A subjective first-person camera method – a technique first used effectively in the feature film Lady in the Lake (1947) – was used to detail the investigations of a never-seen lieutenant with the New York City Police Department.
The camera (and the viewer) became the eyes of the lieutenant and experienced situations as if actually present. If, for example, a suspect threw a punch, the camera would shake, indicating that the lieutenant took the brunt of the blow.
The unseen detective was relentless and once on a case, did whatever it took to get the job done as he investigated homicide cases.
This long-running live series aired over the DuMont Television Network from 12 October 1949 to 12 September 1954. Recordings of only four of the live telecasts of this series are known to survive.
Ken Lynch (with microphone), Tom Reynolds and Jack Orrison filming a scene from The Plainclothesman.
The Unseen Lieutenant
Ken Lynch Sergeant Brady
Jack Orrison
