The Green HornetOn January 31,
1936, the Green Hornet radio program aired on WXYZ in Detroit, Michigan. Al
Hodge played the part of the Green Hornet from 1936 through January of 1943.
The program was created by George W. Trendle, the same man associated with
the creation of the Lone Ranger radio show.
The premise of the Green Hornet was that of a modern day Lone Ranger. The
main character was Britt Reid, a newspaper publisher of the Daily Sentinel
by day and the Green Hornet by night. Britt Reid was the great-nephew of the
Lone Ranger. Britt Reid's war against crime was an extension of his family
history.
The Green Hornet fought crime with his high-powered car,
the Black Beauty. He also utilized a gun that fired knockout gas instead of
bullets. His fists also came in handy on a regular basis. He was assisted by
his Filipino valet, Kato. Kato would drive the Black Beauty, keep watch out
for the police or the bad guys and sometimes lend a helping fist to the
fighting.
The Green Hornet pretended to be a villain while really
battling the forces of crime in the big city. This would make for some
interesting plot twists as the Green Hornet would be actively avoiding
detection by the police while at the same time attempting to destroy
criminal activity in the city. Many times the Green Hornet would lead the
police to believe that the Green Hornet had been the mastermind of the case
at hand. The police would receive an anonymous tip of where they could pick
up the now subdued crooks with the Green Hornet just barely making his
escape from the scene. The Green Hornet would be alerted to criminal
activity through his job as editor of the Daily Sentinel. The crime stories
would lead Britt Reid to transform into the Green Hornet to battle crime at
night.
The Green Hornet program began in January of 1936 and played to December 5,
1952. The shows typically ran thirty minutes and ran twice a week in the
beginning years. They later reverted to being broadcast once a week. The
last season of the show in 1952 the show reverted back to a twice a week
schedule. Al Hodge played the role of Britt Reid for seven years. Fran
Striker, a co-creator of the Lone Ranger, wrote all of the scripts for the
Green Hornet until April 1944. After that, several other writers were
brought in to script the show. The writing output of Fran Striker was
incredible. While he was scripting the Green Hornet he was also writing the
scripts for the Lone Ranger program.
Following Al Hodge, three other radio actors played Britt Reid. Donovan
Faust took the role for the 1943 season. Robert Hall played the part for
three years, from 1943 to 1946. Jack McCarthy finished the last years of the
series from 1946 through 1952. Thus ended a tremendous 16-year radio program
full of action, high-speed chases, and the overcoming of evil by the Green
Horn
Green Hornet
