IN AND OUT OF THE EAGLE 49

As this is my forty ninth page it seems only right that it should focus on PC 49 or at least the actor who played him so successfully. EAGLE TIMES has often covered the radio, film and stage career of Brian Reece, but he also appeared as a regular character in two television series. The first was The New Adventures of Martin Kane in 1957, about an American private detective based in London and working all over Europe. It starred William Gargan who had previously played the part on American radio and TV, hence the ‘new’ title. Brian Reece played  Superintendent David Page – at last getting promoted from PC and a significant promotion at that! He appeared in thirteen of the series’ thirty nine episodes, which were produced by Towers of London Productions and broadcast on ITV and in syndication in America.  His other series was a six part comedy called Don’t Do it Dempsey! which provided him with the starring role of James Dempsey, a man of eternal optimism and ‘an eye for the girls’ who leapt headlong into any promising romantic situation. Written by Patrick Campbell and Vivienne Knight, it was a B.B.C. production, made and broadcast in 1960. Brian also appeared in many one-off comedy and musical plays, often adapted for television from West End productions. These included a production of the musical Bless the Bride in 1956, which Brian had played in the West End. His performance in a radio adaptation of this play back in 1947 had won him the part of PC 49. Among his other parts was the leading role of Charles Battle in W. Somerset Maugham’s play The Breadwinner in 1960.

It is an indication of Brian’s fame as an actor, presenter and personality that he appeared twice as the celebrity ‘castaway’ on the long running radio series Desert Island Discs. These came in July 1953 and April 1961. Sadly he died in April 1962 of a bone disease, but despite serious illness he continued to present the radio series Movietime until shortly before his death.

IN AND OUT OF THE EAGLE 42

Seventy years ago, in 1953, EAGLE celebrated the last Coronation in style. For five issues the centre pages were entirely devoted to Coronation matters, including the Coronation route and how the B.B.C. would film the event. There were also several features about the Kings and Queens of Britain, the Royal Family and the Coronation itself. There was a Coronation Competition with prizes and EAGLE's editor, Marcus Morris even released a record in which he explained the significance, the events and the traditions of the Coronation for readers. In 1953, two of EAGLE's most popular strips 'PC 49' and 'Riders of the Range' were also successful B.B.C. radio series and two days after the Coronation, both were featured in a special Gala Night on the 'Light Programme' as the above extract from the Radio Times shows. Brian Reece, who played P.C. 49 introduced the programmes in character, along with Noel Johnson (also in character), as Dick Barton, the special agent he had played for three years in the popular daily serial. 'Riders of the Range' was one of the shows featured in the Gala. This was a short special edition of the western, but it featured all the major characters, including Paul Carpenter, who played Jeff Arnold, Charles Irwin as Luke and Macdonald Parke as the rancher J.C. Macdonald. The episode also featured Guy Kingsley Pointer, who would go on to play Doc in Charles Chilton's next radio series 'Journey Into Space' and Alan Keith, who played several parts in 'Riders of the Range' and would later create the long running 'Your Hundred Best Tunes' for B.B.C. radio, which he would present from 1959 until 2003, when he was ninety four. Sadly, the final series of 'The Adventures of PC 49' ended on radio shortly before this Coronation Special, so this was Reece's last appearance in the role. 'Riders of the Range' also ended its radio run later in 1953, but continued in EAGLE until 1962. 'PC 49' would continue in EAGLE until 1957. Dick Barton's radio adventures had concluded in 1951 and Noel Johnson had left the role in 1949, but as this was a Gala Night with the focus on popular programmes from the previous seven years, the character's inclusion made sense. 'Dick Barton: Special Agent' was still hugely popular when it ended and there were major protests at its cancellation. Some people are still feeling bitter about it now!  

IN AND OUT OF THE EAGLE 5

WITH JIM DUCKETT 

When EAGLE began, radio was still king and two of its most popular strips originated as BBC radio series. PC 49 began in 1947 and 112 half hour adventures of the London policeman, played by Brian Reece, were made before the programme ended in 1953. PC 49’s adventures began in the first issue of EAGLE and ran until 1957. The radio adventures of Riders of the Range, featuring Paul Carpenter as Jeff Arnold, began in 1949 and six serials were broadcast between 1949 and 1953, with the EAGLE version beginning in December 1950 and running till March 1962. Unlike strip versions of later television series in other comics, which were invariably notably inferior to their originals, the EAGLE versions of both these radio series compared most favourably, probably because they were written by their creators and illustrated by excellent artists in John Worsley and Frank Humphris, who made the strips their own. Their success is evidenced by the fact that both outlasted their radio counterparts by several years.

Of the characters who were specially created for EAGLE, Dan Dare featured in a hugely successful series of radio serials on Radio Luxembourg between 1951 and 1955, where he was played by Noel Johnson, who had originated the popular Dick Barton character in 1947, for BBC radio. The BBC produced their own four part Dan Dare serial in 1990 to mark EAGLE'S fortieth anniversary, which featured Mick Brown as Dan and Donald Gee as Digby. In 1954, EAGLE began its own promotional programme on Radio Luxembourg, called Spread Your Wings and this featured a six part Luck of the Legion serial, narrated by Norman Shelley as an old legionnaire. Sergeant Luck also appeared on the commercial Springbok Radio in South Africa in 1979 in his own series, written by his creator Geoffrey Bond, twenty years after the strip ended in EAGLE.