The Sixties (1960-1968)

Paul Temple: The Complete Radio Collection: Volume Three

Paul Temple swings into the Sixties with five complete radio dramas.

Francis Durbridge ( 1912 – 1998) was an English playwright and author. In 1938 he created the character Paul Temple, a crime novelist and detective. With Steve Trent, a Fleet Street journalist and later his wife, Temple solved numerous crimes in the glamorous world of the leisured middle classes, first on radio, then in films and, from 1969 to 1971, in a television series. In addition to the Paul Temple series, Durbridge wrote other mysteries for radio and television, many of which were also produced for Dutch, German and Italian television and radio.e with seven plays, the last of which, Sweet Revenge, was written in 1991. He also wrote forty-three novels, many of which were adapted from his scripts, sometimes with the help of others.

Paul Temple swings into the Sixties in these five complete radio dramas starring Peter Coke and Marjorie Westbury – plus bonus archive material. 
 
Paul Temple and the Gilbert Case (1960) 
A dead girl's father is sure the police have placed the wrong man in the gallows. This 1960s remake version is published for the first time. 
 
Paul Temple and the Margo Mystery (1961) 
The suave sleuth tries to connect his wife's kidnapping with a body dressed in an expensive designer coat. 
 
Paul Temple and the Jonathan Mystery (1963) 
After meeting an American couple on a flight, Paul Temple is soon investigating another murder in this 1963 remake. 
 
Paul Temple and Geneva Mystery (1965) 
A woman thinks her late husband is still alive – and someone would prefer Paul Temple dead... 
 
Paul Temple and the Alex Affair (1968) 
The debonair detective investigates three murders, all linked to the mysterious and elusive 'Alex'. 
 
This volume also includes the bonus 2005 radio feature Peter Coke and the Paul Temple Affair, introducing the man behind radio's smoothest and most sophisticated sleuth. Actor Peter Coke talks to Michaela Saunders about how he got the part, what he thinks of his famous catchphrase and more. 
 
Duration: 18 hours approx.

The Fifties

Paul Temple: The Complete Radio Collection: Volume Two

Five complete radio dramas featuring writer-cum-amateur detective Paul Temple, plus bonus archive material.

Francis Durbridge was born in Hull in on 25 November 1912. He was educated in Bradford and went on to Birmingham University. It was while he was there that his radio play, Persuasion, was written and broadcast. After leaving university he worked for a short time in a stockbroker's office before realising that the only career he was really interested in was writing. For some time he toyed with the idea of creating a detective who was also a crime novelist, but was unable to finalise the character to his satisfaction until 1938. The end result, Paul Temple, inhabited a world of luxurious sports cars, Knightsbridge flats and chic women - a bygone age of elegance and manners. Durbridge had his first detective novel published at the age of twenty-two and went on to write three dozen more. Paul Temple made his first radio appearance on 8 April 1938 on the BBC's Midland Region. Send for Paul Temple was a huge success: within a week of the serial's final instalment the BBC received 7000 letters demanding more. A second adventure, Paul Temple and the Front Page Men, was broadcast in November and December 1938 and was even more popular than the first. The theme tune for the series was Vivian Ellis' Coronation Scot, which became instantly recognisable to the millions of Temple listeners. In all, twenty-one series of Paul Temple were broadcast over a period of thirty years. During the 1950s and '60s Durbridge transferred his skills to television; Portrait of Alison, Melissa and The Scarf are just a few of the serials that gripped the nation during those years. They all adhered to the writer's golden formula: 'Everybody is lying, nothing is as it seems.' His appeal was widespread: in Germany in particular a new Durbridge television thriller was apparently enough to clear the cinemas. In 1967 the European Broadcasting Union commissioned him to create a radio serial for the international market. The result, La Boutique, made for riveting listening. Durbridge was an extremely entertaining writer and the clever twists and turns of his plots were guaranteed to keep audiences tuning in week after week. He also wrote nine plays for the theatre: Suddenly at Home, The Gentle Hook, House Guest and A Touch of Danger all ran successfully in the West End. He married Norah Lawley in 1940 and had two sons. Francis Durbridge died in London on 10 April 1998.

