Cases of Eddie Drake, The

1 9 5 2 (USA)
13 x 30 minute episodes

The Drake Detective Agency at 130 West 45th Street in Manhattan is owned by Eddie Drake (Don Haggerty), a private investigator who has a remarkable affinity for crime and violence. While Eddie is personable, intelligent and honest, he does carry a gun, and he does use it.

While most of his clients are walk-ins, he does get some referrals from an agency called Jenny’s Bail Bonds.

Nine episodes of this detective series were originally produced in 1949 by CBS but never aired on that network.

DuMont bought the films and produced four more episodes in 1952, at which point the character of criminal psychologist Dr Karen Gayle was added.

Dr Karen Gayle (initially Patricia Morison and then Lynn Roberts) is a private practice psychiatrist who assists Eddie for research material (“I want to know all about criminals, what they say, how they act and why they do the things they do”). Karen has an office at 64 Park Avenue. She considers herself a student of all the abnormal behaviour of the human mind. She is writing a book on criminal behaviour, and in order to get material that is fresh and stimulating, she has retained Eddie as her personal library.

While Karen does find herself becoming actively involved in solving crimes, she objects to the violence and wishes Eddie could guarantee a minimum of shooting.

Lieutenant Walsh is a detective with the Homicide Bureau of the NYPD whom Eddie and Karen help, and vice versa.

Eddie Drake
Don Haggerty
Dr Karen Gayle
Patricia Morison (1)
Lynn Roberts (2)
Lt. Walsh
Theodore Von Eltz