Paul Temple and the Vandyke case

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Paul Temple and the Vandyke case is an eight-part radio play from the Paul Temple series by Francis Durbridge , produced by NWDR Cologne in 1953 and broadcast for the first time from September 12 to October 30, 1953. The total playing time is 314 minutes.

Title of each episode

  1. baby-sitter
  2. What happened in Marlow
  3. Mr. Droste is introduced
  4. Boulevard Seminaire
  5. Roger Shelly beckons
  6. Suspect # 1
  7. Steve has a visitor
  8. Mr. Vandyke

action

When the young widow Mary Desmond, accompanied by Terry Palmer, came home from dinner one evening, both her 18-month-old baby and her babysitter Miss Millicent disappeared without a trace. On a telephone pad she finds the note in Miss Millicent's handwriting, “A Mr. Vandyke called; do not leave an order ”. But nobody seems to know this Mister Vandyke. Since Miss Millicent no longer shows up, Scotland Yard must assume a child abduction . Sir Graham Forbes and Inspector Eden enlist the help of writer and private investigator Paul Temple .

Queenie Edwards, Miss Millicent's roommate, has important news for Paul Temple and is meeting him at Paddington Station . When he and his wife Steve arrive there, they learn that Queenie has been murdered on the train. Her face was completely cut. The next morning the Temples receive a letter from the murdered. Inside is a cloakroom slip for the Commodore Club. The piece of luggage, a briefcase containing a doll of the missing girl, is said to have come from Terry Palmer. But this vigorously denies it.

The Temples are going to a hotel in Marlow for a weekend , as a trail seems to lead there. At night they find a dying man in a hotel room with numerous cuts on his face, who introduced himself to them in the afternoon as Sergeant Digby and spoke of clues in the Edwards murder. A certain Roger Shelly, who runs a domestic help agency, also seems to be involved in the matter, especially since Miss Millicent, who has disappeared, was occasionally put through him. The last words of the alleged sergeant are: "A Mister Vandyke called." On the way back to London , a shot is fired at the car of the Temples, which breaks the windshield.

In front of the house they are expected by Mary Desmond and Terry Palmer, who report that the baby has suddenly appeared again. Shortly afterwards Philip asks Droste Temple to come and see him in his apartment. Droste, who owns the Commodore Club and the hotel in Marlow, wants to know what was in the briefcase that Temple picked up at the men's cloakroom a few days ago.

Gloves of Mrs. Desmond and Droste's wife Vanessa and a receipt that was found with the alleged sergeant lead the Temples to Paris in the glove shop of Charles Maret, who sends them to 29 Boulevard Seminaire, where they meet a person named Palmer in the evening should.

In the afternoon they learn from Sir Graham that the body of Miss Millicent was fished from the Thames and that the alleged Sergeant Digby is Harry de Wolfe, a criminal who was involved in a drug smuggling. Vanessa Droste is killed in a bomb attack in a street café, and the Temples get away with it. As if by chance, Droste and his manager Bill MacCall are also in Paris.

Paul and Steve find Maret's body in the apartment on Boulevard Seminaire. His face was also cut with a razor. MacCall's lighter is on the floor. When the phone rings, Temple picks up the phone, then he is shot at from the house across the street. A bullet hits his arm. Droste and MacCall are released by the French police because they can prove a valid alibi for the time of the crime .

Marian Faber, a painter and friend of Shelly, is suspected of having written a threatening letter to Shelly with the forged handwriting of Miss Millicent. When asked about it by Temple, she explains that the matter was only meant as a joke. The detective doesn't believe her and sees her involved in the case, especially since she is friends with Terry Palmer. Temple tells Palmer that he thinks he's suspect number one.

Roger Shelly comes to the Temples very excited and reports that a man had attacked him in his bed with a razor and that he was only able to fend off the attacker with the courage of desperation. He did not recognize him, but an indication could point to Droste or Palmer.

Mary Desmond is ambushed and badly mistreated behind the Commodore Club. In the ambulance, she makes an important statement to Temple. Without knowing it, Miss Millicent distributed drugs in sealed packages to various customers on behalf of the gang , including Vanessa Droste. When she found out, she no longer wanted to participate. Because of the pressure on her, she in turn abducted the baby to turn the tables. But Vandyke found them and killed them. Queenie Edwards ultimately had to die because she was initiated by her friend and refused to take the place of Miss Millicent. Mary Desmond also succumbs to her serious injuries.

Marian Faber tries in vain to kidnap Steve from her apartment and ends up in her own trap. Temple asks her to write a letter on his behalf.

The next day, Paul asked Philip Droste to host a cocktail party in his apartment and gave him the guest list. When everyone involved in the case has gathered, Temple explains that the actual head of the drug ring was Maret and Vandyke was its agent in London. The couriers from the island at Maret had to identify themselves with their gloves on. Then Vandyke had Maret eliminated and took over the organization himself. When Droste says that he is being blackmailed by Vandyke for his wife's drug addiction, Terry Palmer pulls a revolver. In a scuffle, he accidentally shoots Marian Faber and then throws himself down through the window.

The next day, Temple and Sir Graham take the train to Marlow. During the journey, Paul enters the compartment where Shelly is sitting alone and makes it clear to him that only he could be Vandyke. When Shelly tries to attack with a razor, Droste and MacCall enter the compartment and disarm the attacker. Temple leaves the compartment to fetch Sir Graham Forbes. MacCall opens the car door and Droste pushes Shelly out of the moving train.

occupation

Remarks

The radio play was produced by the BBC in 1950 under the title Paul Temple and the Van Dyke Affair . The Temple couple were played by Kim Peacock and Marjorie Westbury . In the 1959 new production, Peter Coke played Paul Temple alongside Marjorie Westbury (in the 1950s version he had also played the role of Terry Palmer ).

After Paul Temple and the Gregory affair in 1949, this is probably the third multi-part series that NWDR Cologne produced in its Paul Temple series . The ARD radio play archive, however, has another multi-part series entitled A case for Paul Temple from 1950, which is said to be the Valentin case . The WDR in Cologne could not confirm this information on request.

Gustav Knuth, who was best known for his numerous film and television roles, was also featured in radio play productions from time to time. In the Paul Temple series, however, he only had this one appearance. This also applies to Wolfgang Wahl, who, however, was much more often used as a radio play speaker. Are known z. B. the roles of the private detective Richardson in Permits, my name is Cox (1952) and that of the war returnees Clemens Forell in As Far Your Feet Carry (1956).

Publications

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Overview of the BBC audio productions in 1950 and 1959

References

  • Radio play (plot)
  • The internet database of the ARD radio play archive, accessed on January 15, 2011 (all information about the production).