The Amazing Mr. Malone is an American television legal drama that was broadcast on ABC from September 24, 1951, through March 10, 1952. It was the "earliest prime time network dramatic series to feature a lawyer protagonist."[1]
Criminal defense attorney[2] John J. Malone first appeared in Craig Rice's novel Eight Faces at Three (1939), although other characters were more prominent in that book. Rice soon made Malone the main character in other novels. Three films were made about Malone: Having Wonderful Crime (1945), The Lucky Stiff (1949), and Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone (1950). A radio series, The Amazing Mr. Malone, ran on ABC and NBC from 1947 to 1951.
In his print debut, Malone was a "dour, cynical, hard-drinking attorney". The radio version depicted him "as a girl-chasing quipster who drank only occasionally", and that characterization carried over to the TV adaptation. The series was set in Chicago. Malone often went beyond an attorney's duties to find evidence that might help in his representation of his clients. Lee Tracy portrayed Malone on TV.[3]
| Date | Title | Actors (in addition to Tracy) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 24, 1951 | "Blood Is Thicker Than Water" | George Petrie, Roger de Koven, Chester Stratton, Ann Summers, Gordon Mills, Joseph Julian, Audrey Meadows[4] | |
| October 8, 1951 | "Requiem in Blue" | Constance Dowling, Wright King, Jack Edwards, Gilbert Mack, John Malcolm, Bram Nossen, Lawrence Ryle, George Petrie[5] | |
| October 22, 1951 | "Where There's A Will" | Frank Pulaski, Martin Brandt, Joyce Randolph, Arthur Walsh, Lewis Charles, Sammy Schwartz[6] | |
| November 5, 1951 | "Two Lives Are Better Than One" | Rita Gam, Stiano Braggiotti, Oliver Thorndike, Douglas Watson, Sid Caese[7] | |
| November 19, 1951 | "The Restless Husband" | Joe Bushkin, Glenda Farrell, Peter Barno, Millicent Brower, Guy Sorel, Francis DeSales[8] | |
| December 3, 1951 | "To His Dying Day" | Biff McGuire, Ben Chilson, John Marley, Lew Herbert, Harrison Dowd, Connie Lembke[9] | |
| December 17, 1951 | "Sauce for the Gander" | Helen Craig, Dennis Harrison, Fred Catania, John W. Farrell, Mike O’Dowd, Glenn Dicue, Larry Robinson[10] | |
| December 31, 1951 | "Dead End Street" | Eric Mattson, Riza Royce, Harry Worth, Howard Caine, Ken Konopka, Ralph Comargo, Virginia Lord[11] | |
| February 11, 1952 | "The Target" | Mercer McLeod, Edward Peck, John Boruff, Mary Farrell, Carol Teite[12] | |
| February 25, 1952 | "Breakout" | Ray Boyle. Harold McGee, James Rafferty, Allen Nourse, Rusty Lane, Iggy Wolfington, Jean Pearson, Mike O'Dowd[13] |
Edgar Peterson and Bernard L. Schubert were the producers, and Peterson was the director. The writers were Alvin Boretz, James Blumgarten, Gene Wang, Ben Feiner Jr., and Peter Barry.[14] Sponsored by Seiberling Tires,[15] the show was broadcast live on Mondays from 8 to 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time,[16] alternating weeks with Mr. District Attorney. It originated from WJZ-TV.[17]
Gene Raymond portrayed Malone in a pilot that was made for ABC in 1950 but was not broadcast.
In a review of the September 24, 1951, episode in the trade publication Billboard, Leon Morse complimented Tracy's portrayal of Malone, writing that Tracy "has never been more dynamic" than he was in combining the detective and attorney aspects of Malone, so that "what is unbelievable ... becomes easy to digest".[18] The review also praised the quality of the show's production and the strength of the supporting cast.
Dwight Newton wrote in the San Francisco Examiner that Tracy in the role of Malone provided an excellent video version of the image that listeners had formed from the radio series: "His portrayal is easy-going, sharp-witted and packed with concealed dynamite."[19] Newton added that the stories did not stand out from other mysteries: "Take 'em or leave 'em. But I don't think you'll leave Tracy, often."
A review of the premiere episode in the trade publication Variety said that The Amazing Mr. Malone "should wind up among the top half of television's many whodunits".[20] The review said that the show was structured much like contemporary shows about private detectives. It described the acting as "generally good" and the direction as "competent".[20]