In 1949, CBS Radio took a chance and tried out a radio version of the series for a short summer run. The inestimable Paul Frees, long a supporting player in a number of productions, was cast in the title role as Jethro Dumont, aka The Green Lama. Frees gave voice to almost all the male characters, including in this sample episode:
CBS, undaunted, commissioned a TV pilot the following year, but it didn't get very far. That is to say, it wasn't made. Green Lama was meant to be a competitor to The Shadow, and Frees used his well known Orson Welles mimic to play Dumont/Lama (Welles is regarded as one of the definitive radio voices of The Shadow). I may be wrong about this, but it may be the only time Frees was actually cast in a lead role, aside from his later cartoon work.
Rating: B.
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