''Hercule Poirot'' is an American radio mystery drama that began on February 22, 1945, on Mutual and ended on November 21, 1947 on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

Harold Huber Harold Huber (born Harold Joseph Huberman, December 5, 1909September 29, 1959) was an American actor who appeared on film, radio and television. Early life Huber was born in the Bronx to Jewish immigrants from Imperial Russia, who had arrived in ...

portrayed

Hercule Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by the English writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is Christie's most famous and longest-running character, appearing in 33 novels, two plays (''Black Coffee (play), Black Coffee'' and '' ...

, the fictional Belgian detective who was featured in Agatha Christie's novels. Christie chose Huber for the role after she saw him in the film ''Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo'' (1937). In the series, Poirot was based in New York, rather than the London setting found in the books. Many of the episodes had Poirot "involved in substantive international capers".

Mutual series

The series on Mutual was also known as ''The Adventures of M. Hercule Poirot'' and ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'', It consisted of 30-minute episodes, each of which contained a complete story. Episodes were broadcast on Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time from February 22, 1945, through September 6, 1945. Two additional broadcasts on Mutual occurred on Sundays (October 7 and October 14, 1945) at 9 p.m., ending Poirot's run on that network. (Another source says that the series ran until February 17, 1946, "before legal disputes over scripting halted it.") Some episodes (including "The Case of the Roving Corpse" and "The Trail Led to Death") were original, and others were adapted from Christie's stories (including "Rendezvous with Death", an adaptation of ''

Death on the Nile ''Death on the Nile'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 1 November 1937 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at ...

'').

Lawsuit

In January 1946 writer Martin Stern won a suit in the state of New York's Supreme Court for breach of contract against Huber and Eastman, with whom Stern had agreed to provide scripts for the ''Poirot'' program. Stern charged that he received no payment after Huber sold the scripts to Mutual independently. Two radio writers and editors testified on Stern's behalf that they had revised his scripts for Huber, and three radio executives were witnesses for Huber. After five days of testimony and decision, Judge Henry Clay Greenberg ruled in Stern's favor, awarding him $14,000 and costs.

Critical response

A review in the trade publication ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said that the March 22, 1945, episode ("The Case of the Roaming Corpse") kept a listener's interest with the quality of its script and music. Overall, however, the review said that the series had "been running hot and cold, one week a good show, next a bad one."

CBS series

The CBS series (known as ''Mystery of the Week'') consisted of 15-minute episodes that ran on weekday evenings, with each story in five parts, ending on Friday, It began at 7 p.m. E. T. on April 1, 1946, and ended on November 21, 1947.

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...

was the sponsor, promoting Ivory soap and

Dreft Dreft is a laundry detergent in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and other markets. First produced by Procter & Gamble in 1933, it was the first synthetic detergent. The Fairy brand of washing-up liquid and Cascade brand of dishwasher d ...

dishwashing detergent.

Nelson Case Nelson Case (February 3, 1910 – March 24, 1976) was an American radio and television announcer. Case was the son of Walter and Ethel Case. His father was a newspaperman, and his mother was a driving force in the Long Beach Community Players. H ...

, Ron Rawson, and Richard Stark were the announcers. Carl Eastman was the director;

Alfred Bester Alfred Bester (December 18, 1913 – September 30, 1987) was an American science fiction author, TV and radio screenwriter, magazine Editing, editor and scriptwriter for comics. He is best remembered for his science fiction, including ''Th ...

and Louis Vittes were the writers. It was replaced by '' Beulah''.

Critical response

A ''Variety'' review called the August 19, 1946, episode "a tight and fast-paced story within which the detective's smart deductions operate skillfully." The review complimented Huber's portrayal of Poirot and described the supporting cast as "thoroughly competent".

References

{{Authority control 1945 radio programme debuts 1947 radio programme endings American radio dramas CBS Radio programs Detective radio shows Mutual Broadcasting System programs 1940s American radio programs