Box 13 radio show (1948-1949, United States)
Episode time
30 minutes
Language
English
"Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything, write Box 13, Star-Times" reads the classified ad placed by journalist Dan Holiday, who changed his profession and became a crime writer. But just like most of the writers, at some point he simply run out of ideas for his novels and thought this ad could bring him some inspiration. It was not a great success and the secretary Suzy just kept telling him to change the content of the ad, but he believed in his idea and even the first letter that finally arrived proved to be an invitation for an adventure.
Box 13 was based on a popular formula, later used in a popular TV series "Have gun, will travel" - the main character is not attached to any role, nor location, which gave the creators free hand to put him into any sort of situation. Dan Holiday is not a police detective, he is not a private investigator, he is not even a journalist, he reacts to the letters he gets. Sometimes they put him in the middle of the investigation, sometimes he meets the victims and sometimes the criminals.
The formula was flexible enough to keep the show standing out from other detective shows - Dan Holiday sometimes was chasing after a blackmailer, sometimes checking the insurance fraud or sometimes just trying to help a complete stranger, who wrote to Box 13 in Star-Times. With established actor Alan Ladd (who was also a producer and took part in writing the episodes), wide range of topics to build the plots, it was one of the better shows of the era.
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Creators of Box 13
screenplay
Cast of Box 13
as Dan Holiday
as Suzy
as Lieutenant Kling
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as various
as various
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