Thursday, July 7, 2016

Forgotten TV: The Man Behind The Badge (1953)

The Man Behind The Badge played out as any crime drama would in the 50's. In the case of a procedural anthology such as this, the viewer is taken, step by step, through an actual case, dramatized, and lifted from the files of a different law enforcement agency each week.

Originally, the series aired on CBS for a solid year from October 1953-October 1954. After a nearly 3 month break, the series returned, this time in syndication, with Charles Bickford, later of The Virginian, replacing original host-narrator Norman Rose. Bickford got a little more than 9 months before the series was cancelled for good.

CBS gave up on Badge because of a glut of crime dramas around this time, and that same glut, perhaps, kept viewers from finding it in syndication.

Following is a season 2 episode, narrated by Bickford, "The Case of the Priceless Passport", starring Willis Bouchey, Claude Akins, and Leon Askin (later of Hogan's Heroes):



The series is in public domain, so anyone could cobble together a DVD release. Either that, or individual episodes will turn up in themed compilation packages.

Rating: B.

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