''Crime Doctor'' is a

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

crime drama in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Sponsored by Philip Morris cigarettes, it was broadcast on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

August 4, 1940 – October 19, 1947.

Premise

''Crime Doctor'' featured two premises that were unusual—if not unique—in radio crime drama. The first was that the central figure, Dr. Benjamin Ordway, had survived

amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...

. Radio historian John Dunning described the situation as follows:

Originally a criminal himself, he got zapped on the head and lost his memory. With the help of a kind doctor, he began to build a new life and identity, studying medicine and eventually going into psychiatry. ... He decided to specialize in criminal psychiatry because of his intense interest in, and understanding of, the criminal mind.Dunning, John. (1976). ''Tune in Yesterday: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, 1925-1976''. Prentice-Hall, Inc. . P. 149.

A photographic story about the program in a 1946 issue of ''Radio Mirro''r magazine contained the following comment: "Dr. Ordway ... has become such a favorite with the Police Department of his city that he is constantly being called upon for his shrewd and eager opinions in baffling murder cases. Invariably, his keen medical mind fastens upon the one clue in a case which might otherwise be lost." The second unusual premise was that, as a 1943 advertisement for a radio station noted, stories dealt with the rehabilitation of criminals. The background for this aspect of the program was that before suffering amnesia, Ordway had been a criminal mastermind. Thus, he went from heading a criminal gang to helping to rehabilitate criminals. In 1943, ''Crime Doctor'' was reported to be one of three then-current programs "credited with being based on actual case histories of criminals and trials." The others were ''

Famous Jury Trials ''Famous Jury Trials'' is a dramatized court show that first appeared on radio, followed by television, and then in the movies. The series ran on radio from 1936 through 1949, then on television from 1949 through 1952, and finally in a movie in 1 ...

'' and ''

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 ...

''.

Format

The program underwent a change in format in 1942. Although Ordway remained the central character, the stories were presented differently. ''Crime Doctor'' initially had Ordway as a member of the parole board. When a convict came before the board, Ordway heard the presentation and then asked a "jury" selected from the studio audience to decide the prisoner's fate. Each jury contained an equal number of men and women. After the 1942 revision, Ordway worked from home, no longer officially affiliated with government entities, "working with ex-convicts and helping them keep out of trouble, while at the same time aiding the local police in the unending fight against crime." In this phase of the program, listeners knew the culprit's identity from the beginning of the episode; the mystery was how he would be caught. Near the end of each episode, the announcer said, "Ladies and gentlemen, in exactly 57 seconds, Dr. Ordway will be back to tell you the piece of evidence overlooked by the suspect."

Creator's criminal connections

Max Marcin Max Marcin (5 May 1879 – 30 March 1948) was a Polish-born American playwright, novelist, screenwriter, and film director. He wrote for 47 films between 1916 and 1949. He also directed six films between 1931 and 1936. His stage work inclu ...

created ''Crime Doctor'' for radio.Wilt, David (1991). ''Hardboiled in Hollywood''. Bowling Green State University Popular Press. . P. 77. He also produced the program and wrote its scripts—260 of them as of December 1945. Marcin had been a police reporter for the

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publi ...

newspaper. A contemporary newspaper story reported, "In those days he knew practically every underworld character in New York, some of them intimately." Thus, Marcin had much information from which he could draw for plots. The article noted that Marcin's characters "seem so true to life because they are from life," adding that he maintained his underworld contacts. At one point, in 1945, Marcin even had his name featured in the program's title, when it was changed to ''Max Marcin's Crime Doctor''.

Characters and Cast

Sources: ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio'', ''The Big Broadcast: 1920-1950''Buxton, Frank and Owen, Bill (1972). ''The Big Broadcast: 1920-1950''. The Viking Press. SBN 670-16240-x. Pp. 63-64. In 1942, McIntire left the program. Ed Jerome replaced him in the cast, portraying a new lead, Dr. Leroy Hart. Announcers were Ken Roberts, Charles O'ConnorTerrace, Vincent (1981), ''Radio's Golden Years: The Encyclopedia of Radio Programs 1930-1960''. A.S. Barnes & Company, Inc. . P. 65.

Nelson Case Nelson Case (February 3, 1910 – March 23, 1976) was an American radio and television announcer. Case was the son of Walter and Ethel Case. His father was a newspaperman, and his mother was a driving force in the Long Beach Community Players. He ...

and Carl Frank. Ray Bloch led the orchestra.

Adaptation

In 1943,

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 ...

began making movies based on the ''Crime Doctor'' program, producing a total of 10 films about the character.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Four episodes of "Crime Doctor" are available online from the Internet Archive.

Four-page photographic story about "Crime Doctor" is available online in the November 1945 issue of Radio Mirror magazine.
CBS Radio programs 1940s American radio programs American radio dramas Detective radio shows 1940 radio programme debuts 1947 radio programme endings