Five complete radio dramas featuring writer-cum-amateur detective Paul Temple, plus bonus archive material. When it comes to classic crime partnerships, Paul Temple (Peter Coke) and his wife Steve (Marjorie Westbury) are the crème de la crème. Between 1938 and 1968 their glamorous exploits enthralled generations of radio listeners around the world. Here, presented in chronological order, are some of the amateur detective's adventures from the 1950s: 'The Gilbert Case' (1954); 'The Lawrence Affair' (1956); 'The Spencer Affair' (1957); 'The Vandyke Affair' (the 1959 remake) and 'The Conrad Case' (1959). This set also includes a number of bonus items.Duration: 19 hours approx

The Early Years (1938-1950)

Paul Temple: The Complete Radio Collection: Volume One

Three complete radio dramas featuring writer-cum-amateur detective Paul Temple, plus bonus archive material.

Francis Durbridge ( 1912 – 1998) was an English playwright and author. 
In 1938 he created the character Paul Temple, a crime novelist and detective. With Steve Trent, a Fleet Street journalist and later his wife, Temple solved numerous crimes in the glamorous world of the leisured middle classes, first on radio, then in films and, from 1969 to 1971, in a television series. In addition to the Paul Temple series, Durbridge wrote other mysteries for radio and television, many of which were also produced for Dutch, German and Italian television and radio.e with seven plays, the last of which, Sweet Revenge, was written in 1991. He also wrote forty-three novels, many of which were adapted from his scripts, sometimes with the help of others.

Three complete radio dramas featuring writer-cum-amateur detective Paul Temple, plus bonus archive material. When it comes to classic crime partnerships, Paul Temple and his wife Steve are the crème de la crème. Between 1938 and 1968 their glamorous exploits enthralled generations of radio listeners around the world. Here, presented in chronological order, are some of the amateur detective's earliest adventures. 'Send for Paul Temple' (1940) is an early remake of the now-lost original 1938 BBC production. 'Paul Temple Intervenes' (1942) finds Paul and Steve investigating a series of celebrity murders, whilst 'Paul Temple and the Vandyke Affair' (the original 1950 production, presented here for the very first time) concerns the strange disappearance of the Desmond baby and her sitter. Hugh Morton, Bernard Braden, Carl Bernard and Peter Coke play Paul in these episodes, with Bernadette Hodgson, Peggy Hassard and Marjorie Westbury as Steve. A bonus disc features rare archive material from otherwise lost productions, including the final episodes of 'Send for Paul Temple' (1938) and 'Paul Temple and the Front Page Men' (1938). Duration: 11 hours approx.

A 1940 full-cast production of Paul's very first adventure

Send for Paul Temple

Bernard Braden stars in an original 1940 full-cast production of the very first Paul Temple adventure, plus bonus extra features.

Francis Durbridge (1912 – 1998) was an English playwright and author. In 1938 he created the character Paul Temple, a crime novelist and detective. With Steve Trent, a Fleet Street journalist and later his wife, Temple solved numerous crimes in the glamorous world of the leisured middle classes, first on radio, then in films and, from 1969 to 1971, in a television series. In addition to the Paul Temple series, Durbridge wrote other mysteries for radio and television, many of which were also produced for German and Italian television and radio. 
Durbridge also forged a successful career as a writer for the stage with seven plays, the last of which, Sweet Revenge, was written in 1991. He also wrote 43 novels, many of which were adapted from his scripts, sometimes with the help of others.

Bernard Braden stars in an original 1940 full-cast production of the very first Paul Temple adventure 
 
Between 1938 and 1968 the exploits of amateur detective Paul Temple and his wife, Steve, enthralled generations of BBC radio listeners. Theirs was an exciting world of violence and glamour - car bombs and cocktail parties. 
 
In Paul and Steve’s very first adventure, starring Bernard Braden as Paul with Peggy Hassard as Steve, a spate of jewel robberies in the Midlands has left the police baffled. They are the work of a shadowy criminal mastermind known only as The Knave of Diamonds. But who is the Knave? And can he be stopped? 
 
