“Whenever there is mystery, intrigue, romance, in all the strange and dangerous places of the world …”

Moving to Savannah, Georgia in 1983, I was delighted to discover that the local AM MOYL (Music of Your Life) station carried a syndicated program called The Golden Age of Radio Theater weeknights at 10pm. (Well, usually at 10pm—the station would sometimes pre-empt the program if a ball game was on, proving nothing ever really changes; I used to have the same problem with The CBS Radio Mystery Theater.) Hosted by veteran radio announcer Victor Ives, the hour-long show broadcast various OTR programs—Fibber McGee & Molly, Duffy’s Tavern, Nightbeat, X Minus One, etc.—and it was listening to this show that I first became acquainted with The Man Called X.

British actor Herbert Marshall was the star of this espionage melodrama, which debuted over CBS on July 10, 1944 as a summer series sponsored by Lockheed Aircraft. It moved to the Blue network in September of that year, and then had two summer runs in 1945 and 1946 as Pepsodent’s replacement for The Bob Hope Show. After an additional season on CBS (1947-48, for Frigidaire) it moved back to NBC in October 1950 and concluded its run May 20, 1952.

The original Man Called X had Marshall playing Ken Thurston, an FBI agent here in the States, but soon after he became a reckless continental, globe-hopping around the world to places like India, Monte Carlo or Greece. (I guess with the debut of The FBI in Peace and War in 1944 and This is Your FBI a year after, things got a little crowded on this side of the pond so Thurston needed to go abroad to keep himself occupied.) Famed radio actor John McIntire, who was the announcer in the early days of the series, described Thurston as “the man who crosses the ocean as readily as you and I cross town. He is the man who travels today as you and I will travel tomorrow. He is the man who fights today’s war in his unique fashion, so that tomorrow’s peace will make the world a neighborhood for all of us.” Today’s war and tomorrow’s peace, eh…I can just picture The FBI in Peace and War threatening him: “Beat it, buddy--I’m working this side of the street!”

I’ve never been a huge fan of The Man Called X, primarily because it’s one of those shows where if you’ve heard one episode, you’ve heard them all. At least, that was my attitude twenty years ago. Whenever I heard Victor Ives announce that one of Golden Age Radio Theater's shows would be X, I would groan, but sit through it all the same. It’s possible that I’m being too judgmental, seeing as how the only shows I’ve sampled are from the 1950-52 period, but most of the episodes seem to suffer from a suffocating sameness. The Thurston character was often assisted—or, some might argue, hampered--in his investigations by a sleazy, larcenous lowlife named Pegon Zeldschmidt, played for full comic relief by Leon Belasco. I could never fully understand why Thurston associated with this greasy little weasel: he bumped into him everywhere he went and though it was clear that the agent had nothing but contempt for the guy, he would let him tag along. I don’t think I’m alone in my disdain for Pegon, by the way—a chart of the Best and Worst of OTR at Lou Genco’s website has Pegon the hands-down winner.

Another aspect of the show that bewildered me somewhat was that Thurston seemed incredibly dense in not catching on that the mysterious woman who would cross his path in many of his episodic adventures usually turned out to be working against him every single time. Still another puzzler: why the whole “Man Called X” secret identity? I mean, geez—it’s not like the guy had super powers or anything.

I previewed two episodes of The Man Called X last night—the first, “Journey to Zenophon” (10/27/50), has Thurston trying to locate some missing radioactive isotopes that were to be used by a prominent researcher until said researcher is murdered. Except for a Greek businessman character—played by Alan Reed as an amusing Sydney-Greenstreet-as-Kaspar-Gutman impression—the episode’s not that much to write home about. The second show, “Missing Scientist” (11/3/50) is a little bit better: Thurston is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a knowledgeable nuclear scientist, Professor Charney, 25 miles from Czechoslovakia:

THURSTON: Chief…what do you know about music boxes?

CHIEF: Music boxes?

