Paul Temple and the Sullivan Mystery

Paul Temple is one of those radio detective serials, the likes of which no longer exists today. The radio serials were broadcast between the 1930s and 1960s with a number of different actors and actresses playing Temple and his wife Steve. Even if you’re unfamiliar with the series, you almost certainly will be familiar with the programme’s theme tune, Coronation Scott by Vivian Ellis (I recommend the Naxos CD Elizabethan Serenade for this and similar piece). Over the last few years BBC Audio has been putting out audio CDs of the serials that still exist in the archive. But despite regular rotation on BBC 7, I hadn’t really listened to any of these series until now.
Paul Temple and the Sullivan Mystery is actually a 2006 production for Radio 4 using the scripts from a story that’s now no longer in the archives following its original 1947 production. It’s an eight parter, and since the “Previously on…” recap style is a recent invention, it’s amusing to hear Temple and one of the protagonists going over the salient plot points each episode to bring listeners up to speed.
To give a truly 1940s feel to the production, the producers have added a very slight crackle to the production to give it an old-fashioned “feel”. It doesn’t detract in the slightest, and of course all the actors and actresses speak awfully properly.
I won’t get into the story here, but it involves nefarious dealings involving a mysterious pair of spectacles. Let’s just say that there are few dead bodies en route to the conclusion. Great fun!