Duncan Maclain
Created by Baynard H. Kendrick (also wrote as Richard Hayward; 1894-1977)
Blinded in World War I, wealthy, dashing Captain DUNCAN
MACLAIN moves to New York and sets up a detective agency,
aided by his partner, Spud Savage, and his secretary (and Spud's
wife) Rena. Rounding out the staff are Duncan's two specially-trained
German Shepherds, Schnuke and Driest. When he's not solving crimes,
Duncan whiles away the time reading (in Braille) and doing giant
jigsaw puzzles. Later on in the series, Duncan found time to marry
the lovely Miss Sybella Ford, owner of a decorating shop.
Don't be fooled by the gimmick -- these books are pretty damn
decent, and author Kendrick is no hack. He was a founding member
of The Mystery Writers of America and served as its first
president, and was later voted a Grand Master. The Maclain books
are exciting, well-written adventures (even if, granted, there
are a few pulpy gee-whizzes sprinkled here and there) and it's
a true crime that Kendrick and Maclain are now almost forgotten.
Oh, and by the way, it IS a good gimmick. At least good enough to inspire a handful of B-films in the forties, including a couple starring the decidedly stout Edward Arnold as the blind detective. They weren't great, although Eyes in the Night has a few unintentionally hilarious moments of scenery chewing, as Arnold pretends to be drunk.And 1938's The Last Express, which I haven't seen, ninetheless boasts a character (played by Don Brodie) who's listed as Spud Savage, Private Detective. Is that a great monicker or what?
There was also a TV appearance with Robert Middleton as Maclain (that I can't find any info on), and in the seventies, Longstreet, a television series that featured a blind insurance investigator (and that I definitely remember, and rather fondly, as well).
NOVELS
SHORT STORIES
- "The Murderer Who Wanted More" (January 1944, The
American Magazine; also issued as a special 10-cent Dell paperback
in 1951)
- "Melody of Death" (June 1945, The American Magazine)
- "Silent Night" (December
1958, Sleuth Mystery Magazine; also 1982, Murder For Christmas,
Volume 2)
- "The Silent Whistle" (1947, Make Mine Maclain)
COLLECTIONS
- Make Mine Maclain (1947-three novelettes) ...Buy this book
Includes "The Silent Whistle," "Melody in Death" and "The Murderer Who Wanted More"
FILMS
- THE LAST EXPRESS
(1938, Universal)
63 minutes, black and white
Based on the novel by Baynard Kendrick
Screenplay by Edmund L. Hartmann
Directed by Otis Garrett
Starring Kent Taylor as DUNCAN MacLAIN
Also starring Dorothea Kent, Greta Granstedt, Paul Hurst, Don Brodie (as Spud Savage, Private Eye), J. Farrell MacDonald, Samuel Lee, Al Shaw, Edward Raquello, Robert Emmett Keane, Charles Trowbridge, Addison Richards, Al Hill
- EYES IN THE NIGHT...Buy this video...Buy
this DVD
(1942, MGM)
80 minutes, black & white
Tagline: Startling as a Scream!
Based on the novel "Odor
of Violets" by Baynard Kendrick
Screenplay by Howard Emmett
Rogers and Guy Trosper
Cinematography by Charles
Lawton Jr.
Directed by Fred Zinnemann
Produced by Jack Chertok
Starring Edward Arnold as
DUNCAN MACLAIN
Also starring Ann Harding, Donna
Reed, Stephen McNally, Katherine Emery, Allen Jenkins, Stanley
Ridges, Reginald Denny, John Emery, Rosemary De Camp, Erik Rolf,
Barry Nelson, Reginald Sheffield
Look for Marie Windsor in a bit part as an actress and Donna Reed as a worldly seventeen-year-old.
Also available as part of the TVNow Mystery Classics DVD set
.
- THE HIDDEN EYE
(1945, MGM)
69 minutes, black and white
Based on characters created
by Baynard Kendrick
Screenplay by George Harmon Coxe and Harry Ruskin
Directed by Richard Whorf
Produced by Robert Sisk
Starring Edward Arnold as
CAPTAIN DUNCAN MACLAIN
Also starring Frances Rafferty,
Ray Collins, Paul Langton, William 'Bill' Phillips, Thomas E.
Jackson, Ray Largay, Byron Foulger, Morris Ankrum, Robert Lewis,
Lee Phelps, Theodore Newton, Sondra Rodgers, Leigh Whipper, Francis
Pierlot
And look for Cameron Mitchell
in a bit part.
- WESTINGHOUSE DESILU PLAYHOUSE: CHANGE OF HEART
(1960)
60 minutes
Pilot for undeveloped series
Based on characters created
by Baynard Kendrick
Teleplay by David J. Goodman
Directed by Richard Kinon
Starring Starring Robert Middleton as DUNCAN MacLAIN
With Donald May as Spud Savage
and Evan Evans as Rena
Also starring Russ Conway, Allison Hayes, Dick Sargent, and and Karl Swenson.
"I remember seeing the beginning of this episode when it originally aired on Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse in 1960... The blind detective concept was intriguing and Robert Middleton would have made a fascinating series lead. Donald May ("Colt 45", "The Roaring Twenties") would have played his handsome young associate. May may well have been playing Spud Savage. I'm pretty sure Evan Evans played May's wife Rena... The production company was of course Desilu ("The Untouchables") The writer was David J. Goodman according to imdb. This is his only listed credit. I think it may have really been written by David Z. Goodman, who has some strong credits including "The Untouchables" and "Farewell My Lovely". The episode was rerun on "Kraft Mystery Theater", an NBC summer replacement series in 1962, and I think the pilot may have inspired "Ironside" several years later."
-- Brian Cuddy
Report respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith. A special thanks to Brian Cuddy for the TV lead.