THURSTON: Yeah…like the one I got here… (SFX: object being placed on desk) It came to my apartment, air express this morning…when you phoned me, I thought I’d bring it along…

CHIEF: Now wait a minute, Ken…what are you driving at?

THURSTON: It’s an interesting little gadget, Chief…listen… (SFX: music box plays) You like it?

CHIEF: Ken…

THURSTON: Sorry…by the way…did you know Professor Charney made a hobby of collecting these things?

CHIEF: He did?

THURSTON: Yeah…one he was very fond of played “Brahms’ Lullaby”…

CHIEF: Hmm…who did you say sent you that music box?

THURSTON: I don’t know…there wasn’t any name or return address on it, only the name of the manufacturer…the Brattava Toy Company…according to the postmark they’re located in Prague…Czechoslovakia…

CHIEF: Czechoslo…?

THURSTON: Yep…

CHIEF: Yeah…

THURSTON: Chief…

CHIEF: Yeah, Ken?

THURSTON: I’ve been working kind of hard lately…

CHIEF: Hmm…I don’t suppose you’d care for a little…

THURSTON: Why thank you, Chief…a vacation is just what I need…

CHIEF: That’s what I figured…any idea what you’ll do with your time?

THURSTON: Oh, I don’t know…maybe I’ll start collecting music boxes…in Prague…

Leaving aside for a moment the apparent fact that a top FBI official (the Chief) doesn’t seem to know right off the location of Prague, Thurston wings his way to Czechoslovakia and meets Papa Brattava (Lou Merrill) at his toy shop. Brattava sends Ken to a café, Flekos, and tells him he will meet him there in an hour. At the café, Thurston runs into Pegon—he's picking up a few bucks as a gypsy violinist—who informs him that it was he who sent him the music box; apparently he has information on the missing Professor which he will offer Thurston…for a price. Thurston is then joined by the episode’s mysterious woman, Ilsa (Jeanette Nolan), who speaks of an equally mysterious individual named “Kumlauv”, and asks Thurston to meet her at her place later because she also has information about the missing Charney. She then takes her leave of Thurston, slyly calling him “Mr. X.”

In an alley behind the café, Thurston demands that Pegon spill the beans—but before Pegon can tell what he knows, a car pulls up and several men get out, brandishing guns. One of them (Gerald Mohr) puts the snatch on Pegon and knocks Thurston out cold; Pegon is then informed that “Comrade Kumlauv” is anxious to question him. When Thurston comes to, he finds Brattava attending to him back at the toy shop. Brattava tells Thurston that Kumlauv is the head of a secret police organization, “terrorists and cutthroats all whose one aim is the destruction of everything democratic.” He further informs Ken that he knows Kumlauv has Charney, and that he can help him rescue the Professor with the assistance of the Democratic Resistance Movement, who will provide an escape route for them. There’s a knock on Brattava’s door, and he goes to answer it, because he is expecting a man named Josef Atica, a “mole” in Kumlauv’s organization. When he answers the door, he is shot down by an unknown assassin.

People have a nasty habit of becoming dead around our pal Ken, but that doesn’t stop him from going to meet Ilsa—unfortunately, he also runs into the goon that kidnapped Pegon there as well:

THURSTON: Well…that gun in your fist looks familiar…

GOON: Ah, you recognize me, then?

THURSTON: The area behind Flekos wasn’t that dark…where’s Pegon?

GOON: He is being debriefed…awaiting questioning…

THURSTON: Hmm…I suppose I’m next in line…

GOON: Would your question be answered, Mr. Thurston…if I put this gun away…so?

THURSTON: No…

ILSA: Oh, do you not understand, Ken…the gun was but a precaution to prevent you from some hasty action when you recognized Josef?

THURSTON: Josef? Atica?

JOSEF: That is correct, Mr. Thurston…

ILSA: Now do you see, Ken…Josef and I are with the Czechoslovakian Resistance Movement also…

THURSTON: Then why that double talk at Flekos about Kumlauv and Charney?

