ABC Mystery Theater

ABC Mystery Theater was broadcast from 1951 to 1954, with two original seasons of scripts and one season of repeats from the second season. Season one introduced Inspector Mark Saber of the Homicide Squad and his able assistant, Sergeant Tim Maloney. For season one, character actor Robert Carroll was heard as Inspector Mark Saber. Sergeant Tim Maloney was portrayed by James Westerfield then Douglas Chandler. For seasons two and three, Les Damon, of radio's The Adventures of the Falcon and The Adventures of the Thin Man played the part of Inspector Saber and Walter Burke played the part of Sgt. Maloney. ==Synopsis==

ABC Mystery Theater premiered on October 3, 1951, to fairly neutral reviews. The program introduced listeners to the work life of Mark Saber. Saber is the senior inspector in a large metropolitan city's Homicide Squad. Most viewers and critics felt as though the concept of a different murder every week would eventually get old. But despite the negative reviews, ABC radio ordered a second season of episodes to premiere in the fall of 1952. During its first season, ABC Mystery Theater ran directly against the similarly themed CBS Mystery Theatre. During its second season, the program was put up against CBS's Hearthstone of The Death Squad. Hearthstone of the Death Squad reproduced broadcasts from the two years of CBS Mystery Theatre repackaged as their own series. The immediate similarities were obvious among listeners such as CBS's "Death Squad" vs ABC's Homicide Squad, CBS's "Inspector" vs ABC's Inspector and the metropolitan murders which were the plots for each episode of both programs. They often ran on the same day and in some instances in the same time slot. In the end, listeners were getting weary of both CBS's Hearthstone and ABC's Mystery Theater and their similarities and neither of the two stories survived the 1952–1953 radio season. The series ran for another season in which the episodes were just slightly modified versions of second season broadcasts and the program finally concluded on June 30, 1954, after its 115th broadcast. ==Television==

• Tom Conway • James Burke }} }} Two days after ABC Mystery Theater premiered on the radio, Mystery Theater premiered on the ABC Television Network. It aired on Fridays prime time at  p.m. EST, against CBS's Mama, and NBC's Quiz Kids, and in April 1952 was moved to 9:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. For the 1952–53 television season, it was retitled Inspector Mark Saber – Homicide Squad and aired on 8 p.m. on Mondays, where it competed against CBS Lux Video Theatre and NBC ''What's My Name?'' For the 1953–54 television season, it was moved to 7:30 p.m on Wednesdays. In the televised series, Mark Saber (portrayed by Tom Conway), a British homicide detective who works in the homicide department of a large American city and his trusty assistant, Sergeant Tim Maloney (portrayed by James Burke). The series concluded in June 1954. Reboot In December 1955, the television series was given a reboot under the name The Vise and starred Donald Gray as Saber. In 1957, it switched to NBC and retitled Saber of London, when it aired at 7:30 p.m. EST on Fridays, opposite Leave It to Beaver, then on CBS, and The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin on ABC. In the 1958–1959 season, Saber of London switched to 7 p.m. Sundays, opposite CBS's Lassie. In its last year, 1959–1960, it was moved a half-hour earlier just outside prime time to 6:30 p.m. on Sundays. In this iteration, Saber was no longer a US-based policeman, but now a one-armed private investigator operating from London. (Gray's left arm had been amputated in WWII). Gone was Sgt. Maloney, replaced by a succession of different sidekicks. Like it's predecessor, The Vise went through various title changes including: Saber of London, Saber of Scotland Yard, and simply Mark Saber. ==See also==