Voyage of the Scarlet Queen was a radio drama portraying the adventures of the 78-foot ketch Scarlet Queen in the South Pacific. It was broadcast on Mutual from 3 July 1947 to 14 February 1948.
James Burton produced the scripts by Gil Doud and Robert Tallman.[1] Elliott Lewis starred as Philip Karney, master of the Scarlet Queen, with Ed Max as first mate Red Gallagher.[2]
Other voice actors include: Gloria Blondell, Lillian Buyeff, William Conrad, John Dehner, Verna Felton, Paul Frees, Frank Gerstle, Virginia Gregg, Ira Grossel, William Johnstone, Berry Kroeger, Jack Kruschen, Mary Lansing, Cathy Lewis, Roddy McDowall, Alan Reed, Rolfe Sedan, Charles Seel, Eric Snowden, Ben Wright, and Barton Yarborough.
Sound effects were provided by Ray Kemper, Tom Hanley, Bill James, considered among the best in the business.[3]
Music was composed and conducted by Richard Aurandt.
Each episode opens with an entry from the ship's log, such as: "Log entry, the ketch Scarlet Queen, Philip Karney, master. Position – three degrees, seven minutes north, 104 degrees, two minutes east. Wind, fresh to moderate; sky, fair..." with a similar closing: "Ship secured for the night. Signed, Philip Karney, master." Arriving at an exotic port of call, the captain and first mate would go ashore and immediately run into trouble with local authorities, agents of rival merchants, or desperate women in need of rescue. After some investigation and at least one good fight they would solve the problem, get back on the ship and sail away, Karney and Gallagher sharing a laugh and a drink at the wheel before the captain's closing log entry.
The pilot starred Howard Duff as Captain Phil Karney, and Elliott Lewis as First Officer Red Gallagher. For the series, Lewis took the role of Karney and Ed Max was brought on to play Gallagher.[4] The pilot show mentions the ultimate villain as Van Gort; this becomes Constantino in the series. Other than a few edits to tighten up the script, The Death of David Malone (the pilot) is as effective as The Shanghai Secret (the first episode of the series) as an introduction to the drama.
Episodes 1–20 chronicle the voyage from San Francisco through many meticulously detailed ports of call until they reach episode 20, "Kang's Treasure and the Ghost of Tangolan Bay". During this time Karney and Gallagher visit ports of call for resupply and further instructions from Kang, provided through local agents of Kang's sprawling Pacific trading operation. At nearly every step they are opposed by agents of Constantino. The "$10 million" prize is a set of ancient Chinese artifacts from every major period of Chinese history. Kang feels the artifacts will restore much needed pride to the people of devastated postwar China, while Constantino is simply greedy and knows that Kang will pay dearly for the artifacts. This climaxes at episode 21.
After Episode 21, Karney, Gallagher, and the Scarlet Queen have another dozen or so adventures, but the series seems to run out of steam without the Kang–Constantino rivalry and the continuity of the original story.
The structure of the adventures, opening with a quote from the Ship's Log that introduces a sense of mystery of what is to come, and finishing with a final "captain's log" entry, with adventure in between, has been suggested as a forerunner to the much later Star Trek. The opportunities for inspiration are myriad, but they do not prove causation.[5]
Many old-time radio websites exist with reviews of the show and downloads of episodes. Captain Phil Karney's name is spelled variously as Carney, Karney, and Kearney. An image of a Billboard magazine review of the show from August 1947 uses Kearney.[6] However, the original scripts for "The Barefoot Nymph in the Mother Hubbard Jacket" and "The Ninth Niece in the Street of Weeping Women" use Karney. These scripts are in the UCLA library special collections Mort Fine collection boxes 51 and 52.
Voyage of the Scarlet Queen – Complete Log[7] Fictitious locations are in quotes. Modern Google Maps place names are in parentheses.