ILSA: I recognized you from your work here during the war…I know you must be here on one or both of those matters…and I could not talk there…so…

THURSTON: Yeah…well…you got me here…and apparently you know about Papa Brattava…

JOSEF: That is so, Mr. Thurston…I was approaching the toy shop when he was killed by one of Kumlauv’s men…

THURSTON: What about the arrest of Pegon?

JOSEF: Kumlauv’s orders…he seemed quite interested in obtaining information about you…

THURSTON: Uh-huh…

ILSA: Do you think Pegon will talk about you?

THURSTON: Oh, he’d talk about anything if there was a price tag attached to it…and that’s what I meant by time running out…if we’re going to do get Professor Charney, we’ve got to do it fast...

Both Pegon and Charney are being held at the Secret Police’s detention cell—located in an old brick warehouse—and Thurston and Josef have concocted a plan in which they, with the help of some forged documents, will present an order from Kumlauv to release the Professor into their custody. The plan seems to work--up to a point, but their cover is blown when Pegon, recognizing Thurston, pleads with him not to leave him in his cell; the Captain of the Guards then suspects that something just might be up, and Thurston and Josef—with Pegon and the Professor in tow—are forced to shoot their way out.

With information obtained from Papa Brattava, Thurston, Josef, Ilsa, Pegon and the unconscious Professor make their way to the various checkpoints along the underground’s escape route. They reach the last checkpoint before crossing the border, an old shoe factory:

PEGON: Believe you me, Mr. Thurston…I’m going to be one happy chump when we leave this wretched workshop and get across that border…what a way to get from one country to another!

JOSEF: Kumlauv would be willing to give up everything he has in Czechoslovakia if he could destroy this escape route, Zeldschmidt…ah…here’s the door, Thurston…but I do not see any sign of the watchman around…

THURSTON: Nor do I...(SFX: door open) Door’s open…let’s go in…(SFX: door close)

PEGON: Hey…it’s darker in here than the dark outside…

THURSTON: There’s a desk here…should be a lamp on it…yes, here it is…

(SFX: click of lamp switch)

PEGON: Ah, that’s better…now let’s see if we can find that watchman…

JOSEF: I would not worry about that if I were you, Zeldschmidt…you are never going to cross the border anyway…

PEGON: That’s what you think…believe me, the quicker I get out of Czechoslovakia, the faster I…Mr. Thurston! He’s got a gun!

THURSTON: Yes…what’s that mean, Atica?

JOSEF: A glance through the window will show you what it means…

PEGON: A glance through the…Mr. Thurston! There are lights out there…and men…and guns!

JOSEF; Yes, Zeldschmidt…you have reached the end of your travels…

PEGON (in a whisper): Mr. Thurston, what’s the matter with this joker anyways? Has he blown his noggin or something?

THURSTON: It’s pretty simple, Pegon…Kumlauv’s learned what he’d give his soul to learn…if he had one…the escape route…the members of the underground railway…the names of resistance leaders in every town we’ve visited…

PEGON: Kumlauv!

KUMLAUV: Yes, Zeldschmidt…I am Kumlauv…

Just when it looks like the end of the line for our hero and his amazingly stupid sidekick, Thurston reveals to Kumlauv that he was wise to him all along—that he recognized Ilsa as someone who was working for the Nazis during the war and that only the real Kumlauv could have arranged for “forged” documents in so short a time. Kumlauv attempts to make his escape, but is shot down by the members of the resistance.

If I can recommend anything about The Man Called X, it would be the first-rate acting from a company of old radio pros--Jeanette Nolan, in particular, who has always been a life-long favorite of mine. But I guess the show is best ingested like Boston Blackie, two episodes at a time is pretty much the recommended dosage. As for The Golden Age of Radio Theater, my understanding is that it is still being broadcast over the USA Radio Network—although whether or not Victor Ives is still host, I haven’t a clue, since no station in Savannah carries the program. It’s funny, I have a small stack of those programs on LP that I purchased off of eBay a while back—perhaps I need to dust them off and play a couple so I can be magically transported back to 1983. I just pray the ball game doesn’t go into overtime.