The Lineup (radio series)

The Lineup is a half-hour American radio police drama that was broadcast on CBS from July 6, 1950, until February 20, 1953.[1] It began as a summer replacement for The FBI in Peace and War.[2]

Premise

Following a trend begun by the radio series Dragnet, The Lineup strove to portray realism in a police drama. The title indicated the show's focus, as each story began and ended with a lineup of suspects in a police station[1] in San Francisco.[3] Sergeant Matt Grebb, who was heard giving instructions to participants in each lineup, was "quick-tempered and often bored", while his boss, Lieutenant Ben Guthrie, was "soft-spoken and calm."[1] The program portrayed most activities of the police as part of the job with "few heroics".[1] Episodes were "fast, furious, and realistic."[4]

Each episode began with the announcer saying:

Ladies and gentlemen, we take you behind the scenes at a police headquarters in a great American city where, under glaring lights, will pass before us the innocent, the vagrant, the thief, the murderer. This is The Lineup.[3]

On-air personnel

Bill Johnstone portrayed Guthrie. Joseph Kearns initially portrayed Grebb, with Wally Maher taking that role beginning in 1951.[1] Guthrie and Grebb were the only two regular characters on the program.[2] The announcers were Clarence Cassell, Dan Cubberly, Bob LeMond, Charles Lyon, Bob Stevenson, and Joe Walters.[5]

Production

Elliott Lewis directed the program in 1950; Jaime del Valle replaced him and produced the show. Writers included E. Jack Neuman,[3] Gil Doud, Milton Geiger, Charles E. Israel, Gene Levitt, David M. Light, Sydney Marshall, Richard Quine, William J. Ratcliff,[5] Morton Fine, David Friedkin, and Blake Edwards. Edwards and del Valle rode with police and sat in on real-life lineups, and del Valle read "about a dozen newspapers a day" in search of material that could be adapted for episodes.[1] Eddie Dunstedter composed and conducted the music.[3]

The series was usually sustaining but at times was sponsored by Plymouth dealers, Wrigley's Spearmint gum, and The U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force recruiting Service.[5]

Critical response

A review of the premiere episode in the trade publication Variety said that "aside from the lineup angle ... [the episode] hewed to the traditional whodunit pattern."[6] The review complimented the "compact script" and "tight direction" that enabled the story to progress "in a suspenseful manner, without telegraphing the denouement".[6]

Scripts

Scripts of episodes of The Lineup and printed material related to other old-time radio programs are held in the KNX Collection at the University of California, Santa Barbara Library.[7]

References
  1. Dunning, John (May 7, 1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. pp. 401–402. ISBN 978-0-19-977078-6. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  2. "'The Line-Up' Replaces 'The F.B.I. In Peace and War' on CBS-KWKH". The Times. Louisiana, Shreveport. July 9, 1950. p. 10-A. Retrieved September 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Terrace, Vincent (June 8, 2015). Radio Program Openings and Closings, 1931-1972. McFarland. pp. 139–140. ISBN 978-1-4766-1223-2. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  4. Hill, Ona L. (February 9, 2012). Raymond Burr: A Film, Radio and Television Biography. McFarland. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-7864-9137-7. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  5. Radio Series Scripts, 1930-2001: A Catalog of the American Radio Archives Collection. McFarland. 28 January 2015. pp. 217–219. ISBN 978-1-4766-0670-5. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  6. "The Line-Up". Variety. July 12, 1950. p. 34. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  7. "KNX Collection (ARA) PA Mss 167". Online Archive of California. University of California Libraries. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
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