Born today in 1913, Alan Ladd was the producer and star of Box 13 - a wonderful syndicated mystery series that put the big screen star’s quiet intensity to good use.
Ladd starred as Dan Holiday, a newspaper reporter turned mystery writer. Holiday came up with a unique solution to writer’s block; he put an ad in his old paper, the Star-Times, which simply said: “Adventure wanted. Will go anywhere, do anything. Write Box 13." And, for 52 episodes, the letters he answered delivered on adventure, often with serious risk to life and limb of Dan Holiday! He might wind up framed for a murder, roped into an insurance fraud scheme, or stalked by a psychotic killer. Other times, he’d come to the aid of someone in over their head who needed a hand. The premise wasn’t new; in fact, it was similar to the set-up of Let George Do It, a West Coast radio series starring Bob Bailey (before he made the jump to Johnny Dollar). But George Valentine, the protagonist of that show, was a detective by trade even if he sought out clients in the classifieds. Dan Holiday was unique among radio crime-solvers because of his amateur status. Holiday didn’t carry a gun, and he wasn’t a brawler; he survived on his wits and quick thinking, maneuvering out of a tight spot the way he might tackle a problematic scene in one of his novels. It sometimes led to some suspension of disbelief that Holiday would wind up in these jams week after week (also straining credibility was Holiday’s insistence that he not be paid for any of his Box 13 work!), but the caliber of the writing and the performances - particularly Ladd’s - make the occasional plot holes hardly noticeable as the shows roll along.
Back at the office, the mail was opened and Holiday was looked after by Suzy, a scatterbrained secretary in the mold of Sam Spade’s Effie Perrine. Suzy was played by actress Sylvia Picker, who had worked with Ladd in his early career as a radio announcer. And, in the almost-obligatory role of a long-suffering friend on the police force, Edmond McDonald appeared as Lt. Kling.
But this was Ladd’s show, and he was front and center as Holiday. Unlike some of the other actors we’ve heard (Howard Duff, Gerald Mohr, Bob Bailey, and others), Ladd didn’t immediately start out sure-footed at the microphone. To listen to Box 13 today, one can hear an actor growing into a role. It doesn’t take long for Ladd to take command of the part and shake off any unease about dramatic performances on the air. His delivery is a bit softer than the full-bodied, two-fisted voice of a Gerald Mohr or Jeff Chandler, but Ladd’s style is better suited to these stories. His Holiday is a man of brains over brawn, a more careful observer before he leaps into action. He’s also a man who can always find the humor in some of the more absurd situations in which he finds himself.
The show premiered in most markets in 1948, and it ran in syndication through the 1950s. Along with Picker and McDonald, Ladd was backed up by a fine supporting cast of Hollywood radio players including Frank Lovejoy, Betty Lou Gerson, Gerald Mohr, Lurene Tuttle, and Paul Frees. Most of the episodes were scripted by Russell Hughes, who gave Ladd one of his first jobs in the entertainment industry. Ladd was heavily involved, even scripting some of the episodes. And he remained passionate about the series even after it wrapped; Ladd shopped a Box 13 TV series but it never went further than an episode of the General Electric Theater, an adaptation of a radio episode that aired on TV in 1954. While he could not bring Dan Holiday’s adventures to television, Ladd’s foresight in transcribing the series means the complete run is available to a new generation of old time radio fans who can enjoy these shows again. Listen as Dan Holiday opens a new letter and discovers the danger that comes along with his offer.
In this week’s new episode of Down These Mean Streets, we’re saluting Alan Ladd’s birthday with an episode of Box 13 and an old time radio adaptation of his big screen adventure drama O.S.S.
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