''The Lineup'' is an American police drama which aired on

CBS radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broad ...

from 1950 to 1953 and on

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

from 1954 to 1960. Syndicated reruns of the series were broadcast under the title ''San Francisco Beat''.

Radio

The radio version depicted the investigations of Lieutenant Ben Guthrie (played by Bill Johnstone, one of several actors to play

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter ...

on radio) and Sergeant Matt Greb (played by

Wally Maher Wally Maher (August 4, 1908 – December 26, 1951) was an American actor, primarily on old-time radio; he was also known as the original voice of Tex Avery's cartoon character Screwy Squirrel. Early years Maher was born in Cincinnati on August 4, ...

until his death on December 27, 1951), later replaced by Sergeant Pete Carger (played by Jack Moyles), detectives in the police force of an unnamed "great American city".

Television

The television version was set specifically in San Francisco and was produced with the cooperation of the San Francisco Police Department, which received a credit at the close of each episode. It starred

Warner Anderson Warner Anderson (March 10, 1911 – August 26, 1976) was an American actor. Early years Anderson was born to "a theatrical family" in Brooklyn, New York, March 10, 1911.Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. ...

as Guthrie and

Tom Tully Thomas Kane Tulley (August 21, 1908 – April 27, 1982) was an American actor. He began his career in radio and on the stage before making his film debut in ''Northern Pursuit'' (1943). Subsequently, he was nominated for an Academy Award for hi ...

as Grebb. Grebb was now an inspector instead of a sergeant because at the time the series was made there was no such rank as sergeant in the Bureau of Inspectors, SFPD's investigative division, and a full inspector was the closest equivalent to the generic detective sergeant the character had been on radio. The TV version, a CBS Television production, was filmed on location, using

Desilu Desilu Productions () was an American television production company founded and co-owned by husband and wife Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. The company is best known for shows such as ''I Love Lucy'', ''The Lucy Show'', ''Mannix'', ''The Untouchabl ...

's production facilities. In the final season, the show expanded to an hour, and the Grebb character was replaced by a number of younger officers, including Policewoman Sandy McAllister (played by Rachel Ames).Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . pp. 13–14. Others in the cast were Jan Brooks, Bob Palmer, Skip Ward, William Leslie, Tod Burton, Marshall Reed, and

Ruta Lee Ruta Lee (born Ruta Mary Kilmonis; May 30, 1935) is an American actress and dancer who appeared as one of the brides in the musical '' Seven Brides for Seven Brothers''. She had roles in films including Billy Wilder's crime drama '' Witness for ...

. The announcer was

Art Gilmore Arthur Wells Gilmore, known as Art Gilmore (March 18, 1912 – September 25, 2010) was an American actor and announcer heard on radio and television programs, children's records, movies, trailers, radio commercials, and documentary films. He also ...

.Terrace, Vincent (2011). ''Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . p. 608. ''The Lineup'' was a Top 20 Nielsen ratings hit for three of its six seasons during its original network run. The series finished at number 17 in the

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

for the 1955–1956 season, at number 16 for 1956–1957 and at number 18 for 1957–1958. It received an

Emmy nomination The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for Best Action or Adventure Series in 1956.

Cast

as Det. Lt. Ben Guthrie *

as Inspector Matt Grebb (seasons 1–5)

Episodes

Season 1: 1954–55

Season 2: 1955–56

Season 3: 1956–57

Season 4: 1957–58

Season 5: 1958–59

Season 6: 1959–60

Guest stars

Russ Conway Russ Conway, DSM (born Trevor Herbert Stanford; 2 September 1925 – 16 November 2000) was an English popular music pianist and composer. Conway had 20 piano instrumentals in the UK Singles Chart between 1957 and 1963, including two numbe ...

appeared in "The Robert Avery Case" (1957) and "The Missing Cargo Case" (1958). *

Walter Coy Walter Darwin Coy (January 31, 1909 – December 11, 1974) was an American stage, radio, film, and, principally, television actor, arguably most well known as John Wayne's character's brother in ''The Searchers'' (1956). Early years Originally ...

appeared in "The Murdered Blonde Case" (May 8, 1959). *

Ron Hagerthy Ronald F. Hagerthy (born March 9, 1932) is an American actor on television and in films. Early years Hagerthy was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, but moved to Glendale, California, before he started school. He attended Glendale City College and ...

appeared in "The Toy Tiger Case" and then as John Oakhurst in "The Security Officer Case" (1957). * Rodolfo Hoyos Jr. guest-starred as Luis Gonzalez in "The Reluctant Addict Case" (1957). * Douglas Kennedy appeared in "The Charles Cleveland Case" (1959) and "The Drugstore Cowgirl Case" (1959). *

Joyce Meadows Joyce Meadows, born Joyce Johanna Burger (born April 13, 1933) is a Canadian-American film and television actress. Life and career Meadows was born in Arrowwood, Alberta, moving with her family to Montana and then California. She worked as a ...

appeared as Paula Adams in "The Boylston Billing Case" (1959). *

Eve Miller Eve Miller (born Marilyn Miller; August 8, 1923 – August 17, 1973) was an American actress who appeared in 41 films between 1945 and 1961. She was born in Los Angeles, California, and died in Van Nuys, California. She died by suicide at ...

appeared in "The Christmas Story" (1954), "The Stanley Devlin Case" (1957) and "The Daniel Leadley Case" (1959). *

Nan Leslie Nanette June Leslie (June 4, 1926 – July 30, 2000) was an American actress. She was known for playing Martha McGivern in the American western television series '' The Californians''. Life and career Leslie was born in Los Angeles, Cali ...

was cast three times, in "The Chick Madison Case" (1958) and "The Pigeon Drop Case" and "The Girls and Guns Case" (both 1959). *

Donna Martell Donna Kay Martell (born December 24, 1927) is an American former actress who starred in film and television during the Golden Age Era in the 1950s and 1960s. Early years Born on December 24, 1927, in Los Angeles, California, to Louis and Marg ...

guest-starred in "Girl Safecrackers" (1955) and "The Pawn Ticket Case" (1958).

Film version

The film '' The Lineup'', based on the series, was released in 1958 by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

, with

Eli Wallach Eli Herschel Wallach (; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. From his 1945 Broadway debut to his last film appearance, Wallach's entertainment career spanned 65 years. Origina ...

in the starring role. It was directed by

Don Siegel Donald Siegel ( ; October 26, 1912 – April 20, 1991) was an American film and television director and producer. Siegel was described by ''The New York Times'' as "a director of tough, cynical and forthright action-adventure films whose taut ...

, who had also directed "The Paisley Gang", the pilot episode of the television series.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lineup 1950 radio programme debuts 1953 radio programme endings 1950s American radio programs American radio dramas CBS Radio programs Detective radio shows Radio programs adapted into television shows 1954 American television series debuts 1960 American television series endings 1950s American crime drama television series 1960s American crime drama television series 1950s American police procedural television series 1960s American police procedural television series Black-and-white American television shows CBS original programming English-language television shows Fictional portrayals of the San Francisco Police Department Television series based on radio series Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in San Francisco