Danger Dr Danfield


Danger, Dr. Danfield was broadcast on ABC from August 18, 1946, to April 13, 1947, and was later syndicated; these recordings are from the syndicated version. Beware: this is considered one of the poorest productions of the golden age of radio. Dr. Daniel Danfield was a criminal psychologist, a topic and profession that was very new in the 1940s. He dictated each case to his secretary, Rusty Fairfax. The lead role was played by Michael Dunne, who would later be billed in his appearances as Steve Dunne. He is unfortunately remembered for this series and for replacing Howard Duff on The Adventures of Sam Spade . He was a good actor, but these roles did not help his reputation, especially in replacing the very popular Duff. The program had some superb radio veterans in supporting roles. They did the best they could; the scripts were awful. The program had an intriguing opening with Dunne, in character, saying "The human mind is like a cave. Beyond the light are dark passage ways and mysterious recesses. I, Doctor Daniel Danfield, have explored those unknown retreats and know their secrets." It was basically downhill from there.   * * * Joe Hehn (1931-2020) was a pioneering collector of radio recordings when the hobby emerged in the 1960s. The Joe Hehn Memorial Collection is comprised of many recordings and documents. The latter include scripts, program documentation, catalogs of fellow collectors, and old time radio fanzines of the period. These documents are being scanned into Adobe Acrobat PDF files. Digitizing his collection of reel tapes and discs is the effort of a wide range of North American volunteers, and includes assistance of some international collectors. The groups supporting this effort with their funds, time, technology and skills are the Old Time Radio Researchers and a small group of transcription disc preservationists who refer to themselves as the "The Knights of the Turning Table."

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.