| Episode # | Date | Title | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot | 47-02-02 | The Death of David Malone | San Francisco, CA | |
| 1 | 47-07-03 | The Shanghai Secret | San Francisco, CA | |
| 2 | 47-07-10 | Report of the White Jade Buddha | Honolulu, HI | |
| 3 | 47-07-17 | The Spaniard & the Lascar Pirates | "Muninjima", Japan | |
| 4 | 47-07-24 | The Boston Geisha & Chesapeake Bay | Kobe, Japan | |
| 5 | 47-07-31 | Lily in the Chimoipo Bar (Chemulpo) (now known as Incheon) | Jinsen (Incheon) Korea | |
| 6 | 47-08-07 | The White Cargo Act and Ah Sin | Tientsin (Tianjin), China | |
| 7 | 47-08-14 | The Ninth Niece in the Street of Weeping Women [8] (No known recording exists of this or Episode 10) | Shanghai, China | |
| 8 | 47-08-21 | Story of the Eight Historic Periods | Swatow (Shantou), China | |
| 9 | 47-08-28 | The Barefoot Nymph in the Mother Hubbard Jacket | Manila, Philippines | |
| 10 | 47-09-04 | The Dead Man and The Boac Idol[9] (No known recording exists of this or Episode 7) | Masbate, Philippines | |
| 11 | 47-09-11 | Jewel Thieves and the Straw-Filled Dummy | Hong Kong | |
| 12 | 47-09-18 | The Courtship of Anna May Lamour | Haiphong, Vietnam | |
| 13 | 47-09-25 | Shore Leave and the Unhappy Wife | Singapore | |
| 14 | 47-10-02 | The Fat Trader and the Sword of Apokaezhan | Sandakan, N Borneo | |
| 15 | 47-10-09 | The Tattooed Beaver & Baby Food for Pare Pare | Makassar, Celebes (S. Sulawesi, Indonesia) | |
| 16 | 47-10-16 | Ah Sin & the Balinese Beaux Arts Ball | Buleleng, Bali | |
| 17 | 47-10-23 | Grafter's Fort and the Black Pearl of Galahla Bay | Batanta, Raja Ampat, W. Papua region of Indonesia | |
| 18 | 47-10-30 | King Ascot And The Maid In Waiting | Karakelong, Celebes (Sulawesi, Indonesia) | |
| 19 | 47-11-06 | Lonely Sultan of Isabella De Basilan | Isabela, Basilan, Philippines | |
| 20 | 47-11-13 | Kang's Treasure and the Ghost of Tangolan Bay | Sangihe Island “Tangolan Bay” (Ruang, Tagulandang, Sulawesi, Indonesia) | |
| 21 | 47-11-20 | Beautiful Girl in the Bargain Basement | Hong Kong | |
| 22 | 47-11-27 | Huntsman's Quarry & the Dead Chinese | Fort-Bayard, Kouang-Tchéou-Wan (Zhanjiang) | |
| 23 | 47-12-03 | The Green Tourist and the Temple Bell | Bà Rịa, Vietnam | |
| 24 | 47-12-10 | The Wandering Master and the Warlord at Rest | Rabaul, New Britain, Papua/New Guinea | |
| 25 | 47-12-17 | Red Beard and the Bag of Pearls | Hull Island (Orona), Phoenix Group | |
| 26 | 47-12-24 | The 15th Lama and the Wise Guy from the East | Christmas Island (Kiritimati) | |
| 27 | 47-12-31 | Hattie McCormick and the Patient Stowaway | Pago Pago, Tutuila, American Samoa | |
| 28 | 48-01-07 | The Derelict and the Wandering Boy | Port Moresby, New Guinea | |
| 29 | 48-01-14 | Fang Rubies and the Black Siamese | Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia | |
| 30 | 48-01-21 | The Ambitious Hostess on South Bridge Road | ||
| 31 | 48-01-28 | The Bubble Dancer & the Buccaneers | Penang, Malaysia | |
| 32 | 48-02-04 | The Pegleg Skipper & the Iberian Blade | Surabaya, Java | |
| 33 | 48-02-11 | Rocky III and the Dead Man's Chest | Wellington, NZ | |
| 34 | 48-02-18 | Queen Anne Pistols and the Dealer on King George Road | Sydney, Australia | |
| 35 | 48-02-25 | Winchester Rifle and the Ambitious Groom | ||
| Pilot 2 | 50-05-06 | Log Of The Black Parrot | (pilot for series revival) |
Technically the show was among the better radio productions of the time, employing realistic sound effects and sailing terminology, well paced stories and colorfully detailed settings. Most places visited by the Queen are real. Even the map coordinates given by the captain are mostly accurate, following a zigzag course around the South Pacific.
After the show was cancelled, an attempt was made to revive it under a different name. Only the audition show was produced which was not picked up. The new show's title was to be The Log Of The Black Parrot. The cast included Ed Max, Ted Osborne, Lillian Buyeff, Harold Hughes, Jack Kruschen, and Ben Wright. Music was directed by Walter Schumann and composed by Nathan Scott. The audition was produced by the star of Scarlet Queen, Elliot Lewis and directed by Gil Doud. The announcer was Bob Stevenson. It was recorded on May 6, 1950.
A TV pilot was made in 1975 loosely based on the same concept, titled The Log of the Black Pearl, which likewise included Jack Kruschen in the cast, co-starring with Ralph Bellamy and Kiel Martin, with Jack Webb as executive producer.