Long before Lt. Columbo donned a wrinkled trenchcoat while methodically trapping monied murderers in Los Angeles, decades before Detective Lenny Briscoe persistenly solved crimes on the streets of Manahttan, and years before Five-O's Steve McGarret nabbed Hawaii's most wanted with a steely combination of foresight and firepower,a henpacked homicide specialist was bringing down bad guys with steadfast police work and self-deprecating humor.
ROCKY KING,DETECTIVE, starred the venerable and verstaile film actor Roscoe Karns,as a big city cop, who threw more punchlines than punches, in wry, self-referential tales of murder with a side serving of marital mayhem.
The show, which ran from 1950 to 1954, was a staple of the innovative, if impoverished, DUMONT Network schedule, airing LIVE on Sunday nights from 9 to 10Pm Eastern time. The show garned respectable ratings in the face of CBS's Sunday night powerhouse, GENERAL ELECTRIC THEATER, hosted by Ronald Reagan.
You'll note that in moments where other cop dramas belabor plot points, Rocky King would detour to a confab between the world-weary detective and his ditzy wife, Mable, who was never seen on camera.
The technical and creative staff improvised in the face of limited facilites and low budgets to create a satisfying and engaging crime story with comic overtones.
Here, from the FOXEEMA YOU TUBE site is a 1952 edition of DUMONT network's ROCKY KING, DETECTIVE. Enjoy!!!!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment