Whitehall 1212 - Single Episodes
Wyllis Cooper
Whitehall 1212 was a weekly crime drama radio show named after the famous telephone number of Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police Force. It aired from November 18, 1951, until September 28, 1952, presenting true stories described as "the plain unvarnished facts, just as they occurred." The show was hosted by the fictitious Chief Superintendent John Davison, who curated the Yard's "Black Museum," showcasing artifacts that inspired the stories.
Produced in the United States at NBC, the show featured well-researched narratives by Percy Hoskins, Chief Crime Reporter of the London Daily Express, and Writer-Director Wyllis Cooper. The British cast added authenticity to the storytelling, focusing on the police's perspective in solving cases while downplaying sensationalism. This contrasted with Orson Welles' contemporaneous show, The Black Museum, which presented stories in a more dramatic fashion.
This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.
Chapters
Reviews
The Best
Ms ATXGault
Great find. You will enjoy if you like Orson Welles The Black Museum bc these dramatizations tell the same story but POV of the CID. Not sure about the case of the Magenta Blotting Pad (Paper). Nothing in the title has anything to do with the story. Nothing at all. Unless I'm confusing this with fly paper.
A LibriVox Listener
Start out well but later shows seem increasingly divorced from reality, I simply do not believe that the police would follow such procedures as are described. The jolly music used in some of the links between scenes is largely inappropriate and must have been selected by a lunatic...
BRAVO ...
ever.thus
... such quality, through and through; saying too much about work of this highest calibre can serve as a distraction; my review is so minuscule and minor when set against this work of absolutely rare brilliance that is woven perfectly throughout this master work; if I were asked to draw one's attention to a specific aspect I would demure from same; however if pressed to speak, that's exactly what I would draw a bead on, every single spoken word and phrase; from the choices available in the dictionary of the language onward to the structure and emphasis of the phrasing; my review condensed to just a few words: an admonition to listen carefully to every single spoken word; be not distracted, do not miss hearing every single spoken word; each a rare gem precisely placed in the construction of a woven tapestry worthy to grace the walls of the Holy One And Only One: Step Aside, Genius at Work.
Old school drama
Joe Bloggs NZ
Old school drama. Interesting stories that demonstrate the darker side of the human condition.