Mr. District Attorney
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- Publication date
- 2014-12-05
- Topics
- OTRR, Old Time Radio Researchers Group, Old Time Radio, OTRR Set, OTRR Certified Set, Mr District Attorney, Mr. District Attorney, Mister District Attorney, District Attorney, crime, crime drama, David Brian, Brian, David, Dwight Weist, Weist, Dwight, Jay Jostyn, Jostyn, Jay, Vicki Vola, Vola, Vicki, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1939, 1941, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, OTRR - 2014-12
MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mr. District Attorney is a popular radio crime drama, produced by Samuel Bischoff, which aired on NBC and ABC from April 3, 1939 to June 13, 1952 (and in transcribed syndication through 1953). The series focused on a crusading D.A., initially known only as "Mister District Attorney," or "Chief", and was later translated to television. On television the D.A. had a name, Paul Garrett, and the radio version picked up this name in the final years when David Brian played the role. A key figure in the dramas was the D.A.'s secretary, Edith Miller (Vicki Vola).
Created, written, and directed by former law student Ed Byron, the series was inspired by the early years of New York governor Thomas E. Dewey. It was Dewey's public war against racketeering which led to his election as governor. Phillips H. Lord, creator of Gangbusters, helped to develop the concept and coined the title. Byron lent an air of accuracy and immediacy to his scripts through close study of crime statistics, a library of criminology texts, following the newspapers, and even going around rough bars to gain tips, background, and color from crooks and police alike. His techniques sometimes enabled Byron to predict major crime waves before the news broke.
Produced throughout its run in New York City, the series began as a fifteen minute serial, becoming a half hour, self-contained series three months later. During 1942, Mr. District Attorney began battling Nazis, leading to conflicts with the FBI when the scripts reflected life too closely.
Cast and characters:
Mr. District Attorney - The nameless title role was played by several actors throughout the run, with the breakdown as follows:
- Dwight Weist (1939 serials);
- Raymond Edward Johnson (1939 half hour shows);
- Jay Jostyn (1940 through 1952 - Jostyn also guest starred in the role in mystery sketches for the game show Quick as a Flash);
- David Brian (1952-1953 syndication).
Voice of the Law - The show's signature was the opening announcer, known as the "Voice of the Law," who defined the creed and duties of Mr. District Attorney. The role was played by Maurice Franklin and also Jay Jostyn, prior to taking over the lead role
Miss Miller - Edith Miller was the district attorney's faithful secretary, played throughout the run by Vicki Vola
Len Harrington - The D.A.'s chief investigator, a former cop; played by Walter Kinsella, who had been heard in various police roles during the early years, and by Len Doyle from 1940 onward.
Other supporting players and guests on the series includeded such noted actors as Paul Stewart and Frank Lovejoy.
OTRR Certification Information:
Series Name: Mr. District Attorney
Release Status: OTRR Maintained
Release Date: October 15, 2020
Release Version: Version 2010
Number of DVDs: 1NOTE: Updated Release! (17-Oct-2019). Added 5 episodes, 64 syndicated episodes, and newspaper articles. Updated biographies, cleaned up comic book covers, and moved files in directories. For a detail list of the changes, view the contents of file Mr District Attorney OTRR Maintained v. 2010/Maintained Documentation/OTRR Maintained v. 2010 changes.txt.
Previous Release Version 1, August 8, 2014.
From the Old Time Radio Researchers Group. See "Note" Section below for more information on the OTRR.
Notes
OLD TIME RADIO RESEARCHERS GROUP
This is a production of the Old Time Radio Researchers (OTRR) Group located at Old Time Radio Researchers Website (www.otrr.org), Old Time Radio Researchers Facebook Group, and Old Time Radio Researchers Group.
It contains the most complete and accurate version of this series in the best sound possible at the time of creation. An updated version will be issued if more episodes or better sounding ones become available.
If you are interested in preserving Old Time Radio (OTR), you may wish to join the Old Time Radio Researchers Group at Facebook and Groups.io.
Relax, listen, and enjoy!
OTRR Definitions:
OTRR Maintained Set -- This set contains all known episodes in the best available audio condition with the most accurate dates and titles known to be in general circulation and based on current research at the time of release. Replaces OTRR Certified Accurate and OTRR Certified Complete.
OTRR Non-Maintained Set -- A collection of shows that has not gone through the OTRR Maintenance process.
Pre-2019 OTRR Definitions:
OTRR Certified Accurate -- A series that was "Certified Accurate" indicated that all the episodes were properly identified and labeled based on current information but that the series did not contain all known extant episodes.
OTRR Certified Complete -- A series that was "Certified Complete" achieved the highest level of certification available under the OTRR Certified Standards. This certification level implied that all the files in the series were "Certified Accurate" and also indicated that the series was as complete as possible and included all circulating episodes.
OTRR Non-Certified -- A collection of shows that has not gone through the OTRR Certification process.
Also, beginning in 2019, the version numbers of our OTRR releases changed format -- instead of v1.0 or v2.1, we are now using a version number that reflects the year and month the set was released. The format used is a two-digit year followed by a two-digit month. For example, "v1906" indicates a set that was released in June 2019, or "v1910" indicates a set released in October 2019.
NOTE: There are no passwords for any of our ZIP files. If you are prompted for a password, before downloading the file again, try unzipping the file into a shorter full folder path name -- for example, unzip to "C:\" instead of "C:\Documents and Settings\your_Windows_ID\some_other_folder\". Sorry, some of our releases contain long folder and file names, which sometimes manifests itself on the Windows platform as prompting for a password for the ZIP file. Or try renaming the ZIP file itself to a shorter name before unzipping.
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Reviews
Reviewer:
electricwarrior
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
December 13, 2014
Subject: Thank You!
Subject: Thank You!
Great to see some more OTTR up loads, always great encodes and fantastic extras
Reviewer:
KO6BB
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
December 7, 2014
Subject: Wow, 4 new OTRR collections
Subject: Wow, 4 new OTRR collections
I want to thank the folks at the OTRR for the 4 recent collections added, Mr District Attorney, Dangerous Assignment, Mysterious Traveler and Murder By Experts.
All just in time for the Christmas Season, and all upgrades from the collections I already had!
Again, thanks.
KO6BB (Phil)
All just in time for the Christmas Season, and all upgrades from the collections I already had!
Again, thanks.
KO6BB (Phil)