, 1906 – May 28, 1986) was an American actor. The son of a doctor, MacLaughlin was born November 24, 1906, in Webster, Iowa. He studied speech and English at Iowa Wesleyan University, Northwestern Univer ...

) was the chief of the United States Counterspies, a unit engaged during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

counterintelligence Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or ot ...

against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

's Black Dragon and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

.Reinehr, Robert C. and Swartz, Jon D. (2008). ''The A to Z of Old-Time Radio''. Scarecrow Press, Inc. . Pp. 69-70. United States Counterspies was a fictional government agency devised by the program's creator, Phillips H. Lord after Lord "had a certain amount of difficulty with

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation � ...

over story content in

Gang Busters ''Gang Busters'' is an American dramatic radio program heralded as "the only national program that brings you authentic police case histories." It premiered on January 15, 1936, and was broadcast over 21 years through November 27, 1957. Histo ...

."Erickson, Hal (2014). ''From radio to the big screen: Hollywood films featuring broadcast personalities and programs''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 253-255.

Mandel Kramer Mandel Kramer (March 12, 1916 – January 29, 1989) was an American actor. As a voice actor, he is best known as the last Johnny Dollar from ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' radio show. Early years Kramer grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, where his f ...

played Peters, Harding's assistant.Buxton, Frank and Owen, Bill (1972). ''The Big Broadcast: 1920-1950''. The Viking Press. SBN 670-16240-x. P. 62. The program's plots progressed through three phases. During World War II they involved "threats from the Axis powers."Blottner, Gene (2012). ''Columbia Pictures Movie Series, 1926-1955: The Harry Cohn Years''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 80-83. After the war ended, Cold War threats took precedence. In the third phase, "they addressed all manner of illegal activities. Scriptwriters for the series included Milton J. Kramer, Emile C. Tepperman and Stanley Niss.

Adaptations

The radio drama was adapted to film twice, as ''

David Harding, Counterspy ''David Harding, Counterspy'' is a 1950 American film noir crime film directed by Ray Nazarro and starring Willard Parker. It was based on the radio series '' Counterspy''. Plot An American spy is killed under suspicious circumstances. His frien ...

'' (July 1950) and as ''

Counterspy Meets Scotland Yard ''Counterspy Meets Scotland Yard'' is a 1950 American film noir B movie directed by Seymour Friedman and starring Howard St. John, Ron Randell and Amanda Blake. Plot When enemy agents obtain leaked secrets about a guided missile system, an Ameri ...

'' (November 1950). Both

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

productions starred

Howard St. John Howard St. John (October 9, 1905 – March 13, 1974) was a Chicago-born character actor who specialized in unsympathetic roles. His work spanned Broadway, film and television. Among his best-remembered roles are the bombastic General Bullmoose i ...

in the title role. An unsuccessful pilot for a television version of ''Counterspy'' was produced in England in 1958, with

Don Megowan Don Megowan (May 24, 1922 – June 26, 1981) was an American actor. He played the Gill-man on land in ''The Creature Walks Among Us'', the final part of the ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' trilogy. Early life Don Megowan was born in Inglewo ...

as David Harding. The trade publication Broadcasting also reported on plans of Bernard L. Schubert Inc. to produce 39 episodes of ''David Harding, Counterspy'' with

Reed Hadley Reed Hadley (born Reed Herring, June 25, 1911 – December 11, 1974) was an American film, television and radio actor. Early life Hadley was born in Petrolia, Texas, to Bert Herring, an oil well driller, and his wife Minnie. Hadley had one ...

in the title role and Telestar Films' releasing of ''Counterspy'' for syndication. A Spanish version of ''Counterspy'' was transmitted to South America via shortwave radio in 1942. An article in Broadcasting reported that commercial were deleted and that the effort was "in cooperation with the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs."

References

{{reflist

External links

Logs

Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs: ''Counterspy''Episodic log of ''Counterspy'' from RadioGOLDINdex

Audio

Script of "Case of the Framed Congressman" episode of ''Counterspy''Zoot Radio, free old time radio show downloads of "David Harding Counter Spy"

TV pilots

Pilot of TV version of ''David Harding, Counterspy,'' starring Reed HadleyPilot of TV version of ''Counterspy'' starring Don Megowan

Magazine article

Radio and Television Mirror article "by David Harding" with information from "actual cases from the Counterspy files."
American radio dramas 1940s American radio programs 1950s American radio programs NBC Blue Network radio programs ABC radio programs Mutual Broadcasting System programs 1942 radio programme debuts 1957 radio programme endings Radio programs adapted into films