Robert Beatty stars as the hard-nosed Irish-American PI in these two vintage crime serials.

Lester Powell's Chandleresque detective Philip Odell was a huge hit on the BBC Light Programme between 1947 and 1961, thrilling audiences with his crime-solving adventures in post-war London. This gripping collection brings together the only two surviving radio serials featuring the tough-guy investigator—one of which, Test Room Eight, is published here for the very first time.

Lady in a Fog - En route from London to Dublin, Philip Odell meets an old friend, Heather McMara, who tells him that her brother has been found drowned and asks him to investigate. Against the backdrop of a thick, pea-soup fog, he probes a case of blackmail and murder, involving a racehorse owner, a newspaper editor and a mysterious lady in mink....

Test Room Eight - Concerned that someone is trying to sabotage the production of his new influenza vaccine, millionaire industrialist Herbert Truscott hires Odell and Heather to go undercover at his state-of-the-art facility at Barton Medworth. They soon discover that all is not well at the plant—and when a staff member dies after inhaling a fatal dose of live virus, their search for a saboteur turns into a hunt for a killer....

Starring Robert Beatty as Philip Odell and Sheila Manahan as Heather, with a supporting cast including June Tobin, Jeffrey Segal, David March, Hilda Schroder, Mary Wimbush, Beryl Calder, Trevor Martin, Hamilton Dyce and Rolf Lefebvre.

NB: Due to the age of the recordings, the sound quality may vary.

Lady in a Fog

Philip Odell - Robert Beatty

Heather McMara - Sheila Manahan

Marilyn Peters - June Tobin

Christopher Hampden/Bookmaker's Clerk - James Thomason

Parkin - Harold Reese

Martin Sorrowby - John Bennett

Barman - Ronald Baddiley

Mrs Cantaloup - Betty Baskcomb

Receptionist/Violet Levine - Joan Matheson

Hector O'Gorman - David March

Taxi Driver/Foreman - Will Leighton

Narrator/Constable - Anthony Viccars

Inspector Rigby - Edward Jewesbury

Head Waiter/Sergeant Layton - Jeffrey Segal

Telephone Operator/Rosie - Hilda Schroder

Jay - Haydn Jones

1st Driver/Police Doctor/Voice - Hugh Manning

Postman - Frank Partington

Dr Alexander Frey - Trevor Martin

The Lady in Mink/Kitty Stapleton - Mary Wimbush

Receptionist/Shop Assistant - Beryl Calder

Police Surgeon - John Graham

2nd Driver/Bandleader - David Spenser

Doctor/Hotel Manager/Waiter - Peter Wilde

Maid - Ann Rye

Produced by Martyn C. Webster

First broadcast BBC Light Programme, 29 April-17 June 1958

Test Room Eight

Philip Odell - Robert Beatty

Heather McMara - Sheila Manahan

Herbert Truscott - Hamilton Dyce

Hugh Chalk - David Spenser

David Karswood - Frederick Treves

Ken Armstrong - Duncan McIntyre

Barbara Eurich - Stella Textor

Wynn Craxton - Jeffrey Segal

Martin Dersen - Rolf Lefebvre

Colonel Guestling - Richard Williams

Jill Guestling - Hilda Schroder

Policeman - Will Leighton

Coroner - John Cazabon

Superintendent Manley - Edward Jewesbury

Mr Twist - Frank Windsor

Fred Fazackerly - David March

Mr Russell - James Thomason

Paula - Beryl Calder

Dent - John Hollis

Produced by David H. Godfrey

First broadcast BBC Light Programme, 22 December 1958-26 January 1959