Monthly Archives: January 2013

Reporter’s manhunt in London & Tangier

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Bob Stepno

Old-fashioned shoeleather reporting gets a good demonstration in the Europe Confidential episode called The Raymond Shortly Affair, which takes reporter Mike Connoy from his Paris office to London and from there to a Tangier nightclub and some intrigue involving a … Continue reading →

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An as-told-to tale of blackmail

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Bob Stepno

The best rewrite of a “Lives of Harry Lime” episode that I’ve heard so far, transformed into a “Europe Confidential” episode with the addition of a journalist narrator, is this tale of political blackmail in which a racketeer anti-hero comes … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, adaptations, Drama, Europe, foreign correspondents, Orson Welles | Leave a comment

Journalist frames art-theft story

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Bob Stepno

Listening to 1951’s Orson Welles “The Lives of Harry Lime” in parallel with the 1957 radio series “Europe Confidential” can be a surreal experience — and never more than in this episode about a stolen painting that changes from Rubens … Continue reading →

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Orson Welles Impersonates a Journalist

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Bob Stepno

No this isn’t about “Citizen Kane.” It’s about one of the famous actor’s returns to radio in the 1950s. (Before his first film, he was famous on radio — for everything from “The Shadow” to that Mercury Theater “War of … Continue reading →

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Reporter stands back in recycled story

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Bob Stepno

This “Europe Confidential” story is a less-satisfying adaptation of a “Lives of Harry Lime” script than the espionage episode mentioned last time, but this one illustrates a very different way journalism can become part of dramatic storytelling. In the previous … Continue reading →

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Reporter reveals Europe Confidential mysteries

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Bob Stepno

The radio series “Europe Confidential” told mystery tales in the guise of newspaper columns, and is now available as MP3 files with titles like “The Blackmailed Spy Affair.”The “World’s Greatest Mysteries” program is a bit of a mystery itself — … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, adventure, Drama, Europe, foreign correspondents, Syndication | Leave a comment