| Big Town | |
|---|---|
 Big Town #38 (March–April 1956) | |
| Genre | Drama |
| Written by | Ewald André Dupont Lawrence Kimble |
| Directed by | Busby Berkeley Ewald André Dupont Charles F. Haas Mark Stevens Gunther von Fritsch |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 169 |
| Production | |
| Producers | Jack J. Gross Philip N. Krasne Mark Stevens |
| Running time | 25 mins. |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS (1950–1954) NBC (1955–1956) |
| Release | October 5, 1950 (1950-10-05) – October 7, 1956 (1956-10-07) |
Big Town is a popular long-runningradio drama featuring a corruption-fighting newspaper editor initially played from 1937 to 1942 byEdward G. Robinson in his first radio role, with echoes of the conscience-stricken tabloid editor he had played in the filmFive Star Final.Edward Pawley played the lead role longer, 1943–52, in plots that made the editor more of a hands-on crime-fighter. During the later Pawley years, Big Town was adapted tofilm andtelevision series, and a comic book published byDC Comics.
The radio program aired from October 19, 1937, to June 25, 1952.[1] It was produced byWilliam N. Robson[2] and Crane Wilbur,[3] and written by Jerry McGill. Theme music was by Fran Frey.Edward G. Robinson had the lead role of Steve Wilson, crusading editor of theIllustrated Press, from 1937 to 1943.Claire Trevor was Wilson's reporter sidekick "Lorelei," withOna Munson taking over that role in 1939. The female lead evolved from the initial script's description as "the society editor who writes under the name of 'Lorelei'"[4] to star crime reporter "Lorelei Kilbourne," with no hint that her first name was a stylized byline. She provided the tabloid-minded Wilson with a conscience in the early episodes, not unlike the editor's secretary in Robinson's Oscar-nominatedFive Star Final in 1931.
Edward J. Pawley portrayed Steve Wilson from 1943 until 1952 whenWalter Greaza was heard as Wilson in the final episodes. Fran Carlon played Lorelei to Pawley's Wilson from 1943 to 1952. During the period in which Pawley starred,Big Town was rated No. 1 among all of the reporter-type drama series on radio. It was also rated in the top 12 among all radio programs broadcast and had a listening audience rated between 10 and 20 million people.
Ken Niles was the announcer.[5]
Four films based on the radio series were made by Paramount Pictures'Pine-Thomas Productions studio:Big Town (1947),I Cover Big Town (1947),Big Town After Dark (1947), andBig Town Scandal (1948). All four films starredPhillip Reed as Wilson andHillary Brooke as Lorelei, all were based on radio- and/or screenplays by Maxwell Shane, and all were produced and directed by William C. Thomas.
WhenBig Town moved to television,the program was telecastlive, but in 1952 the production switched to film after the move from New York City toHollywood. Thetelevision series ran onCBS from 1950 through 1954, continuing onNBC from 1955 through 1956.[citation needed]Repeat episodes aired on theDuMont Network beginning on February 6, 1953, under the titleCity Assignment, whileBig Town was still showing first-run episodes on CBS.[6] Reruns were also shown under the titlesHeart of the City,Headline, andByline Steve Wilson.
The stories revolved aroundThe Illustrated Press, the city's largest newspaper, and the people who worked for it, most particularly managing editor Steve Wilson (played byPatrick McVey from 1950 to 1954 and byMark Stevens from 1954 to 1956). Five actresses had the role of reporter Lorelei Kilbourne. In its sixth and final season, the series would adopt the documentary style made famous byDragnet, right down to Stevens producing, writing, and directing most of the episodes.[citation needed]
Jack Gross and Philip Krasne produced the program in 1952.[7]
DC'sBig Town comic book ran 50 issues, from January 1951 to March–April 1958. The comic book was edited byWhitney Ellsworth, and the contributing artists includedDan Barry,Carmine Infantino,Gil Kane, John Lehti, Manny Stallman andAlex Toth, with most of the later scripts written byJohn Broome.