SPEED GIBSON OF THE INTERNATIONAL SECRET POLICE

 Speed Gibson of the International Secret Police was a syndicated juvenile adventure radio series that ran for 178 episodes from January 1, 1937 to May 25, 1940.  The series was created and written by Viginia Cooke.  Each weekly episode ran about fifteen minutes. The complete series was divided into two arcs.  The first 100 episodes, "The Menace of the Octopus," dealt with Speed and his alies facinfg the world's most dangerous criminal,  The final 73 episodes, entitled "Speed Gibson and the Atlantian Syndicate," follows Speed through Africa as he continues his quest to defeat the Octopus.

Speed is a fifteen year-year-old pilot -- "a typical American boyinterested in short wave radio, aviation, and most of all -- The International Secret Police."  Speed's uncle Clint Barlow is an operator for the International Secret Police; Cint's right-hand man is Barney Dunlap.  In the very first episode, Cl;iont and Barney are called to headquarters to be briefed on the activites of thye Octopus.  While they were at the meeting, an agent of the Operator attempted go through Cliont's papers in his room, only to be knocked unconscious by Speed with a model of the China Clipper he had been making.  As episode 2 opens, Clint, Barney, and Speed are in the Chief's office with Speed's prisoner.

Let's see what happens in episode 2:  "Speed is Inducted Into the Secret Service."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSaaKNsMG_8

The records are sketchy, but it believed that Speed was played Elliott Lewis.  Lewis was an actor, writer, directo,r and producer whose versatility earned him the nickname "Mr. Radio."  He played many characters on Burns and Allen and on The Jack Benny Radio Show; he was Archie Goodwin to Francis X. Bushman's Nero Wolfe; played the title characters on The Adventures of Gregory Hood and Hawk Durango; was the announcer on Escape; and famously portrayed Frankie Remley on The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show.  Lewis acted briefly in films and on television but his work there concentrated mmainly on scripting, directing and producing.  In the early Eighties, he wrote seven paperback detective novels about police officer turned private detective Fred Bennett -- one of which was nominated for a Shamus award.  

Howard McNear (Doc Adams on radio's Gunsmoke and barber Floyd Watson on The Andy Griffith Show; his filme appearances included Bell, Book and Candle, Anatomy of a Murder, Heller in Pink Tights, and Blue Hawaii) was Clint Barlow.  Barney Dunlap was portrayed by John Gibson (Casey, Crime Photographer, Terry and the Pirates, A Date with Judy); Barney would utter such popular catchphrases as "Suffering wangdoodles!"  The Octopus was voiced by Gale Gordon (Here's Lucy, Our Miss Brooks, Dennis the Menace).

All 178  episodes of Speed Gibson of the International Secret Police are available online.