''Crime with Father'' is an early American police drama that aired on
ABC
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Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
on Friday nights from August 31, 1951, to January 18, 1952.
Plot
The series centered on Captain Jim Riland of the homicide squad, and his daughter Chris, who "had a knack for crime-solving" and often helped him solve cases when the police were stymied.
Personnel
Rusty Lane
Rusty Lane (born James Russell Lane; May 31, 1899 – October 10, 1986),James Russell Lane in the California, U.S., Death Index, 1940-1997, retrieved from Ancestry.com was a college professor who in his forties left academia to become a professio ...
portrayed Captain Jim Riland, and Peggy Lobbin played Chris Riland. The writer was Larry Menkin, the producer was Wilbur Stark, and the director was Charles S. Durbin.
Production
According to columnist Terry Vernon, the show was filmed on actual streets without using stock clips or background projections, and showed the home life of the Rilands.
Reception
A review in the trade publication ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' said that the father-daughter crime solvers premise "has the making of a solid mystery-team trend", but the episode critiqued "was marred by trite scripting and melodramatic thesping".
''The New York Times'' review of the first episode said it was "...an obviously low-budgeted series, has a far better than average quality of production, even if the pistol shots still sound like cap pistols".
Broadcast History
The premier episode was broadcast on August 31, 1951 for the eastern United States, but its start was delayed two weeks on the West Coast.
For its first three weeks, the program was sustaining. Thereafter, Block Drug Company became the sponsor, advertising Ammident, Minipoo shampoo, Pycope brushes, and other products. Block's sponsorship ended in early November 1951.
Episodes
References
External links
*{{IMDb title, 0043188, Crime with Father
1951 American television series debuts
1952 American television series endings
American Broadcasting Company original programming
1950s American crime drama television series
Black-and-white American television shows