Captain Midnight began as a syndicated radio show on October 17, 1938. The title character was Captain Jim Albright, a former World War I pilot. He was given the Captain Midnight code name because he was once sent on a high-risk secret mission and returned on the stroke of midnight. When Ovaltine took over sponsorship of the show in 1940 and the program moved over to the Mutual network, Midnight took opver the Secret Squadron, a paramilitary organizarion that fought sabotage and espionage jts prior to America entering World War II. a fifteen-episode serial was relased in 1942, with Dave O'Brien in the title role. A sydicated newspaper strip ran from 1942 to the end of the decase, and a comic book title ran from 1942 to 1948. The radio program had an audience in the m illions, with half of them adults. It was highly popular with members of US Army Air Force in World War II. The radio program ended in December 1949.
On television, Captain Midnight ran for two seasons (a total of forty episodes) on CBS, with Richard Webb (Border Patrol, The Big Clock, Night Has a Thousand Eyes) as Midnight. Midnight is now a veteran of the Korean War and the Secret Squadron is now a private organization. Midnight is backed up by comic relief Ichabod (Ikky) Mudd, played by Sid Melton (Green Acres, Make Room for Granddaddy, The Danny Thomas Show), and by resident scientist Dr. Aristotle (Tut) Jones, played by voice and character actor and radio legend Olan Soule (Dragnet, The Jack benny Program, Alfred Hitchcock Presents). Midnight's personal jet is called the "Silver Dart."
"Murder by Radiation" was the first episode in the series. The plot revolves around a fragment of a powerful radioactive element called Ormondium, which has been stolen by foreign agents. Also featued in this pilot episode were Tommy Ivo, Wheaton Chambers, Peter Brocco, Harry Lauter, and Henry Roland. Pierre Andre was the announcer. The episode was directed by D. Ross Lederman, who helmed 31 of the show's episodes. The script was by DeVallon Scott, who penned seven episodes of the series, both under his own name and as "Dane Slade."
(For legal reasons, when the program went into syndication the title and the main character's name were changed to Jet Jackson. To accomodate this change, the world's worst example of overdubbing was employed.)
Enjoy "Murder by Radiation":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3dOVBoPSw8
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