| 21 Beacon Street | |
|---|---|
 Dennis Morgan and Joanna Barnes | |
| Starring | Dennis Morgan, Joanna Barnes, Brian Kelly and James Maloney |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production company | Filmways |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | July 2 (1959-07-02) – September 24, 1959 (1959-09-24) |
21 Beacon Street is an American detective television series that originally aired on NBC from July 2 to September 10, 1959.
Produced by Filmways, the summer replacement series for The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show consisted of 11 black-and-white 30-minute episodes. The show starred Dennis Morgan as private investigator Dennis Chase. Other cast members included Joanna Barnes, Brian Kelly, and James Maloney.
The series pilot was broadcast as an episode of Panic!. The show aired on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Reruns were broadcast on ABC-TV on Sundays at 10:30 p.m. from December 1959 to March 1960.
Leonard Heideman was the show's creator. The series' first episode was "The Rub-Out".
Premise
Dennis Chase was a private investigator with an office on 21 Beacon Street, in an unspecified city. Chase was aided by Joanna Barnes as Joanna, who was a combination of beauty and brains. She was able to glean information and then act as a decoy. Brian Kelly was Brian, a young law school graduate; and James Maloney played Jim, an expert on dialects, as well as a skilled craftsman.
Chase and his assistants worked to discover who the criminals were, but then notified the police to come and apprehend the law breakers.
Forerunner to Mission Impossible
The producers of Mission: Impossible were sued for plagiarism by the creators of 21 Beacon Street. The suit was settled out of court. Bruce Geller claimed never to have seen the earlier show; Beacon Street's story editor and pilot scripter, Laurence Heath, would later write several episodes of Mission: Impossible.
Episodes
The following is a list of episodes.
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Rub Out" | Maurice Geraghty | Robert C. Dennis | July 2, 1959 (1959-07-02) |
| 2 | "Safety Deposit" | Harold Schuster | Story by : John Meredyth Lucas Teleplay by : Leonard Heideman | July 9, 1959 (1959-07-09) |
| 3 | "The Payoff" | Maurice Geraghty | Tom Gries | July 16, 1959 (1959-07-16) |
| 4 | "Double Vision" | Jean Yarbrough | Story by : Jack Kelsey Teleplay by : Jack Kelsey and Leonard Heideman | July 23, 1959 (1959-07-23) |
| 5 | "The Swindle" | Maurice Geraghty | Story by : Orville H. Hampton Teleplay by : Leonard Heideman | July 30, 1959 (1959-07-30) |
| 6 | "The Execution" | Jean Yarbrough | John Meredyth Lucas | August 6, 1959 (1959-08-06) |
| 7 | "Break In" | Maurice Geraghty | Leonard Heideman | August 13, 1959 (1959-08-13) |
| 8 | "The Trojan Horse" | Maurice Geraghty | Betty Halsey | August 20, 1959 (1959-08-20) |
| 9 | "The Hostage" | Jean Yarbrough | Story by : David Chandler Teleplay by : Jack Laird | August 27, 1959 (1959-08-27) |
| 10 | "The Trap" | Val Raset | Story by : Fenton Earnshaw Teleplay by : Leonard Heideman and Fenton Earnshaw | September 3, 1959 (1959-09-03) |
| 11 | "Dilemma" | Jean Yarbrough | Leonard Heideman | September 10, 1959 (1959-09-10) |
| 12 | "Nothing is Impossible" | Val Raset | Story by : Clayton Rawson Teleplay by : Leonard Heideman | September 17, 1959 (1959-09-17) |
| 13 | "Close Call" | Harold Schuster | Leonard Heideman | September 24, 1959 (1959-09-24) |
References
- Irvin, Richard The Forgotten Desi and Lucy TV Projects, Bear Manor Media, 2020
- ^ Irvin, Richard (2014). George Burns Television Productions: The Series and Pilots, 1950-1981. McFarland. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-4766-1621-6. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- ^ Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946 – Present Ballantine Books, 1979, page 647
- Cain, Ira (July 2, 1959). "New Cop-Crook Series to Premiere". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Texas, Fort Worth. p. 28. Retrieved May 3, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- 21 Beacon Street Is New Half Hour Crime Series, The Modesto Bee, June 28, 1959, page 41
- White, Patrick J (1991), The Complete Mission: Impossible Dossier, New York: Avon Books, pp. 8–9, ISBN 978-0380758777, OCLC 24914321
External links
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- 1959 American television series debuts
- 1959 American television series endings
- 1950s American crime television series
- Black-and-white American television shows
- American English-language television shows
- Television shows set in Boston
- American detective television series
- Television series by MGM Television
- Television series by Filmways
- NBC television dramas
- United States drama television series stubs