Debuting on 2 July 1959, this half-hour crime show starred Dennis Morgan as private eye Dennis Chase, who worked from his fancy house at 21 Beacon Street in an unnamed generic American city.
Dennis had been an intelligence officer for the O.S.S. (Office of Strategic Services) during World War II and his slick team included Joanna (Joanna Barnes) who was invaluable at gleaning information and setting up decoys, athletic legman Brian (Brian Kelly) who was a recent law school graduate, and Jim (James Maloney), a skilled linguist, science expert and talented machinist.
The team tackled each case as if it were a military operation.
Elaborate cons were established to outwit confidence men; complex stings were set up to bring criminals to justice; and well-calculated maneuvers were used to help the police nab killers.
While Dennis actively participated in each caper, he also supervised its operations and demanded that each of his operatives followed strict protocol.
More than most of the detective shows of the late 1950s, 21 Beacon Street emphasised gadgetry and involved Morgan and his team performing elaborate impersonations and hoaxes to catch their man – as seen frequently in the 1966 series Mission: Impossible.
In fact, the creators of 21 Beacon Street sued the producers of Mission: Impossible for plagiarism. The suit was settled out of court.
21 Beacon Street was introduced as a summer replacement for The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show on NBC and later turned up on ABC.
Dennis Chase
Dennis Morgan Joanna
Joanna Barnes Brian
Brian Kelly Jim
James Maloney
Episodes
The Rub Out | Safety Deposit | The Payoff | Double Vision | The Swindle | The Execution | Break In | The Trojan Horse | The Hostage | The Trap | Dilemma | Nothing is Impossible | Close Call
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The team tackled each case as if it were a military operation.
