Talk:Crawford Mystery Theatre

Syndication before the 1950s

Several modern sources claim that Public Prosecutor was syndicated in 1947–1948 before it was picked up by DuMont and adapted as Crawford Mystery Theatre in 1951. However, I can find no evidence that Public Prosecutor was sold and shown anywhere before CMT. Trade articles as late as August 1949 say that NBC was still looking for a sponsor. Does anyone have a source published in the period 1947–1951 that definitely states Public Prosecutor was broadcast anywhere? — Walloon (talk) 23:08, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Good question. Castleman and Podrazik (1982) Watching TV say that 17 episodes of PP were filmed with the intent to syndicate to local stations, but that the networks pressured local station managers not to buy the program. It says he found no buyers and the series remained shelved (presumably until DuMont bought them, similarly to The Cases of Eddie Drake). This is not what McNeil (1996) Total Television says: it says PP aired from '47-'48, as far as I can recall (I'll double-check tonight). I've also looked PP up on NewspaperArchive, and can find only bits and pieces about the program from the 1946-1950 period, when filming or syndicating would have been done. The Reno Evening Gazette from 12-22-1948 states that 26 (not 17) episodes had been filmed. The Middletown (NY) Daily Herald from 9-28-1948 states that Jerry Fairbanks has a series on television (emphasis mine). I don't really know what to make of these differing stories. Firsfron of Ronchester 00:46, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

The earliest syndicated airings of Public Prosecutor that I have been able to find were in Philadelphia in February 1951, and in Pittsburgh and Chicago in April 1951. I've noted that in the Wikipedia article for Public Prosecutor. — Walloon (talk) 09:08, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

Was it actually called Crawford Mystery Theatre

Although modern television reference books call this DuMont series Crawford Mystery Theatre, I have been unable to find any contemporary reference from September 1951 through February 1952 that calls the show by that title. The review of the program in the Billboard issue of September 15, 1951 calls it Public Prosecutor, although it acknowledges that the show is sponsored by Crawford Clothes. Can anyone find a contemporary reference to the show as Crawford Mystery Theatre? If not, we need to change the title of this Wikipedia article, and/or consolidate it with the Public Prosecutor article. — Walloon (talk) 09:16, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

I'm quite boggled there are two articles. It's quite clear that the content of both series was the same, so there was never a need for two separate articles. I can find no contemporary reference for Crawford Mystery Theatre (and alternate spellings), but this doesn't mean it didn't exist; other programs from this era, such as DuMont's The Family Genius and Paramount's Mayfair Mystery House apparently suffered a similar fate. Someone must know something, since these titles appear in modern reference works. Firsfron of Ronchester 09:44, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

Well, no, the content was not the same. Public Prosecutor was a 15 or 20-minute crime show, while Crawford Mystery Theatre was a 30-minute panel game show (live?) that featured episodes of Public Prosecutor. — Walloon (talk) 16:00, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

Yes, I'm aware there were slight differences in content (after all, I wrote this article): CMT was padded out by a few minutes to add the panel segment. There was never need for separate articles; when you look up Public Prosecutor in Brooks and Marsh, it says See Crawford Mystery Theatre; in that entry it states, "This program was also known as Public Prosecutor". McNeil has no entry for Crawford Mystery Theatre, but says that Public Prosecutor was turned from a mystery to a panel show. Both sources treat the program as the same series, just with a change in format, length, and (in Brooks and Marsh) title. Firsfron of Ronchester 16:40, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

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