A Case for Dr Morelle
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- Publication date
- 2019-09-18
A CASE FOR DR. MORELLE
A Case for Dr. Morelle was a 13-episode series which ran weekly in 1957 on the BBC Light Programme from April 23 to July 16. According to the author Ernest Dudley, the character of Dr. Morelle began life in 1940 during the World War Two air raids, as he was trying to think up a different kind of detective while also providing a comic role for the actress Jane Grahame, who was also his wife.
The result, originally heard on the radio show Monday Night at Eight, involved the acerbic criminal psychologist Dr. Morelle and his eager but less than helpful secretary Miss Frayle. In the 1957 series, Dr. Morelle was played by the English comic actor Cecil Parker and Sheila Sim played the long-suffering and devoted Miss Frayle. In addition to radio plays, Dudley wrote a stage play as well as a number of novels and short stories featuring these characters.
Audiences loved the opinionated and eccentric Morelle, whose disdain for his loyal secretary was an extension of his general lack of regard for humanity. Unlike Sherlock Holmes, who based his analysis on physical clues left at the scene of the crime, Morelle generally conducted his investigations via a series of interviews, although he sometimes included physical evidence in his analysis. He used his knowledge of criminal psychology to determine which of the suspects fit the psychological profile of the criminal. Often during the story, Miss Frayle would irritate the doctor by interrupting him as he was conducting an experiment or testing some scientific theory. His solutions to the crimes - whether murder, blackmail, larceny or some other crime - were always based on psychology.
Sources: archive.org web page for series, a 1958 New Zealand article (transcribed here), and Fantasic Fiction.
OTRR Release Information:
Series Name: A Case for Dr. Morelle
Release Status: OTRR Maintained
Release Date: December, 2021
Release Version: v 2112
Number of DVDs: 1
NOTE: Updated Release! (December 2021). Replaced .mp3 files with upgraded .flac files; Edited Synopsis and Maintained documents
Previous Release v1909, September 18, 2019 added two episode and corrected mislabeled files.
From the Old Time Radio Researchers Group. See "Notes" 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:
otrer49
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favorite -
September 19, 2013
Subject: Don't Know What Happened
Subject: Don't Know What Happened
The previous reviewer is right. I don't know what happened with the OTRR Group this time around, but the Dr. Morelle collection is hopelessly confused with all but three episodes being mislabeled and some repeats.
Reviewer:
perlster
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July 2, 2013
Subject: How can a show with incorrect titles be "certfied"?
Subject: How can a show with incorrect titles be "certfied"?
Only 3 of the files have the actual show title in the name. All the rest are jumbled.