Lone Wolf, The

1 9 5 4 (USA)
39 x 30 minute episodes

Veteran screen actor Louis Hayward starred as Michael Lanyard, a debonair jet setting private detective who travelled the world solving crimes and – as the title suggested – worked alone.

An adventurer by profession, Lanyard had no home base and would go wherever the situation required, operating on the edge of what was legal and occasionally finding time to romance the beautiful women he encountered.

His calling card was a metal disc emblazoned with his wolf-shaped emblem.

Created by Louis Joseph Vance in 1914, the character of ‘The Lone Wolf’ appeared in a number of novels before being introduced to the screen with Bert Lytell in the title role in The Lone Wolf (1917). The character was originally a gentleman jewel thief who usually helped ladies in distress.

There were a number of other films during the silent era before Lanyard returned to the screen again in a 1926 feature starring Jack Holt. Bert Lytell returned in a number of films for Columbia until Francis Lederer assumed the role in The Lone Wolf In Paris (1938).

A series of further films were produced from 1939 to 1943 with Warren William in the title role, and from 1946 to 1949 with contract players Gerald Mohr and Ron Rondell assuming the role. Before shifting to television, The Lone Wolf adventures were also presented on the radio.

The series was released in some markets as Streets of Danger.

Michael Lanyard
Louis Hayward

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