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Parties for Death

By: Rex Stout
Narrated by: Sydney Greenstreet, Wally Maher, Herb Ellis, Larry Dobkin, Gerald Mohr, Harry Bartell
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Summary

Nero Wolfe is "a gourmet who never walks when he can sit and never sits when he can lie down." Join Rex Stout's reclusive, overweight, orchid-loving super sleuth as masterfully portrayed by Sydney Greenstreet in this exciting radio series. Ever in search of a perfect meal and a cold bottle of beer, Wolfe often sends Archie Goodwin, his secretary and operative (played by Wally Maher, Herb Ellis, Larry Dobkin, Gerald Mohr, and Harry Bartell), in his stead. Archie, while trying to keep his well-known weakness for red heads in check, follows up on leads and does the leg work, setting up his brilliant boss to solve the case. Learn the logic of this armchair detective extraordinaire as he presides over 18 digitally remastered cases of treasure maps and love triangles, carelessness and con artists, bad business and bad medicine.

Episodes Include: "Stamped for Murder" 10-20-50, "The Case of the Dear Dead Lady" 11-03-50, "The Case of the Careless Cleaner" 11-17-50, "The Case of the Beautiful Archer" 11-24-50, "The Case of the Brave Rabbit" (a.k.a. "The Case of the Friendly Rabbit") 12-01-50, "The Case of the Slaughtered Santas" 12-22-50, "The Case of the Calculated Risk" 01-19-51, "The Case of the Phantom Fingers" 01-26-51, "The Case of the Vanishing Shells" 02-02-51, "The Party for Death" 02-16-51, "The Case of the Malevolent Medic" 02-23-51, "The Case of the Hasty Will" 03-02-51, "The Case of the Final Page" 03-23-51, "The Case of the Tell-Tale Ribbon" 03-30-51, "A Slight Case of Perjury" 04-06-51, "The Case of the Lost Heir" 04-20-51, "The Case of the Room" 304 04-27-51, "Screen Guild Theatre: The Mask of Demetrios" 04-16-45.

Public Domain (P)2011 RSPT LLC
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    5 out of 5 stars
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America's greatest detective

a fantastic collection of Nero Wolfe radio plays. Sydney Greenstreet is wonderful as Wolfe and the stories are filled with wit and excitement. if you are looking for deep and complex mysteries this is not for you but as 16 half hour mini mysteries they are highly entertaining. well cast, well written and well worth a listen

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An unexpected, pleasurable surprise

I felt like I was taking a risk buying this recording, but it certainly paid off. The fact that it's the original recordings (or 'transcribed' they call it) gives them a certain atmosphere that helps you to really see the characters, to understand their motivations and attitudes. I don't think you get this so much with modern dramatisations, where there often seems to be a sense of 'tongue in cheek' to the performances.
Some if the stories are, to be honest, ridiculous and contrived. I expect this is down to the fact that it was a weekly radio drama and there are only a limited number of plots to go around! However, in spite of this there's much to keep the listener interested.
I'd recommend this to anyone who appreciates delving into the past, you'll discover a long-forgotten gem from the tail end of the golden age of radio.
On a practical note, for the price you get an awful lot of listening! Enjoy!

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Vintage US radio detective pot boiler series

Listening to Syndey Greenstreet as Nero Wolfe made this audio book worthwhile to me, as he has a unique vocal delivery, timbre and diction.

The plays themselves might have made acceptable detective stories, but are so pared down that the final explanations, while consistent with the story, seem paradoxically predictable and at the same time come out of the blue. Woolfe's idiosyncratic characteristics also seem rather over the top, even for this kind of tongue in cheek detective genre.

I have not yet finished listening to all of the episodes, but I suspect that whilst enjoying the experience it will not be one I will repeat in the near future. Unless you are a big aficionado of vintage US radio detectives of this era, then there are probably better choices to make than this.

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