Private Eye Philip Odell: Lady in a Fog & Test Room Eight

Synopsis

Robert Beatty stars as the hard-nosed Irish-American PI in these two vintage crime serialsLester Powell's Chandleresque detective Philip Odell was a huge hit on the BBC Light Programme between 1947 and 1961, thrilling audiences with his crime-solving adventures in postwar London. This gripping collection brings together the only two surviving radio serials featuring the tough-guy investigator - one of which, Test Room Eight, is published here for the very first time.Lady in a Fog - En route from London to Dublin, Philip Odell meets an old friend, Heather McMara, who tells him that her brother has been found drowned and asks him to investigate. Against the backdrop of a thick, pea-soup fog, he probes a case of blackmail and murder, involving a racehorse owner, a newspaper editor and a mysterious lady in mink...Test Room Eight - Concerned that someone is trying to sabotage the production of his new influenza vaccine, millionaire industrialist Herbert Truscott hires Odell and Heather to go undercover at his state-of-the-art facility at Barton Medworth. They soon discover that all is not well at the plant - and when a staff member dies after inhaling a fatal dose of live virus, their search for a saboteur turns into a hunt for a killer...Starring Robert Beatty as Philip Odell and Sheila Manahan as Heather, with a supporting cast including June Tobin, Jeffrey Segal, David March, Hilda Schroder, Mary Wimbush, Beryl Calder, Trevor Martin, Hamilton Dyce and Rolf Lefebvre.NB: Due to the age of the recordings, the sound quality may varyLady in a FogPhilip Odell - Robert BeattyHeather McMara - Sheila ManahanMarilyn Peters - June TobinChristopher Hampden/Bookmaker's Clerk - James ThomasonParkin - Harold ReeseMartin Sorrowby - John BennettBarman - Ronald BaddileyMrs Cantaloup - Betty BaskcombReceptionist/Violet Levine - Joan MathesonHector O'Gorman - David MarchTaxi Driver/Foreman - Will LeightonNarrator/Constable - Anthony ViccarsInspector Rigby - Edward JewesburyHead Waiter/Sergeant Layton - Jeffrey SegalTelephone Operator/Rosie - Hilda SchroderJay - Haydn Jones1st Driver/Police Doctor/Voice - Hugh ManningPostman - Frank PartingtonDr Alexander Frey - Trevor MartinThe Lady in Mink/Kitty Stapleton - Mary WimbushReceptionist/Shop Assistant - Beryl CalderPolice Surgeon - John Graham2nd Driver/Bandleader - David SpenserDoctor/Hotel Manager/Waiter - Peter WildeMaid - Ann RyeProduced by Martyn C. WebsterFirst broadcast BBC Light Programme, 29 April-17 June 1958Test Room EightPhilip Odell - Robert BeattyHeather McMara - Sheila ManahanHerbert Truscott - Hamilton DyceHugh Chalk - David SpenserDavid Karswood - Frederick TrevesKen Armstrong - Duncan McIntyreBarbara Eurich - Stella TextorWynn Craxton - Jeffrey SegalMartin Dersen - Rolf LefebvreColonel Guestling - Richard WilliamsJill Guestling - Hilda SchroderPoliceman - Will LeightonCoroner - John CazabonSuperintendent Manley - Edward JewesburyMr Twist - Frank WindsorFred Fazackerly - David MarchMr Russell - James ThomasonPaula - Beryl CalderDent - John HollisProduced by David H. GodfreyFirst broadcast BBC Light Programme, 22 December 1958-26 January 1959© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd