Lester Powell

Robert Beatty

Sheila Manahan

Full Cast

Two BBC Radio classic crime dramas

Robert Beatty stars as the hard-nosed Irish-American PI in these two vintage crime serials 
 
Lester Powell's Chandleresque detective Philip Odell was a huge hit on the BBC Light Programme between 1947 and 1961, thrilling audiences with his crime-solving adventures in postwar London. This gripping collection brings together the only two surviving radio serials featuring the tough-guy investigator - one of which, Test Room Eight, is published here for the very first time. 
 
Lady in a Fog - En route from London to Dublin, Philip Odell meets an old friend, Heather McMara, who tells him that her brother has been found drowned and asks him to investigate. Against the backdrop of a thick, pea-soup fog, he probes a case of blackmail and murder, involving a racehorse owner, a newspaper editor and a mysterious lady in mink... 
 
Test Room Eight - Concerned that someone is trying to sabotage the production of his new influenza vaccine, millionaire industrialist Herbert Truscott hires Odell and Heather to go undercover at his state-of-the-art facility at Barton Medworth. They soon discover that all is not well at the plant - and when a staff member dies after inhaling a fatal dose of live virus, their search for a saboteur turns into a hunt for a killer... 
 
Starring Robert Beatty as Philip Odell and Sheila Manahan as Heather, with a supporting cast including June Tobin, Jeffrey Segal, David March, Hilda Schroder, Mary Wimbush, Beryl Calder, Trevor Martin, Hamilton Dyce and Rolf Lefebvre. 
 
NB: Due to the age of the recordings, the sound quality may vary 
 
Lady in a Fog 
Philip Odell - Robert Beatty 
Heather McMara - Sheila Manahan 
Marilyn Peters - June Tobin 
Christopher Hampden/Bookmaker's Clerk - James Thomason 
Parkin - Harold Reese 
Martin Sorrowby - John Bennett 
Barman - Ronald Baddiley 
Mrs Cantaloup - Betty Baskcomb 
Receptionist/Violet Levine - Joan Matheson 
Hector O'Gorman - David March 
Taxi Driver/Foreman - Will Leighton 
Narrator/Constable - Anthony Viccars 
Inspector Rigby - Edward Jewesbury 
Head Waiter/Sergeant Layton - Jeffrey Segal 
Telephone Operator/Rosie - Hilda Schroder 
Jay - Haydn Jones 
1st Driver/Police Doctor/Voice - Hugh Manning 
Postman - Frank Partington 
Dr Alexander Frey - Trevor Martin 
The Lady in Mink/Kitty Stapleton - Mary Wimbush 
Receptionist/Shop Assistant - Beryl Calder 
Police Surgeon - John Graham 
2nd Driver/Bandleader - David Spenser 
Doctor/Hotel Manager/Waiter - Peter Wilde 
Maid - Ann Rye 
Produced by Martyn C. Webster 
First broadcast BBC Light Programme, 29 April-17 June 1958 
 
Test Room Eight 
Philip Odell - Robert Beatty 
Heather McMara - Sheila Manahan 
Herbert Truscott - Hamilton Dyce 
Hugh Chalk - David Spenser 
David Karswood - Frederick Treves 
Ken Armstrong - Duncan McIntyre 
Barbara Eurich - Stella Textor 
Wynn Craxton - Jeffrey Segal 
Martin Dersen - Rolf Lefebvre 
Colonel Guestling - Richard Williams 
Jill Guestling - Hilda Schroder 
Policeman - Will Leighton 
Coroner - John Cazabon 
Superintendent Manley - Edward Jewesbury 
Mr Twist - Frank Windsor 
Fred Fazackerly - David March 
Mr Russell - James Thomason 
Paula - Beryl Calder 
Dent - John Hollis 
Produced by David H. Godfrey 
First broadcast BBC Light Programme, 22 December 1958-26 January 1959 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Lester Powell

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