All but one episode of the original 1938 BBC production of Send for Paul Temple are lost from the archives. However, this complete recording of a 1940 production - made for Canadian radio and based on the original BBC radio scripts - was recently rediscovered in the national Library and Archives of Canada. Digitally restored, all six episodes are now available for the very first time. Two bonus features are also included: the sole surviving sixth episode of the original 1938 production, starring the original Paul Temple, Hugh Morton, and an unbroadcast interview with the longest-running Paul Temple actor, Peter Coke.

A Case For Paul Temple

A brand new eight-part remake of the lost archive drama 'A Case for Paul Temple', starring Crawford Logan and Gerda Stevenson.

From 1938 to 1968 crime novelist and detective Paul Temple and his Fleet Street journalist wife Steve solved case after case in one of BBC Radio’s most popular series. Now the glamorous duo return to the airwaves to break a mysterious drug-running gang.   Post-war London is buzzing with speculation about the deaths of ten young drug addicts within the space of just one week. The police are desperate to cut off supplies of heroin and cocaine to the capital, but they are struggling. So Sir Graham Forbes turns to Paul Temple.   By fast car and police launch, on deserted houseboats and midnight beaches, in dodgy East End pubs and smart West End restaurants, braving booby traps, bullets and blazing houses, Paul and Steve pursue the ruthless and feared drug dealer known only as ‘Valentine’.   This new production for BBC Radio 4 uses the original scripts, vintage sound effects and much of the original incidental music from the missing 1946 production. As far as possible it is a technical and stylistic replica of how that production might have sounded if its recording had survived.

Paul Temple And Steve

A brand new fully dramatised remake of the lost archive drama Paul Temple and Steve, starring Crawford Logan and Gerda Stevenson.

From 1938 to 1968, crime novelist and detective Paul Temple and his Fleet Street journalist wife Steve solved case after case in one of BBC Radio's most popular serials. Now the dapper duo return refreshed and reinvigorated to the airwaves, to investigate the activities of a shadowy and ruthless criminal mastermind in post-war London.   Enlisted by Sir Graham Forbes of Scotland Yard to help track down the mysterious Dr Belasco, Paul and Steve find clues in cigarette lighters and bodies in shrubberies, dance the night away in louche Latin American night clubs, meet sinister manservants and suspicious foreigners, and have their lives threatened at every turn. Just as well Steve remembered to bring along her revolver as well as her ration book...   This new production for BBC Radio 4 uses the original scripts, vintage sound effects and much of the incidental music from the missing 1947 production. As far as possible, it is a technical and stylistic replica of how that production might have sounded had its recording survived.

Francis Durbridge

Crawford Logan

Gerda Stevenson

Full Cast

Paul Temple Returns (2006-2013)

Paul Temple lives again in five BBC Radio 4 remakes of classic adventures, starring Crawford Logan as Paul and Gerda Stephenson as Steve. 
 
Paul Temple and the Sullivan Mystery (2006) A pair of spectacles spells danger for the suave sleuth and his wife as they embark on a trip to Egypt. 
 
Paul Temple and the Madison Mystery (2008) A murdered millionaire and a mysterious watch-chain sets the Temples on the trail of an international counterfeiting gang. 
 
Paul Temple and Steve (2010) On the hunt for notorious criminal mastermind Dr Belasco, Paul and Steve find trouble at every turn... 
 
A Case for Paul Temple (2011) Braving booby traps, bullets and blazing houses, Paul pursues a shadowy drug dealer known only as ‘Valentine’. 
 
Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair (2013) When a young woman disappears, Paul is drawn into a ruthless kidnapping racket run by the murderous ‘Mr Gregory’. 
 
These five dramas were originally broadcast in the late 1940s, but are now missing from the BBC archives. Using the same scripts, vintage sound effects and much of the original incidental music, these remakes have been engineered to sound as much like the lost serials as possible.

Francis Durbridge

Paul Temple: The Complete Radio Collection: Volume Four

Select a format:

Retailers:

Summary

More books from this author