Wanted (1955 TV series)

Walter McGraw narrated the series, in which each episode focused on a real-life criminal case (taken from the active-case files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation) from the commission of the crime "through the process of detection". The show used no actors. Informants, police officers, witnesses and other people portrayed themselves as phases of the pursuit of the criminal were re-enacted Those depictions were supplemented with interviews of victims and members of the family of the wanted person The premiere episode focused on Frederick "The Saint" Tenuto. Police sought Tenuto with regard to the murder of a man who had provided information about where Willie Sutton could be found. The December 15, 1955, episode was about James Sheldon Truelove, who had escaped from the state penitentiary in North Carolina, where he was serving a life sentence. About a week later, FBI agents arrested him in Seattle, Washington. == Production ==

Walter and Peggy McGraw were the producers of Wanted, which was filmed and originated from WCBS-TV. but it was broadcast on Thursdays from 10:30 to 11 p.m. E.T., Its competition included Lux Video Theatre. Production costs were approximately $32,500. ==Critical response==

A review in the trade publication Broadcasting compared Wanted to the radio program Gang Busters and said that it would "more than satisfy" the curiosity of people who wondered what the stories were behind wanted posters that they saw in Post Offices. The review said that the November 3, 1955, episode depicted a murder and subsequent significant scenes with "graphic realism", and it commented, "Wanted is a welcome change from the familiar faces of the tired cop and robber routines." The review called the program "30 minutes of confusing and uninteresting exposition relieved only by the Anacin commercials". Mercer complimented the show's technique of interviewing criminals' friends and family, and he described video techniques as "penetrating" when the camera "sweeps through slums and stares down grim alleys and peers into the hall bedroom lives that fringe the world of crime." == References ==